_Rhythm and Tone Color in Piano Playing_
How shall two such opposites as rhythm and tone color be connected, even
in name, some will ask. One belongs to the mechanical side of piano
playing, while the other appertains to the ideal, the poetic, the
soulful. The two subjects, however, are not so wide apart as might at
first appear; for the beauty and variety of the second depends largely
upon the mastery of the first. You must play rhythmically before you can
play soulfully; you must first be able to keep time before you can
attempt to express color and emotion through any fluctuation of rhythm.
One depends on the other, therefore time and rhythm come first; when
these are well under control, not before, we can go further and enter
the wider field of tonal variety.
Rhythm is one of the pianist's most important assets, something he
cannot do without. It might be said that the possession of a
well-developed rhythmic sense is one point in which the artist differs
greatly from the amateur. The latter thinks nothing of breaking the
rhythm at any time and place that suits his fancy; while the artist is
usually conscientious about such matters, because his time sense is more
highly developed. A perfect time sense is often inherent in the artist,
a part of the natural gift which he has cultivated to such a high state
of achievement. It may be he has never had any difficulty with this
particular point in piano playing, while the amateur has constantly to
struggle with problems of time and rhythm.
THE METRONOME
When the subject of using such a mechanical aid as the metronome to
cultivate rhythmic sense, is broached to the executive artist, it does
not always meet with an assenting response. With such bred-in-the-bone
sense of time as the artist commands, it is little wonder he takes no
great interest in mechanical time-beating. Josef Hofmann's censure of
the metronome was probably due to his inborn rhythmic and artistic
sense; yet his words have doubtless had their effect on many students,
who, lacking his sense of rhythm, would have been greatly benefited by
its use.
Godowsky, when asked his opinion of the metronome, replied: "I
assuredly approve of its use; I have even devoted a chapter to the
metronome in the _Progressive Series_, my great work on piano playing."
Edwin Hughes remarks: "If pupils have naturally a poor sense of rhythm,
there is no remedy equal to practising with the metronome, using it
daily until results are evident, when there can be a judicious letting
up of the discipline. The mechanical sense of rhythm, the ability to
count and to group the notes of a piece correctly, can be taught to any
person, if one has the patience; but for the delicate rhythmic _nuances_
required by a Chopin Mazourka or a Viennese Valse, a special rhythmic
gift is necessary."
Artists and teachers who have come under Leschetizky's influence and use
his principles, are generally in favor of the metronome, according to
their own testimony. The fact is, they as teachers often find such
deficiency in their pupils on the subject of time sense and accuracy in
counting, that they are forced to institute strict measures to
counteract this lack of rhythmic comprehension.
Granting, then, that the correct use, not the abuse, of the metronome is
of great assistance in establishing firm rhythmic sense, let us turn
our thought to the fascinating subject of--
TONE COLOR
When De Pachmann affirmed that he uses certain fingers to create certain
effects, the idea was thought to be one of the eccentric pianist's
peculiar fancies. Other players, however, have had the same thought, and
have worked along the same line--the thought that on the fingering used
depends the quality of tone. For instance you might not play an
expressive melody with a consecutive use of the fifth finger, which is
called a "cold finger" by Thuel Burnham. He would use instead the third,
a "warm finger," to give out a soulful melody.
TONAL VARIETY
The pianist who desires to play effectively, must continually strive for
variety of tone, for tonal coloring. These can be studied in scales,
chords, arpeggios and other technical forms. The singer seeks to make a
tone of resonant color, not a straight, flat tone; the pianist, on his
part, endeavors to give color and variety to his playing in the same
way. Harold Bauer thinks variety must be secured by the contrast of one
tone with another. Even a very harsh tone may be beautiful in its right
place, owing to its relation to other tones, and its ability to express
an idea. To render the playing expressive by the contrast of light and
shade, by tonal gradations, by all varieties of touch, by all the
subtleties of _nuance_, is a great art, and only the most gifted ever
master it in its perfection. These are the things that enchant us in
Paderewski's performance, and in the tonal coloring of Gabrilowitsch.
Hofmann's playing is a marvel of atmosphere and color; such playing is
an object lesson to students, a lesson in variety of light and shade,
the shifting of exquisite tonal tints.
The sensitive musician is highly susceptible to color effects in nature,
in art or in objects about him. Certain colors attract him, for he sees
an affinity between them and the tonal effects he strives to produce.
Other colors repel, perhaps for the opposite reason. Brilliant red is a
warlike color, and finds analogous expression in such pieces as Chopin's
Polonaise _Militaire_, and MacDowell's Polonaise. We cannot help seeing,
feeling the color red, when playing such music. Soft pink and rose for
love music, tender blues and shades of gray for nocturnes and night
pieces are some of the affinities of tone and color. Warm shades of
yellow and golden brown suggest an atmosphere of early autumn, while
delicate or vivid greens give thoughts of spring and luscious summer.
Certain pieces of Mozart seem to bring before us the rich greens of a
summer landscape; the Fantaisie in C minor, and the Pastorale Varie are
of this type.
Arthur Hochman says: "Colors mean so much to me; some are so beautiful,
the various shades of red for instance, then the golden yellows, rich
warm browns, and liquid blues. We can make as wonderful combinations in
tone color as ever painter put upon canvas. To me dark red speaks of
something tender, heart-searching, mysterious. On the other hand the
shades of yellow express gaiety and brightness."
It has been said that a pianist should study color effects in order to
express them in his playing. He can do this to special advantage at the
theater or opera, where he can see unrolled before him the greatest
possible variety in light and shade, in colors, and in the constantly
changing panorama of action and emotion.
The pianist can receive many ideas of tone color when listening to a
great singer, and watching the infinite tonal gradations produced on
the "greatest of all instruments," the human voice.
In short the pianist draws from many sources the experience, the feeling
and emotion with which he strives to inspire the tones he evokes from
his instrument. The keener his perceptions, the more he labors, suffers,
and _lives_, the more he will be able to express through his chosen
medium--the piano!