artistic piano playing caland i

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LUDWIG DEPPE


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PART I.

Artistic Piano PlayingAS'TAUGHT BY

LUDWIG DEPPE-BY-

. . . .Fraulein Elisabeth Cal andAUTHORIZED TRANSLATION BY

Evelyn Sutherland Stevenson

The fr eedom w lil ch i s rightly considered to be the very es -se nc e o f b ea ut y IS n ot lawle ss ne ss , b ut t he h armo ny o f laws ,'it is n ot ca price, but a sup rem e a nd intnnsic necessity,' I~ISnot a lim itation, on tA e contrary I~ IS infinity."-Schiller.

THE OLYMPIAN PUBLISHING Co.,Nashville, Tenn.

1901.


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HARVARD UNIVERSITY -,N O V 2 1 1 9 6 1

E D A K U H ,J ~v ...u ,..o . : - ; I C L I B R A R Y

Copyri~ht, 1903.By EVELYN SUTHERLAND STEVENSON.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS.PART I.

CHAPTER I.The Necessity for Co-operative Action in the Muscles of the Upper

Part of the Body... .. ... . . . . . . .... . . . . .. . . ... . . . . ... ... ... .. . 17CHAPTER II.

Position of Hand and Arm-Tone Production . 26CHAPTER III.

The Binding of Several Tones-ScalA-Playing-The Managementof the Hand ' . 33,,

CHAPTER IV.Concerning Practice......... 47 CHAPTER V.The Simple Movement-Playing from Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '56

CHAPTER VI.Some Practical Hints for the Player.............................. 61

CONCLUSION.Concerning Interpretation . 65. - _ _ ,

PART II. PREFACE ..... :................................................. 79FIRST PREPARATORY EXERCISE...... 81

Chords=-Accented Passages.SECONDPREPARATORY EXERCISE :... 88

Legato, Staccato, and Mezzo-legatoPlaying.THIRD PREPARATORY EXERCISE............................ 91Binding of Widely Separated Tones-Arpeggio Chords.FOURTH PREPARATORY EXERCISE....... 97

The "Shaking Movement."FIFTH PREPARATORY EXERCISE 101

Sueeesslons of Thirds, Sixths, Octaves, Etc.-Repetitionsof Single Tones-Binding of Widely Separa.ted

Cbords Without Use of Pedal.SIXTH PREPARATORY EXERCISE .

Trills.104


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PREFACE."A knowledgeof the thing to be achieved-a clear idea ofwhatconstitutes a beauty and what a blemish-cannot fail to be ofservice."- Herbert Spencer."Piano-playing is znainly a matter of the mind, and not pri-marily of the muscles."- W. S. B. Mathew8.A NIMATED by recollections of Miss Amy Fay's "Mu8icStudy in Germany," I started for Berlin in the summerof 1899 with pleasant anticipations of possible music-

study under the direction of Ludwig Deppe; therefore it wasproportionately disconcerting to find, on arriving at that city,that it was too late, by some nine years, to avail myself of thecoveted instruction. But the name continued to hold a fascina-tion for me, and it was doubtless for this reason that, whenglancing idly in a music-store window, my eye was caught bya little book bearing the title, "])ie Deppe' sche Lehre desKiaoierspieis." It proved to be tolerably stiff reading for anovice in German, but, nevertheless, I extracted therefromquite enough to stimulate my already vivid interest in the sub-ject, and to induce me to seek out the writer cf the book, uponwhose shoulders it seemed the mantle of Deppe had fallen.Then followed eight months of earnest study, under the artisticcontrol of .Frl, Caland, w!o, truly endowed with "a doubleportion" of her master's spirit, imparted to me the guidingprinciples of his system with a delightful enthusiasm whichcould not fail of its object. Therein I proved the truth ofGoethe's assertion that "the instruction which the true artistgives us opens the mind; for, where words fail him, deedsspeak. " And it is in grateful recognition of the inspirationand uplift which came to me through the teachings of thosemonths that I now present the accompanying translation toEnglish readers.If it be true that "genius is a kind of god-like insanity,"

then Deppe was no genius. But an eminently artistic teacher9


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10 PREFACE.of the piano he certainly was, for, possessing in the highestdegree that characteristic which, according to Mr. W. S. B.Mathews, "distinguishes the artistic teacher from the peda-gogue," his chief concern was always to awaken a keen senseof tonal beauty in the minds of his pupils, and to train them to

. apply the test of tonal result to all their work. Tone was toDeppe the guiding star whose vivifying rays must illumine alltechnic, and no technic measured up to his standard unless itworked for-not against-the production of a broad, pure andnoble tone. That a tone of this description could ever resultfrom mere" finger-hitting" was to him an unthinkable prop-osition, for in such case no dexterity nor fluency of executioncan ever disguise the superficial origin of the tone. But, whenhand and fingers are sustained and reinforced by free move-ments of the arm, and by the co-operative working' of thepowerful muscles of upper-arm and back, then not only is thetone-quality rendered far more intense and vital, but thereoccurs also a wholesome distribution of effort over every partof the playing apparatus from shoulder to finger-tips;scarcely less important is the fact that the player therebyacquires, in a remarkably short space of time, a well-definedfeeling of mastery of the keyboard. *Itmay be thought by some, that too much is made in this

book of the carrying of the hasid b'!4the arm, but this insistenceis justified when one reflects on the consequences entailed byneglect of this one simple rule. Take, for instance, a playerwho has what is called a "logy" touch. In the majority ofcases it will be found that he not only expects his fingers toproduce the necessary tones, but also to sustain the greaterpart of the weight of the arm, and to drag that memberoverthe keyboard. Now, when the fingers are forced to workunder such hampering conditions is it at all surprising that thetone-quality should be rough and uneven, the passage-workheavy and lifeless, and scale-performance punctuated by aseries of unlovely jerks ~ A hesitating and incoherent style of

* Itis said that the free and graceful arm-movements of violin players gave Deppe hislIrstconceptlon of the unnecessary limitations in this regard which had heretofore beenimposed upon pianists.


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PREFACE. 11

playing, blurred chords, unsteady performance of scales andruns, touching of wrong keys, faulty tempo and rhythm -allof these may doubtless originate in the.imperfect musical sense,or the erro~eous mental conception of the performer, yet nonethe less is it true that the very same faults frequently arisefrom no other cause than the failure of the arm to carry thehand from point to point with sufficientfreedom and steadinessof movement to insure certainty of touch. And because thiscarrying movement of the arm is ever a curvilinear one, handand fingers are thereby enabled to descend vertically on anydesired keys instead of in a slanting direction. The advantagesherein involved are too obvious to need emphasis. But itshould never be forgotten that clear and definite mental workmust precede the physical; if the mind. dictates the curveswhich arm and hand shall describe in the performance of anytonal form, then it is tolerably certain that the movements willrealize Deppe's ideal concerning them, and that they will trulybe "the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritualgrace. " .As to the Deppean five-finger exercises, their apparent sim-plicity is but a "delusion and a snare," as anyone may proveby practical test. To depress a single key, and at the sametime to control the non-playing fingers so completely that theivory on which they are poised does not even tremble, is' a taskrequiring physical and mental tension of no ordinary kind, andit will be found that these exercises, when properly performed,exact all the patience and concentration of mind which theplayer can command. And as their twofold object is mentalcontrol of the fingers, and the consoious production of a perfecttone, it follows that there must not be a moment's inattention,nor a single automatic movement. But fortunately the rewardis commensurate to the effort involved, for the fingers therebydevelop independence and equality of power in a marvelousdegree. Particularly noticeable is the ability of a player sotrained to give prominence to any voice of a chord at will-anability which is as essential to the adequate performance ofBrahms' music as to that of Bach.


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12 PREFACE.

, ,Just here seems a favorable opportunity to refute the prev-alent notion that the sphere of Deppean playing is so circum-scribed as to take in only the classical masters, with Mozart attheir head, and to exclude the majority of the modern schoolof composers. That this is a most mistaken ideo.I can provefrom personal experience, for the works used in connectionwith my own study of Deppe's principles were by the follow-ing composers only: Bach, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt,Grieg, Rubenstein and Brahms.Ithas been well said that "Art has no fatherland, and all

that is beautiful ought to be prized by us, no matter whatregion or clime has produced it;" therefore whatever may bethe differences of opinion as to the value of Deppe's contribu-tion to the art and science of piano-playing, let it at least beremembered how much he did to promote 'musicalplaying--being really a pioneer in this line among his German confreres=--andhow wholesome has been his influence in bringing aboutmore natural and spontaneous methods of practice. And, whileno one can truthfully assert that the present advancement ofpiano technic is due to any single musician, yet assuredly thelink which Deppe forged in the ever-lengthening chain lacksneither beauty nor significance. This fact gives rise to a hopethat this modest volume may prove a not unwelcome additionto our very meagre literature on the subject of tone-product.on,for, though truth is but one, its expressions are many.

As for the imperfections and shortcomings of this little work,visit them on the inadequate pen of the tyro in the art of trans-lating; but "if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, "let these fall to the share of Elisabeth Caland, the gifted artistwho is so successfully continuing the work of Ludwig Deppein the imperial city of Berlin. E. S. S.Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., March, 1903.


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INTRODUCTION TO THE GERMAN EDITION."What is good is effective, generative; makes for itself room,food, and a.llies."-Emer8on.

To PI.JAYgoodmusic, and at the same time study the pianovery badly-such is the fate of the average pianist."So wrote Frederick Wieck, that old pedagogue of the

piano, in his little book, entitled "Piano and Song;" and hisshrewd observation has lost little of its truth or force with thepassing years. That it carries weight even nowcan hardly begainsaid} in view of the all-too-prevalent virtuosity, which,taking technic as its main object, effectually removesit from itstrue sphere as a servant of art. The majority of modernpianists concentrate their attention in large measure upon theexterior means of execution, the result being that rapidity andbrilliancy, dash and bravura, havebeendevelopedandelaboratedto an extraordinary degree. On the other hand, the cultivationof a thoughtful; sincere, and reflective style of playing-soessential if one would render the imperishable works of the oldmasters in their original integrity and purity-has sufferedfrom proportionate neglect. This state of affairs brings to minda saying of Hans von Buelow, as quoted by Pfeiffer: "Mozart isterribly difficult; a time will come-and perhaps very soon-when a Mozart sonata will find more favor in the concert hall

. than Liszt's Rigoletto Fantasia.n*And so it has come to pass that many pianists, who can dash

off the most difficult concert pieceswith flourishing facility, areyet destitute of the power to draw from the keys a simple andperfect legato. This fact takes on added significancewhen it isat the same time borne in mind that the piano, by reason of itspresent state of perfection in character and calibre, can justlyclaim from the pianist the finest gradations of touch, and theutmost conceivabledelicacy of manipulation. This opinion is

..Studien bei Hans von Buelow; p.96. (IS)


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14 ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYING.also advanced by Klose, in his little work, "Die Deppe'scheLchre.n

But about this very matter of tone-production there exists,strange to say, no unity of method whatever. Proof of this,if proof be needed, is amply afforded by a glance at the widely- divergent theories advocatedby the different conservatories andschools of music-a diversity which clearly demonstrates that,as regards this important factor in piano study, "discord rulessupreme." An explanation of this circumstance may, perhaps,be found in that fundamental difference in construction whichseparates the piano from wind-and-stringed instruments, as wellas from the human voice. A vocalist, or a performer on mostorchestral instruments, does not find his tones ready-made forhim, but must learn howto find and produce them for himself.But when he turns to the piano, there are the keys lying readyto his hand, and a tone of some sort may be had, with deceptiveease, through the mere depression of a key. And this uniquecharacteristic of the piano was precisely what the acute andexperienced musician, Deppe, had in mind when he affirmedi"F or piano playing alone there remains something more to bedone." And it is this same characteristic which, in a certainsense, renders the piano better adapted than any other instru-ment to form an artist.

Ludwig Deppe was born on November 7, 1828, at Alverdis-sen, Lippe-Detmold, Germany. Oradled in poverty, he wascompelledto shape his own artistic career with labor and pains.That his efforts were not unattended with success is sufficientlyindicated by the fact that his compositions-notably a Sym-phony in F Ma.ior~an Overture to Zriny~ and an Overture toDon Carlos-were received with much approbation in differentcities.

The city of Hamburg sawthe beginning of his artistic career,and it was there also that he gave his first lessons in music.In 1862 he founded a Vocal Academy,which he managed untillR66. As distinguished musician and leader of the orchestra,he directed the Silesian Musical Festivals in masterly style.Later, removing from Hamburg to Berlin, he continued to


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16 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.and most involved passages. From these premises Deppeargued that, if certain laws underlying this beauty of executioncould only -b e discovered and systematized, then less-favoredmusicians, with ordinary, normal talents, might at least hope toattain to the production of a beautiful tone, and to artistic in-terpretation of a composition-although the results thus attainedmust, naturally, fall short of those arising from the intuition ofgenius.

To find out these laws, then, was the task which Deppe sethimself. Oloselyobservingthe playing of all the great pianistsof his day, he came to the following conclusion: Tones producedin accordance with certain exact laws of beauty must of neces-sitv be themselves also beautiful. He said: "Gifted mortals01play by the grace of God; nevertheless, anyone may, by my ,system, acquire a mastery of technic."

Deppe was very urgent in his desire that I should reduce hissystem to writing, and thus render it permanent. It was mywish to arrange and complete his notes and records imme-diately after his death; the pressure of circumstances, however,has delayed the fulfillment ofmy intention until now, somesevenyears later. And if, by virtue of the veneration I cherish forthe master, my inexperienced pen succeedsin at least suggestingDeppe's ideal, my aimwill be fully realized. .

Before concluding this introduction, I wish to acknowledge111yindebtedness to two of Deppe's pupils-Anna Olark-Steinger and her husband, Mr. Frederick Clark-who, in aseries of twelve preparatory lessons,gave me a clear conceptionof the Deppean principles.

In the Deppe .Method of piano playing are comprised theideas of a great artist--of onewho devoted his whole life to theendeavor to bring about the realization of his ideals. .Serenein the face of hostile criticism, unwearied by his incessant war-fare against incredulity, he never gave up the struggle, beingever sustained by his unfaltering conviction that truth and rightmust, sooner or later, win their way. For, in the words of'Joh. von Mueller, "though there b e times when truth and goodmeet with no response, y'et always shall that which is eternalfind its time and season." ELISABETHCALAND.lViesbaden., May., 1897.

(Present address, Oharlottenburg-Berlin.)


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING. 17

CHAPTER I.The Necessity for Co-operative Action in the Muscles ofthe Upper Part of the Body.

"A leading trait of grace is continuity. flowingness. Motionin curved lines is economical motion. Given certain successivepositions to be assumed by a limb, then if it be moved in astraight line to the first of these positions, suddenly arrested,and then moved in another direction straight to the secondposition, and so on. it is clear that, at each arrest, the momentumpreviously given to the limb must be destroyed at a certain costof force; whereas, if, instead of arresting the limb at its firstposition, its motion be allowed to continue, and a . lateral forcebe impressed to make it diverge towards the second position, acurvilinear motion is the necessary result; and by making useof the original momentum, force is economized."- HerbertSpencer; Scentijlc,Political and Speculative Essays; page 384.

DEPPE had as motto this phrase: "When it looks pretty,

then it is right." Now, what was"his reason for deem-ing an attractive appearance to be so essential an ele-

ment in piano playing? By way of answer, consider for a mo-ment the conditions which produce this effect. Piano playing"looks pretty" only when the pianist-making use of just thosemovementswhich are absolutely necessary to the clear settingforth of the musical idea--eliminates from his playing all in-coherent and doubled (or simultaneous) movements; for these,being inharmonious and disturbing in their character, not onlyexert a destructive influence on the unity of a composition,butthey also effectually obscure the artistic thought with which itis interwoven. A.rt never obtrudes its purpose; therefore awork of art ceases to be true to its name if, in the rendering ofit, the performer givesundue prominence to his own efforts. Insuch case, the hearer receives an impression which true art quiteforbids-namely, that the means of expression constitute theend and aim of the art. According to Schiller, "Grace should81w~ys be pure Nature-that is, spontaneous (or, at least,


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ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYING. 19From such study there would naturally arise an exact knowledgeof howbest to shape eachmovement in order to reap a maximumof result from a minimum of effort.In the article by Deppe, of which mention is made in thepreface, there is a humorous reference to these simultaneousmovementswhen occurring in piano playing; he speaks of thosepianists who "saw the air with their hands, and who move theirelbowsafter a fashion which calls up visions of a cobbler at workon his bench." Nothing caused him greater nervous irritationthan to see and hear a pianist in whoseperformance one soughtin vain for a sweet and mellowtone, or a beautiful movement.The fusion of these two things-i. e., beauty of movement andbeauty of tone--was to him a lawof primary importance in theart of music. In other words, he claimed that all movements onthe keyboard could be shaped in such wise that beauty of tonewould be the natural consequence of beauty of movement.For if, in the acts of ordinary life, a graceful movement pro-duces .a pleasing result, with howmuch greater force and sig-nificance will this law apply to piano playing-a manifestationof art which justly holds so high and sesthetie a place!

"When_it looks pretty, then it is right" So said Deppe,and, in this connection, it is interesting to remember Niemet-schek's description of the playing of .Mozaet; "He has suchbeautiful little hands, and he moves them over the keys sonaturally and easily, that the eye is delighted, while at the sametime the ear is charmed by his tones."* While we by no meansassert that Deppe considered beautiful little hands to be essen-tial to grace and euphony in playing, it is none the less truethat he never accepted a pupil until he had first carefully ex-amined the conformation of the hand.

Turn to Dubois Reymond's book, Ueber die Uebunq, and youwill read that "perfection in any physical exercise involves notonly familiarity with the necessary movements, but, in an equaldegree, the elimination of all that are aimless and superfluous."And'Schopenhauer, in Das Objekt der Kunst, writes as follows:"Grace consists in this, that eachmovement, each change of posi-

Otto Jahn; Lire ofllozart, page 133.


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20 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.tion, shall be effected in the easiest, best-adapted, and least-con-straining manner." Making the application to piano-playing,it then becomes in order to ask: How may the hands be movedover the keyboard so as to answer the demands of grace, while,at the same time, each movement is of the easiest and most ap-propriate kind? Such is the problem for which the Deppel{ethod provides a solution.Since any evidence of strenuous effort renders it impossible

to convey an impression of ease and lightness, it follows that thehand must, first of all, be emancipated-that is to say, it mustbe quite freed from the hampe:ring weight of the arm. "Thehand must be light as a [eather," repeated Deppe often. Buthow shall it be rendered light? The hand will be light onlywhen it is carried, instead of carrying itself, over the keyboard.The lightness and freedom thus imparted to the hand is effectedthrough the agency of the shoulder and arm muscles, which support and carry the hand; and, with a view to strengthening theseparts of the body, Deppe recommended to his pupils variousphysical exercises, notably those performed on the horizontalbar. In addition he sent them to the parade ground, there towatch the 'soldiers drilling, and to see how the recruits learn toregulate and control their muscular movements. I myself hadto practice with dumb-bells, and even to carry one in my dailywalks, holding it first in one hand, then in the other. When Tcame to Deppe for a lesson his first act was always to grasp myhand in .greeting; to meet his 'requirements, it had to be "lightas a feather," so that he could guide it in any direction hepleased, and yet never have the sensation of sustaining anyweight whatsoever.This light, free hand ranks first among the qualifications of aheaven-born artist, though not always is such an one conscious ofhis endowment in this regard. Deppe's idea of its importancereceives confirmation from a letter of Buelow's (llfusikali~chesl'Vochenblaii, 1896, No. 23), wherein he states his desire to ridhimself, under the guidance of Liszt, of the "awkward con-straint" characterizing his execution.Now, how does one "carry" the hand? By enlisting the aid


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ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYING. 21of, first, the muscles ofthe shoulder, then thoseof the upper arm, and,lastly, those of the fore-arm. In order to havepractical demonstrationof this fact, and to proveexperimentally that thehand is really "light"under the se circum-stances, try executing,with much care, the fol-lowing exercise: First,raise the arm, veryslowly, till it assumesthe attitude shown inPlate I, b1.tt do not ele-vate the shoulder in theslig htest degree. Afterretaining the arm for amoment in this posi-tion, let it sink, still PLATa I.slowly~ till the finger-tips touch the keys, so lightly that they arenot depressed. During the, whole course of this exercise, con-centrate the entire attention on the action of the muscles of theback and shoulder, i'n order to gain. a vivid and conscious per-ception of the truth that these muscles do work conjointly in thet t L ~ 7 . . ~of carrying and sustaining the arm. Unless this simpleexercise be performed with thoughtfulness and deliberation, itwill be quite fruitless, for then the sensation which proves theco-operativeworking of the muscles under consideration will notbe experienced.

A lowchair for the use at the piano is an indispensable re-quirement ; its height shouldbe soregulated that, when the handrests in the proper position on the keys, the line formed by theforearm is an ascending one, and the level of the white keys isseen to be somewhat above that of the elbow. (See Plate II,


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING. 23Secondly (in conformity with a foundation law of the mus-

cular economy), one who observesthis principle in his playingwill not only expend less vital force, but will use his 'strengthmore harmoniously. Now, in the opinion of Herbert Spencer,as given in his essay on "Gracefulne.ss;'~ "truly graceful mo-tions are those performed with comparatively little effort;" andagain, he adds: "The graceful way of performing any evolutionis the way that coststhe least effort." Let us consider why thisis the case.

When Dubois-Reymond declares that "one cannot imagine aLiszt or a Rubenstein without muscles of iron," and that, fur-thermore, "the bowof Joachim's violin travels several furlongsduring the performance of a symphony,"* he brings home to113 most forcibly, by means of these illustrations, some concep-tion of the tremendous expenditure of energy involved in theplaying of an artist. That the hand alone can meet such a de-mand is obviously impossible, seeing that, in itself, it possessesa relatively small amount of muscular power. It thereforebecomesevident that those who followthe example of the greatartists, and enlist the help of all available muscles, will not onlycommand greater strength, but strength of a far more enduringcharacter.

Such, then, is the principle wemay term "muscular synergy.1IThe effect of its operation in piano-playing is the productionof an absolutely noble and beautiful tone, a tone pervaded witha strange charm, a tone which never wounds the ear by itshnrdness-e-in short, a tone which is the exact opposite of that.produced by a detached finger-stroke. Be it played forte orpiano, never does this tone lose its rare sweetness, nor an in-herent quality of intensity by virtue of which it is investedwith suchmarvelous carrying power.

This harmonious interworking of the muscles of the upperpart of the body was an underlying and essential principle inDeppe's teaching. Nor is its influence limited to the sphere oftone-production; on the contrary, it forms the basis-as we shallsee later-for the artistic and spontaneous rendering of an en-

...

"Ueber die Uebung: page 24.


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24 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.the work of art. A paragraph from Souriau's "Esiheiique duMouoemeni" may appropriately be quoted here:

"When we have to make an exertion of strength, muscularsynergy is requisite in order to avoid fatigue. Not only do wespare ourselves, in this way, a painful sensation of strainedeffort, but we actually developmore of real energy. Force isnot transmitted to the muscles,but is engenderedby them; and,each of them having but a limited amount of energy at its dis-posal, it follows that, if we wish to put into any movementevery available atom of energy, then we must obtain the con-current working of the greatest possible number of muscularfibers. In order that these diverse muscular actions shall notcounteract one another, it is indispensable that they be fash-ioned under the law of a common rhythm, and this is what weunderstand by muscular synergy. In executing any movementwhich is somewhat complicated the muscles do not work simul-taneously, but act one after the other; and the efficacyof theresult depends on the perfection of the rhythm which is be-stowed upon this series of partial efforts. It is necessary thatthese be combined in such a way that each muscle shall comeinto action at the most favorable moment. The habit of thisrhythm once formed, it appears to us a perfectly natural pro-eeeding; at first it is, of course, not so easy. When we have tomake an unaccustomedmovement,we soonrealize that we mustfirst find out a certain method by which to shape that move-ment."

This lawof "muscular synergy/~ which Souriau considers ofsuch vital importance, forms, as it were, the keystone of thearch in the Deppe Method of piano playing. At this point itIURybe well to mention that all well-formed children have, bynature, a "light hand;" later, through the occupations of dailylife-such as writing and other hand work-this natural light-ness is often lost. But it may be recovered, even in adult life,and the habit of "harmonious co-operation of the muscles" againcontracted, if only care be taken that the movementshave theirbeginning in the right source of power-that is to say, in themuscles of the back. For, in the words of Herder, "If the body


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ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYING. 25is regular-that is equal on each side--then the center ofgravity is found in the middle, and the arms poise themselvesevenly on either side. In all creatures of nature there existsthis center of gravity which is the governing or ruling point,and which regulates the movementsof each side of the body."*

In order to have practical demonstration of the truth of thisassertion, return again to the exercise described in connectionwith Plate I. * Vom Angenehmen in Gestalten.


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Quite easy and unconstrained. "Always amiable" (liebens-.wuetrdig), said Deppe. The wrist-which is more or less ele-vated during the execution of runs, etc.-is now to be held butslightly higher than the back of the hand, so that the latterhas a barely perceptible slope upward toward the wrist. Apoint to be closely watched is the position of the outside of the.hand ; so far from being permitted to sink at all, it should beturned upward from the keyboard to a height a little above thelevel of the thumb. Naturally there will result a certainobliquity in the line of the second finger; and the thumb, curvedoutwards at the first joint, will have little more than its tip onthe keyboard.

PLAT. II.

The first exercise, preliminary to any actnal finger work,consists merely in an endeavor to hold the hand and arm, withperfect immobility and: yet without stiffness, in the positionabove described-a feat which experience will prove to be mucheasier in theory than in practice. A profile view of the correctattitude is given in Plate II, while Plate III shows the hand asseen from above.Let us now consider some of the advantages accruing from

this hand-position.(1) Owing to the straight line running through the hand

nnd arm, the muscular connection between the two becomes ofthe most direct and positive kind. When the hand is allowed


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PLATE III.

28 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.to turn out at the 'wrist, this "rapport" is summarily broken atthat point, and the fourth and fifth fingers-no longer lyingparallel with the keys, but stretched diagonally across them-suffer a proportionate loss of freedomand of power.

(2) The very important muscles which lie along the under(or inner) side of the forearm are now brought into exactly

that position which is most favorable to their free and unham-pered co-operation with the muscles of the upper arm; hencefollowsa notable increase in their strength and efficiency.

(3) Through the agency of this hand-position the fingersare effectually aided in attaining to complete independence,and equality of power.


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLA YING. 29Nowwe come to the few finger exercises which Deppe pre-

scribed and which he always prefaced by a command to con-centrate the whole attention on the movement to b e performed,the player making, as it were, a mental map of the entire routefrombrain to finger tips.*

First place the hand upon the keyboard in the manner of thepreliminary exercise, and with the fingers on the same keys.Then raise the fifth finger a very little from its key (the otherfingers remaining poised lightly on their respective keys), butbe careful not to' raise it too high, else there will result a"crack" in the muscles, and, according to Deppe, there will bea consequent interruption of the connection between hand andarm. By a direct effort of the will maintain the finger in itselevated position for a moment; then, by a single, quick, de-cisive movement bring it on to the key below. The fingershould not be thrown on the key, nor should the tone be theresult of a push or a blowthereon; on the contrary, the move-ment should be so direct, so rapid, so devoid of all outward ap-pearance' of effort~ as to give the impression that the finger hassimply been allowed to fall of its own weight upon the key.Deppe always said, "Do not strike; let the fingers fall;" andhe used this expression in order that his pupils might have theirattention effectually directed to the importance of the apparentunpremeditation which underlies artistic tone-production.Later we shall return to this subject.

After the fifth finger has gone through several careful repe-titions of the above exercise-each time returning to its exactoriginal position----executethe same movement with the otherfingers, each in its turn, meanwhile maintaining the most com-plete tranquillity in the hand itself and in the unemployedfingers. Each 'separate finger, quite unaffected by the taskwhich its neighbor has to perform, must carry out with perfectindependence the commands transmitted to it from the brain.In this manner one may, by watchful observation, obtain anexact idea of the extent to which his fingers actually work underthe conscious direction of the will. At first the effort tomaintain* Deppe was accustomed, just here, to point first at the forehead, and then at the linger tips.


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30 ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYiNG.the hand in the strict Deppean position will occasion a certainamount of trembling in hand, arm, and finger; but, after a shorttime of practice has brought the fingers under better domina-tion, this feeling of tension will disappear. Still further prac-tice will so "educate" the hand-t.o use Deppe's word-that thefingers will learn to yield instant obedience to the will, and atranquil pose of the hand and of the unemployed fingers willbecomehabitual with the player.

At this point one is ready to proceed to the binding togetherof two consecutive tones, beginning with the fifth finger asbefore, and listening with keen attention to make sure that eachtone, as it dies away, is really carried over to the next one, inpure legato style. The liaison should be so perfect that, inexpressive German parlance, "no air is perceptible between thetones," and to this end it is essential that the ear be trained topossessa fine critical faculty.

The next step is to use two fingers simultaneously-underprecisely the same conditions as at first-in producing the thirdsB-D; B-D; A-O; A-O; G--B; G--B, etc., thus prepar-ing the hand for binding together, as smoothly as if they weresingle tones, the thirds B-D, A-O; A-O, G-B, etc. Theleft hand goesthrough the same exercises, three octaves lower onthe keyboard, except that the fifth finger, instead of the thumb,rests on the key G. It will be found that the effect of thework performed is, in a measure, communicated from one handto the other, with beneficial result; and, since the hands gothrough the same exercises, under identical conditions, it fol-lows that they are finally brought under absolutely equal con-trol. These exercises-the only oneswhich Deppe prescribed-form the daily bread of a Deppean pupil, and even a very ad-vanced player will prove that they constitute, when practicedwith deliberation and accuracy, an unrivaled means of dis-cipline for hands and fingers.*

A tone produced according to these rules will, of necessity,b e weak in the beginning; indeed, to avoid forcing the tone,

Allowme to emphasize the fact that, trom first to last, the hand and arm find no pointof support on the keyboard. Therein these exercises diller radically, therefore, fromvarioussimilar ones in which certain keys are held down by one or more fingers during the perform-ance of the exercise.-[E. S.S.]


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ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYING. 31it should, at first, be barely audible. Naturally it is not pos-sible to produce a tone having much volumewhen the mind andwill aloeentirely absorbed in the effort to make each movementof the fingers in exactly the right manner, and at the same timeto govern the operation of the muscles from shoulder to finger-tips. But, after the precise position of the hand has been ac-quired, and the working of the muscular mechanism has beenmastered both physically and mentally, then the tone will evergrow in beauty and in sonority, and will be so spontaneous, soexpressive, so instinct with life, thqt the player's wondering joyand satisfaction will likewise increase as the days go by.

The concentration of musical sensitiveness in the finger-tipsis a faculty which only thoughtful practice can develop. Thissensation may b e compared, in some degree.vto that experi-encedby a performer on a stringed instrument; that is to say, asimilarly close and intimate connection should exist betweenthe fingers of a pianist and the keys of his piano. As a help-ful exercise in this direction, Deppe required his pupils fre-quently to hold a rubber ball in the hand, lightly pressing itmeanwhile with the finger-tips, thus arousing and strengtheninga delicate touch perception, and developing "consciousness"(Bewusstsein) in the extremities of the fingers.

This exercise servedat the same time another purpose, for themuscles of the palm, being called into play to hold the ballfirmly in the hollow of the hand, gained thereby an addedpower.

And so, little by little, this sensibility will reach higher de-velopment, and "the mutual discipline of hands and brain," asDeppe termed it, will gradually receive more thorough under-standing; then the bud will unfold into the beautiful and con-summate flower, and one will realize the truth and force ofthe axiom, "first a little tone (Toenchen) and then a tone."*For "it should never be forgotten that apparently insignificanttrifles may have great results, seeing that the materialsfor the most marvelousbuilding must first be accumulated grainby grain." (Schiller. )

-Klose: Die Deppe'sche Lehre.


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32 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.N OW, the scales will no longer be hammered out of the piano;

on the contrary, it will seem to the hearer as if the performerdrew the tones from the instrument at the tips of his fingers.And, just as after a rain, one may notice a railing gemmed witha row of sun-illumined raindrops, so now the tones of a scalewill pearl forth, each tone just as pure, as round, and as crystal-clear as its neighbor .


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLA.YING. 33

CHAPTER III.The Binding of Tones-The Playing of Scales-The Lead-ing of the Hand .

" Forms ascend in order from the lowest to the highest. Thelowest form is the angular, or the terrestial and corporeal. Thesecond,and next higher form is the circular, which is also calledthe perpetual-angular, because the circumference of a circle is aperpetual angle. The form above this is the spiral, parent andmeasure of circular forms. The form above this is the vortical,or the perpetual-spiral; -the next the perpetual-vortical, orthe celestial; last, the perpetual-celestial, or the spiritual."-Sweden borg.(Quotedin Emerson's" Representative Men.")

ITHE execution of runs, and in the binding together ofthe various tones, chords, etc., which go to make up a pieceof music, it is, of course, necessary that the hand move

freely from one part of the keyboard to another. Now, innature, all beautiful movements are more or less curved in theirform; and, furthermore, Spencer asserts that "motion in curvedlines is economical motion." These two principles-beauty ofform and conservation of energy-Deppe applied to the scienceof piano-playing, and he termed the resultant motion of handand arm the "simple, rounded mouemeni]" in contradistinctionto the complicated, doubled, and angular movements of the aver-age pianist; it corresponds to the "perpetual spiral" of Sweden-borg. "Since the hand must never be inert or passive, butalways consciously alive," this movement is a continuous one,beginning with the first note of a piece, and ending only whenthe last tone has been sounded; therefore it is unsurpassed as ameans whereby a composition may be rendered in most com-pact and perfect form; for, since all meaningless and super-fluous motions are avoided, the movement adapts itself withthe utmost nicety to the varying demands of the music. Evenwhen a rest occurs, the movement is not interrupted, for thes


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34 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.hand, when lifted from the keyboard, is carried to the keys nextto be played in a curve, the magnitude of which is accuratelyproportioned to the duration of the rest.* So unbroken is therhythm of the composition, through the use of this simple means,that, as Deppe said, "the very rests become music." And sothis curved and continuous movement, always reflective in itscharacter, forms, as it were, a connecting thread, runningthrough and uniting the ideas of the entire piece.

Herder, in his treatise, uVom Schoenen urul Angenehmender Ilmrisse, Earben, and 'I'oene" page 62, has somewhat tosay regarding this circular co-ordination of the melodic chain:

"A cycle unites all tones and successions of tones by an in-dissoluble bond,. in such a way that, with one tone, we have allthe others, and we are given not only one melody, but thewhole series of melodies which H certain definite scale canproduce. And just as a beautiful form is never born fromthe straight line and the square alone (although these consti-tute the basis of accuracy in art as well as in geometry), soharmony-which is to tone what geometry is to forms----cannever give rise to the ever-changing melody of passion unlesseach sentiment has its curve, its climax, its aim, and its meas-ure. The multitude of lines lying between the straight lineand the circle are all lines of beauty, and, in music, these linesare melodic curves, each having its own path, distinct from thatof any other, but all united by one eternal law, the law o f theione-c irel e.n

Herder, it will be seen, regards the circular movement asbeing the generator not only of single tones, but of any succes-sion of tones. Now, let us try to make clear how Deppe putthis principle to practical use. How, for instance, shall oneplay the scale of 0 Major?

In the first place, all the tones, as has been said, will be pro-duced as the result of a circle-forming movement, the first arcof the circle being in evidence as the hand describes the ascend-ing scale. The elbow being held as close to the side as is con-sistent with a free and relaxed condition of the arm, the hand

= On this point see "Die Deppe'sehe Lehre," by Klose; page 17.


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PLATE IV.

36 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.In playing the descending scale, the hand describes the second

half of the ellipse. The wrist, governed by the shoulder andupper arm, retains the hand in the correct, slightlyoblique attitude, and above all allows no alteration ofthis pose during the passing over of the third andfourth fingers. In the left hand the direction of the slantis, of course, reversed. The most palpable advantage of thishand position is the one alluded to by .Miss Fay: the displace-merit of the hand incident to the passage of the thumb is re-duced to a min imum, and, owing to this suppression of dis-turbing movements, the hand appears to descend 'the keyboardin an unbroken line. As the hand moves toward either ex-tremity of the keyboard, the upper part of the body must bendslight1y in that direction; in this way the mutual relation ofhand, arm, and upper arm remains unaltered, and the hand,as it is moved over the keys, can retain the strict Deppean posein all its characteristic tranquillity. The accompanying engrav-ing represents the position the hand assumes at the criticalmovement in a descending scale, and shows how there is nonecessity for any movement of anticipation on the part offingers, hand, wrist, or forearm. The thumb is just in the actof sinking on F, and at the same instant the hand-through theagency of upper arm and shoulder, and without any independ-ent action of the lingers-is carried as a whole to a point wherethe third finger drops easily on E. Thus, as has been said, the


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ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYING. 37disturbing movements are reduced to the smallest possible di- .mensions, and therefore the player arrives at a legato scale inthe most natural manner possible.While the players's mental perception of the curved characterof the movement must he very clear and well-defined, yet theconsciousnessthereof should exist only in himself; "good deedsshould be done in silence,"Deppe was wont to say. The auditorwill observe only the easy and graceful raising and lowering ofthe hand; and the curved movement will reveal itself only inthe instant when the hand is poised on the keyboard or liftedfrom it. In the one case, the elevated wrist, with which thehand approaches the keyboard, assumes the normal position,with a supple downward and outward motion, at the instantthe fingers take the first key; in the other a gradual raising ofthe wrist is the beginning of the movement which removes thehand from the keyboard. The elevation of the wrist should besomewhatmarked during the execution of runs, but, generallyspeaking, it should keep the prescribed position, as shown inPlate II, where it is seen to b e just a trifle higher than theknuckles. As for the back.of the hand, it must remain in astate of controlled tranquillity-a very different thing. frominert passivity-the while the fingers, intellectualized (durck-dacht) to the very tips, take the keys over which they are con-ducted by hand and arm.

This "simple, curved movement" of Deppe's teaching lendsitself readily to the performance of any musical form. As aninstance of its perfect adaptation to the task of binding a suc-cession of runs, take the following example from the firstEtude in Czerny's School of Velocity. Its performance willgive rise to a (laterally) circular movement of the hand, thepath it thus describes being represented by the continuous linedrawn on the keyboard in the accompanying engraving. Thisline shows the path followed by the right hand during the firstfour measures of the Etude, and one should carefully followthe course of this line, in imagination, from beginning to end,bearing in mind, meanwhile, the corresponding music. It willthen be readily perceived that the first half of each rounded


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38 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.

I l

movement there depicted is the result of the performance of thecorresponding measure, and that the second half is created bythe movement which the hand makes when binding the end ofone measure to the beginning of the following one. The mentalperception of the uninterrupted character of the movement musthe keen and vivid; then it will not be difficult to see how beau-tifully the movement which places the hand on the keyboardis rounded out and completed by the one which lifts it there-from. (And it may be said, also, that there could be no betterillustration than this Etnde of the commingling of Deppe's twofoundation principles-grace of form and conservation ofenergy.) By virtue of this continuons movement all succeed-ing measures may be rendered in exact conformity with themanner of the first one, each in turn being attacked with anelevated but pliant wrist which, at the third note, assumes thelevel customary in running passages. (Sec paragraph on scaleplaying.) Since the hand, as has been said, is carried overtho desired keys, and since nothing is demanded of the fingers,save that they take, in the best possible manner, the keys over"which they are thus conducted, it follows that the tones will beproduced with little 01' no outward sign of effort. When handor finger tries to anticipate this progressive carrying movement


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ARTISTIC PIA.NO PLA.YING. 39of the arm, the inevitable result will be an inharmonious andsuperfluous movement; therefore it is well to remember Deppe'srule, that the center of gravity of the palm should always bedirectly over the keys that are to be played.

PLATE V.

The downward movement of hand and arm upon the keyswas termed by Deppe the "controlled free fan;" the movementswhich prepare for this important one are clearly shown inthe accompanying engraving-so In Plate V the hand has been,

PLATE VI.

photographed in the typical Deppean pose it assnmes whenfirst it leaves the keys, while in Plate VI this movement is con-tinued and the hand, supported in utmost freedom by the arm,hovers over the next chord or passage to be played. Deppeused the term "controlled free-fall" as applicable in equal de-


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.gree to the movement of a finger in the production of a singletone, and to the descent of the hand as a whole upon the keys.In either case it was, of course, a forcible, if paradoxical, ex-pression, designed to impress upon his pupils' minds the spon-taneity which should characterize both tone-producing and tone-uniting movements. The descending movement should be sodirect and unwavering, so devoid of all hesitancy or incoher-ence, that it will look as if hand and arm had simply beenallowed to fall of their own weight upon the key. In likemanner each curvilinear movement should create the impressionthat it is involuntary-that it is a natural outgrowth of themusic, and not something forced or extraneous.While there must be no constraint in the attitude of arm orbody during the performance of the Etude we have just beendiscussing, yet nevertheless it will not do to lose sight of therepeated cautions regarding the position of the elbow. Theelbow is particularized because its superior mobility makes itreadily inclined to go out of range; but, unless it is kept asnear the body as may be, its conspicuous activity will effect aradical change in the correct hand and' arm positions, and itsquite superfluous movements will destroy that sense of reposeand harmony which should form an integral part of all per-formance. To sum all up, the elbowshould be, as it were, thecenter of gravity of the arm, or, as Deppe expressed it, "theelbowshould be like lead"-that is, it should always be held asif a weight were adherent to its under side. As for the un-necessary movements referred to, they may be totally avoidedsimply by the use of a low piano chair, and, as this also in-sures the co-operation of the essential muscles in back andshoulder, the student is able to give all his attention to pre-venting hand or forearm from leaving the proper pose. Giventhese conditions, perfection in movement and in tone-produc-tion is a matter of time and practice only. Most children, ofnormal build, have by nature a "Iight hand" at the piano(though-alas !-it is often rendered quite the reverse by erro-neous teaching), and it is, therefore, rarely needful to explainto them anything concerning the supporting and carrying


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,

powers of upper arm and shoulder muscles. All the attentionof the teacher may, in such cases, be concentrated on securingfrom the little pupil graceful and simple movements, and amusical tone. .

The beauty of the Deppe system lies in this: that any piecemay be played-like the fewmeasures borrowedfrom Czerny-with a continuous, curvilinear movement. But the curves de-scribed by hand and ann in their evolutions over the keyboardmust never exceed the limits of strict necessity. When osten-tatious or exaggerated in character, then, in place of seemingto be the "outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritualgrace," their disproportion will excite only laughter-so trueis it that "from the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step."Naturally, it is easier to determine and to follow the propermovement line in a scale than in a piece of music, for in thelatter many curvesmelt and blend into one another, and groupsof tones must often be taken with a single inpulse of the mind,and a single curved movement of hand and arm. But all theseand similar difficulties will explain themselves if only theplayer is careful to begin his experiments with very simplepieces, and thereby learn to conform his movements with ex-nctitude to the style and content of a composition. One whowatches such a player attentively, and followseach motion withhis eye, will sometimes fancy himself to be on the point ofgrasping the underlying principle which originates and governsthe graceful and uninterrupted movement. But ever the laweludes him, for, as Souriau says in his book on "l'Estheiiquedu Mouoemeni," "it often happens that what one takes to b e asingle curve is, in reality, a series of different curves."When Deppe uttered the axiom, "a flat pose of the handsounds flat"-i. e., lifeless or wooden-he meant thereby toemphasize the importance of making every movement a curvedone, for it is only by an awkward and angular movement thatone can lay the hand "flat"_upon the keys, and the inevitableconsequencethereof is a hard, unmusical tone. But the placingof the hand, with wrist well raised, upon the keys, is the b e -ginning of a curvilinear movement; this is continued in the


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42 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.pliant, downward-and-outward motion with which the wrist re-turns the hand to the normal position ; and it finds furtherexpression as the wrist rises again, with an equally flexible,yet controlled, movement, and thus prepares the hand for anew descending curve. In this manner the hand describes, ateach successive displacement, a curve which joins itself to theone next following; thus the movement becomes an uninier-rupied one, because the hand is meanwhile carried over thekeys by the same continuous movement that enchains the sepa-rate curves.

",Vhen this combination movement of wrist, hand, and armhas been made one's own, then will come of itself a clear per-ception of the fact that this "simple movement" lends itself withequal readiness to the performance of runs, thirds, sixths,arpeggios, chords, oct.aves, trills, and staccato passages-thoughnaturally, in the execution of such varying forms, many dif-ferent muscles will be brought into play and will exert a degreeof force 'proportionate to the demands of the passage to beplayed. The player should always endeavor to create for him-self a mental picture of a composition, in which these variousarpeggios and runs, chords and octaves figure as entwiningropes of pearls; he should follow in imagination the curvinglines formed :by the execution of such passages, and have avividconsciousness of the fact that by his two hands these in-visible threads are to be ceaselessly interwoven.

Progressions of thirds and sixths are played with the handand wrist in the position so often described, special pains bei~gtaken to insure infinite lightness in hand and wrist-a condi-tion absolutely essential to smooth and rapid progression ofthe fingers. Given this condition, if the fingers are also thor-oughly alive to their task, and are carried over the keys to beplayed, then the tones will be bound with such perfection that,to use Deppe's phrase, "there will not be room between themfor the tiniest grain of sand."

The same conditions obtain for the execution of arpeggiosand hroken chords. As usual, the hand returns to regulationposition during the playing of the first three notes, thus be-


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ARTISTIO PIANO PI.AYING. 43gjnnjng that curved movement, the characteristic form of whichis never absent (during prepara.fory practice, be it said) fromthe mental consciousness of the player. During an ascendingarpeggio or broken chord--embodying the first half of the cir-cular movement-the hand is managed precisely as in a scale,the only difference being that greater intervals now separate thetones. And so, by the elastic outward movement of the wrist,governed as before by upper arm and shoulder, the hand is con-ducted over the keys in a slightly oblique position, which re-duces the passage of the thumb to a point almost of impercepti-bility. At the same time, by means of the mentally-con-trolled expansion and contraction of hand and fingers, the in-dividual tones, drawn from the instrument by the sensitivefinger tips, will sound conscious and alive ("bewusst undbeseeU'-'). In the descending arpeggio (second half of the cir ..eular movement) the wrist must now maintain a restraining in-fluence on the hand, for, according to Deppe, "if the hand,under such circumstances turns to the left at the wrist in order. t o facilitate the passage of the third and fourth fingers, thentheir respective tones will be produced by means of a detachedstroke or blow ef the finger-a heterogeneons, mechanical, andutterly superfluous action, which will materially impede theharmonious progression of the melodic thought."* He heldthe opinion that any anticipatory movement on the part ofhand, forearm, or finger-any isolated activity of these mem-bers-was certain to cause a variation in the normal hand posi-tion, and to derange, more or less, by consequence, the entireplaying apparatus. Under such circumstances the fingers andthe upper arm are no longer "en rapport," for the communica-tion between them has been interrupted by some independent;arbitrary movement, to right or left, of a finger, the hand, orthe forearm. This erroneous movement, however, should by nomeans be confounded with that indispensable and elastic lateralmovement of the wrist which is directed and controlled byupper arm and shoulder. In the latter case, the hand willalways be found in the correct position-that is, with a straight

...Klose: Die Deppe'sche Lehre, page 13.


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1 - - 8 ' - t : = etc,

44 ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYING.line running through hand and forearm---simply because cor-rect hand ,positionand perfect wrist movement are both depend-ent upon the same cause-namely, the operation of upper armmuscles, ably supported by those of back and shoulder.

The basal principles in chord-playingare the same as alreadyspecified. When the chords are separated by wide intervals, orare detached (as in the above example), then the magnitude ofthe arc described by hand and arm must be proportionate to theduration of the rests, and to the force demanded in the execu-tion of the chords; such a chord will be in evidence to theplayer's consciousness in the lower half of the circular move-ment which produces it. In a legato chord passage, however,the chord lies, as it were, in the middle of the circle, which is,of necessity, as small in dimensions as it is rapid arid,unob-trusive of accomplishment, and which must be under such strictmental control that the hand obtains only the exact timerequisite to describe the curve through which it grasps the nextchord. Thanks to the uniting powers of these scarce-percepti-ble curves, the legato of such a passage becomesirreproachable.Deppe explained the practical application of the curved movement to the playing of chords as follows: The hand, with wristwell 'raised and entirely under the domination of the will, islaid upon the keyboard, and, the very instant the sensitive:fingertips have depressed the desired keys, the wrist is madeto yield with an elastic downward motion which gradually re-stores the hand to the normal position. Whether this wristmovement shall be slowor rapid depends entirely on the duta-lion of the chord, for "there must not be an instant's pause inthe movement; on the contrary, its continuity must be abso-lute," while, at the sametime, it is natural, simple, and gracefulin appearance. Therefore, the wrist inflection must continuewithout the slightest jerk or interruption until it is merged in


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING. 45the movement which lifts the hand from the keys, preparatoryto the taking of the next chord in the same manner as before.It cannot be repeated too often, however, that this movement,though carried out with all necessary pliancy and grace, mustever have behind it the co-operation and controlling power ofthe superior muscles of arm and shoulder. Tones producedin this manner will actually seem to be hovering in the air,and will possess a beauty so ideal that all thought of the ma-teriality of the instrument from which they emanate will en-t.irely disappear.

The movement form in staccato playing is exactly the same.The firm and sensitive finger tips must, of course, leave thekeys with the utmost rapidity, once the tones have been taken,and the "simple curved movement" is naturally of the smallestpossible dimensions; in fact, it may be reduced to such a degreein rapid playing that, through the inwardly controlledrhythmical operation of arm and shoulder muscles, the motionof the hand on the key will come finally to resemble a regu-lated trembling, or vibration, the result of each vibration beingthe production of a tone. This description applies equally tothe playing of octaves, for in their rapid execution exactly theflame diminution of the movement takes place. The hand mustb e "light as a feather," and freely supported by arm and shoul-der, the fingers being tense and curved, and the wrist firm, yetelastic; then a vibratory motion, which originates in the backaud shoulder, is transmitted to the hand, each vibration produc-ing an octave with a precision and regularity proportionate tothe concentration of mind exerted by the performer.

Trills are executed according to the same general princi-ples-that is, the shaking movement of the hand is governed byupper arm and shoulder; the finger tips do not leave the. surfaceof the keys. The more intensity one wishes to infuse into thetones, the greater must be the degree of tension in those muscleswhich carry the hand over the desired keys, and which co-operate with it in tone production.

That wonderful unity of desig n which serves to distinguishthe Deppe 1rlethod from all others renders it unnecessary to go


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46 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.into further detail with regard to other technical figures.' I..etit suffice to say that they all rest on the same simple founda-tion principles as laid down in Chapter I: The Ufeather-light"hand, freely supported and carried by the arm ; correct andlogical hand-and-arm positions,' the production of tone througha seeming "[ree [all" of arm, hand, or finger; the curvilinearmovement in tone-production. and tone-uniting; and the men-tally-controlled contraction of the hand, always dema.nding aninstant, elastic, lateral movement of the wrist. One whomakes these principles his own-not less through reflection thanthrough praetice=-will find that he gradually arrives at sponta-neons comprehension of every technical problem.A performance after this manner will always appear to costlittle effort, simply because, as has been said, a minimum oflabor is made to yield a maximum of result. Every movementof the player has its own special raison d'eire, and is made withsome definite end in view, and the whole general effect is one ofsuch simplicity that an observer is apt to cherish the delusionthat he, too, could play in just that manner. But this apparentsimplicity is, in reality, an attribute of art in its highest mani-festations, for, as Frederick Wieck said: "Pure, genuine beautyis always synonymous with simplicity." Schiller, also, wroteas follows: "True beauty is founded on the strictest precision,on the most exact distinctions, and on the highest intrinsicnecessity, but these attributes should rather allow themselvesto be sought for than thrust themselves forcibly forward.Perfect conformity to law there must be, but it should seemto be pure nature. A work which fulfills these conditions winfully satisfy the understanding as soon as study has been madeof it, but precisely because it is truly beautiful, its conformityto law if?only suggested, never obtruded ; and, therefore, it doesnot appeal to the understanding alone; on the contrary, it ad-dresses itself as a harmonious entity to the entire man, to allhis faculties together; it is nature speaking to nature."*

...Ueber die notwendigen Grenzen beim Gebranch schoener Formen.


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLA. YING. 47

CHAPTER IV .Concerning Practice.

" Taste the most refined,Feeling the most profound,Hearing the most delicate.With the whole soul,With the whole heart,

. With the whole understanding." -FrtedTich Wieck.THE TONE-so small in the beginning-will befound to increase in volume daily, in propor-tion as the pupil acquires equal domination over

the different joints and muscles, and learns to employhis fingers in conscious and reflective fashion. Mean-while there will go on, coincidently, a gradual enlightenment ofthe understanding, and a deepening of that power of percep-tion, of intelligent insight which is so essential to the artisticinterpretation of a composition. Deppe was wont to liken thisinterdependent development of tone power and of musicalunderstanding to the process of growth in a seed planted in thesoil. Hidden away in the seed is the entire plant-in embryo-which later is to unfold itself, and yet, in the first weeks afterplanting, it is often hard to realize that the seed is alive at all.Rut although it gives no sign, the plant is none the less devel-.oping all the while. One day it suddenly appears aboveground, spreads out its leaves, waxes larger day by day, andfinally, when arrived at full strength, displays the blossoms,which ~re sign and token of its maturity.

The building of a house served Deppe for another illustra-tion. First a firm foundation must be laid to form a supportfor all that shall follow. Then come walls, floors, staircases,etc., and, after months of strenuous toil-always preceded bylogical reflection-the whole structure is crowned by the roof,


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48 ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING.and from the windows the owner may freely gaze on every side.And just so it is with the Deppean scholar. Such an one, striv-ing ever to reach his ideal, will derive a very real pleasure,even in the beginning, from his attempts to produce a perfecttone, for this is, as it were, both foundation and corner-stoneof the stately structure he hopes to build according to the mas-ter's principles. By means of a technic which adjusts itselfwith precision to the varying demands of a composition, he istaught to avoid all movements possessed of no definite aim, andto adapt each of his movements to the content of what he wishesto play. And by reason of the manner of tone-production, withits accompanying activity of the intellectual faculties, therearises that sense of happiness, of exaltation, which is alwaysattendant on the consciousness of having doiIe genuine artisticwork.

It goes without saying, however, that much industry, pa-tience and energy are necessary if one will attain to resultsworthv of the beautiful art of music. Nor is it less essential"'that the student endeavor to cultivate in himself the utmostpurity of taste, and a fine musical car, and that he strive, byevery possible means, to fan the flame of artistic enthusiasm inhis soul. .Meanwhile the mutual "discipline of brain. andhands" must go steadily on, till the whole playing apparatus,from shoulder to finger tips, is used harmoniously and with re-flection.

Deppe made his pupils practice very slowly, and frequentlywith each hand separately~ thus there was ample opportunityfor the heedful attention which alone can insure that one toneshall not predominate over another, but that all shall be equallypure and clear. When the pupil, after some weeks of thisslow, single-handed practice, had assimilated the compositionto such a degree that each tone and movement had specialreference to the musical content thereof, then he was allowedto use both hands simultaneously, but still in the same slowtempo. Once the piece was fairly well learned, it was laidaside "to ripen," and another took its place and was treatedin precisely the same manner. Through this progressive ac-


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING. 49tivity, physical and mental, the growth of musical sense andperception was wonderfully stimulated, and musical ideas ren-dered clear and coherent. After four to six weeks of retire-ment, the pieces laid one side were brought again to the lightof day, and polished into readiness for performance.

In order to find difficult or typical passagesfor parallel prac-tice, Deppe examined large numbers of etudes and pieces andselected therefrom such passages as seemed to him speciallyuseful; these he made his pupils study with particular care andattention. Here are a few samples:

Czarny's Schoolof Velocity. I.

Schoolof Velocity, No. 23. II.

Cramer's Etudes, Book I, No.9. III.

In Ex. I the hand must never be found out of the regula-tion position; it must be carried over the keyboard by an un-interrupted movement of the arm in such a way that the backof the hand remains' tranquil, and the fingers have but to takethe keys lying directly under them. When it is necessary totouch a blackkey, then the hand, by a movement of the shoulderand upper arm, is conducted over that key in such a way that thedesired tone is produced without the slightest anticipatorymovement of the finger. This passage also exemplifiesDeppe'srule concerning the binding of tones (see Chapter III); theplayer must be vividly conscious that the hand itself" by alter-nate movements of contraction and expansion, co-operates withthe fingers in producing each group of six tones.

4


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50 ARTISTIO PIANO PLAYING.The second example, also taken from Ozerny's USchool of

Velocity/~ puts in practice another of Deppe's principles: "oneshould draw the hand together till it resembles a walnut shell."(A performance of this llassage will render Deppe's meaningquite clear; the shell-like formation of the hand will be ob-served when playing the secondhalf of the measure.) In otherwords, there must be concentration of tone-producing power i'l'bthe palm of the hand. Even when tones or passages are moreor less widely separated-as, for instance, in the beginning ofthis exercise--there is no need for the hand to leave the regula-tion position and attempt to bridge the interval through inde-pendent action of the fingers. This employment of "extrane-ous means" (as Deppe termed it) always cuts short the syner-getieal working of the muscles, and, consequently, obscures th\harmonious connection of the passage,mars the legato, and de-stroys that appearance of unprerneditation so essential to ar-tistic playing; nor can it ever be otherwise if a tone is'producedby a detached finger-stroke.

A further illustration of this principle is furnished by anexample from one of Oramer's Etudes. The problem in thiscase is to execute the first five tones without a break, and withno anticipatory movement of hand or finger. When the thumbhas reached G, then, instead of turning the hand sharply to theright and throwing the finger on to the next key, the hand,pivoting easily on the thumb, is carried in unaltered pose to apoint which enables the second finger to sink with perfectnaturalness onto its key. By this management of the handit is possibleto obtain the most charming legato effects.

The following exercise in sixths is to be performed veryslowly; it was prescribed by Deppe a~ being helpful in theacquisition of concentrated power in the muscles of the palm.Each time that the fifth finger takes a newkey, the fingers andthe hand, dominated by the will, "draw together like a walnutshell;" then, as soon as the thumb takes its key, there followsan equally controlled and deliberate opening out of the hand,which, aided by a slight movement to the right of the wristand arm, enables the fifth finger to complete the measure with-


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ARTISTIC PIANO PLAYING. 11out causing any material deviation from the hand positionshown in Plate III. If the "true inwardness" o f this simpleexercise is fully comprehended, then its performance will b efound to involve considerablemuscular tension, and to demandthe closest attention on the part of the player; it is thereforea powerful agent in promoting the true "discipline of brainand fingers." Nor is it less valuable as a means of concen-trating attention and will in the tips of the fingers, for whilethe fingers, directed by the will, draw together and then resumethe strict Deppean pose, each finger must, at the same time,sustain a voluntary and conscious relation to its neighbor.Not one of the five must go out of line in order to bring thehand more quickly into the next position; on the contrary, eachfinger, acting under equal mental conirol, must ally its move-ments with those of the others.. .,_ a l i ! I E l p ; O J e t oE ;J.J

I 5 I 5 I t "The power and efficacyof the muscle movements involved

in this management of the hand result precisely from the alter-nate expansion and contraction of the hand; and an indirectresult of the observation of this principle is that there arisesa new idea of the officeof the different fingers. The fourthand fifth fingers are used more frequently, and the second andthird proportionately. less so, than before. In consequencethefingers obtain what may be termed equal rights; each takesonly its natural place on the keyboard, and is given no tasknot logically belonging to it. (Klose, page 14.)

In the invariable and unvarying return of the hand to theDeppean position there is involved an artistic principle of thehighest order; it appears as if the hand were ucaressingn* thekeys-so sweet, so tender, yet so full o f nervous energy, are thetones produced when curvilinear movements are employed.

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