2 AAipae The word “technique” derives from the Greek word teclne, which means art” According to this definition, the term should cover the range of prob- lems faced by a performer. Colloquially, however, the word is used ina much more limited way to define issues of velocity and manual dexterity. Bowing to the common usage, I will focus on this limited area throughout this chapter. 1 do not aspire to provide a comprehensive, definitive textbook on piano technique. I doubt whether such a book could be written. To begin with, so ‘many of a pianist’s physical actions are conditioned by individual physical makeup. Technique is equally the result of a pianist’s musical tastes and ideals, the repertoire thatis dear to him, and other factors. Iti naive to think that by combining technical approaches of different pianists one can create anceps ultra supertechnique. Even ifsuch “genetic engineering” were pos- sible, do we really want to hear a pianistc Frankenstein who would combine the precision and control of touch of, say, Michelangeli with the velocity of young Ashkenazy and the sensitive shading of Lupu? Probably not, for the technique of every good performer is an inseparable part of his artistic personality and, as Wilhelm Furtwangler put it, “standardised technique creates in return standardised art”* (Of the many technical approaches, teachers generally emphasize one of the following three fundamental physical actions: 1) independent use of well articulated fingers; (2) rotation movements of wrist or forearm, as well as thst initiated by these body parts; (3) use of weight ofthe forearm and upper ai, votTechnique as armas the source of the pianist's physical activity. Some instructors endorse one of these actions exclusively while belittling the other two, In my opinion, itis equally wrong to exaggerate the importance of any one of these physical approaches over another or to ignore any of them. In reality, most ofthe pi nist’s movements are combinations of two or all three of these actions. The old school espousing active fingers and an absolutely immobile hand ‘was notorious for its insistence on practicing with a penny that was sup- posed to remain undisturbed on the back ofthe pianist’s hand. Weno longer play this way because, in addition to producing dry and inflexible sound, it could lead to muscular strain and even injury. On the other hand, some teachers, especially those specializing in rehabilitation of injured pianists, seek to replace all finger activity with the rotation movements of bigger joints. Such playing produces a limp sound lacking articulation and preci- sion. Although each of these approaches by itself produces totaly unsatis- factory results, combination of well-articulated action by fingers with the Aesibility and fluidity provided by the wrist assures naturally expressive and ‘lear piano playing. Finally, the weight of bigger joints gives body to the ‘sound and often provides a welcome release of tension. Substitution of ‘effort with weight allows for brief moments of relaxation so important for the pianist. Relying too much on weight, though, can also produce un- wanted thickness and heaviness of playing. Although the combination of the elements seems to be indispensable, various considerations may influence the decision to rely mostly on one of them, I have occasionally entered into almost ideological arguments with fellow pianists about whether a certain passage should be played mainly by fingers with the support of a bigger joint or vice versa. I believe that each pianist does what comes naturally and, probably, what was stressed during his early training, Some pianists have better-developed fingers, while others rely on bigger joints. The important point to remember is that these differ- ‘ent actions almost never can be separated from each other. In practice, ‘fingers are always supported by bigger joints. Atthe same time, the action of hand or forearm should never be an excuse for the fingers to dangle pas- sively, like imp noodles on a fork.Va acameeegeeceeeneaerasaeraareesarerearerrereeesereeeeemeerseermeenaeea 26 Inthe Practice Room Frequently and conspicuously missing from the technical discussions of piano methodists is consideration of the music performed, We do talk about the sound quality appropriate for Rachmaninov but not for Mozart (see the previous chapter) or about the fingering that may be natural for Chopin but unsuitable for Beethoven (discussed later on in the chapter “Practicing”). Similarly, we should be prepared to use different technical approaches for different repertoire. Using the weight of the forearm would be appropriate for fast chordal passages of Rachmaninov, such as the one in the Second Pi- ano Concerto (Ex. .1), but out of place in the finale of Beethoven's Sonata op. 2 no. 3 (Ex, 2.2), even when the material appears forte later in the move: ment. As for the example from Bach's G Major Prelude from Book II of Well Tempered Clavier (Ex. 2.3), 1 cannot agree with the recommendation of Gyorgy Sandor to play itusing forearm rotation. In my view, the style of the piece requires clarity of articulation best achieved by finger action. On the cther hand, the light axial rotation would be very suitable in the opening of Schubert's Phantasy for Violin and Piano (Ex. 2.4). Macao, (Alle rein) 5 5 PAE dee $ £ Ex.21 Rachmaninov, Concerto no.2in C Minor, op. 18, mvt Allegro assi Ex, 2.2 Beethoven, Sonata in C Major, op. 2, no. 3, mit 4Ex. 23 Bach, Prelude in G Major, BWV 88 from Well-Tempered Clavier, book 2 Ex, 24 Schubert, Phantasy in C Major for Violin and Piano, D. 934 Light, lateral movements of the wrist along the contour of the melodic line generally bring natural expressivity to the playing. I would recommend this technique for the passage from Chopin’s Fantasy in F minor (Ex. 2.5). In addition, a light, ascending movement of the wristat the end of every phrase will help make them sound light, inconclusive. (Still, contrary to Sandor, I do not believe that the upward wrist motion must accompany the end of every phrase, as I donot think that every musical phrase needs toend lightly, Ex.2:5 Chopin, Fantasy in F Minor, op. 49‘28 Inthe Practice Room If these little wrist “loops” were used in the beginning of the finale of Prokofiev's Sixth Sonata (Ex. 2.6), however, the music would sound too “nice,” too gentle, and be robbed of its stubborn, unyielding character. Ex. 26 Prokofiey, Sonata no. 6, op. 82, mvt 4 | believe that two pillars form the foundation of good piano technique: I will call them “the economy principle” and “the extension principle.” The “economy principle” requires the pianist to be economical in his move: ments, not to use a bigger part of his body—finger, hand, forearm, arm— when a smaller one will suffice. To quote William Newman, “For utmost ‘ficiency we must use the least powerful lever that will answer our need."? ‘To be inclusive, this formula must address musical needs as well as techni- cal ones. The beginning of Bach's F Major Invention (Ex. 2.7) for example, can be played easily by fingers alone, but such performance may sound too thin and insufficiently articulated. One may wish to incorporate a light, ‘bouncing motion of wrist as well to add more body and spirit to the sonority. _The “extension principle” requires us to regard each of the various seg- ments of our piano-playing anatomy (finger, hand, forearm, arm) as the con- “Tinuation of the adjacent parts, with each individual unit always ready t “support and share the work with the others. Collaboration among these “Visions is the Key to effortless technique. To some people this may seem con- tradictory to the “economy principle.” “Why,” someone may ask, “should ITechnique 29 = Ex.2.7 Bach, Invention in F Major, BWV 779 worry about bigger parts of my body fam supposed to use the smallest of them?” In fact, even while using the small joints only, the pianist must de- velop the feeling of silent support given by bigger joints tothe smaller ones, the sensation of the continuity of the muscular flow. Joints not involved in the playing must never be tensed; rather, they are to be Kept ina state of active relaxation, always ready to join in. Im accordance with these two principles, we shall discuss the functions of cach joint, starting with the smallest Before proceeding, however, I would like toaddress the issue of the position of the pianist’s hand and of his whole body at the keyboard, Inthe ealy stages of learning to play the piano the postion ofthe pianists hands and overall posture at the piano rightly receive a lot of attention. Working with advanced students, piano teachers usually treat this issue ‘much more liberally than do our string colleagues, because piano playing seems to allow considerable latitude in this area, In my teaching I prefer not tointerfere unless I sense that the wrong hand position of the student gets inthe way ofhis music-making * This does not mean, however, that I do not have a definite opinion on this matter. For me, the correct shape of the pi- anist’s hand is the one that is also the physiologically innate one, with natu- rally curved fingers (as discussed in the previous chapter). Esipova de- scribed this position as one of “holding a ball” and coined the term “la main soutée" (the vaulted hand).* I consider this position to be standard. As the “+Sometimes my reasons for not interfering are similar to those that prompted the great Russian violin teacher Yuri Yankeevich to say to his young assistant who was Fealously fussing over the hand postion of a student of limited talent: “Remember that even with a wrong hand position one can play violin. .badl.” He obviously felt that the investment of effort, painful for the student and the teacher alike, was not likely to make a significant difference inthe student’ playing{i ee ye. Inthe Practice Room shape of the fingers may change slightly, depending on whether we want to use the fleshy cushion ofthe finger or its pointed tip (see the previous chap- ter), the hand assumes a slightly lower or higher position correspondingly. Keeping the fingers exaggeratedly straight creates tension in the palm of the hand and forearm and should be avoided. ‘The height of one's seat at the piano is determined by the position of the «elbows, wich should not be below the level of the keyboard to avoid intro- ducing too much weight into the playing, Sitting much lower prevents the pi- anist from using the weight of his upper body. (I am convinced that Glenn Gould was able to play the way he did not because of his abnormally low sit- ting position but in spite of it. Itcertainly has not worked as well for some of his emulators.) People with a small build in particular may need every ounce of their upper body weight to produce a powerful and full sound. On the other hand, sitting too high may invite shallow playing, with fingers not reaching to the depth of the keys. ‘The wrist should be positioned to form a more or less straight line be- ‘tween the elbow and the knuckles. Holding it too low will interrupt the flow of muscular continuity from the shoulder to the fingertips. Holding it too high brings fingers too close to the surface of the keys, interfering with articulation. However, slight changes in the height ofthe wrist are often use- ful, among other things, to prevent tension in the forearm, ‘The fingers must always be active; this is essential for enunciation. More specifically, itis the tips ofthe fingers that must always be alert. Every instrumentalist or singer strives to achieve clarity of performance, and for each of them one or more parts of the body are responsible for enun: ciation, For singers as well as woodwind players these are the lips and the ‘tongue; for string players it is the right arm that brings the bow into contact ‘with the strings. For pianists, this function is performed by the fingertips, In loud passages, when we use the forearm and upper arm to create powerful sonority, the fingertips give definition to the sound: without their contribu: tion the sound may become too booming, overwhelming, or unfocused. In soft passages, when the activity of bigger joints is minimal, the fingertips ‘must remain as activeas ever. This technique can be compared to an actor'sTechnique 31 stage whisper, which involves action of the lips, not the vocal chords, to en- able the voice to carry the words to the hall. A common mistake is to decrease the alertness of the fingertips when playing softly, which makes the sound fuzzy. To correct this flaw I ask students to playa scale ina long, continuous diminuendo, making sure that the fingertips remain equally sensitive and alert throughout. ‘Sometimes I hear the opinion thatthe activity of fingers is dangerous and causes injuries. Iam convinced that this is a misconception. Finger technique isnot only indispensable but also completely safe if practiced properly. First of all, fingers often play very lightly, producing no muscular strain at ll. Any ten- sion that does exist during soft playing indicates that the pianist’s posture or hand position is wrong and needs to be corrected. But even when requiring stronger action of the fingers, the pianist should not produce it by vigorously. lffing the fingers and bringing them down powerfully. Instead, I suggest holding the fingers at some distance above the keyboard and relea ‘dropping, them. The acceleration of a falling finger allows itto gain strength by the time it reaches the key. The image I sometimes use i: I do not lit my fingers, they justlive there, on the second floor. When the time to play comes, a fingeris dropped while the one that has finished playingis coming home. If feel thatthe passage requires more ative articulation, I move the fingers one floor up. IfT needless articulation, I'll move them a floor down. ‘To develop the ability of holding the fingers at various distances from | keys, [recommend practicing scales while positioning fingers (a) very close to the keys, (bat a small distance from the keys, and (c) at a considerable distance from the keys. This exercise is not easy for those students who are} accustomed to feeling the surface ofthe keys under thetr fingers ata times and are afraid to lose this direct contact. They experience difficulty in le- ting the fingers fll from above. Instead, they break the movement into two parts, bringing the fingers in contact with the surface ofa key first and stop- ing momentarily before pushing the key down, Obviously, this action does not achieve the goal. It takes time to overcome this “fear of heights” and to let the fingers plunge into the key fom above without stopping on the surface,Ex.28 Chopin, Etudein F Minor, op. 25, no, 2 o Ex.2.9 Brahms, Concerto no. in D Minor, op. 15, mvt. 3 Depending on the sound goal of the passage, the fingers need to be either “glued” to the keys (as in Chopin's Etude op. 25 no. 2 Ex. 2.8) lightly dropped from a short distance (many passages of Mozart sonatas and concertos), or very quickly dropped from approximately one to one and one-half inches above the key (Brahms Concerto no, 1[Ex.2.9)). Inthe lastexample, the tempo is too fast forthe pianist to involve his hand or forearm; on the other hand, playing the passage legato does not produce the required clarity and decisive- ness, The solution is to play the passage with finger staccato (quasi pizzicato), ‘making a plucking motion toward the pianist. This way the finger will be off ‘the key sooner than ifit were lifted straight up. Other examples of finger stac- ‘ato include the beginning of Prokofiev's 7th Sonata (Ex. 2.10) and the left hhand part in the second movement of Beethoven's op. 31, no. 3 (Ex. 2.11) (consider finger staccato an essential and very effective technical device, but the pianist needs to exercise great care when practicing it. The energetic plucking action of the finger may lead to overstraining of flexor muscles lo- cated on the inner [volar] side of the forearm. When learning a passage with one hand, the pianist can put the other hand on the inner flower] part of the forearm to check that every effort required to produce the plucking motion is followed by a moment of relaxation of the muscles.)Allegro ngsieto x, 211 Beethoven, Sonata in Eflat Major, op. 31, no. 3, mut. 2 One of the most frequently encountered problems is faulty action of the thumb, Except for special cases, when its heaviness is exploited, even “cele brated” (for example, in the third movement of Bart6k's Sonata [Ex. 2.12), the thumb needs to play with the same lightness as other fingers to prevent unwanted accents. Some students seem unaware that the thumb has several joints; they use itas a little stick poking into the key. The pianist needs to re- alize how the phalanges of the thumb work and be able to use them. Proper thumb action is accomplished more easily if the thumb's normal position is ‘curved (like the shape it assumes when forming the letter O with the thumb and the second finger. Involuntary accents happen often because the pianist Jets his hand “fall down" every time the thumb strikes a key. This movement should be avoided; one should maintain the same height in the position of the hand. Inits role asa pivot in playing scales and arpeggios, the thumb should not be pushed under the palm of the hand by its biggest joint, but instead should ‘be folded starting with the smallest one (Fig. 2.1) tis the tip ofthe thumb that ‘Pulls the bigger joints into action when necessary rather than the other way around. Whatever functions the thumb is called upon to perform, its place is above the keys, together with the rest ofthe fingers. It should not hang out. ssde, under the key level, as seen in some students’ playing (Fig. 22)44 Inthe Practice Room Ex, 2.12 Barth, Sonata, mvt 3 ‘The pianist must develop an extremely flexible palm. Depending on the nature of the passage, the pianist makes his hand wider or narrower—that is, either expands or contracts it—to help achieve smoothness during run- ning passages. In Chopin's Etude op. 10 no. 4 (Ex. 2.13), for example, the opening group of notes is played with a relatively wide hand to accommo- date the upcoming leap; the closeness of the next group of notes requires the hand to contract toa narrow position. The hand widens gradually in the following bar and even more so in the next, in keeping with the changing texture, (The letters above the staffin Ex. 2.13 correspond to the timing ofthe photographs of Fig. 2.3.) Ex, 213 Chopin, Etude in C-sharp Minor, op. 10, no. 4Fig. 2.1 Correct action ofthe thumb eg 22 Incorrect postion ofthe thumb38. Inthe Practice Room ‘The expansion and contraction described above are closely connected with the concept of position, the term pianists use for the mental and physi- cal grouping of several sounds. The hand becomes the guardian ofthe post: tion and, depending on the notes that the position embraces, is made wider or narrower, expanded or contracted. Sometimes the position is wider than the hand can cover (for example, in the Chopin Etude op. 10 no. 1); corre: spondingly, the hand is held ina wide open position, as ifable to embrace all of it. Many passages in Chopin's music require such wide positions. This ‘openness of the hand should not be confused with tense stretching, which should be minimized. Excessive and prolonged stretching is, in fact, a fre- quent cause of hand injuries, but they can be easily avoided if the actual stretching takes very short time and if mostorall of itis replaced by the ten- sion-free opening of the palm followed by a jump or a “wide step.” In playing arpeggios or passages such as that from Chopin's Etude op. 10 no. 8 (Ex. 2.14), the pianist may wonder whether to skip from one hand po- 2 > 5 Ex. 2.14 Chopin, Etude in F Major, op. 10, no. 8Technique 39 jon to another or to use finger legato. Both solutions may have undesired results. Skipping may hamper the feeling of legato and create accents on the first note of each position. On the other hand, finger legato may requitea big, tum of the wrist, which, in a fast tempo, creates rhythmic and dynamic un- evenness and damages the flow. I advocate a compromise approach: retain the positions, but attempt to connect them. In the excerpt from the F Major Etude, start turning the wrist as if trying to connect the thumb, which plays the last note in the first group, with the fourth finger, which introduces the new position. When you feel that a further turn of the wrist may damage the flow of the run, skip. It is essential for the pianist to develop a flexible wrist, capable of small and rapid movements. It should be able to work flexibly and smoothly in three ways: rotating, performing horizontal shifts, and making vertical mo- tions, Rotating movernents of the wrist are extremely useful for instance, in playing tremolos,trills, or textures like the example from Beethoven's First Piano Concerto (Ex. 2.15). When the rotating elements (for instance,the two notes of the tremolo) ae spaced widely or when loud playing is required, the forearm joins the wrist in the rotating movement. I cannot, however, agree with the statement of Gyorgy Sandor: “Only the forearm and the fingers are active; the upper arm and the wrist are both passive. The wrist does not participate in the motion at all."s For me this simply does not work. Horizontal movements of the wrist, which change what Josef Lhevinne called “hand slant” in response to the design of the melodic line, are very helpful in supporting finger passages. Said Lhevinne: “Often pupils struggle with difficult passages and declare them impossible, when a mere ‘change of the hand position, such as raising or lowering the wrist or slanting the hand laterally, would solve the problem."6 Such movements are impor- ‘tant not only for ensuring the evenness of finger work but for supporting the inflection of musical phrase. Sandor introduced the concept of adjusting movements of the wrist: ‘when, say, the fingers in the right hand play in succession, from the frst to the fifth finger, the wrist will make a corresponding movement to the rightEx, 2.5 Beethoven, Concerto no, 1in C Major, op. 25, mvt. toalign each finger with the forearm muscles that govern its work, find this concept useful only ifthese movements are kept very slight, Vertical motion of the wrist is indispensable to playing octaves and chords. A well-trained wrist is capable of performing 2 gamut of motions, froma barely perceptible tremor for producing lightly shimmering repeated ‘octaves, to the strong bounce necessary for chords in the “Russian Dance" from Stravinsky's Petrouchka. Naturally, in loud passages like these, the wrist joins forces with fingers and forearm, Apropos the “Russian Dance,” I once had a student who played it as ‘though he had one solid bone from the elbow to the finger knuckles, and the repeated chords were negotiated through extreme tension of the forearm as ifbbya sheer act of will The student was lucky not to have developed muscu lar pains. The sound he was producing, however, was quite painful to heat. This kind of playing derived from his early training, which concentrated al- ‘most exclusively on fingers. Although he used his forearm for chords and big leaps, his wrist had been neglected and remained essentially underde- veloped. In the course of our work the student was able to incorporate wrist ‘movements into his performance of Fetrouchka, resulting in dramatic re- Auction of the tension and a much more agreeable sound.