Fingering Major Seventh Arpeggios

     
A student writes: "I have a fingering question. How do you suggest fingering major-7th arpeggios that continue over more than one octave, e.g. C-E-G-B-C-E-G-B-C. Up to now I have been using 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4, however this does require a little stretch between 3 and 4. Would you consider this ok or would you recommend 1-2-3-5 and then the famous rebound from the 5th finger to 1?"

     My response: Stretching to an extreme is never okay. In

Don't!

most hands, playing a major third between 3 and 4 feels, at the very least, uncomfortable, though it is not impossible to work in. However, I play the C-major seventh chord with 5 on B when 1 is on C. Depending on the context, the thumb might also start on E:

Fingering Major 7ths

Notice that there will be a shape in the direction of in to play the thumb and back out to play 5. This is particularly relevant when the thumb plays a black key. When 5 plays a black key, the shaping is reversed. Remember, fluency and speed are at issue here, and these only come when the hand is at ease.

Achieving Speed in Chopin's 3rd Prelude and Etude Op. 10, No.2

Frederic Chopin

     A student writes: "Could you please address the issue of speed (tempo)? I find it difficult to get Chopin's prelude number 3 and étude number two up to tempo.  In the past, many of my teachers  have repeated the mantra 'speed will come' but I think this is silly to expect it to simply miraculously happen one day.  I have also had teachers tell me to practice pieces at tempo as much as I can but this also seems absurd (anyone who can immediately play certain

etudes at speed would be a prodigy in my book). So how do we achieve great speed without injury? How can we bring difficult pieces up to tempo?"

     My response: Regarding developing velocity, the one teacher was correct in that speed will come, but only if the underlying mechanisms are understood. Without seeing what you're doing it's impossible to give a completely accurate diagnosis. However, I can generalize.

     When I write about solving technical problems, I mean that we can identify solutions precisely enough to enable us to practice those solutions at a slow tempo. That is, we learn what we need for speed and practice that slowly, gradually working up the tempo. In the G Major Prelude, identify groups of notes that fall more or less under the hand and then practice that group plus one note, allowing the last note of one group to throw your hand to the first note of the next group. (Tiny movements.) I touch on this on page 101 in my book, Piano Technique Demystified: Insights into Problem Solving. There are of course many refinements, such as shaping in in time to use the thumb on a black key, for example (see measure 3 below). Shaping is crucial to the successful realization of this piece.

Chopin Prelude, Op. 28, No. 3
A study for the left hand
(Click on example to enlarge.)

     In the etude (Op. 10, No. 2), the method of working up the tempo is the same, but only after identifying the necessary movements. In this case, the grouping is after the  chord: 3, 4, 5, chord. The fingering in the Paderewski edition works, although I sometimes make adjustments. Remember, a longer finger may cross over a shorter finger (ascending) and a shorter finger may cross under a longer finger (descending). Use the chord to send your hand to the next single note; don't grip the chord. The chord is the diving board that sends your hand to the new position.

Chopin Etude Op. 10, No. 2
Paderewski fingering, mine in parentheses
(Click on example to enlarge.)

       My plan goes like this: write in your score the desired top tempo and a reasonable starting tempo, not slower than you really need. Then work between those two tempos in short sections, even one measure at a time, but always stopping on a strong beat. This is the best use of the metronome I know of. Keep track of your progress in the margins. It's okay if some sections seem able to go faster than others. At this juncture, don't try to put the sections together. If a particular section won't move, that is, it doesn't feel easy, then take another look at your technical mechanisms. It may be necessary to consider additional solutions, i.e., a different fingering, shaping, grouping, etc. Never force the tempo.

The Art of the Fugue by J.S. Bach: More Sight-Reading Practice

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. 

On Trills: A Place in Time

     

A pianist writes: "My right hand trilling is not consistent.  In the opening to Chopin Op. 55 No. 2, for example, I have serious trouble playing that trill without choking up. I've heard 'think about your fingers going up, rather than down' but that doesn't work. Sometimes, every now and then, I can trill effortlessly with control. But most of the time, it chokes up.  I feel like I have some sort of coordination problem."

      Yes, this writer has a coordination problem. A trill sign is a symbol, and like all symbols it represents something larger than itself. The most common mistake pianists make, a mistake resulting in tightness or jamming of the trill, is conceptual. That is, a trill must have a place in time, a rhythm. This is true of all ornaments indicated by symbols, and they should be practiced with pulses—felt, not necessarily heard—until they become second nature. First decide on the number and rhythm of notes that will fit in the space allotted and then decide how those notes coordinate with the other hand. Remember, too, that ornaments should reflect the expressive content of their context. In the example offered, Chopin's Nocturne Op. 55, Number 2, a machine-gun trill seems inappropriate.

     As a matter of technique, a trill is a changing of direction with every note, like an Alberti figure. If the forearm is not allowed to rotate in its axis, albeit very slightly,  the trill can jam. Cutting off the fingers/hand from the forearm is always a mistake. Do not think of lifting the fingers up and down, although they are somewhat active. Rather, maintain contact with the key, riding it (more or less) and allowing the forearm its freedom. Work the trill up slowly in rhythms, i.e. eighths, triplets, sixteenths, etc. If tightness or fatigue set in, the movement is incorrect.

Sight-Reading: There's an App for That?

   Well, maybe not exactly an app, but there is a new book just published and available for perusal at Amazon. The idea here is to practice sight-reading with a partner in four-hand settings. When playing with others, one feels more pressure to keep going no matter what. Here's the publication blurb:

   Learn to sight-read more fluently by practicing with a partner, an experienced guide at your side. Of course, we know to keep our eyes on the page and look ahead. We know to begin by scanning for surprises of meter, accidentals or key change. We know, too, that setting a reasonable tempo 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, the 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 and if social pressure isn’t enough, just remember that might very well be your teacher there at your side, cracking the whip. So, look into these pages of colorful harmonizations from the collection of chorales by J.S. Bach, just to get started. There are forays into rare occasional pieces by Chopin, Schumann, Arensky, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. And the intrepid will find a 20th century organ prelude and a complete duet sonata by Mozart, just to name a few.

Slow Practice: Eliminating Errors?

A student writes: I want to apply this type of [slow] practice to one piece in particular I am having difficulty with, mainly with random errors. So I have a couple of questions:

1. Is slow practice good for eliminating random errors?
2. How slow should you go? (I have read half or quarter speed) 
3. How many repeats in a session should you do in this slow practice?
4. Should you alternate tempos within a session or over days?
5. How long would you stay doing these slow practice sessions?

     My reply: Yes, random technical errors will be solved in slow practice if it is conscious slow practice. Slow practice is essential for working in quick technical passages. The finger/hand/arm collaboration works best when it has the opportunity to sense clearly the movements required of it. The first

step, though, is to figure out what those movements are, which, of course includes such details as the best fingering to employ. Many pianists make the mistake of playing slowly without discovering what it is they need for speed. Then in speed they do something different from what they did at the slower tempo. 

     Once you are comfortable at your slowest speed, gradually work through several tempos to the desired tempo.This is not for an entire movement, necessarily, but rather for the particular

passage. Make sure that the passage continues to feel easy at each successive tempo. If it doesn't, that means something technical hasn't been solved. This is my favorite use of the metronome. Write in your score the metronome mark of your desired tempo, the top tempo. Then below it write your starting tempo. Work between these two tempos. I usually say that you shouldn't play slower than you need to or faster than you can (easily). Don't be discouraged if one passage seems to want to go faster than another. But do keep track in your score by marking the metronome setting of your fastest, easy tempo.

     This is a good way to begin your daily work on a given piece, starting with those passages that feel difficult. But once you have achieved the desired tempo (feeling easy) in all of the questionable passages, it is usually not necessary to go back to the original slow tempo, although I always practice two or three tempos slower as a review.

     

Extremely slow practice, even in a slow movement, can also be helpful in securing memory because it removes some of the digital memory.