playing is not an immediate result of slow practice. Quick playing must
be tried from time to time, with increasing frequency and heightened
speed, even at a temporary loss of clearness. This loss is easily
regained by subsequent returns to slow practice. After all, we must
first learn to think quickly through the course of a piece before we can
play it quickly, and this mental endeavour, too, will be greatly aided
by occasional trials in a quicker tempo. As for getting "stale," a
variety of pieces is necessary to preserve the freshness of each one.
Regarding the pedal, I suggest that you use it judiciously from the very
beginning of the study of a new piece; though never in finger exercises.
[Sidenote: _Watch Your Breathing_]
What is the purpose of associating breathing with piano playing, and to
what extent should it be practised?
Breathing is as important in piano playing as in all physical exertion,
and more so when we speak of pieces that entail the use of great
muscular force; for this causes a quickening in the action of the heart;
respiration naturally keeps step with it, and the result is often a
forcible breathing through the mouth. Players resort to open-mouth
breathing in such cases because they cannot help themselves. If, at the
last spurt of a bicycle race, we should call to the wheelmen, "Breathe
through the nose!" we could not wonder if our advice remains unheeded.
This open-mouth breathing, however, need not be learned; it is the
self-help of nature. I recommend breathing through the nose as long as
possible. It is more wholesome than mouth-breathing, and it refreshes
the head more. When physical exertion becomes too great then you will
neither need nor heed my advice or anybody's; your nature will find its
own line of least resistance.
[Sidenote: _Take a Month's Rest Every Year_]
Must I keep up my practice during my Christmas holidays of a month?
If you have worked well on your development during the spring, summer,
and autumn it will be to your advantage to stop your practising entirely
for a month. Such a pause renews your forces as well as the love for
your work, and you will, upon resuming it, not only catch up quickly
with what you may think to have missed, but you will also make a quick
leap forward because the quality of your work will be better than it
could be if you had persisted in it with a fatigued mind. In a tired
condition of mind and body we are very apt not to notice the formation
of bad habits, and since "to learn means to form correct habits of
thinking and doing" we must beware of anything that might impair our
watchfulness as to bad habits. The greatest persistence cannot turn a
bad habit into a virtue.
MARKS AND NOMENCLATURE
[Sidenote: _The Metronome Markings_]
What is the meaning of M. M. = 72 printed over a piece of music?
The M stands for "metronome," the other for the name of its inventor,
Maelzl. The figures indicate the number of beats a minute and the note
shows what each beat represents--in this case a quarter note. The whole
annotation says that the average speed of the piece should admit of
seventy-two quarter notes being played in a minute. I advise you,
however, rather to consult the state of your technique and your own
feeling for what is musically right in deciding upon the speed of the
piece.
[Sidenote: _The Personal Element and the Metronome_]
In Chopin's Prelude No. 15 is the movement in C-sharp minor to be played
in the same tempo as the opening movements, or much faster? How should
the 6-8 and 9-8 movements of Liszt's Dance of the Gnomes be
metronomized?
The C-sharp minor movement should not increase in speed, or only very
little, because it rises to a considerable height dynamically, and this
seems to counteract an increase of speed. As to the metronoming, I would
not bother about it. The possibilities of your technique must ever
regulate the speed question in a large degree. Tempo is so intimately
related with touch and dynamics that it is in a large measure an
individual matter. This does not mean that one may play andante where an
allegro is prescribed, but that one person's allegro differs slightly
from that of another person. Touch, tone, and conception influence the
tempo. The metronome indications are to be accepted only with the
utmost caution.
[Sidenote: _Metronome Markings May Better Be Ignored_]
How fast, by metronome, should the minuetto of Beethoven's Sonatina,
opus 49, Number 2, be played?
If you possess an edition of Beethoven that has no metronome marks you
have been singularly fortunate, and I would not for the world interfere
with such rare good luck. Consult your technique, your feelings, and
have confidence in your good sense.
[Sidenote: _There are Dangers in Using a Metronome_]
How should one use the metronome for practising? I have been warned
against it, as my teacher tells me one is liable to become very stiff
and mechanical by the persistent use of it.
Your teacher is eminently right. You should not play with the metronome
for any length of time, for it lames the musical pulse and kills the
vital expression in your playing. The metronome may well be used as a
controlling device first, to find the approximate average speed of a
piece, and, second, to convince yourself that, after playing for a
while without it, your feelings have not caused you to drift too far
away from the average tempo.
[Sidenote: _The Real Meaning of Speed Terms_]
What is the meaning of the words Adagio, Andante, and Allegro? Are they
just indications of speed?
They serve as such; though our musical ancestors probably selected these
terms because of their indefiniteness, which leaves a certain margin to
our individuality. Literally, Adagio (_ad agio_) means "at leisure."
Andante means "going" in contradistinction to "running," going apace,
also walking. Allegro (a contraction of _al leg-gie-ro_) means with
"lightness, cheerful." Primarily these terms are, as you see,
indications of mood; but they have come to be regarded as speed
annotations.
[Sidenote: _A Rule For Selecting the Speed_]
As the words "largo," "allegro," etc., are supposed to indicate a
certain rate of speed, can you give a rule so that a student who cannot
have the aid of a teacher will be able to understand in what time he
should play a composition?
If the metronome is not indicated you have to consult your own good
taste. Take the most rapid notes of your piece, play them rapidly as the
general trend of the piece will aesthetically permit, and adjust the
general tempo accordingly.
[Sidenote: _How Grace Notes Are Played_]
How are the grace notes played in these measures from Chopin's Valse,
opus 42, and when are grace notes not struck simultaneously with the
base?
[Illustration]
Grace notes and their chiefs--that is, those notes to which the grace
notes are attached--should ever be played with one and the same muscular
impulse. The time occupied by the grace notes should be so minimal that
it should not be discernible whether they appear simultaneously with the
base note or slightly before it. In modern music it is usually meant to
precede the bass note, though the good taste of the player may
occasionally prefer it otherwise.
[Sidenote: _Rests Used Under or Over Notes_]
What is the meaning of a rest above or below the notes of the treble
clef?
The rests you speak of can occur only when more than one voice (or part)
is written in the same staff, and they indicate how long the entrance of
the other voice is to be delayed.
[Sidenote: _What a Double Dot Means_]
What does it mean when a note is double-dotted, like:
[Illustration]
I thought first it was a misprint, but it seems to occur too frequently
for that.
As the first dot prolongs the note by one-half of its own value, so does
the second dot add one-half of the value of the first dot. A half-note
with one dot lasts three-quarters, with two dots it lasts seven-eighths.
[Sidenote: _The Playing of Slurred Notes_]
Should I accent the first note under a slur thus:
[Illustration]
or should I lift my hand at the end of the slur thus:
[Illustration]
Slurs and accents have nothing to do with each other, because accents
relate to rhythm, while slurs concern the touch. The last note under a
slur will usually be slightly curtailed in order to create that small
pause which separates one phrase from another. Generally speaking, the
slur in piano music represents the breathing periods of the vocalist.
[Sidenote: _How a Tie and a Slur Differ_]
What difference is there between a slur and a tie?
None in appearance, but much in effect. A tie continues the sound of the
note struck at its beginning as long as the note-value at its end
indicates. It can be placed only upon two notes of similar name in the
same octave which follow each other. As soon as another note intervenes
the tie becomes a slur and indicates a _legato_ touch.
[Sidenote: _Slurs and Accents Not Related_]
How should the beginning of slurs be accented?
Slurs and accents have nothing to do with each other. Slurs indicate
either a legato touch or the grouping of the notes. Which one of the
notes thus grouped is to be accented depends upon its rhythmical
position in the measure. The strong and weak beat (or positive and
negative beat) govern the accent always, unless there is an annotation
to the contrary, and such an annotation must be carried out with great
judiciousness, seldom literally.
[Sidenote: _How Long an Accidental Affects a Note_]
Where there is an accidental on the last beat of a measure does not that
note resume its signature beyond the bar unless tied? The case I speak
of was in a key of two flats, common time. The fourth beat, E, was
naturalized and the first note of the next measure was E with the flat
sign. I maintain that the flat sign is superfluous, and I should like to
know if this is right?
You are quite right, theoretically. Nevertheless, the proper tonality
signature of a note that was changed is very frequently restated when
the same note recurs beyond the bar. Though this special marking is not
necessary theoretically, practical experience has shown that it is not
an unwise precaution.
[Sidenote: _"E-Sharp and B-Sharp" and the Double Flat_]
What is the meaning of the sharps on the E and B line, and of a
double-flat? Are they merely theoretical?
They are not theoretical, but orthographical. You confound the note C
with the key on the keyboard by that name. B-sharp is played upon the
key called C, but its musical bearing is very remote from the note C.
The same applies to double-flats (and double-sharps), for D with a
double-flat is played upon the key called C, but it has no relation to
the note C. This corresponds precisely with the homonym in language:
"sow"--"sew"--"so"--sound alike, but are spelled in various ways
according to the meaning they are to convey.
[Sidenote: _The Effect of Double Flats_]
How is an octave, written thus, to be played?
[Illustration]
As the single-flat lowers a note by a half-tone, so a double-flat lowers
it by two half-tones or a full tone.
[Sidenote: _Double Sharp Misprinted for Double Flat_]
[Illustration]
In playing an operetta recently I found the double-sharp sign used for
double-flats as well. Is this correct?
The sign may be a misprint. But if it should occur repeatedly I advise
you to make quite sure, before taking the misprint for granted, that the
sign is not, after all, meant for a double-sharp.
[Sidenote: _When an Accidental Is in Parentheses_]
[Illustration]
Please tell me how a chord or an interval marked thus, is executed. What
does an accidental in parentheses mean?
Chords marked as above are slightly rolled in the same manner as if
marked by a serpentine line, unless the sign denotes a linking with the
other hand. Which of the two meanings is intended you will easily infer
from the context. Accidentals in parentheses are mere warnings given by
some composers wherever there is a possibility of doubt as to the
correct reading caused by a momentary harmonic ambiguity. I have found
these accidentals in parentheses so far only in the works of French
composers.
[Sidenote: _The Staffs Are Independent of Each Other_]
Does an accidental in the right hand influence the left?
Inasmuch as piano music is written in score form, the two staffs are as
independent of each other as are the staffs in an orchestral score. We
may, in cases of suspected misprints, draw certain inferences from one
staff to the other, provided that they are justified by the prevailing
harmony. As a rule, the two staffs are independent of each other in
regard to accidental chromatic signs.
[Sidenote: _Why Two Names for the "Same" Key?_]
I am often asked why there must be fifteen keys in music instead of
twelve--that is, why not always write in B instead of C-flat, in F-sharp
instead of G-flat, in D-flat instead of C-sharp, or _vice versa_? I can
only say that the circle of fifths would not be complete without the
seven scales in sharps and the seven in flats: but Bach does not use all
the fifteen keys in his Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues, omitting
entirely, in the major keys, G-flat, D-flat, and C-flat, and, in the
minor keys, A-sharp and A-flat. Are compositions in sharps considered
more brilliant than those in flats? Do composers consider modulation in
selecting their key?
The answer to your question hinges upon whether you recognize in music
mere tone-play or whether you concede a mental and psychic side to it.
In the former case the mode of spelling a tone C-sharp or D-flat would
be, indeed, irrelevant. But in the latter case you must admit the
necessity of a musical orthography qualified to convey distinct tonal
meanings and musical thoughts to the reader and to the player. Though
there is in the tempered scale no difference between C-sharp and D-flat,
the musical reader will conceive them as different from one another,
partly because of their connection with other related harmonies. These
determine usually the composer's selection in cases of enharmonic
identities. In the script of human language you will find an analogy
than which none could be more perfect. In English there are, for
instance, "to," "too," and "two"; words in which the spelling alone, and
not the sound of pronunciation, conveys the different meanings of the
words.
[Sidenote: _The Meaning and Use of "Motif"_]
What is the meaning of a "motif"? What does a dash mean over a note?
What is the best book of instruction for a beginner, a child of ten?
A motif is the germ of a theme. A theme may be composed of reiterations
of a motif, or by grouping several motifs together; it may also combine
both modes of procedure. The most glorious exemplification of
construction by reiteration of a motif you will find in the opening
theme of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. A dash over a note enjoins the
player to hold that note with the finger until it has received its full
value. The best "instruction book" for a child is a good teacher who
uses no instruction book, but imparts his knowledge to the child from
out of his own inner consciousness.
[Sidenote: _Tied Staccato Notes_]
In playing notes written thus is it permissible to slide the fingers
from the keys or should there be only a clinging touch?
[Illustration]
Notes marked as above are to be played in such a manner that each note
is slightly separated from the next. The best touch for this is from the
arm, so that the fingers are not lifted from their joints, nor from the
wrist, but that the arm pulls the finger upward from the key.
[Sidenote: _The "Tenuto" Dash and Its Effect_]
What do short lines below or above a note or chord mean in
contradistinction to a staccato or an accent? And does it affect the
whole chord?
The dash under or above a note is a substitute for the word "tenuto"
(usually abbreviated into "ten."), which means "held," or, in other
words, be particular about giving this note its full sound-duration.
This substitute is usually employed when the holding concerns a single
note or a single chord.
[Sidenote: _A Rolled Chord Marked "Secco"_]
How should I execute a chord that is written with a spread and also
marked "secco"?--as in Chaminade's "Air de Ballet, No. 1."
Roll the chord as evenly as possible in all its parts; but use no pedal
and do not hold it, but play it briskly and short.
[Sidenote: _Small Notes Under Large Ones_]
What is the meaning of small notes printed under large ones?
Usually the small notes are an indication that they may be omitted by
players who have not the stretch of hand necessary to play them.
[Sidenote: _Accenting a Mordent in a Sonata_]
How should one play and accent the mordent occurring in the
forty-seventh measure of the first movement--allegro di molto--of
Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique, Opus 13?
The accent ought to lie upon the first note of the mordent, but you
should not make a triplet of it by occupying the whole quarter with its
execution. The mordent must be played fast enough to preserve the
rhythmic integrity of the melody-note.
[Sidenote: _The Position of the Turn Over a Note_]
[Illustration]
The turn stands sometimes directly over the note and sometimes farther
to the right of it. Does this difference indicate different executions
and, if so, how would the two turns have to be played?
The turn always begins with its uppermost note. When it stands directly
over a note it takes the place of this note; when more to the right the
note is struck first and the turn, judiciously distributed at the time
of its disposal, follows.
[Sidenote: _How Are Syncopated Notes to be Played?_]
How are syncopated notes to be played?
Notes occurring an entire beat of the prescribed time are, when
syncopated, to be played between the beats. If the syncopated notes
occupy only a fraction of the beats they are played between the
fractional beats.
[Sidenote: _A Trill Begins on the Melodic Note_]
In modern compositions should all trills begin upon the note which is
written, presuming there is no appoggiatura before the note? Is the
alternation of the thumb and the second finger desirable in the playing
of a trill?
Where not expressly otherwise stated (by appoggiatura) trills usually
begin upon the melodic tone (the note which is written). Change fingers
when those employed get tired. For extended trills the use of three
fingers is advantageous, while in shorter trills two fingers will
preserve more clarity.
[Sidenote: _Position of Auxiliary Note in a Trill_]
In the accompanying example of the trill should the auxiliary note be a
tone or a half-tone above the principal note? If the half-tone, what
would be the name of the auxiliary note?
[Illustration]
The episode you quote moves evidently in the tonality of G minor. The
trill stands on B-flat. As the auxiliary note of a trill is ever the
diatonic sequel of a stated note it must, in this case, be a whole tone
above B-flat, namely C. Since the piece is written in D major there
should have been a "natural" marked under the sign of the trill.
[Sidenote: _Speed and Smoothness in Trilling_]
Will you kindly suggest a good method of gaining speed and smoothness in
trilling?
While there are no "methods" for trilling there are certain means by
which sluggish muscles may be assisted. Yet, even these means cannot be
suggested without knowing the seat and cause of your trouble. The causes
differ with the individual, but they are, in the majority of cases,
purely mental, not manual. To trill quickly we must think quickly; for
if we trill only with the fingers they will soon stick, lose their
rhythmic succession, and finish in a cramped condition. Hence, there is
no direct way to learn trilling; it will develop with your general
mental-musical advancement. The main thing is, of course, always to
listen to your own playing, actually and physically, to perceive every
tone you play; for only then can you form an estimate as to how quickly
you can "hear." And, of course, you do not expect to play anything more
quickly than your own ear can follow.
[Sidenote: _Difference in Playing Trills_]
What is the difference in the manner of playing the trill in measure 25,
and those in measures 37 and 38, of the Chopin Polonaise, Opus 53?
The significance of the trill in measure 25 is melodic, while that of
the trills in measures 37 and 38 is purely rhythmic, somewhat in the
nature of a snare-drum effect. The first trill requires greater stress
on the melodic note, while in the other two you may throw your hand, so
to speak, on both notes and roll the trill until it lands upon the next
eighth-note.
[Sidenote: _The Meaning of Solfeggio_]
What is meant by "spelling" in music?
Unless it means the variety of ways in which most chords can be written
it refers to an oral reciting of notes, properly called solfeggio.
ABOUT CERTAIN PIECES AND COMPOSERS
[Sidenote: _Some Pieces for a Girl of Fourteen_]
Please tell me some pieces of the classics which are not too difficult
for my daughter of fourteen to play. She has a great deal of talent but
not much technique. The Kuhlau Sonatinas she can play very well.
If your daughter is fourteen years old and has--as you say--much talent
but little technique, it is high time to think of developing her
technique, for a pianist without technique is like a pleasure traveller
without money. At any rate, I should prefer the easier sonatas by Haydn
and Mozart to those of Kuhlau, because of their greater intrinsic merit.
Any good teacher will assist you in selecting them to fit your
daughter's case.
[Sidenote: _In Playing a Sonata_]
In playing sonatas my teacher tells me it is a great fault if I neglect
to observe the repeat marks. I have heard it said by others that the
repetition is not necessary, though it may be desirable. Will you please
give me your opinion?
In a sonata it is of serious importance to repeat the first part
(exposition) of the first movement in order that the two principal
themes, as well as their tributaries, may well impress themselves upon
the mind and memory of your auditor. For, unless this is accomplished,
he cannot possibly understand and follow their development in the next
part. That the exposition part is not the only one to be repeated you
will find frequently indicated; for instance, in the last movement of
the "Appassionata," where the repetition is needful, not for the reason
stated before, but for the sake of formal balance or proportion.
Generally speaking, I am in favour of following the composer's
indications punctiliously, hence, also, his repeat marks, which serve
aesthetic purposes that you will perhaps not understand until later, when
the sonata has, in your hands, outgrown the stage of being learned.
[Sidenote: _A Point in Playing the "Moonlight Sonata"_]
Should not the notes of the triplet figure in Beethoven's "Moonlight
Sonata" be so blended into each other that you do not hear them in
separate notes, but as a background, so to speak, for the notes in the
melody?
The truth lies midway between two extremes. While the accompaniment
should be sufficiently subdued to form, as you say, a harmonic
background, it ought, nevertheless, not to be blended to such a degree
as to obliterate entirely the undercurrent of a triplet motion. The
accumulation of each chord should be produced through the pedal, not
through an excessive legato touch.
[Sidenote: _Playing the "Spring Song" too Fast_]
Should Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" be played in slow or fast time?
It is marked "Allegretto grazioso." The latter term (graceful, in
English) precludes a too-quick movement.
[Sidenote: _What a Dot May Mean_]
This is the seventh measure of Chopin's Polonaise, Opus 26, No. 1. What
is the meaning of the dot placed after the D in the bass? Whenever this
measure is repeated the dot occurs, or I should have thought it a
misprint.
[Illustration]
The left-hand notes follow each other as eighth-notes. Their respective
duration, however, is indicated by the upward stems and the dot. It is
intended here that a complete chord should be built up by accumulation,
as in illustration _a_:
[Illustration]
and I would also hold the fifth eighth as in illustration _b_.
[Sidenote: _Where the Accent Should be Placed_]