Piano Technique by Paul White ( MA(Cantab) ARCM LGSM(MT) MTC )

Introduction

This guide aims to be clear, concise and practical. It draws on a number of well-known sources (see

Recommended Reading on page 31), but, above all, it is the result of several decades of observation and

experiment. Standard aspects of technique are discussed, but special emphasis is given to areas, where, it is

hoped, some new light is shed upon either the technique itself or the way of explaining it. The numbered

exercises mentioned in the text are available on – line for free downloading (see page 31).

Contents

Posture 2 Prepared staccato diagrams 19

Wing action 2 Finger – driven staccato 20

Wing action diagrams 3 Wrist staccato 21

Finger action diagrams 5 Touch changes related to speed 21

Finger action 6 Therapeutic exercises 22

Action of the back 8 Exercises using a piano stool 23

Held exercises 8 Unintentional complimentary movements 24

Free exercises 8 Wrist movement in phrasing 24

Non legato 9 Octaves and chords 26

Legato 9 Preparing hand shape 26

The role of arm weight 9 Gliding chords 26

Varying the strength of finger action 11 Rapid pairs of chords 26

Practising exercises and passagework 11 Weighing the notes of a chord 27

Finger – driven touch 12 Octave glissandi ` 27

Uses of wing and finger – driven action 14 Practice methods 27

Emphasising melodic lines 14 Fingering – some general points 29

The mechanics of tone production 15 The sustaining pedal 30

Staccato 17 Analysis 30

Staccato with wing action 17 Cultivating a natural technique 31

Staccato with wing action diagrams 18 Recommended reading 31

Copyright © 2007 by Paul White

2.

Posture Freedom of movement is our aim, not restriction and rigidity. This applies firstly to the process of

breathing, which can sometimes inadvertently come to a halt when we are intent upon a demanding task.

Of equal importance is the way we sit, which should be tall but not stiff, with the shoulders relaxed and

down, yet with a certain feeling of buoyancy. Even when the hands are still, some slow, gentle rocking

back, forth and sideways from the hips keeps the joints of the arm mobile, as does a slow rising and

falling motion of the wrist. The latter can be practised first whilst holding down five adjacent white keys

with the hand in an arched position. The role of the back in producing tones will be discussed in the next

section.

Wing Action There are two main approaches to playing at slow or medium speed, namely, the wing action, driven from

the shoulder, and the finger driven touch described on page 12. The wing action is illustrated and

described on page 3. The following notes are by way of explanation. The arm supports its own weight,

poised in a state of dynamic equilibrium between the uplift of its muscles and the downward pull of

gravity, ready to give either downwards or upwards according to need. The wrists, elbows and shoulders

are loose and free. The movement of the arms is a flexible one, not unlike the wings of a bird in flight,

with the upper arm descending first, followed by the forearm, the hand, and finally the three joints of the

finger, one after another. Likewise, on the up – stroke, the upper arm rises first, followed by the forearm

and then the hand and fingers, in a continual smooth cycle of motion. This can be practised in the air,

away from the piano, then as staccato chords up and down the keyboard. The notes are sounded at the

lower end of the cycle, at the point where the wrist begins to rise but the hand is still falling. Due to the

delayed action, by the time the downward movement reaches the fingers, and the tone is sounded, the

forearm is already rising at the end nearer the wrist.

However, it is more helpful to think of the forearm as moving forwards and backwards, rather than down

and up. As shown in the diagrams (p.3), the forearm moves forward and slightly downward as the hand

rises, and backward as the hand falls. The wrist and elbow bend at the same time, and it is at this time that

the note is sounded. In staccato playing there is a simple forward / backward movement. In playing

sustained tones there is also an initial anticipatory backward movement (second picture), as the hand is

removed from the key in a hanging position. This initial stage does not always need to be executed

deliberately, as it will tend to happen automatically. The pushing forward (third picture) gives rise to a

feeling of the arm “digging under” the hand. The pull-back is like a “scooping out”.

There is also a slight rotary movement of the arm. During the very brief push forward there is an equally

brief turning outwards of the arms (right arm clockwise, left arm anticlockwise). This is immediately

followed by a turning inwards as the arm pulls back and the note is sounded. The two opposite rotations

are felt as a single rapid flick. The elbow moves outwards slightly as the tone is sounded.In other words,

the upper arm lifts sideways. The action can be practised on one’s lap, first standing then seated. The

upper arm bobs down just before the note and rises on sounding it.

The upward and downward hand movements are not deliberate. It is thrown up and down by the arm

movements. This means that, even in slow tempo, the wing action can only be executed as a sudden, rapid

movement. In slow motion, there is insufficient “G force” to throw the hand, and it would have to be

deliberately lifted by the forearm muscles. These muscles are not used in the wing action, which uses only

the muscles of the upper arms, chest and back. These are the same muscles used in sawing wood, rowing

or operating a vacuum cleaner.

The idea of using three separate movements in playing a single note may seem overcomplicated and

unnatural. Yet it is almost identical to the simple act of throwing a ball. Examples of a forward thrust

followed so closely by a backward tug that the two are two are fused into a single act include such

civilized pursuits as snatching and punching.

3. Wing Action

The finger sustains the previous note

lightly. The wrist is held moderately

high.

The elbow pulls suddenly back and the

wrist is lifted higher, with the hand

hanging loosely.

The forearm pushes forwards and the

wrist falls, throwing the hand upwards.

The hand is not deliberately lifted. It

is thrown by the arm.

The elbow pulls back again and the

wrist rises, causing the hand to descend

rapidly, striking the key. The wrist

continues to rise slightly more,

releasing the weight from the key,

which is held lightly as in position 1.

The whole sequence takes place within a split second, even in slow tempo. It is

usually greatly miniaturised, consisting of a barely visible twitch of the arm.

Stage 2 applies only in slow playing.

4.

Most of the time, the wing action is extremely miniaturised both in space and time, being but a

momentary twitch of the arm. It is the visible manifestation of a wave of kinetic energy travelling very

rapidly down the arm towards the keys, and is realised as a momentary impact after which the weight is

immediately lifted out. A similar type of chain reaction can be found in the movement of a whip. From

the observer’s point of view, the elbow moves noticeably backward in stage 2 and forward in stage 3. In

stage 4 (the sounding of the tone), the elbow remains in roughly the same place, but bends so as to lift the

forearm. From the player’s perspective, however, there is a strong sense of pulling back in stage 4. This

serves as a braking action to the forward thrust in stage 3. What is happening and what we see are

different, just as when an aircraft, upon landing, applies reverse thrust to its engines. Although these are

working backwards, the aircraft is still moving forwards, finally coming to a halt. In the same way, the

dog – owner tugs desperately at the lead whilst the dog continues relentlessly moving forward. This needs

to be borne in mind by the teacher, who will see only two movements of the upper arms; backwards then

forwards. Furthermore, the pupil will also see only these two actions when the teacher is demonstrating.

The wing action should first be practised with staccato notes, chords or octaves (see p. 17) These omit

the preparatory pull-back (diagram 2.) Initially it could be practised with only the middle finger, or

with thirds played by the second and fourth. In this way the arm action can be perfected without

adding the further complication of the finger action.

The wave motion is channelled down one finger by partially withholding the others. It can be performed

with relatively passive, relaxed fingers, moving only sufficently to guide the hand towards the required

notes. This is ideal for cantabile melodies, and also for controlled, quiet playing. Here, the hand – lift is

very small, sometimes barely reaching the surface level of the keys. The large muscles of the upper arms

and torso allow much greater control of dynamics than do the small finger muscles.

For slow practice of rapid passagework, however, it is better to think of the finger as the moving agent,

matched by a complimentary process in the arms (see p. 12). This is because the the wing action cannot

be carried into speeds above roughly 360 notes per minute. At higher speeds it is replaced by finger action

aided by continuous arm weight. It is helpful to think of each finger as starting from the wrist rather than

the knuckle. As the finger flies up from the key, it takes the hand with it, after which the next descending

finger causes it to snap back down. In very slow practice, not only does the preceding finger fly up, but

the finger about to play lifts a little higher in anticipation of the downstroke. This lift further contributes

to the uplift of the hand. At the same time, the arm remains flexible and responsive, although not activily

participating. It should not be held motionless and rigid, nor should its weight be rested on the keys. The

former practice leads to a weak tone and can potentially cause stiffness and injury. The latter method is

technically and musically nonsensical at low speed, as will be explained in the section “The mechanics of

tone production”.

At high speed, notes are executed purely by finger movements, with the arm movements following

phrases. The phrase begins at an earlier point in the cycle, where the wrist is still falling, and ends at the

point where the wrist rises and leaves the hand “hanging” (see p. 25). In performing the “wing action”

without withholding any fingers, all five fingers will extend together. This stretching can be altered to

imitate the playing of five rising notes, or five falling notes, as though the “wave” is breaking obliquely.

The action can be tranferred to the keyboard using exercise 27, “Wrist movement in phrasing”, and can be

developed further by practising scales and passages in “adding notes” and “groups” (See p.29).

5.

Finger Action At The Piano

The finger is strongly curved and

raised above the key.

The finger straightens as it descends,

reaching its straightest position as

the tone sounds and the key touches

its bed.

The finger rebounds and slips back

a fraction, bending slightly as it does

so, and allowing the key to raise

slightly, but not sufficiently to cut

off the tone.

The finger releases the key and

returns to the original raised position,

bending as it does so.

Overall shape described by the finger end.

6.

Whilst arm and body movements cannot be carried into very fast playing, they can still be used in fast

pieces. They move with the quavers and crotchets, but not with the semiquavers. This also applies when

one hand is playing slower notes and the other executes rapid passagework. In the case of a melody with a

quiet accompaniment, the arm will move with each melody note. In strongly rhythmical music with a

driving beat, a Baroque Gigue for example, the arm movement will coincide with the strong beats.

The natural touch resulting from the wing action is non legato (p.9). This will seem strange to followers

of “arm weight and relaxation”, for whom the natural touch is legato.A modified wing action can be used

to achieve legato. Here, the fingers remain in contact with the keys, but the wrist bobs down just before

playing each note, then up again as the note is sounded. In this case, there is no lifting of the hand from

the keys, as this would inevitably cause a brief silence.

Finger Action This is shown in the diagrams on page 5. The finger action is also a “wing action” in its own right, with

the knuckle bending first, while the other joints are still straightening. The second joint bends

immediately after the tone has sounded, followed soon after by the finger tip. By this time, the knuckle

joint is already lifting the finger from its key.

The extending fingers land on the key almost vertically, giving maximum transmission of energy. A rigid

or, still worse, contracting finger would strike the key at an oblique angle, with considerable energy loss.

One centimeter of vertical finger travel causes the same amount of key movement. A centimeter of

oblique motion moves the key only a fraction of the distance, as well as causing friction. The actions in

the first, second and fourth pictures is sudden and rapid, even in slow music. As we aim to exercise the

fingers and build strength, we should take them through their full range of movement with swift,

energetic strokes. The position in the third picture is held for the duration of the tone. The reason for the

rebound and partial retraction in the third picture is that we do not want to apply any unnecessary pressure

or weight to the key after the tone has sounded. However, we do not release the key completely, as the

dampers would engage, stopping the tone.

The unused fingers should not be held rigidly at maximum height, as this can cause stiffness. They should

be held comfortably high, and in slow playing, each finger should rise just a little higher immediately

before playing. A further cause of stiffness is the inhibition of hand and wrist movement in slow practice.

Whilst some methods make a clear distinction between “pure finger touch” and “wrist touch”, I prefer to

think of the two as working together, although in varying proportions. Even so, the wrist movement

applied to single notes in passages can only take place at slow or medium speed. At high speed the fingers

take over, reinforced by varying amounts of arm weight. This is because a given muscle (in this case the

muscles situated in the forearm) can only repeat its action up to a certain speed. The fingers, however, are

sharing the work between five team members, so that no one finger is obliged to repeat immediately. It is

helpful to think of the fingers beginning, not at the knuckles, but at the wrist. This is not an invitation to

accompany the finger stroke with a downward arm movement! As seen in the “wing action” above, the

pivotal nature of the wrist is critical. A downward hand movement is accompanied by an upward

movement of the forearm.

7.

The human hand is highly adaptable, changing its shape according to the multitude of different jobs

which it has to do. We should allow this to happen, rather than forcing it into a predetermined mould. The

fingers are more strongly curved, particularly at the knuckle joint, when playing on white keys. This is

because flat fingers would be caught between the black keys. If we were to move the hand further towards

us, the thumbs would not reach the keys. However, neither of these misfortunes occurs when playing on

black keys, so we can release the fingers into a more gently curved position. Furthermore, the black keys

are raised above the white, so that playing on them with a strongly curved position would require the

fingers to be raised uncomfortably high. They are also set back from the white keys, so that the less

curved fingers can reach forward for them. White keys are approached at an almost vertical angle,

whereas the black keys are approached more obliquely (see exercise 4). We tend to avoid using the

thumbs on black keys, but when we have to do so, the other fingers become more strongly curved than in

the normal black keys position, otherwise they would scrape on the lid of the keyboard. We should never

let the last finger joint “collapse” into a concave shape, as all firmness and control is then lost. In slow

practice we prepare the position of the fingers (vertically above the key) and their shape (gently or

strongly curved for black or white keys respectively) well in advance, preferably several notes earlier.

(See also “Preparing Hand Shape", page 26).

Straight fingers can span wider intevals than curved ones. Occasionally, when a white key is easily

accesible to a straight finger (usually B,C, E or F), and when curving the finger would render the stretch

uncomfortable, we can straighten the finger somewhat. An example would be a double sixth from Ab to F

in the right hand played by the thumb and fourth finger, as found in Chopin’s Study Op. 25 no. 8.

Longer fingers, especially the third, are more strongly curved than shorter ones. The little finger is curved

in the up position and virtually straight in the down position. The hand should not “sag” towards the little

finger, which should form an almost vertical pillar when playing on the white keys.

The fingers are less vertical and less curved when spanning wide stretches, for example in playing certain

arpeggios. However, there should always be a degree of arching of the hand and raising of the knuckles,

as this gives an architectural strength to the finger strokes, especially when supporting arm weight. The

finger nails should be kept very short, as we often, although by no means always, find ourselves playing

on the finger tips. Changes in finger shape are often quite subtle, and should not be exaggerated. In

particular, excessive bending, either upon retraction or when playing a white key, can reduce the

efficiency of the touch. The thumb behaves differently from the other fingers. It is not raised, but remains

close to the keys, in order to avoid “banging”. Special exercises for lateral thumb movements should be

practised (see ex. 44). The last joint (the tip) of the thumb should never be bent, as this would render it

too wide to fit on the keys. The second joint can advantageously be bent outward somewhat, although not

forcefully. In playing ascending scales with the right hand or descending ones with the left, the thumb

should be brought under as soon as the second finger plays, and should then wait above its key while any

remaining fingers play. In scales and passages, the thumb should be played more quietly than the other

fingers, again to counteract “banging”.

A word about the “arm – weight transfer” method: In this method, finger movement is minimal and the

weight of the arm is allowed to rest on the keys whilst holding the notes. I myself studied this method for

several years. Yes, it is possible to play difficult music in this way without undue fatigue. However, as

there is no “attack” to the notes, they sound unintentional, as though played by accident. The resulting

music sounds spineless, inconsequential and lacking in conviction, as though it were being “thrown

away”. It is musical wallpaper. I once listened to a Mozart concerto played in this way. It sounded like an

orchestral piece with piano accompaniment.

8. Action of the back

For loud, emphatic playing, particularly with chords, we can reinforce the arm action with back

movements. Given that the “default position” of the wrist is high, the default position of the spine is the

straight, tall one shown by the blue line. When the wrist bobs down momentarily to the low position, as

shown by the pink line, just before playing a note, the back is allowed to relax into a slightly rounded,

“slouched” shape. It immediately bounces back up as the note is played, and remains high until just

before the next note.

Held exercises

Correct hand position, which changes for every group of notes or chord, should be practised by means of

held exercises. Place the five fingers on the adjacent keys CDEFG. Play each finger alone four times, then

in alternating pairs (CDCD etc.).The unused fingers hold down their keys. Here, the extension of fingers

is usually imperceptible, as the hand is so close to the keys. The playing fingers (except the thumb) are

lifted high before striking their keys. The exercise should be played forte and non legato, and should be

repeated, holding down a variety of different chords. (See exercise 25). Some held exercises prepare us

for the intricate finger co-ordinations found in contrapuntal music. (See exercises 5, 12 and 13). The

Leschetizky Method contains many valuable held exercises (see page 31). These are practised using a

finger - driven touch, sustaining the notes in a low position (see p. 12). In other words, the power of the

finger stroke momentarily drives the wrist upwards. The wrist then immediately relaxes down, and

remains in a low position until the next note is played. This adds more power to the tone, and avoids

stiffness in the wrist. Alternatively, the notes can be sustained in a high position (see p. 12).

Free exercises These are followed by “free” exercises, where the unused fingers remain comfortably high and curved,

except for the thumb, which lies on top of its key. Each finger is repeated separately, followed by paired

fingers (see exercise 24). This is best practised with a non legato touch, forte, using the finger – driven

action described on page 12. Begin at mm. = 66 and gradually speed up with the metronome. At a certain

9.

speed, the touch will “lift off” into a mezzo staccato, which will in turn merge back into a non legato at

very high speed. The touch can be maintained as a non-legato by applying a limited element of “arm

weight” (see below), to counteract the “lifting off”. See also exercises 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 18 ,19, 39 and 42.

The held and free exercises lead to the corresponding scales or arpeggios.

Free exercises yield their maximum benefit when played fast and loud. They should be speeded up to a

point where they become difficult, then gradually increased beyond that. Unless we push the limits, we

are not moving forward. Nevertheless we should also play exercises for a prolonged period at a fast but

comfortable speed, in order to build strength and endurance. This is analogous to the singer, who can

improve her range of high notes, not by constantly singing at high pitch, but by spending many hours

working on notes in the medium range.

We practise exercises with alternate hands at each speed, so as to rest one hand while the other plays.

Many exercises do not need to be played with the hands together.

As Neuhaus says, in The Art of Piano Playing, the fingers are our soldiers at the front line, whilst arm

movements and arm weight are the back-up team. The latter are of no value unless the “soldiers” are

properly trained, in this case with finger exercises. Sources of these can be found on page 31.

Non Legato

Finger exercises are usually practised non legato, using a finger – driven touch (see p. 12). The term

implies a very brief silence between each note. It is analogous to tonguing on a wind instrument or

playing with separate bows on a stringed instrument. It comes about as a natural result of lifting the

fingers high, unlike staccato, where the notes are deliberately shortened. Passages practised in a non

legato will sound clear and highly articulated at speed. There are many grades of non legato, ranging from

a hair’s breadth of silence to something approaching a mezzo staccato. The term is sometimes used to

refer to a physical process similar to the wing action. However, in this guide it is used only in its strictly

literal sense of “not connected”.

Legato In legato playing, each note is immediately followed by the next, with no silence in between. This is

similar to the singing voice, or to slurred playing on a wind or stringed instrument, and is suitable for

playing melodies. It is not suitable for rapid passagework. Like non legato, it should be practised firmly,

with arm weight used on the initial attack but then immediately lifed out, either using a finger – driven

touch or the wing action.

The role of arm weight Some proponents of “arm weight and relaxation” speak of transferring the whole weight of the arm from

key to key, regardless of speed (see page 7, last paragraph). If we allow the whole weight of the arm to

rest on the fingers, this will impose a crushing burden upon them, rather like running with a sack of coal

on one’s back. Touches such as non legato and finger staccato are impossible, as these require the arm to

support itself during the silences between the notes. Therefore, the action of the arm muscles is to lift

some of that weight away from the fingers. The physical sensation is one of a controlled pulling away

from the keys, as though “lifting the tone” out of them. We should think of the arm not as a rigid unit

which moves up and down, but as a flexible entity in three parts which extends when these are in a

straight alignment and contracts when the two joints are bent. In order to play lightly by withholding arm

weight, we should feel a gentle bending sensation in the wrists and elbows simultaneously, as when

rowing. The upper arm lifts sideways rather than forwards. We could imagine our arm to be like a coil

spring, which, when stretched, tries to return towards its contracted position.

For louder playing, a controlled, partial element of arm weight is applied evenly to each note by the

fingers, and is released as soon as the tone has sounded, as in the fourth wing action diagram and the

10.

third finger action diagram.

In controlling volume and touch we have two parameters at our disposal, namely arm weight and finger

action. Either can be graded to any level, but for simplicity’s sake, let us consider six combinations

using low, medium and high levels of arm weight.

a) Minimal weight: Here the arm is actively pulling upwards and the fingers are as it were fighting to

reach the keys. With minimal finger movement this gives the quietest touch of all and is ideal for gentle

legato playing, as in Debussy’s Clair de Lune, for example. Nevertheless, such music should initially be

practised firmly with raised fingers and graded down later. In this way the notes will be much more sure

under the fingers. With strong finger movement it produces a leggiero touch ideal for quiet yet sparkling

passagework, as in Ravel’s Ondine. It is also suitable for much of Bach’s music.

b) Medium weight: The arm adopts a neutral role, with the uplift of the muscles exactly matching the

downward pull or gravity. This is the normal position for slow practice as well as for much of what we

do in performance. With minimal finger movement this is suitable for legato playing at medium

volume. With strong finger movement it produces a non legato touch. At slow and medium speed,

this level represents the median level to which we would add impulses of greater weight via the wing

action, should a louder dynamic be required.

c) Heavier weight: This is only used in a continuous way at high speeed, when medium or high volume

is desired. A controlled, limited amount of arm weight is released on to the fingers like a “flexible

blanket”, in order to counteract the upthrust of the keys in rapid playing. As stated in the section “Free

Exercises” on page 8, it serves to maintain a firm non legato, as the touch would otherwise lift off into a

feathery mezzo staccato. Josef Gat in “The technique of Piano Playing” explains this phenomenon as

follows: If we imagine that each key has a nominal weight of one ounce, in slow tempo we may only play

say two notes during a four second period, with an upthrust of two ounces. In rapid tempo, we may play

fifty notes during the same time frame, and our fingers find comfort beneath their “blanket” of arm

weight as they grapple with a daunting upthrust of fifty ounces. One could say that the many little springs

of upthrust form a “mattress of resistance” against the weight of the flexible blanket. This may sound

fanciful, but it is the best way I can find to describe the sense of equilibrium which we aim to achieve.

As we increase the speed from fast to faster and very fast, the amount of weight gradually increases with

it. Let it be said again that continuous arm weight is never used at slow or medium speed. The reasons are

given in the section “The mechanics of tone production”. This pointless habit was correctly described as

the cardinal sin by Matthay, although many of his followers have unfortunately taken the opposite

viewpoint. There is also no point in using a lot of arm weight when trying to play quietly. One may as

well use a steam – roller to make pastry.

When used with minimal finger movement the “blanket” creates a warm legato..With strong finger

movement it gives a powerful and brilliant non legato touch, ideal in virtuoso passagework. In physical

terms, those muscles which raise the forearm and which cause the upper arm to move forwards and

upwards are partially relaxed, causing the arm to drop. However, the muscles in the lower side of the

forearm which are used in directing the hand downwards and raising the wrist, must be activated,

otherwise the arm would cave in at the wrist, dragging the hand from the keys. The same muscular co-

ordination can be activated in a sudden way on a single note to produce an accent. (see p.12), and is also

momentarly activated unconsciously as the note is sounded when using the wing action.

To introduce a student to the feeling of continuous arm weight, we can ask them to rest the weight of

their arm on the five fingers whilst holding down the notes CDEFG, feeling the strong pressure on the

fingertips. Without lifting the arm, they can then begin to move the fingers up and down the five notes

rapidly. After this, they can progress to the first exercise from Hanon.

Arm weight can also be introduced using “adding notes” or “groups.” Here, the wing action is appied to

11.

phrases rather than individual notes. It is used to release first the upper arm, followed by the forearm,

after which the upward movement of the wrist and extending fingers are introduced to support the

weight. Finally, the weight is taken away again on the upstroke of the “wing”. All these phases follow

each other in a graceful cycle. The wing action can also be applied to phrases independently of arm-

weight when playing lightly. In other words, it can be used to contour phrases in both quiet and loud

playing.

When playing continuous passagework, as in some Baroque music, expressive crescendi and diminuendi

can be introduced by increasing or decreasing the amount of arm weight. The three levels of arm weight

described above can be practised by playing simple patterns such as CDEFGFEDC many times, or using

Hanon studies ( see p. 29), varying the weight each time. For example, a phrase could be played twice

with position (c), twice with (a), alternating, the quiet repeat being like an echo. Then, twice with (a),

twice with (b), twice with (c) and back again. See exercises 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 18,19. In rapid playing, we

automatically use a certain amount of arm weight without necessarily being aware of it. If we play a

rapidly repeated pattern (e.g. CDEFGFEDC) at medium volume, then gradually remove arm weight until

the fingers are just “tickling” the keys, without sounding them properly, then re-introduce the weight to

the same level as before, we become conscious of the continuous presence of arm weight being

transferred between the notes.

Varying the strength of finger action Finger action can be modified according to the expressive needs of the music. For extremely loud

passages, or for a very detached, articulated sound, the finger action is emphasised. This produces an

effect of vehement intensity in loud music, and of timidity in quiet passages. For cantabile melodies, the

wing action is used, together with relaxed fingers which remain quite close to the keys. A powerful tone

can be attained in this way without energetic finger work. A slightly restrained finger action is used when

performing passages requiring a great deal of endurance (but not when practising them), as it leaves some

strength in reserve. Extremely gentle broken chord patterns used in accompaniments, or, for example, in

Beethoven’s so-called “Moonlight” Sonata, can be played in the following way: the fingers hardly move,

remaining in contact with the keys. The wrist moves in circles, which tend to be anticlockwise for the

right hand or clockwise for the left hand, irrespective of the direction of the melody. However, the hand

remains horizontal in a lateral plane, and does not rock from side to side. Even in such an extreme case,

the music should first be practised firmly, with raised fingers, as this instils the notes securely into the

memory.

In very quiet, furtive playing, the fingers are still lifted high, but the downstroke is restrained, and the arm

weight is in the (a) position above. The “restraint” does not denote an abandonment of hand position or a

relaxation of the fingers. They are raised high, but come down in a careful manner, as though “tiptoeing”

on the keys.

Practising exercises and passagework

When practising exercises, scales and studies, position (b) should be used at slow and medium tempo,

with a strong finger – driven action (see p. 12). The touch is non legato. As the speed increases, position

(c) is generally introduced, still with maximum finger action, so as to play at very high volume, thus

exercising the fingers to the maximum. As we speed up a passage gradually with the metronome, we try

to maintain the feeling of “biting” firmly into the key base at the beginning of the tone, then immediately

releasing the exertion.

We will feel ourselves more and more “drawn in” to the keyboard as the speed increases. This is due to

the arm weight automatically compensating for the increasing resistance of the keys. As a result, we may

find ourselves leaning forward slightly, with a certain tension in the arms. In this case, we should “sit

back” a little, relax the arms, and allow weight to take the place of muscular resistance in the body. The

12.

fingers, however, remain fully active, with a feeling of firmness in the fingertips. However, the exercises

can also be practised retaining position (b), so as to develop skill in playing leggiero passagework, and

also with both sudden and gradual changes in dynamics, achieved with finger speed at slow tempo and

with varying arm weight when playing at speed. Dynamics depend upon contrast. Your loud is as loud as

your quiet is quiet. The majority of practice is loud, as this develops finger strength and a sure knowledge

of the notes. However, a significant amount of time should be devoted to practising very quietly,

preferably on a “loud” instrument. Playing at medium volume is easy, so we should devote ourselves to

working on the extremes. Above all, we should avoid following the example of testosterone-driven

pianists whose sole aim is to play as loud and fast as possible. The result is all sound and fury, signifying

an ego-trip. Nevertheless, quiet playing should come from discretion and restraint, and should not be the

result of weakness.

Continuous rapid passagework requiring endurance (e.g. Chopin Op. 25 no. 2) should be practised with a

strong finger – driven action (see below), and at higher speed with transferred arm weight, but performed

mainly leggiero without arm weight, which feels effortless by comparison. The heavy practice should not

be done shortly before the performance as it leads to fatigue.

Finger – driven touch It is possible to emphasize certain notes whilst subduing others using finger action alone, without wrist movement or arm weight. Using exercise 20 A, emphasize the accented notes with a strong, rapid

thrust of the finger. The accented fingers are felt to extend more than the others, with a sensation of

pushing up the knuckle. The unaccented notes are played with a restrained “tiptoeing” finger stroke.

A much more energy – efficient and effective way of achieving a powerful tone is to introduce a brief

impulse of arm weight at the beginning of the note. This is normally done using the wing action, which

can be used advantageously with the above exercise. In this case, the weight is lifted out by the arm

immediately after the tone is sounded, and the note is sustained with the wrist in a relatively high

position.

As discussed earlier, the wing action uses the upper arms, shoulders and torso as the main driving force

when playing octaves and chords. When practising passagework, however, it is preferable to let the

fingers take the lead, aided by hand movements at slow or medium tempo. In this case, the downward

finger stroke drives the wrist upwards, momentarily engaging arm weight through the muscles situated on

the lower side of the forearm. The above muscles then relax immediately, allowing the muscles of the

upper arm (mainly the biceps) to “reabsorb” its weight, so that the key is held down with a minimum of

pressure. This may cause the wrist to drop immediately to a low position at a very slow speed, but it can

also remain in the high position as the note is sustained, bobbing down just before the next note. The

high position is not very high. The hand slopes gently towards the key. Just as with the wing action, the

note is sounded on the upstroke of the wrist. The low position is cumbersome and can only be used at

low speeds. It is sometimes useful when long melody notes are sustained whilst a rapid accompaniment is

played by the same hand. Here, the high position would be uncomfortable. It can also be used when

practising held exercises with a wide stretch. In either the high or low position, the muscles on the upper

side of the forearm remain relaxed With the low wrist, the upthrust of the keys is sufficient to support the

weight of the hand alone. In the high position, the hand hangs loosely from the wrist. As the speed

increases to about 130 beats per minute, the high position only is used. At all speeds the shoulders are

relaxed and down. The upper arms support their own weight but take no active part in the touch, although

the elbows are passively drawn forwards by the rising wrist. This implies a critical difference between the

finger – driven touch and the wing action: In the finger - driven touch the elbow straightens as the wrist

bends upwards, so that the forearm moves forwards as the note is sounded. In the wing action, the wrist

and elbows bend at the same time, and the forearm moves backwards on sounding the tone. A further

difference is the absence of the inward rotary flick of the arm when using the finger – driven touch.

13.

In summary, the shoulder – driven wing action and the finger-driven action form two opposite yet

complimentary approaches which use completely different sets of muscles. They can also be combined is

varying proportions, so that all the muscles in question are taking part.

The following practise methods develop the finger – driven technique. This approach translates more

directly into what happens at high speed, whereas the wing action requires a “change of gear”.

Hand movement with minimal finger movement The following technique ensures that each finger is strong enough to transfer the same amount of arm

weight to the keys. First, place all the fingertips on the surface of the five keys CDEFG. The finger drives

strongly downwards, causing the wrist to be thrown upwards. This activates the muscles under the

forearm which support arm weight, causing the weight to be delivered to the key. The wrist then drops

immediately, as the exertion is released, leaving the finger to maintain just sufficient pressure to hold the

key down. The fingers are not raised above key level, and the touch is legato. Make sure that after the

tone has sounded only just sufficient weight is used to prevent the dampers from stopping the tone. Play

the five notes up and down continuously many times, gradually speeding up. As each key is depressed,

the finger straightens and the knuckle and wrist are pushed up, activating the arm weight momentarily.

The weight is released as the finger “skids” backward, as in the third finger action diagram. At roughly

200 beats per minute, the touch changes automatically: the feeling of pushing up the wrist gives way to

one of the fingers taking the hand down with them and playing the note rather firmly. At the same time,

the fingers begin to lift off the keys slightly, and the touch changes to a non legato. These factors become

gradually more pronounced as the speed increases further. However, even at full speed, the effect is one

of moderate, evenly applied arm weight and a restrained finger action.

Combined finger and hand action For a more articulated, incisive touch, follow exactly the same procedure, but using raised fingers and a

non legato touch from the outset. At roughly 300 beats per minute the touch “lifts off” and there is a

feeling of “bouncing” the weight of the arm from finger to finger rather as we bounce the body’s weight

from leg to leg when running. At 4 x 92 the wrist movement disappears and is replaced by a continual

transfer of weight between the fingers. The separate impulses of energy have merged just as the frames of

a film merge into a continuous moving picture. The medium stage, with its hand movement from the

wrist reinforcing the fingers, is very common in melody playing.

Any weight used unnecessarily in holding keys down is unavailable for accenting other notes, since a

weight must be lifted off before it can be used again. By the same token, the finger and wrist muscles

cannot deliver maximum impact if they are already being used to hold down the previous note. The

“release” can initially be practised by using a “double hit” on the accented note. The action should first be

practised with each finger separately on sustained tones on white and black keys, then with five finger

exercises such as Dohnanyi exercise 12 or Joseffy exercise 1 (see page 31). In order to support the weight

of the accent, the hand needs to assume a somewhat arched form, with the knuckles raised, although the

fingers will be less strongly curved on the black keys. The non-accented notes should also be played with

a vigorous finger action but with no arm involvement.

The accent can be further enhanced by playing only the accented notes, and “shadowing” the other notes,

playing them on the tops of the keys, without sounding. Scales and passagework can be practised with

accents every 3 or 4 beats, in order to obtain an even tone. All work with accents should be started very

slowly and speeded up gradually with a metronome. It will be noticed that the fourth and fifth finger need

more practice in bearing the force of an accent than do the other fingers, especially when arm weight is

involved.

14.

Accenting of single notes in passagework is not very common in real music. One example would be the

Rondoletto from Stravinsky’s Serenade En La. A much more important use of accents is in emphasizing

melodic lines (see page 14). For accents on isolated notes or chords, see page 26.

Many people find the upward wrist movement difficult to grasp at first. It may be helpful to imagine that

they are rolling a can of beans towards the piano. We can also say that the hand follows the fingers down

towards the keys. A downward hand movement is equivalent to an upward wrist movement, and serves

the same purpose. It is also helpful to show using the back of the hand how the arm divides into five

fingers at the wrist, rather than the knuckle. Any skeleton knows this. When playing, we may picture

ourself as some strange alien creature with no hands but just five very long fingers beginning at each

wrist, and capable of lifting very high. In this way the wrist movement is felt to be initiated entirely by the

fingers. If we envisage accents as being transmitted not by the whole hand but by the bone within the

hand of a particular finger, it becomes possible to accent each finger individually whilst playing the

others unaccented.(See Emphasizing melodic lines). Although deplorable as a technique, a useful way of

“finding” these bones is to rest the weight of the arm on each finger in turn, and feel it being borne, not by

the hand as a whole, but by the bone of that particular finger within the hand. The experience can then be

repeated in the correct way as a momentary impulse of weight which is immediately released. Having

said all this, we should not forget, of course, that independent finger movements from the knuckle are of

vital importance, but it is equally important to ingrate them with the movement of the “hand” part of the

finger, and to feel the work of the “elongated” finger as a single act.

Uses of the wing action and finger – driven touch The two touches need to be practised separately, as each involves a fairly complex movement sequence.

Yet, in performance, they are generally combined in varying proportions. A “pure” finger – driven touch

is used in practising rapid passagework, although even here a small amount of wing action may be added

at lower speeds, in order to induce a feeling of freedom in the arms. A relatively “pure” wing action is

found in playing rapid octave passages, although, again, a small amount of finger – driven action adds

firmness to the touch. Most commonly, the two complement each other in a balanced, composite action.

A good way of achieving this is to play with one of the touches in its “pure” form, and gradually phase in

the other.

Emphasising melodic lines

This is perhaps the most vital aspect of piano playing, as it makes all the difference between a dead

performance and one infused with life and beauty. It is achieved by applying the wing action to each note

of the melody, whilst executing the accompaniment purely by means of fingerwork. It is often the case

that both melody and accompaniment notes occur in the same hand (usually the right), with the melody

notes most commonly assigned to the third, fourth and fifth fingers. Exercises 20 and 21 specifically

address this problem.

In addition, double note exercises should be practised, accenting either the upper or lower voice and

playing the other voice quietly. Again, we can prepare for this by “shadowing” the non-accented notes by

playing them silently on the tops of the keys. See exercises 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 22, and 23.

The inward rotary movement which is part of the wing action is at first difficult to apply to the fourth and

fifth fingers, and should be practised using exercise 51. In cases where a singing melodic line is

supported by an arpeggiated accompaniment , also in the right hand, as in Schuberts Impromptu

Op. 90 no. 3, the melody notes are approached with a sudden outward rotary movement, which turns

inward just as the note is sounded. The wrist moves diagonally upwards and right, glancing off in an

arc to the left as the note is sounded (see exercises 21 d and e).

15.

Where a melodic line is played in octaves or chords, it is often desirable to emphasize the top notes of the

octaves or chords above the rest. Paradoxically, a non legato touch with pedal sings out better than a

legato, as it is more incisive.

Where sustained notes are used in the accompaniment, they must be held with a minimum of weight, so

that the weight can be used for accenting the melody notes. (See exercises 36 – 38). The accented fingers

strike stonger and deeper, reacting upwards against the arm’s weight and downwards upon the keys. The

accompaniment fingers almost “shy away” from the keys. In other words, we extend (straighten) the

accented finger further and faster than the rest. There is also a slight sense of a shift in the “centre of

gravity” towards the accented finger, just as a standing person may lean more on one leg or the other.

Just as a quiet accompaniment sets off a relatively loud melodic line, so a detached accompaniment (non

legato or mezzo staccato) sets off a smooth melody by contrast. Such an accompaniment resembles a cat

padding across a soft carpet.

The mechanics of tone production

As in any athletic activity, strength is combined with flexibility, and every muscle and joint must be able

to absorb impact and rebound in an elastic manner, with no part of the body held rigidly. The poised arm

(see Wing Action, page 2 ) is like a horizontal leaf spring pulled one way by gravity and the other by its

muscles. When deflected upwards, it pushes back towards its normal position. Relativity dictates that

when the finger tip strikes downwards against the resistance of the keys, the knuckle and wrist kick

upwards with equal force, pushing the spring upwards at the wrist joint. The momentary impact of the

finger end on the key bed is felt simultaneously as an upward imact in the wrist. Gravity then acts against

the wrist and finger muscles, trying to push the wrist down again, and it is in this way that “arm weight”

acts upon the keys. As soon as the wrist has dropped to its normal position (which happens immediately

once the tone has sounded), equilibrium is restored in the spring, and gravity no longer pushes down on

the finger. In this way, gravity functions as an elastic resistance and not as a dead weight resting on the

keys, as is the case with some “arm weight and relaxation” methods. Again thanks to relativity, this

means that our touch on the keyboard will be elastic and “bouncy”, like a runner wearing gel trainers

instead of wooden clogs. This is why pogo sticks are fitted with a spring.

When trying to explain this to students who are weak in physics, we could use the following analogy:

When the jetstream from an aircraft pushes the air backwards, the air’s resistance pushes the aircraft

forwards. Likewise, when the hand kicks upwards against the arm, the arm’s resistance kicks the hand

back down against the keys.

A weight is only useful when converted into movement by being dropped. The piano mechanism does not

“understand” weight. It only understands “speed of key descent”, which it converts into “volume of

sound”. This can be established by lowering a very heavy object very slowly on to the keyboard from a

crane. The resultant sound will be faint. A boy sitting on a see-saw may counterbalance his friend at the

other end by gently leaning backwards. However, if he climbs on to a tree branch and drops on to the see

saw from a height, his friend will be sent flying into the air. This is why using a lot of arm weight

combined with a weak finger stroke will not achieve a strong tone, and nor will weight which is gently

“transferred” from finger to finger. A chain is as good as its weakest link, and no amount of arm weight

will produce a strong tone via a weak and flabby finger. It is all a matter of transmission of energy.

The immense power of mains electricity will not bring warmth to the home if it must first run through a

one amp fuse. Similarly, the boxer may put his full body weight behind the punch, but if he has very

weak arms, he will injure himself rather than the opponent. A mighty giant wielding an axe made of jelly

will be unable to crush even the smallest flea.

The fingers need to be trained not only as moving units but also as transmitters of impulses of arm

weight, which implies practising at high volume, and often with an “accented touch”, either in non legato

16.

or staccato. A combined wing action / finger-driven staccato is a particularly good way to practise rapid

brilliant passages, as it combines strength, elasticity and a highly articulated sound.

The “dropping” mentioned above is a little difficult to see in the case of the arm, as it does not drop

vertically. Because the keyboard is in front of the player, and the arm is, on average, sloping towards it

diagonally (with a bend in the middle), the weight travels down and forwards, eventually converting to a

downward hand stroke as the elbow pulls back on sounding the tone (see p.3). The net direction of the

weight is downwards, just as the direction of mains water is downwards from the reservoir, even though

it may be travelling upwards in the pipe system of your house. It is very important to steer pupils away

from the common habit of producing notes by directly dropping the arm as a unit. Initially they should be

taught to use finger movement only, and subsequently they can add the up-wrist accent.

In summary, we have an expanding unit (the finger and hand) kicking simultaneously upwards and

downwards. It kicks upwards not against a stationary mass, but one which is itself endowed with a

downward momentum, thus impacting the key with redoubled force. In its “raw” state this produces a

hard, violent assault upon the ear. It is the crude material which we must then refine to serve our artistic

purposes. In practice, this means applying it in varying degrees of strength to each note so as to create, in

musical terms, a balanced vertical texture and a meaningful horizontal progression.

When an object has been dropped, it must be lifted up before it can be dropped again, and this should be

done immediately after dropping, so the object (in this case arm weight) is up and ready to be dropped

again. This happens after the sounding of every note, when the wrist relaxes down and weight is taken

from the keys and taken over by the muscles of the shoulder blades and upper arms. As already

mentioned, the tone is then held down with as little weight as possible.

We should never use arm weight for holding down a tone after it has been sounded, (a) because it will

not be “up and ready”, (b) because only a minimal weight is needed to hold the key down, and (c)

because it puts an unnecessary load upon the finger muscles and on those muscles which keep the wrist

up. This can be seen by resting the whole weight of the arm on the keys whilst holding down, say, a triad.

If we were to relax the finger and wrist muscles, the hand would be dragged from the keyboard by

gravity. Therefore these muscles are working very hard just to keep the hand on the keyboard and hold a

key down, with no musical goal whatsoever, as the note has already been sounded. Some proponents of

the “arm weight and relaxation” method, claim that they are not expending any effort, and are merely

“resting” the arm on the keys. This fails to take into account the effort expended by the finger and wrist

muscles. Matthay, one of the pioneers of “arm weight and relaxation”, was perfectly correct on this point,

but has since been widely misinterpreted. Ironically, “arm – weight” pianist who rest their weight on the

key bed have no further available weight to drop on the keys, and are therefore sounding the tones purely

by means of finger action.

At high speed, and only then, we experience a sense of continuous transfer of arm weight in the arm. This

is because the phase of “holding the tone with minimal weight” is now absent. The arm weight aids the

finger in producing a powerful downstroke at the moment of sounding the tone, and is then immediately

passed on to the next finger. We are still “lifting off” the weight in order to use it again, but this function

is now taken on entirely by the fingers, which bounce off the keys immediately, whilst the arm provides

its “flexible blanket” of support. (see page 10). In terms of duration, every note in a rapid passage is

staccato, although it is not heard as such, being followed, not by a silence, but by other notes.

Gat poetically compared this with the action of a road drill, no doubt fitting imagery to a Hungarian writer

of the Soviet era. When the drill is switched off, the operator must hold it up with her arms. Under the

imaginary circumstance of the drill working at a slow tempo, she would relax down the weight for each

impact, then take it up again in between times. However, when the drill is working at high speed, its

rapidly repeated jabbing is sufficient to support its weight without having to be raised and lowered by the

17.

operator, although she may be applying a certain elastic resistance (“flexible blanket”) not unlike the

shock absorbers of a car. (Gat’s original is slightly adapted here.)

When speeding up a passage using the wing action, we will experience a “gear change” at around 4 x 92,

whereby we can no longer accent the notes separately. At this point we must change to a staccato touch,

abandoning any attempt to sustain the notes. We must also relinquish all arm movement at this speed,

replacing it with continuous arm weight.

If we play an accented staccato note, driving the arm into the air, then let the finger fall back on to the key

without attempting to hold the arm up, the second note will be sounded at a speed of about 2 x 92. This is

therefore the lowest possible speed for bouncing unsupported arm weight, and at this low pace it is a very

heavy touch indeed, of little use in performance. As a practice method, however, it makes for strong

fingers, and it is also a way of introducing people to the concept of arm weight. Initially, it is advisable to

practise it on a soft surface such as the top of the piano stool. Between the speeds of 2 x 92 and 4 x 92, we

have a choice between sustaining notes lightly, or using bounced arm weight. Rather than bouncing the

whole weight of the arm, it is usually preferable to have the arm partially supported. We increase the

weight for greater volume, and also at higher speed.

In quiet playing, we are not deliberately “dropping and raising” the arm’s weight, or indeed consciously

using weight at all, but the “horizontal leaf spring” is still present, passively reinforcing the finger stokes

against the upthrust of the keys, and providing a stable platform to which the fingers are anchored at the

knuckle joint. If the fingers were not attached to the arm in this way, they would be too light to make any

impression upon the keys, however agile they may be. They would be like a featherweight boxer who

takes on a heavyweight, and finds that his own punches simply drive him backwards, without even being

noticed by the opponent. It should be remembered that for quiet playing the upper arms lift sideways

rather than forwards, and a gentle bending is felt in the wrists and elbows.

In the unthinkable circumstance of having to push my car down the drive, my own weight will be

insufficient to achieve this aim. If, however, I brace myself with my back to the garage door, the much

greater mass of the garage will enable me to move the car effortlessly. In the same way, the mass of the

arm braces the hand and fingers against the upthrust of the keys. In other words, when an irresistible force

meets an immovable object, then the entity generating the irresistible force will be obliged to move

backwards, unless it can find another immovable object facing the other way.

One of the main reasons why some people mistakenly press into the keys when holding a tone, is the

desire to create a feeling of continuity in melodic lines. When singers, wind or string players wish to

produce an unbroken stream of sound, they do so by means of continuous expenditure of energy in tone

production. However, in the case of pianist, the “continuity” is an illusion created by a series of brief

impulses of energy at the beginning of each note, then sustained with as little energy as possible. Its

appearance belies the means of production, just as the smooth gliding of the swan belies the frantic

paddling going on beneath the surface.

Staccato Like sustained notes, staccato notes can be driven from the shoulder using the wing action, or from the

fingers and hand.

Staccato with wing action Staccato represents the simplest form of the wing action, since the initial backward movement is omitted.

It consists of just two movements, forwards and back. These are shown in the diagrams on page 17. For

this reason, it is advisable to become familiar with playing staccato before learning the full wing action

with sustained notes. No distinction is made here between staccato for single notes and that used for

octaves and chords. The action is exactly the same, except that with single notes there is an additional

element of finger movement.

18. Staccato with Wing Action

Starting position. The arm is

back and the wrist high, with

the hand hanging loosely, but

in position above the keys to

be played.

The arm straightens at the elbow,

so that the forearm is pushed

forwards, throwing the hand

upwards. The hand is not

deliberately raised, but is thrown

by the arm.

The elbow bends and the

forearm is pulled back, causing

the hand to descend rapidly,

striking the key, after which it is

snatched away immediately,

resuming its hanging position.

There is no deliberate movement of the hand or fingers. They are thrown.

The forearm moves forward and backward, not up and down.

The forward and backward movements follow in immediate succession.

The elbows also move slightly outwards as the note is sounded.

Even in slow tempo, the action is very sudden.

There is a feeling of plucking the notes from the keyboard.

19. Prepared Staccato Notes and Chords with Wing Action

The fingertips prepare the note or

chord by touching the surface of

the keys to be played. The wrist is

held at a moderate height, with the

hand as relaxed as the stretch permits.

The elbow pulls back suddenly,

lifting the wrist higher, with the

hand hanging loosely, but still

forming the shape of the chord.

The movement sequence is the

same as the wing action.

The forearm pushes forwards and

the wrist falls, throwing the hand

upwards. The hand is not lifted

deliberately. It is thrown by the arm.

The elbow pulls back again, and

The elbow pulls back again and

the wrist rises, causing the hand

to descend rapidly, sounding the

chord. The wrist continues to rise,

releasing the key, and moving as

fast as possible to prepare the next

chord, as in the first picture.

20.

At a slow or medium pace, we “prepare” the note or chord by placing the fingers on the surface of the

keys to be played (see p. 19). In this case, we may not begin with the forward thrust as in the normal

staccato, as the fingertips would simply dig in to the keys. Therefore we must first “reverse out” as in

the first prepared staccato diagram, in the same way as a car reverses out of its parking place before

proceeding forward. The prepared staccato action is very similar to the wing action for sustained notes

except that, having played the note, the finger, instead of holding the key lightly, leaves it immediately

and moves to the surface of the next key to be played. At a slightly higher speed the preparation feels

like playing an interim note on the surface of the keys, half – way between the real notes, so that there is a

sensation of “double tempo”. At about 180 beats per minute the preparation becomes impossible, and we

revert to the normal staccato (p. 18). However, we still “prepare” the fingers in the air, vertically above

the notes to be played. In the case of chords, we form the shape of the chord in the air with our hand.

At high speed the hand flutters close to the keys, and the touch feels very relaxed. Rapid octave passages

are always practised staccato. However, at a slower tempo, sustained chords and octaves can also be

played very effectively using the wing action.

Finger – driven staccato The wing action staccato is the most suitable for slow and medium speeds, but can not be used at a

high speed. Here, finger – driven staccato must be used. A very light finger staccato without arm weight

is carried out using exactly the same finger action as in the finger action diagrams on page 5, except that

the finger immediately rebounds into the air instead of lingering on its key. However, whilst in sustained

playing the upthrust of the key conveyed via the finger is sufficient to support the weight of the hand,

here the hand must be held up by the muscles on the upper side of the forearm. The arm, of course,

supports its own weight, otherwise the hand would immediately fall on to the keys.

For a stronger tone, arm weight can be added exactly as in the finger – driven non legato, by pushing up

the wrist momentarily as the tone is sounded. Again, the impetus is felt to come from the finger rather

than from the wrist muscles. Immediately after playing the note, and whilst the wrist is still rising, the

finger retracts sharply, lifting at the knuckle. It may bend slightly as it rises, but do not flick it backwards.

The wrist falls immediately, ready for the next note. Here again, the arm supports its own weight during

the silences between the notes and the hand is held up by the muscles on the upper side of the forearm,

which can lead to stiffness. This can be avoided in two ways. Firstly, at a low speed, we “prepare” the

next note by placing the fingertip on its surface, as in the wing action staccato above. The upthrust of the

key at surface level is sufficient to support most of the hand’s weight, taking the strain off the upper

forearm muscles. During the preparation, keep the knuckles fairly low and allow even the other fingers to

rest close to their keys. In this way we can develop the rapid reflex of action and retraction without risk of

stiffening the arm. Secondly, we introduce an element of the wing action, yet without

any impetus from the shoulder. At the moment of sounding the tone, there is a sharp bending of the wrist

(upwards) and the elbow, as though “snatching” the tone from the keys. The hand leaves the keyboard not

vertically but somewhat angled towards the player. Afterwards, the elbow is immediately relaxed again as

the hand falls back on to the keys. The touch is similar to the “hand movement with minimal finger

movement on page 13, except that, instead of holding the tone, the hand is rocketed into the air, wrist

uppermost. The hand then rises, catching up with the wrist, and both fall in a more or less straight

alignment, so that the next finger lands softly on the surface of the next key. This method can only be

used when employing an extending finger action, as shown in the finger action diagrams. It is perhaps

the simplest application of arm weight, and can be used to introduce students to that concept. When used

with chords, this action resembles a frog jumping between water – lilies.

The “preparation” can only be done up to a speed of about 180 beats per minute, after which the hand and

arm begin to bounce off the keys. This is a similar speed to the cut – off point when using preparation

with the wing action. The wrist movement gradually decreases as the speed is raised, and becomes

imperceptible at around 4 x 100, being replaced once again by a continuous transfer of arm weight. At

this point, the touch can no longer be regarded as staccato, having merged into a non legato. This is an

21.

ideal touch for practising brilliant passagework, as it combines strength, elasticity and a highly –

articulated sound. See exercise 40. It can also be used for practising fingered octave passages and double

note exercises. For greater power, we can increase the element of wing action at low speed as follows:

Instead of sounding the note directly from the surface position, we can prepare then lift off as in the

diagrams on page 19.

The finger – driven staccato can also be applied at full speed using adding notes and groups. It is applied

only to the last note of each group, which is sharply accented and flies off into the air with the wrist

strongly raised. It may be necessary to lengthen the silence between groups owing to the high “orbit” of

the hand. (See exercises 23 and 33).This is different from the usual way of playing “adding notes” and

groups, where the last note is quiet and is lifted by the arm. This latter method may also be used for

practising staccato.

Finger – driven staccato can be practised on a springy surfase such as the top of the piano stool at around

200 beats per minute (See page 23).

Wrist staccato This method is quite commonly used by some people when playing octaves. It consists of deliberately

moving the hand up and down using the muscles in the forearm, in other words, exactly what we are

trying not to do when playing with the wing action. It is possible to attain quite a high speed using this

method, but it is very tiring, and is not suitable for extended passages. We should use the wing action

most of the time, keeping the wrist touch in reserve as a “booster” for the fastest passages.

The hand begins in the air, and moves swiftly down, then up. It remains up until the next chord or octave

is played. In other words, in slow practice, the hand is in the up position most of the time, and from the

audience perspective the wrist appears low. A useful practice technique is to hold the underside of the

forearm, close to the wrist, with the other hand, supporting the weight of the arm, and ensuring that there

is no movement in the forearm, the entire action being executed by the wrist.

A light staccato approaching mezzo staccato can also be achieved by speeding up a very quiet non legato

without adding any arm weight. This touch is ideal for playing leggiero passages at a moderate speed.

A very dry light staccato can be achieved when we place the finger on the surface of the key, sound the

tone lightly then withdraw the finger with a sharp upward hand movement (as opposed to wrist

movement). This, however, has the disadvantage of using the upper forearm muscles, which render it

somewhat stiff and awkward.

The “bounced arm weight” staccato can be used effectively together with the sustaining pedal in

declamatory melodic passages. An example would be the octave passages in Albeniz’s “Albaicin” from

“Iberia”.

Touch changes related to speed

It will be noticed that in many of the above examples, the characteristics of touch change as the speed

increases, rather like the gear changes of an accelerating vehicle. A basic principle in practising any

music is to start slowly and gradually increase the pace. Therefore, we should select the type of touch

which we intend to use at full speed, and apply the appropriate method in slow practice. To quote just

one example, a passage which will be played fast with continual transfer of arm weight would normally

be practised slowly with a finger – driven non legato touch. In this case, we should emulate the horse,

which passes through four distinct movement species as it accelerates: it walks, trots, canters and gallops.

However, even the most delicate music should be played firmly, with raised fingers, during the initial

round of practice, so as to gain a sure knowledge of the notes. All the above touches should be mastered

by practising exercises, so that they can be drawn upon as and when required. Having done this, we

should not regard them as stock formulae to be applied in a mechanical way, but should adapt them

imaginatively to the needs of the music, rather as artists draw upon the colours in their palette.

22.

As a general principle, the amount of visible movement decreases as the speed increases, just as a ball left

to bounce freely will gradually increase in speed but decrease in height of bounce. The height of the

initial bounce sets a certain speed of travel, and as each bounce gets lower it is able to complete the

distance in less and less time. In the same way, we need to increase the distance travelled by the fingers or

wrist in slow practice in order to attain the necessary speed of movement for velocity playing. This means

lifting the fingers high, or exaggerating wrist movements.

The larger the body mass involved in playing a note, the slower will be the speed at which it can operate.

The full wing action with back action is only possible at low speed. As we accelerate, the next stage

would be the wing action accompanied by a feeling of being thrown backward and forward on the seat,

so that the knees can be seen to move. The next stage would be the wing action involving arms only.

At a still higher speed, only the fingers and hands are seen to move, and, at maximum speed, only finger

movement is apparent.

Therapeutic exercises

Finger – driven touches make excellent “high impact” work, developing strength, elasticity and endurance

in the fingers. However, after a prolonged period of such practice, the fingers may become “stunned”,

rather as the ear is stunned after listening to deafening pop music. The keys may feel unsatisfying and

unresponsive. It may also be that having emphasized a very strong down-stroke, the release of weight is

taking place a fraction too late, a phenomenon described by Matthay as “key-bedding.” Mose seriously

of all, we may loose our ability to play leggiero passages. Under these circumstances, the following

exercises may be helpful.

Practise passages with a strong finger action away from the piano, in a standing position, with the arms

and hands hanging loosely by your sides. Here there can be no question of any key-resistance or arm

weight being involved. Allow the hands to follow the fingers. Also practise the piano with a leggiero

touch, i.e. a non – legato with a strong finger action but with the arms as light as possible, pulling away

from the keys.

To stretch the finger muscles, place the fingers fully outstretched and spread as widely as possible flat

upon the piano stool. Very gently move forwards, so that the knuckles and wrist are bent back. Hold for a

while then increase slightly and continue to hold. Do this with both hands at once. It is a yoga – like

exercise. To prevent the fingers from slipping, it is better to use a leather or plastic stool, and to slightly

dampen the fingers. Then very slowly allow the hands to return to their normal curved position. Hurrying

this can result in injury. See illustration on page 23.

With the arms hanging loosely by the sides, shake the hands rapidly by rotating the forearms from side to

side. This can be combined with swinging the arms backwards and forwards.

It is sometimes suggested that practising exercises causes “stiffness”. This is untrue, provided we bear the

following points in mind:

a) Do not adopt a fixed, curved finger shape.

b) Do not hold the unused fingers rigidly at maximum height.

c) The upper arms and forearms should be supported by their own muscles, but:

d) The hands should be allowed to hang loosely from the wrist in between the notes.

e) However, the wrist should not be held excessively high, and we should remember to bob down just

before the next note.

f) When speeding up a passage using arm movements, do not try to continue with the arm movement into

the highest speed zones. About 4 x 92 would be a maximum. Above this speed, we must make a

conscious gear-change to a pure finger action with varying amounts of continuous arm weight.

Fatigue, as opposed to stiffness, is a perfectly acceptable outcome of any form of exercise.

23. Exercises using a piano stool.

Stretching exercise Moisten the hands slightly. Use a plastic or leather covered duet stool with a firm cushion in the centre.

Place the hands in the corners with fingers and thumbs outstretched. Gradually lean forwards so that a

stretch is felt along the muscles on the underside of the forearm. Hold for several minutes. Come out of

the stretch very gradually. Do not attempt to bend the fingers for at least a minute afterwards. If a duet

stool is unavailable, the exercise can be done in a standing position using a normal stool.

Gymnastic exercises Remove the cushion. Kneeling beside the stool, practise the following staccato touches, using the soft

surface to cushion the fingertips. The stool functions as a trampoline. After doing the exercises, return to

the stretching exercise.

Wing action: Use the whole hand first of all, then each finger in turn, many times.

Here, the hand and fingers are passive, the impulse coming from the shoulders and upper arms. Work at a

natural cruising speed (probably around 200 strokes per minute).

Bounced arm weight: This is the opposite of the previous exercise, with the shoulders and upper arms

completely relaxed, and the work being done by the finger muscles and the forearm muscles which move

the hand up and down. This will produce a stronger attack than the wing action. This can be alternated

with the wing action in order to give rest periods to each set of muscles. Also practise with one hand

using wing action, the other using bounced arm weight.

Combined wing action and bounced arm weight: This produces a much stronger attack than either

action alone. Again, try this first with the whole hand, then with each finger in turn.

24.

Unintentional complementary arm movements

In the case of many physical actions, the deliberate movement of one part of the body may be

accompanied by unintentional, complementary movements in other parts. For example, many people may

imperceptibly wiggle their hips when walking, but would never do so deliberately, unless they wished to

be dangerously provocative. Similarly, in playing the piano with a leggiero unaccented touch, our

conscious intention is to move only the fingers, but we may unconsciously perform a microscopic up-

down wrist movement with each finger stroke. This is a miniature version of the deliberate wrist

movement used in accented playing. As we speed up, the movement continues into medium speed but

disappears in fast playing. In performing double note passages, the movement is more noticeable and

serves to introduce a certain minimal element of arm weight at the beginning of each note, to counteract

the increased upthrust of two keys played at once. We should not perform this action deliberately, but

should allow it to happen, as it does no harm and results in a better tone quality. Some pianists try to

inhibit the arm movement by holding the arm rigidly, which leads to the well-known problem of stiffness.

This is probably because as children they acquired the notion that arm movements are “naughty.”

True, teachers faced with a child who plays each note with a downward arm movement instead of using

the fingers would be well-advised to prohibit arm movements as a temporary measure. We should add

that the upward wrist movement is so slight as to be virtually invisible from the pianist’s perspective,

although it could be seen by someone whose head was resting sideways on the keyboard, a short distance

from the pianist’s hand - a rare occurrence, fortunately. When playing at medium or high volume, as

has been seen, we consciously perform a more pronounced upward wrist movement.

Another unintentional complementary movement is the “rotation” of the forearm in playing tremolo

octaves, broken chords, trills, and in accenting the 5th

finger when it performs a “stabbing” staccato

action. The hand tilts to the right for the higher note, and to the left for the lower one. Such passages

should be practised slowly with a finger – driven action, without rotation. Only when high speed is

reached, should the wobble be allowed, but not forced, to happen. It serves to relax the arm, and enhances

the musical effect. It can be practised, at high speed, using exercise 51 with every pair of fingers except

the thumb. This is not the same rotation as in the wing action, where the arm flicks out then in for each

single note, as opposed to a pair of notes.

When a pianist’s arms fly into the air after playing an accented chord, this may look like a gesture of

empty display, but is in fact a natural “follow-through” to the upward thrust of the wrist, just as when a

tennis player of golfer follows through with their stroke, rather than stopping it abruptly after hitting the

ball.

Finally, it is desirable to move the wrist up and down slowly when holding down a long note or chord.

This is not a vain attempt to produce vibrato, but is simply a means of keeping the arm loose and flexible.

Rocking from the hips serves the same purpose. Holding the body in one position is always more tiring

than moving it, just as standing is more tiring than walking. This is because when holding a static

position, a certain set of muscles is being used in a particular way for a prolonged period of time.

In summary, whilst superfluous movements are certainly to be avoided, a variety of arm movements are

helpful both from a technical and expressive standpoint. Pianists who hold their arms absolutely still

sound timid, lifeless and mechanical.

Wrist movement in phrasing Phrasing brings life and shape to a melody, and can be enhanced by the simple technique of dropping the

wrist at the beginning of a phrase, and raising it at the end. This motion can first be practised with single

triads then single notes, then with phrases of 2, 3 and more notes. At the beginning of the phrase, the

forearm moves down, leaving the hand behind in the air. This causes the wrist to drop, shown by a down

bow sign. The back rounds slightly (see p.8) At the end of the phrase the forearm rises, again leaving the

25.

hand behind, in a hanging position. The back straightens. At this point the wrist is high, as indicated by an

up bow sign (See exercise 27).

The phrase may be unaccented, or the accent may be placed on the first note (down wrist) or the last note

(up wrist). As many phrases begin on weak beats, accenting the first note lends an expressive syncopation

to the music. It is particularly effective in the strongly contoured music of the Classical period, especially

in Mozart. Accenting the last note (up wrist) gives a much stronger effect, particularly if it is played

staccato. Placing accents depends of course on the musical context, and it is helpful to mark the score

with down bow and up bow signs.

The hand and forearm always move in opposite directions, and this constant wave motion brings freedom

of movement and avoids stiffness.

When used with a single note or chord, the note is sounded at the beginning of the up-stroke (see p. 26).

This coincides with the “tip” of the “wing action” described on page 3. The note may be unaccented or

accented. We should never use an individual downward stroke of the arm for single notes within a

passage or phrase. This is a common failing among children, who sometimes play the notes with their

arms instead of using their fingers. For this reason, it is inadvisable to teach the wrist action in the early

stages. In rapid passages, individual notes are produced by the fingers, whilst the arm movement is

completely independent, and follows the shape of the phrase (down an the beginning, up at the end).

When using the finger – driven touch and the “unintentional complementary” wrist movement mentioned

on page 24, the arm movement is upwards, not downwards.

For very long phrases, the wrist may also move during the phrase, following the natural movement of the

hand as it finds its way around the keyboard. In general, it will tend to rise when playing groups of black

keys and sink for the white keys. It will also rise as the phrase rises in pitch towards a climax, and fall as

the pitch descends. The rising is combined with an increase in arm weight, and is a gradual application of

the same principle used in producing sudden accents. The wrist movements should be determined

intuitively by experiment, and then noted in the score by means of down bow and up bow signs.

When a rest follows the end of a phrase, the hand is lifted off altogether, leaving the hand hanging in the

air. When the last note of the phrase is sustained, we hold on to it with the tip of the finger, with a

hanging hand. At this point, the finger, which has been extending towards the key, has sounded the tone

(at its straightest position) and slipped back a fraction, as in the third “finger action” diagram (p.5).

The wrist action in phrasing is not usually evident in very slow playing. At medium speed, it can be used

either without arm weight or in conjunction with the wing action or finger – driven touch. In this case, the

up-down wrist action applied to the individual notes is performed within an overall down – up movement

for the phrase. At high speed, the wrist action in phrasing can also be combined with a sense of even

transfer of arm weight, or, once again, can be done without arm weight depending on the volume

required.

Sometimes there is a feeling of “lifting” on a strong beat, similar to the action of some conductors. An

example would be the opening of Mozart Sonata K. 332. This is not a pushing up of the arm by the

fingers, but a lifting out of the fingers by the arm. Again, it is shown by an up bow sign.

The down – up pattern can also be applied to phrases consisting of octaves or chords. Here again, there is

an up-down wrist movement for each octave, within the overall down – up movement for the phrase.

This technique is especially useful when playing small, rapid groups of two or three chords or octaves. In

this case, the last octave of the group is played with a strongly accented staccato, using a sharp upward

wrist movement (see page 26).

26.

Some special techniques with octaves and chords Preparing hand shape in chords and melodies Every chord has its own unique hand shape, due to the fact that those fingers playing on black keys are

less curved than those playing on white keys. The shape for each chord can easily be determined by

experiment, the main criterion being what feels most comfortable. We should always prepare the hand

shape of a chord in advance of playing it, either on the surface of the keys or in the air above the keys.

It is helpful to practise alternating between different chords, changing the hand shape each time (ex.55).

Even when playing entirely on white keys, there is no fixed hand position. For example, when playing

adjacent white keys as in scales, the knuckle joint is strongly bent, whilst the fingers are only gently

curved. When the white keys are spaced apart, as in arpeggios, the knuckle will be flat or even bent

downwards slightly, giving an appearance of a high wrist, whilst the second joint of the fingers will be

strongly curved. When practising arpeggios, the hand shape for the corresponding chord should be

retained throughout the arpeggio, even when it involves a mixture of straight and bent fingers.

Chords and octaves are normally played using the wing action or a finger – driven action, as seen in the

section on staccato (p. 17 – 21). Sustained chords are generally played using the wing action. When

playing a single, imposing, sustained, isolated chord, octave or note, we may use the same technique, but

instead of holding the tone in high position, we allow the wrist to drop to a comfortable low position for

the remainder of the chord. In other words, there are two up-down movements, the first large and slow

(the anticipation), the second small and rapid (the sounding of the chord). There may also be a third, even

smaller “aftershock”. The chord is sounded at the beginning of the second up-stroke. Examples would be

the first chord or Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata, or the first note of Chopin’s first Ballade. Before

beginning these pieces, the fingers should rest for a while on the surface of the keys. This may all sound

very fussy when we are talking about just one note, but the alternative may well be a clumsy, awkward,

embarrasing moment at a critical point in the music.

Powerful chords, even though they may not be staccato, can be played using a prepared finger – driven

staccato and held with the pedal. In other words, we prepare the chord on the key surface, and sound it by

means of a sudden upward wrist movement which sends the hand into the air, wrist first. An example

would be the climax of Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C# Minor. The staccato is easier than trying to hold

down the chord, and gives more time to prepare the next chord.

People with small hands can begin by practising octaves over the interval of a 6th

. Those with larger

hands may also practise over a 9th

, after which the octaves will feel easier. The 5th

finger should be used

on white keys, and the 4th

on black. The pianist should prepare the changed hand shape for white or black

keys in advance. Special ways for practising wrist octaves include playing the 5th

(or 4th

) finger alone

without the thumb, and also playing the octaves with an automatic “double-bounce”.

Gliding chords For repeated chords used in accompaniment, we use a slow, smooth version of the wing action, beginning

with the back and shoulders, but without lifting the hand at all. The fingertips remain in contact with the

keys. The fingers extend (straighten) and the wrist rises, pressing the key down. The fingers curve as

they release the key, with a “stroking” motion. The whole pattern should follow in a continuous cycle,

giving a feeling of smoothly gliding from chord to chord. Where octaves or chords form part of a smooth

melodic line, they should be fingered like any other two - or more - part texture rather than treated

separately. Here, octaves can be played with the third finger as well as the fourth and fifth. Accenting the

top note of each chord produces a very expressive effect.

Rapid pairs of chords Where a chord is played twice rapidly, or two chords follow each other in rapid succession, the first

should be executed with a down wrist movement, the second with an up wrist movement. It is possible to

accent the first (down) chord, but the effect is much more “snappy” when the second (up) chord is

27.

accented, using a finger – driven staccato, with the first chord being a quiet anticipation. The right hand of

Chopin’s “Revolutionary” Etude can be played in this way. When three chords or octaves are played

rapidly as a group (a favourite practice of Rachmaninov), the first should be played with a down wrist, the

second is at the bottom of the arc, and the third is played with an accented staccato up wrist. (See exercise

16, 28 , 41, 43).

Weighing the notes of a chord

So that all the notes of a chord sound out equally strongly, we should practise each note individually, as

well as in simultaneous pairs or groups of three or four notes. If one note of the chord needs to be louder

than the rest, this can be incorporated into the “weighing” process. (See exercise 31).

Octave Glissandi Octave glissandi can be played by people with very large hands by bending the tip of the little finger

(outward glissandi) or the thumb (inward glissandi) towards the palm of the hand. For the rest of us, it is

possible to play inward glissandi by bending the thumb backwards very strongly, so that the gently

curved underside rides over the keys like the front of a sledge. This is made easier by tilting the hand

slightly towards the little finger. Examples of inward glissandi are the end of Beethoven’s Waldstein

Sonata, and the first book of Paganini Variations by Brahms. Pianos with a light, shallow action and

slightly rounded edges to the keys lend themselves to glissandi. Outward octave glissandi are beyond the

reach of most people. A sane and well-balanced person would not wish to practise glissandi too

frequently, although there are pianists who scarcely fit this description.

Practice methods

The ideas in this section are well – known, but are included as so many people lack any methodical

approach to practice, and simply use the time for playing through pieces at full speed. The methods

suggested are unashamedly rigorous, since, in the world of piano study, standards of quality are apt to

slide to a level which would be unacceptable in almost any other walk of life.

Keep a written record of what you are currently practising, including sections covered, speeds reached

and other details. I use a sheet of A5 paper with a soft pencil, and continually rub out

and update items.

Begin your practice session with technical exercises, scales, arpeggios and studies, then move on to

pieces. I always begin with very slow held exercises from Leschetizky, which warm up and stretch the

fingers, then move on to more rapid work.

Writing fingering on the score is the foundation of good practice, and should be applied to every note

except perhaps where a phrase is immediately repeated. A soft pencil is ideal for this purpose. The student

should work ahead and have the fingering checked by the teacher before practising it. Some guidelines for

fingering are given in the next section.

Initially, you may wish to go through a bar or phrase at a time, with each hand separately then together,

working out the notes. Fluent sight-readers may skip this stage.

For pieces, take roughly a page a day for slow practice. Try to make it coincide with a musical section in

the piece. Practise slowly and loud, with a finger – driven touch or the wing action, as appropriate.

The metronome enables us to speed up pieces very gradually. Begin at the following metronome speeds

for the shortest time-value occurring regularly in the piece (usually a semiquaver or quaver):

66 80 96 112 2x66 2x80 2x96 2x112 4x66 etc.

It is of course much more difficult to play with hands together than separately. Therefore any practice

28.

regime which gives as much time to working with hands separately as with hands together is inefficient.

The above speeds could be used with hands separately then together, but some of the intervening speeds

(69, 72, 76, etc.) can be used with hands together only. Having reached a certain speed on one day,

it is advisable to backtrack to a somewhat lower speed the next day, and, using hands together only,

work up to the speed in question, before proceeding further in the normal way.

When practising difficult, rapid pieces, it can be advantageous to work gradually up to a speed faster than

the real tempo of the music. In this way the reactions are sharpened to a point where performing at the

normal speed will be relaxed and effortles. As full speed is approached, the increments should be

decreased, sometimes reaching as little as one notch on the metronome. For slow, complex pieces, start at

a very low speed and increase by very small increments. The metronome can be left ticking the whole

time, or, alternatively, it can be used to set the speed initially, and to check it periodically, but otherwise

switched off. This encourages the player to develop a steady sense of pulse, and allows the notes to be

heard more clearly. Practice should never be a matter of mechanically putting fingers down without

listening to the sound produced.

In difficult pieces, it may be impossible to reach the higher speed without first memorising the music, or

at least the most difficult sections. In general, though, the speeding up should precede the memorisation,

otherwise mistakes will be memorised.

Once the piece has been brought to full speed and memorised, several further speed – ups with hands

together, starting at about half – speed, are to be recommended. These can be played from memory, and

also sometimes with eyes closed.

Memorise everything. It focuses the attention and stops the mind wandering. “Mental practice” ( i.e.

going through the music in your mind paying attention to every note, without playing it ) is even better.

Use the following scheme to memorise a piece:

Go through the whole piece in 4 bar sections (or equivalent phrases), then go back to the beginning and

do it in 8 bar sections, then 16 bars, 32 bars etc. For each of the above sections, do the right hand in the

following way:

play it twice with the music

once by “mental practice”

once from memory

once again with the music to check

once again from memory

Repeat the above steps with the left hand. Then do the right hand and left hand once more from music and

once from memory, then repeat all the above steps with the hands together.

During all these repetitions of phrases and sections, do not play in a mechanical way, but pay attention to

phrasing, dynamics, touch and expression. It may also be possible to increase the speed during the

repetitions.

In addition, a rapid read through each hand of a short section, without playing, is valuable. Here, we are

capturing data rather than music, for example, the apperance of the notes on the stave, fingering and

similar “peripheral” matters.

Memorise the difficult sections before the rest of the piece, and run through them several times from

memory every day thereafter. Run through them by “mental practice” whilst waiting for trains. Closely

allied to Yoga, this habit is both productive and very soothing.

Having memorised the whole piece, play it many times from memory with hands separately and together,

taking special care to retain the left hand in the memory.

29.

Practise the difficult sections using some of the following special techniques :

First, go over the difficult section again very slowly and speed it up with the metronome.

Re- memorise it if necessary. Then, try to diagnose what the technical problem is, and use some of the

ideas explained earlier in this guide to remedy it. For passagework, some of the following are standard

techniques:

Practise the passage in different rhythms, for example, dotted quaver / semiquaver, and the reverse. (See

exercise 34).

Divide it into groups of two, three or four notes. Play these as phrases, starting with a down wrist and

ending on an up wrist. The phrases can be unaccented or accented on the last note. (See exercises 32 –

33). When using a group of a certain length (e.g. 3 notes), initially begin the first group on the first note

of the passage. Next time, begin on the second note, and finally on the third.

Passages requiring endurance, particularly rapid octaves, can be practised first in groups of three,

separated by rests, during which the muscles can recover, then gradually increasing the length of the

groups to 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16 notes.

Use “adding notes”: i.e. play the first note, then the first two, the first three, and continue adding a note at

a time, but always starting at the beginning of the passage. Again, this can be done unaccented, or

accenting the last note reached each time. (See exercise 34).

Play the passage normally, but accenting every second or third note. (See exercise 34).

For loud passages, practise with an accented touch on every note, starting slowly and speeding up.

Practise the passage with a double hit on each note. This may be unaccented, or with an accented staccato

(up-wrist) on the second note, or with the first note accented (up-wrist) and the second note sustained.

Where the same note is repeated rapidly, play the first note staccato.Use a different finger for the second

note. Play unaccented, or with an up-wrist accent on the second note. (See exercise 26).

Where there is a difficult leap across the keyboard, practise alternating between the notes on either side of

the leap. Repeat the process with your eyes closed. Where there is a leap, or indeed any change of

position, after a rest, the hand should move immediately into position before the rest, and wait there. For

rapid leaps, play the note before the leap staccato, as this allows more time to negotiate the leap.

It should be pointed out that when applying the above special techniques, we should select those which

are appropriate to the problem in question, rather than going through the whole list of techniques. To do

so would be like a doctor who gives the patient every medicine on the market, in the hope that one will be

effective.

Fingering - some general points

As already mentioned, the importance of writing in fingering cannot be overstated. For any given phrase,

several fingerings are possible, and if the fingering is not written in, the pianist may use a different

fingering every time, and will end up with confusion instead of a clear sequence of action.

In order to establish the fingering, play through each phrase several times with each hand separately,

trying several fingerings, and deciding on the best. This will often be a compromise between a number of

factors, listed below.

30.

Fingerings which work well at a slow tempo may prove to be impracticable at speed.Therefore try to play

the phrases at something like a realistic speed when determining the fingering.

Sometimes, a fingering which may not be quite the most comfortable for one hand, is nevertheless easier

for the coordination of the two hands. Therefore, fingerings should be tested with hands together as well

as separately.

When fingering repeats, use the same fingering. Where possible, also use the same fingering for phrases

repeated at a different pitch, as in sequences, development sections and recapitulations. This makes

memorisation simpler. However, if the change of pitch results in an awkward or clumsy fingering, this

will have to be changed.

It is sometimes conceptually helpful to divide a continuous passage into smaller groups of notes

(usually 3, 4 or 6), each group having the same fingering. However, this may result in some awkward

hand positions, usually due the the thumb falling on a black key. The advantages and disadvantages of

this approach need to be weighed in each case.

In general, avoid using the thumb on black keys, as this forces the hand into an uncomfortable forward

position. However, some of the other points mentioned on this page will often override this

consideration.

Sometimes, a fingering which is less smooth or efficient mechanically is more suited to the expression.

For example, when a dramatic “Bump” is required, it may be better to repeat the same finger.

For octaves, use 5 on white keys and 4 on black, unless there is a very good reason to do otherwise. This

greatly simplifies memorisation, as we know in advance which finger to use.The slim fifth finger can

easily miss or slip off a narrow black key.

Changing fingers whilst holding one note is an undesirable and messy practice, but is occasionally

unavoidable. When it occurs, it is better to get the change over with as early as possible. This normally

involves the 4th

and 5th

fingers, and can sometimes be avoided by “walking” the 5th

finger behind the 4th

.

We memorise fingering together with the notes, so making numerous revisions to fingering can be

confusing. However, if we have a “brainwave” about the fingering of a certain group of notes, the new

fingering should be written in and the passage in question thoroughly re-memorised.

Finally, the editor is not infallible. Some of them are not even pianists.

The sustaining pedal Almost all practice should be done without the pedal. It is added only in the final stages. Covering

unevenness or discontinuity resulting from poor fingering or lack of practice by means of the pedal is

definitely a sin. On the other hand, a well-played non legato with pedal added to give a “quasi legato”

effect is perfectly legitimate, and is in fact what most concert pianists do most of the time. There are also

occasions for playing staccato with pedal (see page 26).

Analysis

Having achieved a perfect performance, analyse the music in order to understand the composer’s

intentions. Annotate the score with points of analysis. Further discussion of analysis is beyond the scope

of this document.

31.

Cultivating a natural technique When using the term “Natural”, we should not allow ourselves to wallow in sentimental, animistic,

Disney-like fantasies. Whilst only hardened philistines would describe the instrument as “A wooden box

with sticks for brains”, this is perhaps no more misleading than the effusions of doting aunties who treat

the piano as though it were their pet poodle, or those prim and proper pianists who can convert even the

most dark, violent and wicked piece of music into something resembling a Sunday school picnic.

We aim to cultivate nature, rather than fight it. The third “finger action” diagram represents a slight

departure from orthodox practice. It conforms with the physical nature of the piano as a

percussion instrument with rebounding hammers, and with the natural rhythm of work. We strike the key

then allow it to rebound, rather than holding it to its base. This allows the finger and wrist muscles to

relax before the next moment of exertion. In a similar way, the drummer does not press his drumstick into

the drum after striking, nor does the builder press her hammer on to the nail, but allows it to rebound,

ready for the next strike. In the same way, the vibraphone player creates a continuous melody by

bouncing the mallet off the metal bar and allowing it to ring on. The “cyclic” finger action also follows a

natural motion sequence, similar to that of the legs in walking or running. For this reason, I sometimes

ask pupils to “take a walk” along the top of the piano with two of their fingers.The “extending” finger

touch can also be observed in any untrained person typing at the computer. Finally, the “wing action”

exemplifies the adaptation of nature to the needs of keyboard playing.

It will be noticed that nothing has been said about “Economy of movement”. What matters is not

restricting movement, but moving in the right way at the right time. Economy can easily turn into a

straightjacket, and when we restrict movement, we restrict expression. Examples of harmful forms of

economy include methods which exclude hand and arm participation, prescribe a fixed finger shape or

insist that the fingers be kept close to the keys. Such methods lead the pianist into an inhibited and

unadventurous frame of mind. Having said this, however, it is obviously better to exclude actions which

serve no musical end, and whose sole purpose is visual display. In addition, there are some leading

soloists whose apparently contrived facial expressions seem designed to draw attention to themselves

rather than to the music. This is extremely counter-productive, as the aim of performers should be to

efface themselves both from their own consciousness and that of the audience. This guide is devoid of anatomical illustrations. The human brain thinks in terms of actions, not muscle

groups. We think “ I will push this forwards”, not “I will contract my triceps”. Enough said.

Technique is meaningless until it is applied to playing real music.When starting a new piece, first play

through each phrase without thought, allowing the hands and arms to do what they intuitively find most

expedient. The second stage is to observe and rationalise what is happening, so as to understand the

technical processes being used. This is much more appropriate than applying a set of stereotyped a-priori

rules. As Neuhaus pointed out, there are as many techniques as there are musical utterances.

Recommended reading

The Leschetizky Method by Malwine Bree (Dover). One of the oldest and still one of the best books on technique,

particularly as regards the raised finger action.

Famous Pianists and their Technique by Reginald Gerig (David and Charles). A long and interesting survey,

particularly for the chapter on Ortmann and Schultz, who developed the “extending finger action”, although they

did not invent it.

The Technique of Piano Playing by Josef Gat (Collet’s). Meticulously researched but too long and detailed for most

people. It contains some good ideas and some less good ones.

The Art of Piano Playing by Heinrich Neuhaus (Barrie and Jenkins). Full of wisdom and a pleasant read.

Anecdotal rather than systematic.

32.

Exercises and studies School of Advanced Piano Playing by Raphael Joseffy (G. Schirmer). An outstanding book. Probably the most

extensive and comprehensive selection of exercises available.

Essential Finger Exercises by Erno Dohnanyi (Editio Musica Budapest). This book contains many excellent

exercises, although some pages are devoted to things which can be found in a normal scale book.

The Virtuoso Pianist by Hanon (G. Schirmer). Simple sequential patterns, useful for practising different touches.

Easily playable by people who find difficulty in reading music.

The Art of Finger Dexterity by Carl Czerny (G. Schirmer). The studies are quite musical, and, by virtue of their

length, help to develop stamina. A good preparation for Chopin’s Etudes.

Technical exercises by Paul White. Available free of charge on-line, at the following link:

www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/paulwhite743

All the numbered exercises in this guide can be found here.