Guided Sight-Reading Practice: Partners Proceed with Caution

     My husband and wife students came for their lessons the other day. One is considerably more advanced than the other, but both expressed interest in working on sight-reading. They brought with them my book, Guided Sight-Reading Practice at the Piano. (No, I don't make my students buy my books.) This collection of teacher-student duets takes the position that practicing with a partner can be helpful, a conclusion I arrived at for several reasons. Chances are that when playing with someone else, particularly someone with more experience, there will be more pressure to continue, without hesitating at problem spots. This automatically eliminates one of the chief impediments to reading. Also, a partner provides a steady pulse. And of course, it's always fun to make music together.

     Well, almost always. In the midst of working through one of the examples, the Mrs. pointed out that they had had some disagreement over the process and apparently feelings were hurt—ever so slightly, she said with a smile. They suggested I might include on the cover a warning to married couples and significant others.

      It was a joke. But this brought up a discussion of how to behave in ensemble rehearsals, the gist of which was that respectful dialog is always appropriate. I learned years ago that it's usually better in situations of musical disagreement—perhaps any disagreement—to resist beginning a sentence with the word you. So, couples, be forewarned.

Waldstein Sonata: Where do the Little Notes Go?

     

Beethoven in 1803

     A student writes complaining of difficulty executing leaping appoggiaturas in the Waldstein Sonata (1803-04), measures 271-273 in the first movement. Remember, I said, the small notes, nuisance as they can sometimes be, become much less so when given a place in time. This concept goes for all ornaments indicated by symbols.

     Here is the passage as printed:

Waldstein Sonata, mm 271-273 as printed.
Click on image to enlarge.

Notice that the small notes are in fact printed as appoggiaturas, not

Count Ferdinand Waldstein

grace notes. So, the conscientious performer would logically ask, should it follow the rule and be placed on the beat? Try it. This creates a small but unruly bump in the forward momentum. Now look at the suspension in the right hand. The appoggiatura is indeed the bass note of the chord to which the suspension resolves, albeit delayed by one note. 

    What to do? Go with the momentum. In speed, the appoggiatura will not register as a beat anyway, so it becomes a de facto grace note to which is given a place in time. If we remember our theory, this is a so-called faux bourdon progression. Here's how most pianists play this passage:

Waldstein Sonata, mm 271-273 as played.
Click on image to enlarge.

Piano Technique Demystified, The Book

Some readers have asked about the video demonstrations (iDemos) for Piano Technique Demystified: Insights into Problem Solving, 2nd Edition. They are now located in the tabs at the top of this page at the right.

New technology—new to me technology—gave rise to the inspiration to invest the time and energy into revising "Technique Demystified." It now has more information on fingering and expansions in other chapters. It also has a new chapter on geography for pianists, links to iDemos and a nifty index. The technology made it possible to clarify and unify musical examples throughout, but I think the changes are particularly effective in the teaching moments section. When you get a

chance, have a "look inside" at the second edition of Piano Technique Demystified at Amazon.  I'd be glad to know what you think.

Forearm Angle: What About the Elbow?

     

Berlin, Germany

From a correspondent in Berlin, one of my favorite cities: "How do you recommend the angle of the arm should be (specially on high tones)? Should the elbow be close to the body or perpendicular to the keyboard, (meaning the elbow is held away from the body)?

     

The elbow can act as a hinge.

My response: The fingers/hand/forearm alliance can be at any angle with the piano as long as it is straight with itself. The elbow shouldn't feel as if it's being held either against the torso or away from it. Holding implies extra tension, an unnecessary effort.

     Find the position by dropping your arm straight down your side, lift up the forearm to the playing position and that should be a good location for the elbow. It hangs from the shoulder. This is not to say that it can't move outward, but take care not to involve the upper arm (bicep) excessively, as that is a slow movement. Imagine that the elbow is a hinge

from which your forearm can swing from side to side, describing an arc. (Remember the circular piano keyboard?) If necessary, lean with the torso to the right.

Art of the Fugue

Some of my readers have inquired

about  the sight-reading book, Art

of the Fugue. Yes, it is available now

at Amazon and it is designed for the

late intermediate to advanced pianist

interested in advancing sight-reading.

Available Now

Improve your sight-reading by practicing it with a partner, a partner who helps keep the pulse moving. Of course, we learn to keep our eyes on the page and always look ahead. We know to scan for surprises of meter, accidentals or key change. We know, too, that setting reasonable tempos based on the fastest note values ensures a successful performance. But in the final analysis, we must learn not to stop for mistakes, the wayward flat, a dangling mordent or what-in-the-world-kind-of-scale was that anyway. It would be rude to abandon a partner in search of the aforementioned, so it is the duty of each to keep the other on track. Designed for partners of equal skill, this volume includes all 14 fugues and four canons in Bach's original work, the one he was working on at the time of his death. Only number 17 is omitted, as it requires two keyboards. I have also included solo versions of some of the two-part canons to be enjoyed while waiting for the partner to arrive.

ABOUT THE MUSIC

     

     

J.S. Bach

 In order to improve sight-reading skills, I often suggest to students that they keep some scores on their piano that are several levels below what they can actually manage technically. One excellent resource is the church hymnal. These mostly homophonic melodies, some familiar, can usually be managed at sight if we find the right tempos. The absence of counterpoint makes this material more readily sight-readable. For the more advanced pianist, however, pieces with the added challenge of contrapuntal textures can be a way to advance reading skills and stimulate musical sensibilities.       

Art of the Fugue Subject

       Which brings me to J.S. Bach’s The Art of the Fugue. Begun in the 1740s and  left unfinished at his death in 1750, in The Art of the Fugue Bach once again has the last word on a given subject. His apparent intent was to explore as many contrapuntal techniques as possible using a particular theme, a summation, really, of his life’s work. Incomplete though it is, the master accumulated here fourteen fugues and 4 canons on some variation of his theme, infusing each in succession with ever increasing complexity. Some authorities argue that this collection was meant as a compositional study guide, not intended as performance material. In this context I offer up the solo cello suites as evidence to the contrary. Until the cello suites fell into the hands of the legendary Pablo Casals, they, too, were considered only exercises. All of these fugues were written in open score with no indication of instrumentation, except for number 17, which bears the note “fugue for two keyboards.”  (I omit this two-keyboard fugue.) Nevertheless, they can be managed quite nicely on a keyboard, or in various instrumental ensembles which, according to the distinguished pianist and musicologist Charles Rosen, was the intent.

         To the best of my knowledge, The Art of the Fugue has never before been transcribed for piano duet. Difficult to play with two hands, with four they make excellent and enjoyable fodder for sight-reading, albeit with some challenges. I have tried to maintain Bach’s voice-leading as much as possible, though it seemed prudent to relocate voices in cases where collision would be unavoidable, particularly between tenor and alto voices when present in the right hand of secondo and left hand of primo. Incidentally, if you are new to duet playing, be considerate of your partner by getting out of the way as soon as possible. You will notice occasional crossing of voices when they can be negotiated by one player. 

     

Should we imitate the harpsichord?

 Articulation can be a matter of some contention among performers, particularly among keyboard players who feel—and those who don’t—that virtually every note should be played detached in imitation of the harpsichord. We have evidence in Bach’s own hand that he favored a cantabile style of playing, which he declares in the introduction to the “Inventions and Sinfonias” as follows: One of the purposes of these pieces [the Inventions] is to “above all develop a cantabile style of playing (am allermeisten aber eine cantabile Art im Spielen zu erlangen).” Since these fugues and canons were offered in open score, it seems reasonable to imagine they might be played by strings or winds, which could imply a different style of articulation than that of a harpsichord. So, my advice is to think musically in a global sense. 

     My metronome and dynamic indications are only guides and not to be taken too literally. Remember, when sight-reading the right tempo is the one that allows continuity. You will find in my version the addition of solo incarnations of some of the canons, which may be enjoyed while waiting for a partner to arrive. Also, I have separated the rectus and inversus from the open score so that they can be played individually as intended. 

Tchaikovsky Concerto: Scherzo Bliss

Peter Tchaikovsky

     

My student brought in the Tchaikovsky Concerto, complaining of difficulty in this example from the scherzo section, measure 50, of the second movement. In my student's edition, the editor had placed the fifth finger on B-flat and thumb on the following A.

Fingering in the Scherzo, Measure 50
(Click example to enlarge.)

Though not impossible to execute, this juxtaposition of the two short fingers can feel cramped, a pinching together. Not nice. I recommended the fingering indicated in the example above and pointed out that the technical grouping falls into groups containing four 16ths, creating a hemiola (three pulses instead of two). I've been practicing this myself and find it quite easy. Incidentally, the B-natural on the first beat could also be taken with the left hand. Who'll know the difference? I won't tell.

     In measure 43 the composer also places the technical pulse, the technical grouping, against the beat by creating a hemiola. Keep the eighths constant and put the pulse in the left hand.

Grouping int the Scherzo, Measure 43
(Click on example to enlarge.)

Confused Conductor

     In  fact, begin the entire scherzo leading with the left hand as the pulse and the piece becomes much easier. True, the conductor has to figure out where the beats are in order to punctuate the passage. But that's his problem.

     Side note. I once played in an orchestra when the conductor did indeed become confused in this passage. He lost track of the beat entirely, even though the soloist played with the utmost precision. He stopped conducting and whispered loudly, "play, play!" Well, we did the best we could, but I fear a few punctuation marks went missing in that performance.