One of the most common mistakes piano players make is to reach for the keys with the fingers. Of course, the fingers are “playing” the notes because they are in direct contact with the keys, but the fingers must be supported by the arm and hand at all times. When practicing, ask yourself: Are you holding the arm and hand rigidly and striking the keys with the fingers? Watch this video of Daniel Baremboim, notice the hand position. The hands are always moved over the keys by the arms, the fingers are never reaching to hit the notes:

I had the pleasure of attending a performance of Glorious! at the Arts Club, with the incredible Nicola Cavendish as Florence Foster Jenkins. This brought back many funny memories of accompanying amateur musicians at the piano. I would play for weddings, and someone in the family would like to perform. Sometimes it was really fun, other times not! At one wedding, the groom brought his violin and we performed the Meditation from “Thais”, without any rehearsal. For me it was the most satisfying kind of playing, I got lost in the music. Another time, a singer made an early entrance after a piano interlude. She also didn’t get her pitch. I had to scramble, changing pages in my score, then pounded out the melody…it took us many bars to get back in synch. It would have been less painful if she had moved the mike away from her mouth until she got her pitch!! In the play Glorious! it is great fun to laugh at the bad singing! But I also liked the affectionate tone of the play. It is becoming more common for arm-chair critics to critique performances with a nasty and dismissive tone. There are performers I enjoy more than others, but I admire every one who gives the world their music. Here is Florence Foster Jenkins, Enjoy!

When a pianist first looks at a new piece, there are usually technical challenges that must be figured out before the piece can be performed. In Debussy’s Clair de Lune, there are several: - the dynamic markings are all piano or quieter, with only one forte which lasts for one bar. This tells us that Debussy wants an impressionistic wash of sound rather than big, loud effects, even when there are many notes. One pitfall for the performer is to hold back, tensing up the arms, trying and keep the sound soft!! Dynamics need to be considered in relation to each other - the forte needs to be louder than the piano. Also, this piece provides the pianist with an opportunity to play with a soft, but very projected sound. Controlling the playing with the entire arm from the shoulders enables the player to build up a rich wash of sound. - The top melody note in the 3rds needs to ring out more than the lower harmony note. This is very much easier when the pianist’s shoulders and arms are free from tension. Throughout this piece, the pianist should feel the entire weight of their arm sinking into the keys from the shoulders. - the most difficult challenge is in the middle section. The RH must bring out the top melody and play part of the inner accompanying figure. The difficulty is at the end of the phrase: There is an A flat that is part of the inner accompaniment, and the very next note is a repeat of that note, but this time in the melody. The clue to playing this is to observe the phrasing, and to play each phrase with one sweep of the arm. The first inner A flat will slip in on the upward motion that finishes off the phrase. Then there is a new downward sweep, which will bring out the second A flat, the first note of the next phrase. To learn how to coordinate these motions, it helps to exaggerate the free sweeping motion while playing the phrases. Make a big down motion from the shoulders to start each phrase, and don’t worry about missing notes at first. Once the big whole arm motion is comfortable, getting the fingers to play the notes accurately becomes easy!

The Arabesque in architecture is an elaborate design of repeating geometric forms, often based on plant and animal shapes. These design elements were the foundation of the Art Nouveau movement, from 1880-1914. The Arabesque #1 by Debussy, written in 1888, was very much influenced by the idea that thought could be expressed by the line and the arabesque. It is interesting to note that this piece is built entirely on small decorative, repeating motifs which often build into long sweeping lines. This is an early piece, Debussy later took the abstraction of short motifs much further.

When I learn a new piece, there is always a challenge to get it “into” my hands , my head, my being. Playing a familiar piece, (for me one is Debussy’s 1st Arabesque) I am able to get the best sound from the piano, and my coordination flows with the phrases. Even after working on a new piece for months, I still am playing “notes”, don’t have the satisfying sensation of sinking in and becoming one with the keyboard. To play a piece properly, a player needs to have the sensation of “painting” the sounds. To do this, there needs to be a deep knowledge of all aspects of the piece. There needs to be a long period (at least several months) of practice without the score. Take a break with the piece once it is memorized, don’t play it or look at the score for a week. Then, play it through without looking at the score, any places needing work will be obvious! Play the piece through 4 or 5 times, aiming for perfect note accuracy. Use the metronome, no pedal, and no score. Playing the piece should feel so automatic that you are not thinking of getting the notes, you are just feeling the pulse. The metronone helps with this. Go back to the score and correct sections with wrong notes. Practice with the score once the notes are mastered by memory, watching every one of the composer’s markings. Perform the piece often! Perform for friends and just for yourself. Think of performing and practicing as 2 separate ways of playing. When performing, have fun with the music.

Yesterday I was playing 4 hand piano with a friend, and found a short passage rhythmically difficult. We went over it several times, but I could not get it. Finally I somehow found the correct rhythm and we moved on to the next section, which went very well. We were sailing through, enjoying Mozart’s inventiveness, and kept playing without any troubles. Interestingly, I had no trouble at all with the repeat of the difficult part, I just sailed through that part as well. I know that if I had thought about the hard part coming up, I would have stumbled!!! Since I was in the “Zone”, I was not “trying” to think about playing, and was able to play it perfectly. So often, our playing is sabotaged by us trying too hard with our brains. I know that my best playing occurs when I feel very relaxed and enjoying the sounds, I will play a whole piece without “thinking” about playing. It is very much like driving along the highway - in a heightened state of concentration, but relaxed and enjoying the scenery. Playing piano is so complex that we get worried about some aspect of our playing, but maybe concentrating on our mental state should be our goal. Before I start playing, I like to do some stretching exercises and then play a piece through, with the metronome, 4 or 5 times. I find that after a short time I am in the “Zone” - relaxed, centered, enjoying. When I have attained this, I am in my most productive state. playing piano

What I find fascinating with this piece is that it starts and ends with satirical themes that are twisted versions of pianist’s exercises. The percussive themes satirize Clementi’s instructional pieces, but then they are transformed into something different. Is the music affectionately portraying a child pounding away at notes, or suggesting a nostalgia for lost days? Sometimes the music can be interpreted either contrasting way! Here is a Wikipedia link explaining the Title of the piece I have difficulty playing the beginning of the piece, it is so exposed - you have to jump right in! Often the first page is not as flowing as the rest of the piece, it is hard to get the pulse going. Maybe that’s because I am thinking too much about the line, my playing needs to be more percussive with this piece, especially at the beginning. Having the piece going through my mind, I am analyzing phrases being in 1 or in 4 or in 16. A very satisfying piece to play.

I am enjoying playing piano as a relaxing time, away from work pressures. Although I am not practicing to work up to a performance goal, I still do not want to become a sloppy player!! Playing for pleasure and not working on musical skills is a sure way for playing to get messed up with bad habits. Rhythmic instability and incorrect note readings creep in and take over over time. There are many pieces I have learned and am playing through now, all of them need a little careful work to be ready for performance. I am working on the Chopin C# minor waltz. The middle/fast section was a big mess, with missed notes and general lumpiness… a half hour with the metronome fixed that. At first I tried one metronome click to the bar, but had to switch over to one click to the quarter note. The quarter note clicks were what I needed to get perfect note accuracy, then I switched back to one per bar. The metronome helps with developing the musical line when the clicks are set to the musical pulse, such as here with one to the bar…which is the same as the musical pulse. I played the piece through for friends and was very happy with my improvement. There were no missed notes and the fast section flowed smoothly. I felt centered and in control while playing!! practicing piano

I have been playing through the Back invention #8 without the music. Most of the time I can play it through with no problems, but sometimes stumble in the left hand part. There are 2 places I stumble, both are at concluding phrases, of the 1st section and at the conclusion of the piece. I realized that I had not been giving the LH part enough attention, and could not play it through by memory. So I went through the entire piece LH only, with the metronome, reading the music at first, then put the book away. Then I practiced the problem phrases repeatedly. The 2 problem phrases don’t lend themselves to practicing in a “loop”, so I composed my only little loop, with 3 beats of rest before jumping back in. It is important to always practice with strong Rhythm!! In the past I would like to just “play” instead of “practice”. Now I play at least 90% of the time with the metronome, slowly, focusing on perfect accuracy. After the slow, careful work has been done, confidence and memory has built up so that I can let go and enjoy the music making. I keep surprising myself at how much my playing has improved when I later perform for other people! playing piano