Producing Synchronized Chords

A student wrote to me complaining of "wobbly" chords. He meant that in accompaniment passages of repeated chordal figures he often broke the chords
unintentionally. His solution was to rigidify his fingers, lifting the unneeded fingers away from his hand, in order to force the correct fingers to play simultaneously. This is no solution at all, but rather a prescription for disaster.


In order to accommodate different finger lengths, it is better to allow the hand to be slightly flatter and avoid gripping or locking the hand into a fixed position in order to force all the fingers to be the same lengths. No matter how hard you try, I promise you that the fingers will always be different lengths. By flatter I mean that the hand should maintain its normal curvature, not curled into a claw.


The manner of depressing the key, then, is downward, of course, but also slightly in the direction of out toward the torso. It is as if the intention is to move outward, but at the point of key contact there is a tread on the end of the finger that prevents an extreme slide outward. It is not necessary to leave the surface of the key. In fact, it is in most cases better after depressing the key to ride it back up just beyond the point of sound in order to repeat it. This has the effect of allowing the participation of the forearm, ever so slightly, in order to control the downward weight. It is a mistake to think of this as either just a finger movement or a wrist movement.


Try this in various combinations of white and black keys.


Happy chording!

Off Topic: Photography

Well, gentle reader, if you'll allow a digression here is an example of HDR (high dynamic range) photography. This is a new passion of mine, something to get me out of the piano studio once in awhile, which we solitary practicers must do in order to maintain our sanity.

HDR is a process of combining images taken at several exposures from very over-exposed to very under-exposed. It is a way to capture (and interpret) more of what the eye sees; cameras resist extreme value contrasts, flattening out most images.

Eventually, I hope to post in a separate site a gallery of photos, some of which will be of interest to lovers of pianos and their auras.

This is a view of the desert garden at the Huntington. Click on the photo to enlarge.

If you have interest in learning more about this process, click on the "Lost in Customs" button and you will be taken to an information site containing free tutorials.

Forearm Rotation

I once gave a lecture-demonstration to a group of piano teachers. When I asked for a show of hands in response to the question, "How many of you use forearm rotation," no one responded. Admittedly, it was sort of a trick question because not everyone is familiar with the terminology. But it's a good starting point for this topic. It is, in fact, not possible to play the piano without using forearm rotation.

If you you don't believe me, try raising your arm up to the keyboard. No, raise it straight up. Your forearm and hand will be in a karate-chop position. In order to place the hand on the keys in a playing position, it is necessary to rotate the hand in the direction of the thumb. Playing up and down the keyboard requires constant rotation toward the thumb. But this is only a starting point.

One clear example of rotation in music is the so-called Alberti figure, in which the music changes direction with each note. In this example it is called single rotation; when moving both to a given note, in a scale for example, and away from it to the succeeding note, it is called double rotation, except the thumb-crossing. Change of direction is always a single rotation and this concept is uniquely important in facilitating passage work. The nomenclature is not important, though a thorough understanding of the application of this underlying tool is essential to a well-coordinated and efficient technique.

This video of Edna Golandsky gives a very nice introduction to the principle. I highly recommend these videos for the serious pianist.

Golandsky Demonstrates Rotation in a Scale

Left Hand Octaves

If you are interested in the magic of fast octaves, have a look at this performance by Rubenstein of the A-flat Polonaise. This is a rare opportunity to observe octave shaping in action. Notice how he starts the passage using two hands (saving himself?) then switches to octaves. Notice also how in the first section, E-major, he starts out on the white key and moves in to the black keys in a continuous circular motion. Though difficult to see in speed, there is a slight under shape from the low B back up to the starting E. The movement is continuous and rounded, no sharp edges, and describes something like an ellipse. (I recommend fingering quick octaves one/five.) The shape is reversed when the passage repeats in E-flat.

I heard him play at Carnegie Hall and again later for a pension benefit concert with the New York Philharmonic. On both occasions the audience would not let him leave without playing the Polonaise, which was a signature piece.

Rubenstein Plays Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat 

Shopping

If you happen to be shopping at Amazon or looking for sheet music, you can do that from this page. The prices are the same and the blog gets a few points credit. So go crazy!

Here is a marvelous echo of the romantic past. Mortz Rosenthal studied with Mikuli, a Chopin pupil, and later with Liszt. (And one of my teachers, John Crown, studied with Rosenthal in Vienna.)

From the Youtube poster: "Here, Moriz Rosenthal performs the second movement of Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor in a concert that was broadcast live during the pianist's 75th birthday celebration, December 19, 1937. The NBC Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Frank Black. Celebrants shown enjoying a piece of the birthday cake that was presented to Rosenthal at the conclusion of his performance are (from left), Rosina Lhevinne (wearing brooch), Josef Hofmann, Adele Kanner Rosenthal, Moriz Rosenthal, Ernest Schelling, Josef Lhevinne."

Moriz Rosenthal plays Chopin Concerto