_Hand Position, Finger Action, and Artistic Touch_
WHAT TECHNIC INCLUDES
When we listen to a piano recital by a world-famous artist, we think--if
we are musicians--primarily of the interpretation of the compositions
under consideration. That the pianist has a perfect technic almost goes
without saying. He must have such a technic to win recognition as an
artist. He would not be an artist without a great technic, without a
complete command over the resources of the instrument and over himself.
Let us use the word technic in its large sense, the sense which includes
all that pertains to the executive side of piano playing. It is in this
significance that Harold Bauer calls technic "an art in itself." Mme.
Bloomfield Zeisler says: "Piano technic includes so much! Everything
goes into it: arithmetic, grammar, diction, language study, poetry,
history and painting. In the first stages there are rules to be learned,
just as in any other study. I must know the laws of rhythm and meter to
be able to punctuate musical phrases and periods. Pupils who have long
since passed the arithmetic stage have evidently forgotten all about
fractions and division, for they do not seem to grasp the time values of
notes and groups of notes used in music; they do not know what must be
done with triplets, dotted notes and so on. Thus you see technic
includes a multitude of things; it is a very wide subject."
HAND POSITION
The first principle a piano teacher shows his pupil is that of hand
position. It has been my effort to secure a definite expression on this
point from various artists. Most of them agree that an arched position
with rounded finger joints is the correct one. It was Paderewski who
said, "Show me how the player holds his hands at the piano, and I will
tell you what kind of player he is"--showing the Polish pianist
considers hand position of prime importance.
"I hold the hand arched and very firm,"--Ernest Schelling.
"The hand takes an arched position, the finger-tips forming a curve on
the keys, the middle finger being placed a little farther in on the key
than is natural for the first and fifth."--Katharine Goodson.
"The hand is formed on the keys in its five-finger position, with arched
knuckles."--Ethel Leginska.
"The hand is formed in an arched position, with curved fingers, and
solidified."--Carl Roeder.
"The hand, in normal playing position, must stand up in well arched
form, with fingers well rounded."--Thuel Burnham.
"I first establish an arched hand position, with firm fingers."--Edwin
Hughes.
"I teach arched hand position."--Alexander Lambert.
"One must first secure an arched hand, with steady first joints of the
fingers."--Eleanor Spencer.
"The first thing to do for a pupil is to see that the hand is in correct
position; the knuckles will be somewhat elevated and the fingers
properly rounded."--Bloomfield Zeisler.
"A pupil must first form the arch of the hand and secure firm finger
joints. I form the hand away from the piano, at a table."--Agnes Morgan.
Leschetizky teaches arched hand position, with rounded fingers, and all
who have come under his instruction advocate this form. It is the
accepted position for passage playing. A few pianists, notably Alfred
Cortot and Tina Lerner, play their passage work with flat fingers, but
this, in Miss Lerner's case, is doubtless caused by the small size of
the hand.
It is clear from the above quotations, and from many other opinions
which could be cited, that the authorities agree the hand should be well
arched, the end of the finger coming in contact with the key;
furthermore there should be no weakness nor giving in at the nail
joint.
FINGER ACTION
The question of lifting the fingers seems to be one on which various
opinions are held. Some pianists, like Godowsky for instance, will tell
you they do not approve of raising the fingers--that the fingers must be
kept close to the keys. It is noticeable, however, that even those who
do not speak favorably of finger action, use it themselves when playing
passages requiring distinctness and clearness. Other players are rather
hazy on the subject, but these are generally persons who have not gone
through the routine of teaching.
The accepted idea of the best teachers is that at the beginning of piano
study positive finger movements must be acquired; finger action must be
so thoroughly grounded that it becomes second nature, a very part of the
player, something he can never forget nor get away from. So fixed should
it become that no subsequent laxity, caused by the attention being
wholly centered on interpretation can disturb correct position,
condition, or graceful, plastic movement.
"For passage work I insist on finger action; the fingers must be raised
and active to insure proper development. I think one certainly needs
higher action when practising technic and technical pieces than one
would use when playing the same pieces before an audience."--Clarence
Adler.
Alexander Lambert speaks to the point when he says: "I teach decided
finger action in the beginning. Some teachers may not teach finger
action because they say artists do not use it. But the artist, if
questioned, would tell you he had to acquire finger action in the
beginning. There are so many stages in piano playing. The beginner must
raise his fingers in order to acquire finger development and a clear
touch. In the middle stage he has secured enough finger control to play
the same passages with less action, yet still with sufficient clearness,
while in the more or less finished stages the passage may be played with
scarcely any perceptible motion, so thoroughly do the fingers respond to
every mental requirement."
It is this consummate mastery and control of condition and movement that
lead the superficial observer to imagine that the great artist gives no
thought to such things as position, condition and movements. Never was
there a greater mistake. The finest perfection of technic has been
acquired with painstaking care, with minute attention to exacting
detail. At some period of his career, the artist has had to come down to
foundation principles and work up. Opinions may differ as to the
eminence of Leschetizky as a teacher, but the fact remains that many of
the pianists now before the public have been with him at one time or
another. They all testify that the Viennese master will have nothing to
do with a player until he has gone through a course of rigorous
preparation spent solely in finger training, and can play a pair of
Czerny etudes with perfect control and effect.
ARTISTIC TOUCH
One of the greatest American teachers of touch was Dr. William Mason,
who made an exhaustive study of this subject. His own touch was noted
for its clear, bell-like, elastic quality. He remarked on one occasion,
in regard to playing in public: "It is possible I may be so nervous that
I can hardly walk to the piano; but once I have begun to play I shall
hold the audience still enough to hear a pin drop, simply by the beauty
of my touch and tone." Dr. Mason's touch specialties were "pressure" and
"elastic" or "drawing-off" touches. He found these gave both weight and
crisp lightness to the tones.
Mr. Tobias Matthay, of London, has given much time and thought to the
study of touch and key mechanism. He says: "The two chief rules of
technic, as regards the key are: Always feel how much the key resists
you, feel how much the key _wants_ for every note. Second, always listen
for the moment each sound begins, so that you may learn to direct your
effort to the sound only and not to the key bed. It is only by making
the hammer end of the key move that you can make a sound. The swifter
the movement, the louder the sound. The more gradual the movement the
more beautiful the quality of sound. For brilliant tone, you may hit the
string by means of the key, but do not, by mistake, hit the key
instead."
Thuel Burnham, a pupil of Mason and Leschetizky, has welded the ideas of
these two masters into his own experience, and simplifies the matter of
piano touch as follows:
MELODY AND COLORATURA HANDS
"The position and condition of the hand varies according to the
character of the music and the quality of tone you wish to produce. If
you give out a melody, you want a full, luscious tone, the weight of
arm on the key, everything relaxed and a clinging, caressing pressure of
finger. Here you have the 'Melody Hand,' with outstretched, flat
fingers. On the contrary, if you wish rapid passage work, with clear,
bright, articulate touch, the hand must stand up in well-arched, normal
playing position, with fingers well rounded and good finger action. Here
you have the 'Technical' or 'Coloratura Hand.'"
The distinction made by Mr. Burnham clears up the uncertainty about
arched hand and articulate touch, or low hand and flat fingers. Both are
used in their proper place, according to the demands of the music. The
player, however, who desires a clean, reliable technic, should first
acquire a coloratura hand before attempting a melody hand.