Performance Practice Made Easy: Rules of Thumb for the Piano Student

As teachers, we are always interested in fostering independence in our students — perhaps most importantly in the aspect of interpretation (making music musical and artistic). This is an elusive thing to teach.  It’s about getting beyond the notes.  It’s taking the dots on the page and transforming them into something that can change our lives.

Mr. Blickenstaff then told us about the Repertoire Classes he holds each week with his private students.  Students must announce their piece, the composer, and give some kind of explanation as to why the composer wrote the piece.  The students listening must take notes on what the performing student said, and also write down how the piece made them feel.  

After the performance of the piece, Mr. Blickenstaff gives the performing student feedback on the piece, and teaches some Rules of Thumb regarding interpretation.  All of the students keep notes of these Rules of Thumb that are encountered in the pieces performed.

Rules of Thumb are valuable because it helps bring about the transfer of information from one situation to another.  It helps students become independent in making musical decisions.

Mr. Blickenstaff then went through some pieces with us using an overhead projector, pointing out some Rules of Thumb as we went.

Our notes were titled, “Rules of Thumb for the Pianist,” and there were a number of subtitles in our notes, such as “Curved Lines,” “The Dynamics of a Phrase,”  and “The Dynamics of Rhythm,” for a few examples.  The handout Mr. Blickenstaff gave us provided many, many Rules of Thumb for us to consider.  I will include only a selection of them below, just to give you an idea:

Under the subtitle, “Curved Lines:”

• Phrases end with a breath.
• The last note of a phrase is the quietest.
• The peak is often found on the long note of a phrase.
• Never play two notes ina row at the same level.
• Two-note slurs are always louder then softer.

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[Visit OhioMTA Conference (3): Performance Practice Made Easy, by Marvin Blickenstaff to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

To further clarify exactly what I’ve getting after here, a distinction must be made: There is a difference between memorizing and playing/performing by memory.  I will use these two terms distinctly in this blog post: memorizing refers to the process of memorizing a piece of music during practice with the intent of later playing by memory, while playing/performing by memory refers to actually playing the piece of music from beginning to end without consultation of the score.  This distinction is important because a teacher might, for example, consider memorization to be a necessary skill to develop in his/her students, but might be flexible in actually requiring students to play by memory during performances.

Let’s begin by listing some reasons why pianist might choose to perform by memory or choose not to perform by memory.

PERFORMING BY MEMORY: THE TWO CAMPS

There are many reasons to perform by memory.  Below are what some of them might be:

1. For appearances.  It looks more impressive to play by memory because it (perhaps) requires more skill to do so.
2. To avoid the possible perils of turning your own pages or entrusting a page turner to do so.
3. To avoid the visual distraction of having a page turner on the stage with the performer.  This helps keep the audience member’s attention on the sound quality of the performance.
4. For the sake of a more musical performance (some pianists play better without the score in front of them).
5. Because it proves — or at least is an indicator — that the performer has internalized the music (whatever that means).

There are also various reasons NOT to perform by memory:

1. Because it requires too much time/work to memorize music.
2. To avoid the performance anxiety that playing by memory causes.
3. For the sake of a more musical performance (some pianist play better with the score in front of them).

It is interesting to not that both lists above include the reason: “for the sake of a more musical performance.”  Some pianists feel that they play better without the score, while others feel they play better with the score.

THE HISTORY OF MEMORIZED PERFORMANCES

First off, let’s start by considering concert pianists.  The majority of concert pianists today perform by memory.  It seems to be the general consensus for classical pianists.  Every now and then, however, I will stumble upon a YouTube video showing a famous pianist playing with the score (as this one of Richter, for example).  Usually, it is when the pianist is in his/her late career.  Perhaps because of their age they are fearful of memory slips.  Or perhaps they are too busy in their touring schedule to upkeep pieces by memory (it does require a lot of time to keep things memorized, after all) or to memorize new pieces.

Concert pianists did not always perform by memory.  Clara Schumann and Franz Liszt were the innovators who began the trend of performing by memory during the 19th century.  (Who was first, you ask?  It’s debatable: I’ve found credible sources crediting each of them.)  For the first time, the piano virtuoso / rockstar image was forming.  Before Clara and Liszt, it was actually considered disrespectful to the composer for a performer to play a composer’s work without the score during a performance.  A pianist’s own improvisations were often played by memory, however.

Knowing the above, one could make an argument that performing by memory is a novelty and completely unnecessary.  After all, there are many wonderful collaborative pianists who do not perform by memory (probably because of the time factor listed above), but give perfectly wonderful and very musical performances.  In addition, other instrumentalists (clarinet, trumpet, sometimes string players) perform with the score, and they usually have only a single-note line to learn.  Many people argue, why should solo pianists have to perform without music?  Why do competitions and music schools require memorization for performances?

We can look even further back in history, however, and also consider early music (I’m referring to the Renaissance and earlier) when music was not notated more often than not.  Before a system of notation was formed, music was an aural tradition, passed on by ear generation by generation.  There is no argument: music in any form is an aural art.  I think there is something pure and natural about both playing by ear and playing by memory.  Even non-musicians often consider it a weakness when a musician cannot play anything on the spot because they don’t have their sheet music and don’t have anything memorized.

THE VALUE OF MEMORIZING (VERSUS PLAYING BY MEMORY)

Playing by memory causes increased performance anxiety for many pianists.  However, even if playing by memory isn’t a requirement for an upcoming performance, it may still be worthwhile to take the time and effort to memorize the music.  Many pianists state that they generally play best when they basically have the music memorized, but are performing with the score.

Being able to play a piece by memory is a good indication that a piece has been “internalized”.  Of course, it is not foolproof, because musicians can certainly give groundbreaking, original musical performances even with the score in front of them.  But it hard to deny that memorizing a piece helps you know the music better.  Even when professional musicians perform with the score in front of them, I would argue that they often have sections of their music memorized.

Think about it — would you really take notice of the unique chord progressions that the composer uses if you didn’t have to memorize the piece?  Would you take as close of a look at the formal structure?  Would you still work out solid, consistant fingering?  Would you be able to feel the spontaneity of the piece as well?  Or form as original of a personal interpretation of the piece?  Maybe you could achieve a few of these things, but chances are you wouldn’t achieve all of these things without memorizing the piece to some degree.

The ability to memorize well does seem to indicate a well-rounded musician.  Sometimes teachers fear that if students learn to play by ear and memorize well, they will not learn to sightread well.  Ideally, a student should be able to read music well, be able to quickly translate it to the keys, and then quickly memorize it.  Memorization can be a huge help in getting a piece of music beyond the point of just being about to play the notes and on to the point where it is comfortable, enjoyable, and as musical as it can be.

Being able to memorize well is a different matter from being able to play well by memory in a performance setting.  Even if teachers choose not to require memorized performances during recitals, it may be worth consideration to require some playing by memory during lessons in order to develop this important skill and reinforce other vital skills.

LEARNING + MEMORIZING

Many composers and performers have remarkable musical memories.  Some people are able to play back a piece of music on the piano after hearing it only once or twice.  Not everyone is gifted with that kind of astounding internal ear and memory.  However, experts (musical or otherwise) always memorize as they learn.  While amateurs learn a piece of music first and then memorize it, experts memorize from day one and never differentiate between learning and memorizing.  To them, it’s one and the same process.

This should be the model for teaching students too.  Young beginner students frequently memorize their pieces automatically as they learn them over the course of the week (just like the experts!).  Memorization is difficult if you have not been doing it since you were young.  If this skill isn’t cultivated along with sightreading skills, the student will lose it.  If the student is encouraged to memorize from day one and is also asked to play by memory during the lesson, however, the student will develop his memorization skills along with his/her reading skills, and become more and more comfortable with playing by memory.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I do not consider myself to be an expert memorizer or performer by memory.  Because I was not required to memorize my pieces for recitals except when I was very young, when I reached college I found that I hadn’t the faintest idea how to go about memorizing my pieces.  Because it was so difficult for me, I found myself a member of the camp that questions the necessity of memorized performances for classical pianists.  I’ve since changed my views and landed somewhere in the middle — a result of my interest and extensive research in this topic for an essay during my senior year.

Once I became convinced of the value of memorization and playing by memory, I began working even harder at learning how to memorize.  (For some reason, teachers don’t seem to ever teach how to memorize! Why is that?!)  Over time, I’ve gradually been able to develop a kind of process to use to memorize my pieces (click here to view my post on memorizing piano music).  And although I still believe that I generally play better (i.e., more musically and generally more fluid) when I have the score in front of me, more and more I am experiencing the benefits of performing by memory and slowly getting better at it too.

Although I personally find great value in memorizing and performing by memory, I don’t strictly require both of these things with my students.  If an adult student struggles with playing by memory and I don’t believe it is within their goals to be skilled at doing so, I don’t push it.  Although I will certainly work on developing the skill of memorization with them privately in their lessons, I will not require performances by memory from them.

But in most cases, memorization and playing by memory are considered important skills to develop in my studio.  Being able to memorize is always the priority, and I make it a point to teach my students how to memorize.  Performing by memory is less of a priority, especially if the student experiences great performance anxiety as a direct result.  However, the goal is always to gradually get the student so comfortable with playing by memory during lessons that they eventually feel confident performing by memory for their school friends at opportune times, or for grandparents — and maybe even for recital settings too.

For further reading:

• Susan Tomes’ article from The Guardian regarding memorized performances for pianists.
• Anthony Tommasini’s article from the New York Times regarding the controversy with memorized performances for pianists.
• Steven Hughes’ excellent article from The Telegraph.

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Click here to leave a comment at the original Q&A Forum, or click here to leave a comment on this post.

Photo Credit: Rick Harris | CC 2.0

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[Visit Thoughts on Memorization: A Skill Integral to Piano Playing? to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Here are somes thoughts I had for keeping focus on the sound during the piano lesson:

• Be the student’s ear. Sometimes students don’t realize what they sound like.  Let the student know what you are hearing, and ask them if this is what they were intending to sound like.  For example, perhaps a student’s LH alberti bass pattern is sounding rather heavy.  Let them know that you are having trouble hearing the melody line in the RH, and ask them what they could do about it.  Oftentimes, student’s issues are simply due to the fact that the student does not realize what is happening.  Once you point it out to them, they will hear it too and will want to find a way to improve it.  (Another great tool is to record the student playing their piece and play it back for them.)
• Show, don’t tell. My high school English teacher used to preach this phrase to us all the time for writing papers (instead of writing that a character was happy, for example, write that the character was humming and skipping down the sidewalk).  I think this phrase applies well to music too!  Rather than always telling the student what to do differently or what they are doing wrong, show the student.  Whenever possible, sing or play for the student so they can hear for themselves what you are trying to communicate to them.
• Consider the aural effect. Even when you are discussing something on the page such as dynamic markings, keep your ultimate focus (and the student’s) on the sound.  Go beyond simply pointing out the dynamic markings – but try to help the student imagine what kind of effect the composer was trying to achieve by indicating the dynamic markings the way s/he did.  Create a story for the piece so that the student has a mental image to relate to various changes and passages in the score.
• Think orchestrally. It may seem strange to think of a piano score as an orchestral score — but most composers and performers do this, and it is a helpful thing for students to do too.  For example: suppose a student is having difficulty playing a passage with thick chords piano as indicated.  If the passage is compared to a section of French horns, the focus changes: instead of thinking about how difficult it is to play big chords softly on the piano (this kind of thinking usually produces tension, which in turn makes it even harder to play softly), the student is thinking about making warm, beautiful brass-like sound (tension is gone and the focus is on the sound).  There are many other advantages to thinking orchestrally; I could write another whole blog post on this!  (Maybe sometime I will!)

Music is an art form for the ears, after all, so students should be learning to use their ears!  =)

Photo credit: clker

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[Visit Go For the Sound to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Listen to these two recordings and see what you think!

This is a concert etude by Franz Liszt entitled, Waldesrauschen (meaning, Voices in the Woods).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pENsficQ81k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teFMIzxET3w

The first version is played by Josef Hofmann and the second is by Claudio Arrau.

While both versions are obviously incredibly virtuosic and impressive performances, I personally prefer the second version over the first.  And not just because it’s a slower speed.  But it strikes me as more expressive.  There’s more rubato and Romanticism.  I think I can actually hear the “voices in the woods.”

I would also like to point out however, how you can truly hear the markings in the score in the second interpretation.  For example, the LH melody in the opening 15 seconds of the piece contains a couple of phrases that each contain a note with a tenuto.  Can you guess which note of each phrase has the tenuto, without consulting the score?

Another example, during one of the tumultuous middle sections, there are two crescendos marked in two consecutive measures (2:35 in the first YouTube video; 2:30 in the second).  Arrau truly takes the time to make these come out.

Occasionally, I will have a student who thinks they are doing the dynamics, but in actuality it all kind of sounds the same.  I mean, you can sort of tell they are doing them, but not really enough to notice.  And so I ask my students: “Do you think an audience member who has never seen the score would be able to tell you what the dynamic markings are, just based on what they are hearing? You have to really exaggerate the differences in order to make them noticeable.”

Anyway, I think it’s really fascinating to listen to various interpretations of the same piece – to get inspired to create my own personal interpretation!

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[Visit Interpretation & Staying True to the Score to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Many of us teachers are probably currently preparing our student for spring recitals, so today I thought it might be beneficial to discuss a way of preparing for performances: recording your students playing their pieces, and then listening to the playback together.

Benefits of Recording

• The student practices performing. Playing for a recording device can be almost as nerve-wracking as playing for an audience!  There’s no better way to practice handling nerves than to perform often.
• The student becomes the listener. When listening to the playback, the student is given the opportunity to hear what the piece sounds like from an audience member’s perspective.  The student is bound to aurally notice things that they had not realized they were doing (or NOT doing, as the case may be).  For example, the student may realize that the dynamic contrasts are not really coming through, or that the melody is not projecting over the accompaniment as well as s/he had thought.
• The student becomes the teacher.  After listening to the playback, the student can evaluate piece and identify the areas that went well or could be improved, and then begin discuss ways to improve the piece.

Aurally identifying areas to improve is half the battle.  Now the student can use their past knowledge to figure out HOW to improve those areas.  Having aurally identified some items that the student may wish to improve, the next logical step is to figure out HOW to improve these areas.  Through this process, the student learns self-critique – an important skill to develop in the developing musician.

Recording the Student

• When. We have some options:
  • 1) Hold a recording party – invite your students over to play a recital for each other; record the whole thing, play it back, and discuss together.  OR:
  • 2) Record the students playing their piece(s) during their individual private lessons – choose a week a few weeks before the performance, play it back instantly, and discuss.  Either way, the students’ pieces should be nearly performance-ready, if not already so.  This is when recording and listening is most beneficial.
• How. Your equipment does not have to be fancy; it just needs to be time efficient.  There’s not much point in using technology unless it aids the music making process!  We have a few options:
  • 1) Cassette tape recorders are the old fashioned but fairly reliable way to go if you aren’t feeling particularly tech-saavy.  The recording quality might not be the best, but it would serve the purpose satisfactorily.
  • 2) Most laptop computers nowadays contain internal microphones that can record any outside sounds (although they might not be the highest of quality).  Using a computer program such as Garage Band (comes pre-installed on all Macs) or Audacity (free software available via download), recording becomes quite easy.
  • 3) Most laptops also have built-in webcams, which means you can videotape the performance so the student can both listen to AND watch his/her performance!
  • 4) An external videocamera also is an option, if you have one.  It may be worth investing in one if you are interested in posting student performances on YouTube or on your studio website (with the parents’ permission, of course).
  • 5) External digital recording devices usually provide a much higher quality recording than the internal microphone of a laptop computer or the videocamera.  Make sure it is a recorder that is intended for music, rather than a digital voice recorder, which generally do NOT work very well for recording music.  An example of a digital recorder that works well for music is the Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder (click to view the listing on Amazon).  I bought one of these recorders a few years ago, and have been very happy with it.

Playback Time!

• Listen to the playback with the student. If you are playing back from your computer, plugging in external speakers will improve the quality of the playback.
• Follow along in the musical score as you listen.  Ask the student to mentally take note of any areas that surprised them, areas that were successful, areas that need improvement, etc.  If you took video, it may be best to only allow the student to listen for the initial playback without watching, so that they are focusing on the sound of their playing rather than the sight.
• Discuss.  After the playback, ask the student to discuss what they liked about their performance, and what could be improved.  Sample questions to ask:
  • “Which areas did you like the best?  What did you like about those areas?”
  • “Where you surprised by any areas? What did you hear?”
  • “Which areas do you think could be improved? What can you do in your practice at home to improve those areas?”
  • “What else did you notice?”

The student will benefit from this exercise the most if they are encouraged to think through these questions him-/her-self and evaluate their own playing, rather than being told what the teacher heard – they get enough of that at the average lesson.  This exercise is designed to encourage self-critique and motivation for improvement, as well as to develop listening skills in the student.

If you’ve ever tried recording your students’ playing, please share your experiences in the comments!  I’d love to hear about it.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/simondeanmedia/ / CC BY 2.0

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[Visit Preparing for Student Recitals: Recording! to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been realizing that when I play forte on the piano — whether I’m playing my solo pieces or when I am accompanying a vocalist/instrumentalist — it sounds rather “poundy.”  Forte should not necessarily mean accented, however.  Forte can be a big, full sound without the accented front edge of the note.  But how on earth do I achieve this elusive sound?

This week I made a little breakthrough.  Rather than lifting and reattacking quite so much between chords, I need to keep my arm weight the same as I make the chord changes, more with my fingers than my hands (making sure the wrists remain loose and tension-free!).  It’s difficult to explain, but after a few weeks of pondering this issue in my daily practicing, I think I’m beginning to understand how to create this elusive sound.

You know, piano really is all about creating different sounds, colors, tone qualities – whatever you want to call them.  As my teacher used to say, “Music is not a democracy; not all notes are created equal.”  Now I know that this statement does not just apply to balance between melody and accompaniment, but also to various sections of a piece.  Not all forte notes are equal.  :)

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jraffreynolds/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

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[Visit Play forte – but NOT accented… to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Speaking of which, have you ever had students who played like robots?  ***raises hand timidly***  Yep, I have too.  This is what music would be like without musicality.

What started me thinking of robots, and music, and robotic students, you may ask?  Well, I came across a lovely resource over at The Piano Pedagogy Page — a handy list of adjectives.

It may seem that a list of adjectives may be more fitting for use in an English class.  Maybe.  But it may also be helpful in the piano lesson, in helping those certain robotic-like students get “beyond the notes.”  Shoot, it might even be good reminder for me from time to time!  It’s easy to fall into the trap of being overly concerning with the technique, and fail to think about what I consider to be the ultimate goal of music: to communicate expression.  Music is meant to  reach out and speak to people, at one level or another.

It’s so important to be teaching students musicality at an early age.  It makes lessons so much more exciting, anyway.  We are not trying to create little robots who can push the right buttons (i.e., the keys on the piano) at the right time, but creating little music makers.

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I think one reason may be time restraints and schedule conflicts.  When it comes down to it, there are only 24 hours in a day, and you simply cannot do everything.

I think another reason might be a lack of inspiration.  I mean, what happens when an painter loses inspiration?  No painting gets painted.  What about a writer?  No words.  And what happens when a musician loses inspiration?  No music!  At least, no powerful, moving, emotion-filled music, like it should be.  When inspiration is gone, music making becomes a robotic task.

As soon as music lessons become only about getting all the notes right, following directions correctly, getting a certain amount of practice done each day — it becomes vain and endless.  No wonder students quit!  Those are not the end goals — those are only some of the many possible means to the end goal.  Music making should be like an adventure, where every day you get to experience new places and sensations.

Music making is all about causing a piece called “Peaceful Sunset” evoke a feelings and mental images of a calm, tranquil sunset of vivid reds and oranges at the beach on a warm summer evening.  It’s figuring out how make a piece entitled “Coconut Shuffle” transport you to a tropical place where the sound of crickets and Caribbean dance music fills the evening air.

Keeping inspiration alive is all about engaging the imagination.  After all, having an imagination is one of the major differences between humans and robots.

When engaging the imagination becomes the end goal, practice no longer seems like practice.   It becomes music making, and piano lessons become an apprenticeship, where you learn how to improve and fine-tune your music making skills.  Time constraints are no longer an issue when music making is something to do for fun, and something to look forward to.

As a teacher, this is my chief goal: to instill into each of my students a living, breathing zeal for music making that will last a lifetime.

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[Visit Music + Imagination to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

I tend to fall in the latter category.  I wish I could play more accurately more consistently…but to tell you the truth, I’m far more concerned with playing musically.  

When I’m teaching my own students, I try to focus on the musicality, because again, I think it’s far more important.  But, on the other hand, with younger students, it’s very important they play accurately.  Their reading skills are still in the early stages, and needing to be developed.  So, do you focus on letting the students “get the notes” first, and then show them how they could be playing their piece more musically?  Or do you teach them both concepts at once?  Ideally, I’d like them to be doing both at once, because that’s eventually what needs to be done as a mature performer, but I find it difficult to teach both at once until the student’s music reading skills have reached a certain level.  

What do you think?  Any techniques or advice for how to teach musicality to young students?

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[Visit Accuracy vs. Musicality to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

We’ve probably all have experienced a student wondering WHY a piece should be played a particular way. Teachers should have a reason ready. Of course, if the student doesn’t find your reason I think it’s important to make your decisions regarding musicality based on what time period the piece came out of, and what the music is doing (theory-wise) at that particular time. For example, a student might wonder, “why do I have to descrescendo in this measure? This is hard!” It may be worthwhile to explain that there is a dissonant, non-chord tone stepping down to its resolution. It may be a perfect opportunity to apply their knowledge of theory to their pieces. Even a young student will be likely to hear the dissonance resolving, once you point it out to them, and they are much more likely to play the descrescendo if they feel they have a reason why. Besides, it is a good thing when a student directs his/her attention to listening to the music, rather than abstractly following written directions on the page.

When it comes to interpretation, is it “your way or the highway”? I don’t pretend to know everything about interpretation, but I do find myself having strong convictions regarding the way a particular passage should be played. With younger students, I am somewhat more closed to the student’s opinion, because they often still have a lot to learn. But with older students, I will often ask them to repeat the same passage a number of times, each time playing it slightly differently (e.g., where is the direction of this line?). I will then ask them which way they liked best, and why. Then I tell them which version I liked best, and why. I try to respect and stay open to the student’s suggestions, because ultimately, it is their decision since they are the one doing the performing, and, it is always possible that they could pull off that passage in a manner that I might never have considered, or might not be able to play as convincingly.

How do you help your students’ individuality shine through their pieces?

Photo credit: sara.musico

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[Visit Reflections upon Interpretation to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]