How a piano technique book changed my playing forever

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"Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique", Alfred Cortot

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Would you like to improve your technique and feel more secure on the keyboard?  This free download will put you on the path to improvement.

(Reposted from 2011.)

Shortly after college, my teacher insisted that I work through Alfred Cortot’s “Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique.”

It is no exaggeration to say that this book changed my playing forever.

Does this provide instant improvement?  No.  Not if you’re looking for the kind of results that come from calling the number on your television screen in informercials.  One commercial features a guy who promises pie-in-the-sky results.  Learn to play the piano in 5 minutes!  In fact, his method works so well, he demonstrates how to play with a red and white checked tablecloth thrown over the keyboard!

Cortot’s exercises, done daily for a few minutes, will have you playing so much better in 6 months, though.  That sounds worth the effort, doesn’t it?

Full disclosure:  I completed half the book in six months, opting not to continue.  I use what I learned every day, and it has been a long time since my first introduction.

Exercises

Cortot’s instructions indicate that the exercises begin in C Major, 5-finger position (one finger on each key, C-G).  After that, you do the same exercise in C minor.  As soon as that’s comfortable, you move up 1/2 step.  That, of course, immediately changes one’s perception of how easy the exercise is.

After becoming comfortable at C-sharp, you will continue moving up 1/2 step at a time.

After doing several exercises in this way, you begin to think that the C-sharp 5-finger position can be just as comfortable as C Major.

Results

Feeling in hands

Working on these exercises allowed me to feel the weight of my hands for the first time.  I had a new sense of where I was on the keyboard, and could feel intervals.

Finger independence

This book shows you how each finger can play independently of the others.  You learn that you can use combinations you never would have thought of.  And playing one part more prominently than others in the same hand is much easier.

Directionality

Passing the thumb under the right hand on the way up a scale is so much more than that.  I can now proceed in the direction of the line I’m playing.  My hands are no longer square with the keyboard at all times, and I can feel my arm moving.

Fingering choices

Any fingering you need becomes available to you because you develop so much more flexibility.  The fingerings indicated in the exercises make so much sense.

Sticking

Like a gymnast “sticking” the landing from a dismount, I feel like I can stick to the keys.

Security

Because of practicing scale and arpeggio passages in 2 groups, thumbs and everything else as a block of notes, I know where I’m headed and find each new hand position quickly.

Free download!

This book was $90 (or was it $100?) when I was in college.  It is now available as a free PDF!

​Also available for purchase from Amazon for $15.54

Have you come across these wonderful exercises?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section!

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

Are you heading into June without a teacher? Need fresh ideas to share with your students? 

My E-book helps you practice more effectively, teach students as individuals, and perform with confidence.

http://gretchensaathoff.com/e-books/e-book-goal-oriented-practice/

Thank you!

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Emily’s Movie: Music for Piano

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Emily Dickinson, Emily Dickinson Museum, English fingering, Felix Mendelssohn, Henri Bertini, Ludwig van Beethoven

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Immediately after recording chorus music last week for an upcoming DVD about Emily Dickinson, we began recording some piano pieces she might have heard or played.

Again, my goal was to keep the listener in mind, achieving variety of tempi, dynamics, and styles.

Since free downloads of this music are not available, I hope my descriptions will suffice.  If you happen to be playing these pieces, then you already have a score!

Henri Bertini

Fingering for the keyboard in the 19th century was different from the system used today.  While “1” is the thumb for us, in Bertini’s time the use of the thumb was indicated by a “+” with the other numbers being 1-4.  In addition, the Bertini edition provided to me for this project replaces the “+” with a “x”!

Modern piano fingering:	1 2 3 4 5
19th Century:	+ 1 2 3 4
My edition of Bertini:	x 1 2 3 4

Confused yet?  Sometimes an “x” would appear above a note, and then a natural sign would be printed 1/8″ to the right and 1/8″ lower.  Since “x” indicates a double sharp to us, my brain needed an extra second of two to translate.

We chose six short exercises from Bertini’s “Piano Method Complete.”  The aim was to illustrate a progression in difficulty.

1. Left hand quarter notes, followed by the same music with the left hand in 8ths, same pattern (i.e. same right hand melody, with left hand playing the notes it played before, twice as fast).
2. Less predictable writing, more skips between notes.
3. 3-note chords, beginning with 2 notes in the right hand and 1 in the left; then the reverse; then a repeat of the exercise with the left hand marcato and right hand playing 8th notes on each off-beat (i.e. 8th rest, 8th note, etc.).
4. Staccato, more melodic right hand; chords in left hand.  ABA form, caprice-like.
5. Legato 8th notes, left hand, including intervals of an octave.
6. Broken chords, hands together in octaves.  Emphasis on fingering.

Mendelssohn

Op. 19, No. 2

​Left hand just noodles along
​3rd line, page 2:  E quarter note, d c 16ths, D quarter note; move tempo until 4th line, last bar.

Move left hand 8ths, last line

Move marcato 8ths at end, no ritard.

Op. 30, No. 6

This is a Venetian Gondola Song.  It just goes with the flow.  All that’s needed is to set up a groove and let it play.

End of line 1:  left hand 3rds are higher, so will sound more prominent on their own.  No louder dynamic is needed in order to honor the diminuendo indicated.  I tried it, and sounded like an outboard motor!

No ritard at the end.  The tide just keeps going, so let your gondola go off into the distance instead.

Op. 62, No. 3

Orchestrated by Moscheles, this is now entitled “Funeral March,” as it was played at Mendelssohn’s funeral.

This piece has a big dynamic range.  So practicing by skipping from one dynamic to the next is helpful.

With the 32nd-note triplets, it is important to realize when to use the pedal and when not to.

        Examples:

• 2nd line, page 2: 1st triplet needs a sustained left hand, 2nd triplet releases left hand after the 8th note while right hand sustains.  These differences provide 2 different pedalling schemes.

• 4th line, page 2:  release staccato left hand and depress pedal while sustaining the right hand.

• Last line:  I chose to pedal until the release of the tied chord; next come a G quarter and an E eighth with no pedal; then pedal to the end.

​Op. 67, No. 3

This piece requires clarity, lightness, and a moving tempo.  So many details!

In the repetitive middle section:  dynamics are “p” and “mp”.  I decided to rush from the “sf” G through the ritard.

The end has timing issues:  for me, it worked to wait for the ritard.  Keep moving.  Crescendo at least to “mp” so the final repeated notes can diminuendo comfortably.

​Op. 102, No. 6

This piece is hymn-like, but is slightly freer.  (No words!)  It needs clear phrases and dynamic contrast.

I practiced the opening few bars, then jumped to page 2 to ensure that the tempo was the same.  The left hand on page 2 is in 8ths, not quarters, and in octaves.  I wanted to slow down.

You will need to plan how you want to phrase the ending, and how you want to handle the tempo.

Beethoven

The “Pathétique” Sonata, Op. 13

My main focus was on clarity, ensuring that each part speaks from its first note.

What I could have done better

• I could have settled on my preferred tempo for each Mendelssohn piece in advance.  Due to nerves and because I’ve never recorded for a DVD, my approach turned out to be a little different from what it would be for a concert.

• I could have practiced at the venue.  We have more to record, so next time, I will!

Related article

• Emily’s Movie: The Chorus (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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E-books

Goal-oriented Practice
Review by pianist and conductor Andrei Strizek

When You Buy a Piano

How to Maintain Your Piano

Challenge by a 7th-grader

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challenge, Children's Corner, Claude Debussy, Golliwog's Cakewalk, Music, piano, teaching

Excerpt from "Golliwog's Cakewalk" ~ Debussy ~ Public Domain

My  students often choose one piece as a favorite in piano recitals.  The “winner” in one was, not surprisingly, Debussy‘s “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner.*

It was played very well by a high school junior.  And the student who was completely bowled over was in seventh grade!

First lesson following the recital

The younger student (I’ll call her “H”) told me excitedly that she wanted to play that piece.

What would you think of first when considering her request?

My immediate reaction was, “The student who played the piece is four years older!”

After that, I thought, “You’re really not ready.”

And I said “no.”

This went on for a couple of weeks.

The challenge

H then asked me why I kept saying “no.”  I’m so glad she had the courage to call me on it!

I was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to handle the piece, would become completely discouraged, and stop studying.  So I told her all of that.

Next lesson

H said, “What if I promise not to quit?”  Aha!  Good suggestion!

So I felt much better about saying “yes.”

And then

We tackled the piece! H could handle the beginning and the end fairly well.  The middle section, though, was beyond her.  “Cedez?”  What the heck is that?  In addition, she hadn’t had much experience pedaling.  (There were also hand-position changes, wide stretches, unusual fingerings…. and the key signature!  See musical example, above.)

So we did the difficult parts by rote.  That was a little tedious, but possible.

Next recital

H performed the piece!  She was terrific!!!

End result

H had skipped at least a year of slower, step-by-step learning.  She improved more than I could have imagined.

So I’ll resist saying “no” in the future.  Enthusiasm trumps experience sometimes!

Have you been challenged by a student who wanted to play something that seemed too difficult?  How did you handle the situation?  What were the results?

Please share your experience in the comment section below!

While you’re here, please take a look at my new E-book ~ “Goal-oriented Practice:  How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer“ ~ make steady progress without getting stuck!  PRINT VERSION NOW AVAILABLE.  Coming soon:  Kindle version on Amazon.com!

*Read more about Children’s Corner on this blog here.

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Practicing, more fingerings, concert, responsibility, & WHAT? No NY Times?

Today I practiced very well. I’m determined to do Wednesday’s audition & the June 21st concert w/o a page turner. They mess up & get in the way more often than not. I’ll need to copy things & paste the music together in a way that works.

I’m feeling a much greater sense of responsibility for my work (practicing, rehearsing, performing) now that I don’t have a “real” job. Every practice session, every rehearsal & every performance feels more important. No excuses (not that I was phoning it in up til now) like running out of time.

I added fingerings even to music that I can sight read. Everything sounds so much better when you give it some attention. And the second you start looking @ it w/an eye to finding why it was written that way, ideas just jump off the page, demanding to be realized.

When I went out later, I was disappointed that the store in the most convenient location was out of today’s NY Times. I’m still on crutches, so it’s not like I can easily shop around. And it makes NO sense to pay for a cab in order to find a paper. The store is reserving Sunday’s Times for me, so I’ll get to read it tomorrow. : )

Speaking of crutches, my hands & arms are bruised from using them. I’m ready to ditch them, but that’s probably not a good idea quite yet…

Practice, fingerings, what I saw today

Woke up this morning feeling completely blah, comatose. My entire body ached. Hopefully that’s attributable to the stress being on crutches provides…

Breakfast & caffeine helped a lot, as did going to the piano immediately rather than being sucked in by a crossword puzzle first.

And then I made my life more difficult by putting inconvenient fingerings into something to get a specific sound. Well worth the effort.

This was bluejay day outside my window. Later on, when I went out, it felt like Sat. so I missed a bus & had to wait for 25 min. Watching birds helped, and so did feeling the cool breeze on my face.

A little girl, about 3, got on the bus @ my stop by herself! She & her sibs were playing outside, & I guess she got away! Those of us already on the bus started asking her questions, & she didn’t say a word. So then someone yelled out the window to her sibs, & she got off. Could’ve ended up very differently. The driver (a student, apparently new) had started pulling away from the stop before we brought the situation to her attention.