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 O rder N u m b er 9 1 0 5 5 0 1

A com parison o f th e techniques o f piano playing advocated by

selected tw entieth century pedagogues

P ra te r, Pam ela Jo, D.M .A.

The University of Texas at Austin, 1990

C op yrigh t © 1 9 9 0 b y P r a te r , P a m e la J o . A ll rig h ts reserved .

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 A COMPARISON OF THE TECHNIQUES OF PIANO PLAYING

ADVOCATED BY SELECTED TWENTIETH-CENTURY

PEDAGOGUES

by

PAMELA JO PRATER, B.M., M.M.

TREATISE

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of

The University of Texas at Austin

in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements

for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

August, 1990

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 A COMPARISON OF THE TECHNIQUES OF PIANO PLAYING

ADVOCATED BY SELECTED TWENTIETH-CENTURY

PEDAGOGUES

APPROVED BY
SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE:

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 Copyright

by

Pamela Jo Prater

1990

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to express her indebtedness to several individuals for

their help in preparing this study. Special thanks to the members of the

supervising committee: Professor Amanda Vick Lethco, Dr. Betty Mallard, Dr.

Roger Graybill, Dr. Robert Snow, and Professor James Magnuson. Heartfelt

appreciation is extended to Professor Lethco for her constant guidance,

inspiration, and encouragement during the w-iiting of this paper. She generously

gave of her time and expertise in all phases o f this project.

Fina’ly, the author wishes to thank her husband, Jacob Surdell, for his

continuing support and encouragement.

Pamela Prater

The University of Texas

at Austin

August, 1990

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 A COMPARISON OF THE TECHNIQUES OF PIANO PLAYING

ADVOCATED BY SELECTED TWENTIETH-CENTURY

PEDAGOGUES

Publication N o ._______________

Pamela Jo Prater, D.M.A.

The University of Texas at Austin, 1990

Supervisors: Amanda Vick Lethco and Betty Mallard

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare several important

pedagogical approaches to piano technique. The principal pedagogues under

discussion include Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915), Tobias Matthay (1858-

1945), Rudolf M. Breithaupt (1873-1945), Otto Ortmann (1889-1979), and

Arnold Schultz (1903-1972). As a background for understanding the

pedagogical trends of the twentieth century, there will be a brief discussion of

the most important piano pedagogues of the nineteenth century. The influence

of the teachings of Beethoven, Czerny, Chopin, Liszt, Starke, and Deppe will be

examined. This overview of nineteenth-century approaches will lead into an

analysis of more recent theories, with primary focus on the technical concepts of

Leschetizky, Matthay, Breithaupt, Ortmann, and Schultz. There will be a

description and individual comparison of each pedagogue's approach to arm

movement, hand movement, finger movement, relaxation and fixation, weight

and weight transfer, tone production, articulation, and technical exercises. The

study will conclude with examples of advanced piano repertoire incorporating

technical principals derived from the teachings of each pedagogue.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................... iv

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................. v

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.................................................................. vii

CHAPTER

ONE. INTRODUCTION................................................................. 1

TWO. A NINETEENTH-CENTURY OVERVIEW ................... 8

THREE. AN INTRODUCTION TO TWENTIETH-CENTURY

PIANO PEDAGOGUES.................................................. 20

FOUR. TYPES OF MOVEMENT USED IN PIANO PLAYING 26

FIVE. CONCEPTS OF RELAXATION AND FIXATION 60

SIX. WEIGHT AND WEIGHT TRANSFER............................... 68

SEVEN. TONE PRODUCTION..................................................... 77

EIGHT. ARTICULATION.............................................................. 83

NINE. TECHNICAL EXERCISES............................................... 92

TEN. TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS................................................ 97

ELEVEN. CONCLUSION............................................................... 121

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................. 127

vi

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 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE PAGE

1. Longitudinal Oscillation of the Arm............................................. 33

2. Extension of the Forearm................................................................ 34

3. Matthay's Two Types of Finger Stroke......................................... 40

4. Two Types of Curvilinear Motion ............................................... 44

5. Photographs of Lateral Hand Movements..................................... 45

6. Ortmann's Types o f Finger Stroke................................................. 48

7. Location of the Flexors, Extensor, and Small Muscles 53

8. Various Positions of the Arm ......................................................... 66

vii

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Ideally, "technique" should imply the combination of motor skills with an

ability to direct these skills toward the creation of expressive musical ideas. Many

pedagogues, among them Tobias Matthay, Thomas Fielden, Konrad Wolff, Josef

Hofmann, and Rosina Lhevinne, have commented on the link between the mental

and physical in music making, as the following quotes illustrate:

Technique means the power of expressing oneself musically. It embraces

all the physico-mechanical means through which one's musical perceptions
are expressed Technique is rather a matter of the Mind than o f the
"fingers".. . . To acquire Technique therefore implies that you must induce
and enforce a particular mental-muscular association and cooperation for
every possible musical effect.1

Technique can be defined as the acquired skill in physical craft which an artist
brings to bear in expressing his own spiritual individuality.2

Piano technique, as Schnabel used the term and taught it, is the faculty to
establish channels between the sound heard inwardly and its realization in all
individualized subtlety, or, as one might say, channels between the "soul" and
"body" of the interpretation of a score.3

]Tobias Matthay, The Visible and Invisible in Pianoforte Technique

(London: Oxford University Press, 1932), 3.
T h o m as Fielden, The Science of Pianoforte Technioue. 2d ed. (London:
Macmillan and Co., 1934), 162.
3Konrad Wolff, Schnabel's Interpretation of Piano Music (New York: Dover
Publications, 1971), 22-23.

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 Technic fsicl represents the material side of art, as money represents the
material side of life. By ail means achieve a fine technic, but do not dream
that you will be artistically happy with this alone Technic is a chest of
tools from which the skilled artisan draws what he needs at the right time for
the right purpose. The mere possession of the tools means nothing; it is the
instinct-the artistic intuition as to when and how to use the tools-that counts.
It is like opening the drawer and finding what one needs at the moment There
is a technic which liberates and a technic which represses the artistic self. All
technic ought to be a means of expression. It is perfectly possible to
accumulate a technic that is next to useless.4

As students in Russia, we were taught from the earliest age to strive for a
perfect technique, in other words, 'a complete command o f the instrument.'
But technique was never a goal in itself: rather, it was onlv a means to express
the ideas of the composer.5

Although this paper deals largely with analyzing the physical mechanics of

playing, it should be understood that the final aim of such analysis is the more

complete expression of musical concepts at the keyboard. Musical expression

and ease in playing are the goals of all piano pedagogues, yet many disagree on

how these goals are to be achieved. Therefore, while much has already been

written on the subject of piano technique, there remains a great deal of confusion

concerning this topic.

Piano pedagogues today are faced with an abundance of apparently

contradictory theories regarding technique. The problem stems in part from the

evolution of the instrument as well as from technical advances required for the

performance of the piano literature. During the nineteenth century, both the

4Josef Hofmann. Piano Plaving with Piano Questions Answered

(Philadelphia: Theodore Presser Co., 1920), S0-S1.
5Rosina Lhevinne, foreword to Basic Principles in Pianoforte Plaving. by
Josef Lhevinne (Philadelphia: Theodore Presser Co., 1924; reprint, New York:
Dover Publications, 1972), v.

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 3

instrument and the repertoire developed in ways that made greater physical

demands on the pianist. It was during this period of transition from the

fortepiano to the modem piano that a major split took place in the mainstream

approach to teaching piano technique. Even though the piano was a much heavier

and more physically demanding instrument than either the harpsichord or

fortepiano, the eighteenth-century manner of playing, which was inherited from

the old harpsichord technique, was deeply entrenched and continued to be used

until well into the nineteenth century. Advocates of this manner of playing

believed that all technical problems could be overcome by achieving complete

independence of the fingers. In his preface to The Virtuoso Pianist. Charles

Hanon exemplified this attitude when he wrote that "if all five fingers o f the hand

vere absolutely equally well trained, they would be ready to execute anything

written for the instrument, and the only question remaining would be that of

fingering, which would be readily solved.”6

Although finger technique alone was sufficient on the smaller, lighter

fortepianos of the eighteenth century, it was not adequate when applied to the

pianos of the nineteenth century. This technique usually led to an abuse of the

fingers, hand, and wrist, thereby causing problems such as pain and stiffness in

these playing units. It was finally abandoned as a result of the work of teachers

such as Ludwig Deppe (1829 -1890), whose concept of using arm weight in

6Charles Hanon, The Virtuoso Pianist, trans. Theodore Baker (New York:
G. Sciiiiiner, 1900), ii.

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 4

playing became well known during the last several decades of the nineteenth

century. Reginald Gerig notes:

Deppe in his teaching placed strong emphasis upon the fundamental importance
of proper functioning upper arm and shoulder muscles, something of which the
early piano methods were scarcely aware. These muscles were not only
involved in exercising of free falling arm weight, but also in holding back that
weight when the situation warranted it. Furthermore they were to function in
total harmony with the muscles of the finger, hand, and forearm-these smaller
muscles which had been so overworked by the high finger school and had been
made to assume much of the upper arm's rightful activity.7

In the early twentieth century, reaction against the old finger school became so

extreme that the role of the fingers in playing was sometimes totally ignored.

This trend is apparent in the Weight and Relaxation School, which flourished

after 1900.

Another reason for the confusion concerning p .m o technique is that different

pedagogues often use technical terms, such as weight transfer for example, in

either slightly or vastly different ways. This inconsistent use of terminology is

partly due to the fact that many teachers, past and present, employ an approach

based upon personal experience and observation in their teaching of piano

technique. They are inclined to discuss how piano playing should "feel" and

"look", and thus they use many different adjectives and images to describe these

physical sensations and appearances.

Another approach to teaching technique, adopted by several twentieth century'

pedagogues, is more scientific in nature. Advocates of this style of teaching

7Reginald Gerig, Famous Pianists and Their Technique fNew York: Robert
B. Luce, 1974), 255-56.

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 5

analyze technical problems according to scientific laws o f motion, gravity, inertia,

momentum, mass, and velocity. Gerig found th a t"ws can discern both an

empirical and an analytical approach to piano technical knowledge. Too often the

proponents of one have fought the other and failed to see that both are valid and

even complementary."8 This paper will examine both empirical and analytical

pedagogical approaches to technique, and will discuss the specific merits of both

viewpoints.

Perhaps the most basic aspect of the problem of contradictory approaches

to technique is a general lack of awareness of the concepts behind the pedagogical

theories. Teachers and students may be so overwhelmed by the number of

different technical schools of thought that they make no attempt to investigate the

various approaches, and simply perpetuate a version of what they have teamed

from their own teachers. Investigating each approach is a monumental task and

one that few busy teachers and students care to undertake. As a means of

increasing awareness of the relative effectiveness of past and present methods,

this paper will analyze and compare technical approaches of five influential piano

pedagogues of the twentieth century. These include Theodor Leschetizky (1830-

1915), Rudolf M. Breithaupt (1873-1945), Tobias Matthay (1858-1945), Otto

Ortmann (1889-1979), and Arnold Schultz (1903-1972). It is hoped that the

findings of this study will help its readers understand the various different

approaches advocated by the five pedagogues under discussion.

8Ibid„ 4.

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 6

Although there is a wealth of writings on technical approaches for the piano,

there are no comparative studies on this topic. Reginald Gerig's book. Famous

Pianists and Their Technique, is a valuable source for its discussion of the most

prominent keyboardists and pedagogues from Diruta in 1600 to contemporary

twentieth century teachers like Ortmann and Schultz. Gerig’s approach is

historical rather than analytical in nature, focusing on the significance of each

pedagogue's contributions to the development of technique. Roger Boardman's

dissertation, "A History of Theories of Teaching Piano Technique",9 discusses

pedagogues from 1753-1953, focusing on C.P.E. Bach, Czemy, Leschetizky,

Breithaupt, Matthay, Fielden, and Ortmann. His work, however, is limited to a

description of each pedagogue's theories, and consequently does not contain an

analysis and comparative study of their approaches. Similarly, John Love

Norman's dissertation, "A Historical Study of the Changes in Attitudes Toward

the Teaching of Piano Technique from 1800 to the Present Time",10 contains a

brief description o f pedagogues ranging from Czemy to William S. Newman, but

does not critically analyze or compare any of the pedagogical theories under

discussion. It does, however, include some points of interest about each

pedagogue's approach. Finally, the last four chapters of Arnold Schultz's book,

The.Riddle of the Pianist's Finger.11 are devoted to a brief summary and critique

9Roger Boardman, "A History of Theories of Teaching Piano Technique"

(Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1954).
10John Love Norman, "A Historical Study o f the Changes in Attitudes
Toward the Teaching c f Piano Technique from 1800 to the Present Time" (Ph.D.
diss., Michigan State University, 1968).
11Arnold Schultz, The Riddle of the Pianist's Fineer and Its Relationship to a
Touch-Scheme fNew York: Carl Fischer, 1936).

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 7

of the theories of Leschetizky, Breithaupt, Matthay, and Ortmann. Although

Schultz’s ideas are at times insightful, his overall approach is selective criticism

rather than a comprehensive comparison of the techniques of piano playing

advocated by these four pedagogues.

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 CHAPTER TWO

A NINETEENTH CENTURY OVERVIEW

We begin our nineteenth-century discussion with Beethoven, a composer

whose music gradually made more and more technical demands on the pianist.

As a piano teacher, performer, and composer, Beethoven was concerned with

much more than finger technique, and in this regard he was ahead of his time.

Gerig states he was "the first major pianist directly to oppose the finger school

and its harpsichord ancestry."1 He was also opposed to the non-legato touch

prevelant in Mozart's day. His pupil Carl Czemy related that "Beethoven

especially insisted on legato technique, which was one of the unforgettable

features of his playing; at that time ail other pianists considered that kind of legato

unattainable, since the hammered, detached staccato technique of Mozart's time

was still fashionable."2 Although Beethoven advocated freedom and natural

movement in piano playing, many followers of the finger approach ignored his

ideas and continued to hand down their own theories well into the nineteenth

century. That even one of Beethoven's most famous pupils, Carl Czemy, was a

member of the finger school is evident from the fact that he wrote so many finger

exercises and studies for daily practice.3

^ e r ig , Famous Pianists. 81.

^ a r l Czemy, "Recollections from My Life,” trans. Ernest Sanders, Musical
Quarterly 42, no. 3 (July 1956): 307.
3Gerig, Famous Pianists. 100.

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 9

Czemy, the pupil of Beethoven and teacher of Liszt and Leschetizky, was

one of the most influential piano pedagogues of the nineteenth century and was

well known as the author o f many technical studies, among them The School of

Velocity, op. 299; The School of the Virtuoso, op. 362; and The Art o f Finger

Dexterity, op. 740. His most comprehensive treatment of piano technique is the

famous Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School, op. 500 (1837).

Roger Boardman says that "not only was his method more practical than any

previous one, but it also embraced modem features of virtuosity and ranked as

pre-eminent among the works of his time."4

Czerny's method is a four-volume work, the first volume of which is

devoted to fundamentals, such as correct posture at the keyboard and a study of

scales in all major and minor k ;ys. In the playing of scales, Czemy said that the

passing under of the thumb shc uld be veiy smooth and not disturb the position of

the forearm, nor make the elbow move sideways. The hand should remain level

at all times with no jerking or upward movement.5 The second volume deals with

fingering and includes general rules such as: "(1) The four long fingers of each

hand . . . must never be passed over one another. (2) The same finger must not

be placed on two or more consecutive keys. (3) The thumb and the little finger

should never be placed on the black keys in playing the scales."6 In general, he

4Boardman, "Theories of Piano Technique," 59.

5Ibid., 67.
6Carl Czemy, Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School, op.
500, vol. 2 (London: R. Cocks & Co., 1839), 4.

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 10

admonished students to "avoid the superfluous passing of the thumb or the other

fingers."7

The third volume is concerned with expression and contains chapters on

dynamics, rhythm, tempo, touch, style, memory, sight reading, pedaling, and

performance. Concerning rhythm, Czemy said that counting out loud and

practicing with a metronome would develop a good sense of pulse and timing.

John Norman notes that "the metronome came into existence in Czerny's lifetime

and he was among the first to make use of it in his technical studies."8 Czemy

also listed very specific rules on the use of rubato in a piece. For example, he

stated that it was most effectively used in certain complicated embellishments, in

passages containing the return of a principal theme, and in almost all places

marked espressivo, to name a few.9 Regarding tempo, Czemy advocated much

slow practice in the first stage of learning a new piece. In the second stage,

Czemy believed the pianist should gradually increase the tempo to the appropriate

speed while working out whatever mechanical difficulties might arise. Lastly, he

said the pianist should study all the different gradations of tone color and

rhythmic nuance (such as ritardando, smorzando, accelerando) until these

elements feel completely natural in the execution of the piece. Concerning touch,

Czemy described five varieties of articulation including legatissimo, legato,

7Ibid„ 8.
8Norman, "Changes in Attitudes Toward the Teaching of Piano Technique,"
125.
9Czemy, Practical Piano Forte School, vol. 3, 33-34.

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 11

mezzo-staccato, staccato, and martellato. Tne mezzo-staccato touch is perhaps

better known as portato, and "occupies the middle place between the smoothly

connected and the pointedly detached kinds of touch."10 His explanation of each

touch form is clear and concise, although he avoids discussing weight transfer by

limiting his analysis to tonal duration and finger movement. The fourth volume

deals with the interpretation of Beethoven's works as well as fugal playing.

Many technical exercises and studies are also included in this volume.

In general, Czemy stressed the importance of naturalness in piano technique.

Boardman thinks one of Czerny's principal beliefs was that "the perfection of the

playing facility must be such that no listener can notice any exertion."11 He did

not like a high, percussive finger action, and instead always wanted the hand and

arm to be quiet and the fingers kept close to the keys. Almost all of the technical

advice in this treatise is limited to the action of the fingers rather than the hand,

forearm, or upper arm. Like most of his contemporaries, Czemy did not refer

specifically to relaxation, fixation, or weight transfer in regard to piano technique.

Unlike Czemy, Frederic Chopin did not advocate mechanical finger training,

simply because he did not believe total independence of the fingers was possible

or even necessary in piano playing. Notes for a piano method that Chopin never

finished12 include these revealing comments regarding his ideas about technique:

10Ibid., 20.
^Boardman, "Theories of Piano Technique," 60.
12An interesting account of what happened to these notes after Chopin's
death is seen in Jeanne Holland, "Chopin's Piano Method," Piano Quarterly,
no. 129 (Spring 1985): 32-34. Fcr a complete transcription of Chopin’s notes for

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 12

For a long time we have been acting against nature by training our fingers to
be all equally powerful. As each finger is differently formed, it is better not to
attempt to destroy the particular charm of each one's touch but on the contrary
to develop i t . . . . As many different sounds as there are fingers.13

Chopin continues:

A well-formed technique, it seems to me, [is one] that can control and vary a
beautiful sound quality Intonation being the tuner's task, the piano is free
of one of the greatest difficulties encountered in the study of an instrument.
One needs only to study a certain positioning of the hand in relation to the keys
to obtain with ease the most beautiful quality o f sound, to know how to play
long notes and short notes, and [to attain] unlimited dexterity.. . . Just as we
need to use the conformation of the fingers, we need no less to use the rest of
the hand, the wrist, the forearm, and the upper arm.14

Chopin obviously believed in involving the entire body while playing,

rather than simply using finger technique. Unfortunately, the few notes that he

left behind for his piano method do not go into any detail regarding the use of

these larger playing units in piano technique.

In his method, Chopin divided the study of piano technique into three parts:

First, teaching both hands to play adjacent notes (notes a tone apart and a
semitone apart), that is, scales—chromatic and diatonic—and trills.. . . Second,
notes farther than a tone or semitone apart, that is, intervals of a tone and a half
[wiinor thirds] upwards: the octave divided in minor thirds, with each finger
thus occupying a key, and the common chord with its inversions (disjunct
notes). Third, double notes (in two parts): thirds, sixths, octaves. (When you
can play your thirds, sixths, and octaves, you are then able to play in three
parts-as a result [you have] chords, which you will know how to divide from
your knowledge of disjunct intervals [category two above].) The two hands
together will give four, five, and six parts-and there is nothing more to be

a piano method, see Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, Chopin: Pianist andTeacher as

Seen bv His Pupils, ed. Roy Howat, trans. Naomi Shohet. (Cambridge
University Fress, 1986), 190-97.
13As cited by Eigeldinger, Chopin. 32-33.
14Ibid., 17, 23, 40-41.

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 13

invented for study as far as [the] mechanism o f piano plaving is concerned.15

Chopin was a great innovator in concepts of fingering.16 He believed that

proper fingering could not only ease the natural inequalities of the fingers but also

could take advantage of these differences.

Unlike his predecessors, Chopin capitalized on the special characteristics of

each finger —its weaknesses as well as its strengths. Chopin believed in
exploiting nature rather than attempting to subjugate i t In his own playing,
Chopin took advantage of each finger's unique qualities to produce the desired
timbre. Chopin's notes for a piano method show that instead of vainly
laboring to erase the differences between the weak and strong fingers, Chopin
taught his students to recognize and utilize each finger's individual qualities.17

Some of Chopin's most important innovations in this area are his use of the

thumb on black keys and at times on melodic lines. Examples of this occur in his

Etudes op. 10, no. 5 and op. 25, no.7 and in the Nouvelle Etude no. 1. He also

allowed the third, fourth, and fifth fingers of the right hand to cross over one

another in single legato lines (Berceuse op. 23) and also in chromatic passages

(Etude op. 10, no. 2). These same fingers cross over one another in passages of

chromatic thirds in the Etude op. 25, no. 6, and in the Prelude op. 28, no. 24.

Chopin also allowed the fifth finger to pass over the thumb, as seen in the Etude

op. 25, no. 11 and the Impromptu cp. 29.18

Franz Liszt, a contemporary of Chopin, was one of the greatest virtuosos

who ever played the piano. Accounts of his playing lavishly praise his flawless

15Ibid., 25.
16For a more in-depth discussion o f Chopin's fingering, see Holland, "Piano
Method," 38-40, and Eigeldinger, Chopin. 18-20.
17Holland, "Piano Method," 40.
18Eigeldinger, C'nopin. 19-20.

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 14

technique and spontaneous musical interpretation.19 As a composer, Liszt placed

tremendous technical demands on the pianist and pushed both the instrument and

the performer to their physical limits. As a young teacher in his twenties, Liszt

focused largely on technical facility. He often gave his pupils exercises to

practice for several hours each day, with instructions that they were to read a

book at the same time in order to avoid boredom!20

Like Chopin, Liszt divided piano technique into several large categories.21

The first was directed towards the playing of octaves and chords of every kind.

Liszt taught his studems to play octaves and chords with a very supple and

flexible wrist and quiet forearm. He even advocated the use of a brace to prevent

the forearm from moving.22 The second category was focused on the

performance of tremolos and trills, and the third dealt with all the intervals. The

final category included monophonic studies such as diatonic and chromatic scales

and five-finger exercises. Unlike Chopin, Liszt stressed complete independence

of the fingers. This is apparent in his scale fingerings, "as every scale was

practiced with the fingering of every other scale (using, say, C-major fingering

19For interesting descriptions of Liszt's playing see Gerig, Famous Pianists.

175-79, and Alan Walker, Franz Liszt. The Virtuoso Years 1811-1847 (New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983), 289-91.
20Madame Auguste Boissier. "Liszt Pedagogue, A Lesson-Diary of the
Master as Teacher," from the foreword to The Liszt Studies by Franz Liszt, ed.
and trans. Elyse Mach (New York: Associated Music Publishers, 1973), xxi.
21Ibid., xx-xxi.
^Ib id ., xx. See also Walker, Franz Liszt. 302-3, for a more detailed
description of this brace.

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 15

for F#-major, and D^-major fingering for C major)."23 This was one of Liszt's

many technical innovations, and as Alan Walker notes:

He did not conceive of a pianist's hands consisting of two parts of five fingers
each, but as one unit of ten fingers. From his youth Carl Czerny had instilled
into him the doctrine of finger equalization. But Liszt far outstripped his old
mentor in the wholesale application of this philosophy. The interchangeability
of any finger with any other became an ideal towards which he constantly
strove.24

Liszt, however, was not limited to a fantastic finger technique. As Gerig states:

He freed piano technique completely from the fetters of the quiet hand, stiff
finger school. His superb bodily mechanism, controlled by a near perfect
coordination, is utilized fully to serve musical objectives.25

And on the same subject:

Franz Liszt’s pianism furnishes us with graphic examples o f the various

movement types in their nearly idealized forms. One need only to examine his
many exercises and etudes that contain chordal sequences, octave and double
note passages to realize what a consummate aim and body technique he must
have possessed.26

After much concertizing in the 1830s and 1840s, Liszt resumed his teaching

career in the 1850s while he was in Weimar. For the next thirty years he worked

with many students, rarely discussing technique and instead concentrating on the

interpretive aspects of each piece. Gerig observed that at this time "he gave

technical advice only when he felt the need to do so. But as a rule he would only

23Walker, Franz Liszt. 297.

24Ibid., 298. See also 296-309 for Walker's in-depth discussion of Liszt's
technique.
^G erig, Famous Pianists. 180.
26Reginald Gerig, "Observations on Franz Liszt’s Piano Technique," Journal
of the American Liszt Society 18 (December 1985): 11.

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 16

work with those pianists whose technique was already advanced and well

formed."27

At the same time Liszt was teaching in Weimar, many European

conservatories were still expounding on the virtues of the old school of finger

technique. As Gerig points out:

These conservatories fed upon the technical systems of Hummel, Kalkbrenner,

Czemy and company, not without some merit if taken in moderation, but too
conducive to the development of a high finger action, excessive fixation in the
joints, and a superficial musical expression. Little thought was given to
efficient muscular coordination.28

One of the most prominent examples of this finger-technique school was

centered at the Royal Conservatory in Stuttgart, founded in the mid-1850s by

Sigismund Lebert and Ludwig Stark. In 1856 Lebert and Stark wrote what was

to become a very famous technical treatise entitled Grosse theoretisch-praktische

Klavierschule.29 Throughout this method Lebert and Stark stressed the

importance o f a quiet position of the arm, high fingers rapidly striking the keys,

and absolutely equal finger development. Unfortunately, the result of this method

was often painful tension throughout the playing mechanism. When the fingers

were forced to take over the more natural function of the arm, stiffness and

rigidity occurred in the fingers, hand, and wrist. Maria Levinskaya commented

on the Lebert-Stark Method:

27Gerig, Famous Pianists. 185.

28Ibid., 229-30.
29Sigismund Lebert and Ludwig Stark, Grosse theoretisch-praktische
Klavierschule. Trans, from the German by C.E.R. Muller (New York: White­
sm ith Publishing Co., n.d.)

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 17

From such teaching little more than a parody on correct finger work could
arise, the essence of which was endless finger grinding, striking with force,
stiffening the wrist, producing a jar o f the hand, the tone getting shaip and
hard, without any possibility of the true binding or any mellow sound
connection.30

Ludwig Deppe was one of the first important teachers to contradict the

approach taught at the Stuttgart Conservatory. He believed that the fingers and

hands were being overworked and that not enough attention was being given to

the muscles of the upper arm, shoulder, and back.

His first step in teaching mastery of playing technique was to free the pianist
from the well established tradition which insisted that fingers alone could move
but other pans of the mechanism must remain quiet. He believed that training
the muscles of the fingers required, at the same time, training the muscles of
the hand, forearm, and upper arm.31

Deppe stressed again and again the idea of all the muscles working together

efficiently, and "with his ideas came the real beginnings of the school of the arm

and its weight.”32 For example, Deppe taught his pupils that the hand should feel

very light when playing because it was being supported and carried over the keys

by the arm in passage work, and he created an exercise to help achieve this feeling

of lightness in the hand. Boardman notes:

. . . he recommended that the hand, with fingers in five-finger position, be

raised in the air over the head. The entire arm was moved around in a small
circle, while attention was directed to how very light the hand fell in this
position. Then the hand was lowered to playing position over the keys, while

30Maria Levinskaya, The Levinskava Svstem of Pianoforte Technique and

Tone-Colour through Mental and Muscular Control (London: J.M. Dent and
Sons, 1930), 58.
31Roger Boardman, "Ludwig Deppe's Piano Teaching," American Music
Teacher 25, no. 4 (February-March 1976): 5.
- I b id .

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 18

the muscles of the arm supported the hand in this position and kept it feeling as
light as it had felt over the head.33

Deppe also encouraged his students to use physical exercises designed to

increase awareness and strength of the muscles in the upper arm, shoulder, and

back. He recommended regular exercise with dumbbells and the horizontal bars,

as well as squeezing a rubber ball to strengthen the hand. Deppe invented an

exercise to help his students feel the entire arm as a unified playing unit. The

whole arm (in a normal playing position at the keyboard), "was swung forward

and backward, moving freely in the shoulder socket, with the hand held lightly

and not quite touching the keyboard."34 This type of exercise may not seem very

revolutionary now, but at that time it represented a breakthrough in the evolution

of piano technique.

Deppe was violently opposed to the Lebert-Stark method of high finger

lifting, emphasizing instead the importance of keeping the fingers close to the

keys. Amy Fay, an American student of Deppe, said that he believed a high

lifting action of the fingers, combined with a forceful blow to the keys,

completely destroyed any possibility o f cantabile tone quality. Deppe advocated

"letting the finger just fall" in order to produce a fuller, more penetrating tone.35

My tone production does not develop through striking, but solely through the
weight of the hand, through simple movements of lifting and falling, with
quiet, relaxed fingers. The tone produced in this manner is not only more
refined, but also more intense in character, resulting in a more penetrating

33Ibid.
34Ibid.
35Amy Fay, Music Studv in Germany, ed. Mrs. Fay Pierce (Chicago:
Jansen, McClurg, and Co., 1880), 288.

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 19

sound than the one which is struck.36

In addition, Deppe did not believe in exercises designed to strengthen the

fourth and fifth fingers. He observed that energy could be transmitted equally to

all the fingers through the arm, thus eliminating the natural inequalities of the

fingers themselves.37

Deppe was also one of the first pedagogues to discuss the use of weight in

chord playing. He used the term "controlled free-fall" to describe the arm

dropping into the keys of its own weight.38 Amy Fay related how he wanted her

to practice chords: "Raise the hands high over the keyboard, then let them fall

without any resistance on the chord, then sink with the wrist, then take up the

hand exactly over the notes, keeping the hand extended."39 Boardman notes that

Deppe wanted a flexible wrist throughout this continuous, smooth movement.

In using this movement, the player had to think of the entire arm from the
shoulder down as a complete unit which was controlled by the superior
muscles of the arm and shoulder. Its employment produced a characteristic
fullness and richness of tone.40

36Gerig, Famous Pianists. 253.

37Boardman, "Deppe's Teaching," 6.
38Gerig, Famous Pianists. 263.
39Fay, Music Studv. 299-300.
40Boardman, "Deppe's Teaching," 6.

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 CHAPTER THREE

AN INTRODUCTION TO TWENTIETH-CENTURY PIANO

PEDAGOGUES

As Gerig points out, "Deppe anticipated many o f the views of the modem

day theorists,"1 and his ideas were developed and greatly expanded in the

twentieth century. In order to understand these more recent views, analysis of

technical concepts will be divided into several categories. Five influential

pedagogues—Leschetizky, Breithaupt, Matthay, Ortmann, and Schultz—will be

studied in regard to their approaches toward: (1) types of movement including

arm, hand, and finger movements, (2) relaxation and fixation, (3) weight and

weight transfer, (4) tone production, (5) articulation, and (6) technical exercises.

A comparison of different viewpoints will be included in each category. It is

important to note that dividing an analysis of technique into separate categories is

somewhat artificial, since actual playing naturally requires an overlap o f these

elements. However, for the sake of organization and clarity, each aspect of

technique must first be considered individually, with the understanding that each

element ultimately becomes an integrated pan of a fully coordinated whoie. After

this discussion of individual technical elements, a practical application of these

pedagogues' technical approaches will be illustrated with examples from the piano

repenoire. A brief introduction to each one of the pedagogues under discussion

will now follow.

!Gerig, Famous Pianists. 267.

20

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 21

Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915) had a very long and illustrious career both

as a performer and as a teacher. Some of his most outstanding pupils included

Ignace Paderewski, Artur Schnabel, Annette Essipov, Alexander Brailowsky,

Mai wine Br6e, and Marie Prentner. Unfortunately, Leschetizky never wrote a

piano method, so it is from his pupils that we must learn about him. Leschetizky

endorsed books by two of his most valued teaching assistants, Malwine Bree and

Marie Prentner. Ms. Brae's book, The Groundwork of the Leschetizky Method.2

stresses finger and hand technique much more than arm movement and, in fact,

arm weight is never mentioned. As Gerig writes, this book "was no advance in

the piano technique field.”3 Arnold Schultz is even more critical of Bree when he

said that the book "is at once useless and harmless” and that "the actual material of

the book can have had but little to do with the brilliant accomplishments of

Leschetizky's pupils.”4 Even though Leschetizky fully endorsed Ms. Bree's

book, he himself said many times that he had no method or strict technical rules,

since each pupil had different needs and problems. Several of his pupils left

interesting accounts of his teaching, but few of them go into any real depth

concerning his technical principles. Thus, while Leschetizky is fascinating to

read about as a personality and an inspiring musical coach, it is difficult to

surmise from these writings whether he had any kind of specific technical system,

2Malw'ine Bree, The Groundwork of the Leschetizky Method, trans.

Theodore Baker (New York: G. Schirmer, 1902).
3Gerig, Famous Pianists. 284.
4Schultz. Riddle. 219.

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 or if he did, whether he applied it to his pupils in a consistent way. In his own

words, a ’’method depends on the person you have before you.’’5

Rudolph Marie Breithaupt (1873-1945) was the major proponent of the so-

called "Weight and Relaxation School", which became very popular in the first

decades of the twentieth century. This new approach was a reaction against the

high finger school prevalent in the last half o f the nineteenth century. Breithaupt

and his followers stressed relaxation o f the whole arm in playing and downplayed

the role of finger and hand participation. Breithaupt believed in depressing the

keys by either free falling weight or "throwing" the weight of the entire arm upon

the keys. Unfortunately, his obsession with the ideas of weight and relaxation

led him into a system that ignored the necessity for any finger development or

finger participation in playing. Schultz wrote that Breithaupt "dismissed the

movements of the smaller levers [hand and fingers] almost altogether."6

Tobias Matthay (1858-1945) was an important innovator in the field of piano

technique. Like Breithaupt, Matthay stressed the importance of weight and

relaxation in playing, although he did criticize Breithaupt for carrying the idea of

weight playing to an extreme. In his two most well-known books, The Act of

Touch in All Its Diversity7 and The Visible and Invisible in Pianoforte Plaving.

Matthay went much further than any other theorist in describing the act of key

5Ethel New'comb, Leschetizky As I Knew Him (New York: D. Appleton and

Co., 1921; reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1967), 55.
6Schultz, Riddle. 266.
7Tobias Matthay, The Act of Touch in All Its Diversity. An Analysis and
Synthesis o f Pianoforte Tone-Production (London: Bosworth and Co., 1903).

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 23

depression and the absolute necessity of accurately gauging key resistance.

Matthay was very concerned with conrolling key attack in order to achieve the

desired tonal effect. He was the first pedagogue to analyze in depth the act of

touch in terms of finger, hand, and arm movements, and this analysis greatly-

advanced our present understanding of piano technique. Gerig observes:

Matthay knew the physical sensations o f fine piano playing. He did not
fully succeed in analyzing and explaining them; some of his solutions are
unworkable. But his technical thought, with its penetrating desire to get to
the invisible conditions of good muscular coordination and relaxation, was
an advance over any before him.8

Otto Ortmann (1889-1979) revolutionized twentieth-century theories of piano

technique in his book, The Physiological Mechanics of Piano Technique.9 In

1925 Ortmann organized Peabody Conservatory's research department for the

purpose of "scientific investigation of musical talent, [including] instrumental and

vocal problems and their effects on music pedagogy."10 He believed that

approaches to piano technique up until that time had been too subjective, and he

felt compelled to begin an objective experimental investigation into the field.

Ortmann studied physiology, anatomy, physics, and acoustics in order to

understand fully how the body and the instrument interact during the act of

playing. In his laboratory he used many very sensitive recording devices (some

o f which he invented) to measure different aspects o f piano technique. Peabody

8Gerig, Famous Pianists. 393.

9Otto Ortmann, The Physiological Mechanics o f Piano Technique (London:
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., 1929; reprint, New York: Da Capo Press,
1981).
10As cited by Gerig, Famous Pianists. 411.

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 24

faculty members provided most of the playing examples that were recorded and

analyzed. The results of these experiments were discussed in detail in The

Physiological Mechanics of Plano Technique. Schultz said that this book "bears

the distinction of being the first genuinely scientific investigation of the technical

problem."11 Gerig wrote that Ortmann produced a "thorough study of the

physiological organism and the various aspects of its movements at the keyboard,

based upon extensive laboratory experimentation adhering to sound scientific

procedure."12

Arnold Schultz (1903-1972) was a great admirer of Ortmann and one of the

first pedagogues to become aware of the significance of his work. Like his

mentor, Schultz believed in a more scientific approach to theories of piano

technique. His book, The Riddle of the Pianist’s Finger, agrees with many of

Ortmann’s findings concerning relaxation, fixation, weight transfer, and tone

production. Schultz also developed two areas of technical study further than had

been done previously, namely, "the clarification and evaluation of the various

movement types used in all piano playing, and a thoroughgoing study of the

different muscular coordinations possible in finger technique.”13 Schultz was

also very concerned with creating greater interest in technical analysis on the part

of students and teachers of piano. In an address to the Music Teachers National

Association Convention of 1936 he said:

11Schultz, Piddle. 292.

12Gerig, Famous Pianists. 441.
l3Ibid., 450.

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 25

Technical treatises, cast as they are in scientific language, may often seem
very difficult, but they are not invincibly difficult. I know of no class of
people, moreover, more distinguished for self-discipline and persistence than
are instrumentalists. I am convinced that if some of this discipline and
persistance were transferred from the keyboard to an intellectual consideration
of technical processes, a great deal of time could be saved, and the cause of
first-rate pianism greatly advanced.14

14As cited by Gerig, Famous Pianists. 469.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

TYPES OF MOVEMENT USED IN PIANO PLAYING

To begin the discussion of specific types of movement in piano technique, the

idea of what has come to be known as a "base" needs to be addressed. A "base"

can be defined as the part of the limb supporting the playing unit. For example,

the hand may serve as the base for finger movements, or the forearm may serve

as the base for hand and fmger movements. Matthay, Ortmann, and Schultz all

agreed that the base needs to be stabilized so that it will not move upward as a

reaction to the downward movement of the playing unit. Breithaupt and

Leschetizky, on the other hand, did not mention a base, nor did they consider

reactive movements to be a problem in piano technique. Although Matthay,

Ortmann, and Schultz believed a base for movement was important, they did not

agree on how stabilization of the base was to be achieved. Fixation is one option;

it is defined as contraction of the antagonistic muscles in order to make the joints

sufficiently firm to keep them from collapsing. Although Ortmann did not use the

word "base" in his writings, he did refer to a stationary fulcrum which is kept

motionless by some degree of fixation. Schultz stated that stabilization of a base

can best be achieved by fixation, and he also said that a moving (or displaced)

base is the cause of most technical problems such as uncontrolled key descents,

lack of legato, and lack of velocity. A different view is offered by Matthay; he

believed that stabilization occurs by a counter-reacting movement of the base

26

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 27

simultaneous with the movement of the playing unit. He did not consider that

fixation has anything to do with stabilization, since he was strongly opposed to

the use of antagonistic muscles in piano playing.

Matthay, Ortmann, and Schultz did agree that a base could also be stabilized

by weight. This involves keeping the base immobile by precisely balancing

released hand and arm weight against the force of the muscular exertion in the

fingers. Thus, when the playing-unit (the finger) moves down into the key, the

base will not move up as a reaction to the key depression because there is

sufficient weight pressing down on the playing-unit to keep the base immobile.

Moving into classification of movement types, it is obvious that Leschetizky

did not organize the movements used in piano playing into specific categories. In

fact, from the writings of his students it appears that he did not discuss arm

movement at all. Leschetizky did discuss finger strokes in a general way, saying

that flat fingers were not to be used in any case except for stretches, since flat

fingers created "a waste of strength at the expense of tone and velocity."1

Malwine Bree's book, The Groundwork of the Leschetizky Method, also stressed

the importance of finger stroke and finger development through the use of

exercises. Bree stated that in five-finger exercises, evenness of the fingers is

achieved "by an unequal exertion of pressure on the keys in conformity with the

unequal length and muscular strength o f the fingers."2 In fast passagework this

suggestion is unworkable because it would be literally impossible to exert unequal

^ r e e , Leschetizky Method, 5.
2Ibid.

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 28

pressure on the keys for each individual finger, since the rapid tempo would

prohibit separate adjustments for each finger stroke. Bree also said that

Leschetizky considered the thumb to be the strongest finger, followed by three,

then five, then two, then four as the weakest. Leschetizky taught his students to

lower and raise their hands frequently while playing these exercises, in order to

avoid stiffness in the wrist and hand. He believed that the fingers should remain

curved at all times, neither straightened nor curved inwards too much.

For scale technique, Bree included many of Leschetizky's exercises to

facilitate the turning under of the thumb and the turning over of four or three. The

following illustrates some of these preparatory exercises:

Example 1. Preparatory Exercises3

(Used by permission of G. Schirmer, Inc.)

* s 1 3 J 3 n ■< -1 „ 4 « «_ 4

R .H .

L .H . § £ i

3Ibid„ 15

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 29

In scale playing Bree warned students to be careful

that when the thumb turns under the arm is not thrust forward with a jerk, but
follows the movement of the hand evenly and horizontally, gliding along much
like a car on rails. Furthermore, hold the wrist loosely, without moving it up
or d o w n .. . . The thumb passes under the palm as soon as the second finger
strikes.4

According to Bree, Leschetizky taught that arpeggios require a slight

sideways motion o f the wrist when rapid changes o f direction are involved. This

wrist gesture could also be called lateral rotation. Bree included the following

preparatory exercises for arpeggios in her book:

Example 2. Preparatory Exercises5

(Used by permission of G. Schirmer, Inc.)

L.H.

L. H. ~3 I

4Ibid., 18
5Ibid., 22.

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 Example 3. Preparatory Exercises6
(Used by permission o f G. Schirmer, Inc.)

Hc!d rht. u " . 'v r!i :c*. r the c u a r r e - ’-. Here, th e J d a " d ^ : h

F r e e evrri'-Nc. F r o m the >::d m e a s u r e n r . hand and arm. nuivc m the

t»*

6Ibid., 23-24.

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 31

In discussing Leschetizky's approach to octave technique, Bree said he

taught that forte octaves must be played with a firm, slightly high wrist. Legato

octaves are to be played with a quiet, but not stiff wrist, as the fingers glide close

to the keys. Leschetizky said all chords must be prepared before playing. He

stressed the importance of "mental delineation" of a chord whereby a chord is

pictured in the mind's eye. This picture is to be visualized while shaping the hand

to fit the chord, before touching the keys.7 This technique, in which the hand is

prepared for the chord by sight, is very valuable in virtuosic chord leaps. In

leaping between two chords, Leschetizky said that the hand is carried over to the

second chord with a swift swing of the arm; when the two chords are of different

shapes, the hand must assume the shape of the new chord while still in the air.

According to Bree, Leschetizky taught that for leaps between single tones, the

hand should not move in a large curve, but should glide swiftly over the edge of

the keys.

Arnold Schultz, in his analysis of Bree's book, said that Bree "often neglects

altogether to supply the reasons for the procedures she recommends."8 For

example, in the section on five-finger exercises Br6e does not elaborate on how

high the fingers are to be raised, whether or not arm weight is to be used, or

whether reactive movements in the fingers, hand, or arm are to take place. As

Schultz comments, "she does little else than tell the reader to depress the piano-

keys."9

7Newcomb. Leschetizky. 127-28.

8Schultz, Riddle. 222.
9Ibid., 226.

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 32

Gerig has this to say about Bree's book:

Diligent repetition is stressed to achieve strength, accuracy and speed. It is true

that the necessity of preparing tones is seen in the references to pressing the
chords and using wrist pressure in the cantilena legato touch. Free movement
in the wrist and relaxation of the hand are encouraged, but the work of the
fingers and hand is stressed far more than that of the arm. Arm weight is not
mentioned. And nowhere is there any real explanation of what the muscular
coordination should be, a fault Br6e has in common with all the early
methods.10

Breithaupt is much more specific than Leschetizky in describing the various

movements in piano technique, including four primary "actions" of the arm and

fingers. All four of these movements are to be executed with a completely relaxed

arm. Breithhaupt's first "action" is longitudinal oscillation of the arm, which he

defined as "the martellato form of the non-legato touch."11 Breithaupt said this is

like the arm descending on the keyboard "with the swing of a massive iron

hammer" and that this touch contains two elements to be used either separately or

in combination: "low-fall" (down-swing) and "high-fall" (up-swing).12 Low-fall

is the lowering of the wrist during key depression, resulting in a straightening out

of the hand which he calls the "balancing posture."13 The weight of the arm falls

through the wrist joint, causing the joint to collapse. High-fall is the raising of

the wrist during key depression, resulting in a curved hand suspended passively

over the keys.14 In longitudinal oscillation, these up and down motions of the

10Gerig, Famous Pianists. 284.

1R udolph M. Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. vol. 2, School of Weight-
Touch. trans. John Bemhoff (Leipzig: C.F. Kahnt Nachfolger, 1909), 19.
12Ibid., 20.
13Ibid.
^Ibid-

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 33

arm are what produce the tones, while the fingers are never allowed to leave the

keys. Breithaupt believed that this swinging motion of the arm was the principal

aspect of technique, and that the weight projected from the shoulder was the

source of all energy in playing.15

Both Ortmann and Schultz disagreed with Breithaupt's approach by

questioning the desirability of a completely relaxed arm drop in piano playing.

Schultz commented that "the advantage in any weight-movement of the arm must

always be on the side of inhibiting the drop, for inhibition is the only means of

control, and control is an essential factor of all first-rate technique."16 This

"action" involves a moving base that results in uncontrolled key descents, further

compounded by the fact that the fingers arc being pushed into the keys by the

arm. Figure 1 shows Breithaupt's "low-fall" and "high-fall", respectively.

Figure 1. Longitudinal Oscillation of the Arm17

(Used by permission of C.F. Peters Corp.)

S: shoulder. £ : elbow. H: wrist.

S: shoulder. E: elbow. H: wrist

15Ibid., 23.
16Schultz, Riddle. 274.
17Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 21.

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 Breithaupt's second "action" is the extension of the forearm, which can occur

during "low-fall" or "high-fall". He claimed that this action resulted in a limber

elbow joint and a completely relaxed wrist joint.18 Unfortunately, in "low-fall"

this forearm extension actually results in wrist tension, as the hand bends back

towards the collapsed wrist. Breithaupt believed that extension of the forearm

should be used in almost all playing, especially in shifting movements of the hand

(as in scales and arpeggios), staccatissimi, and leaps to and from octaves.19

Figure 2 illustrates Breithaupt's extension of the forearm during "low-fall".

Figure 2. Extension of the Forearm20

(Used by permission of C.F. Peters Corp.)

S: shoulder, E : elbow -joint, H : w rist. S : sh o u ld er, E : elbow -joint, H : w rist.

S E H : norm al parallel pose, S E H , : em phasised ex ten sio n 5 E I 1 : pe“ *ure o f th e h and after fore-arm -extension (low ered wris

18Ibid„ 25.
19Ibid., 26-28.
20Ibid., 25.

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 35

Breithaupt’s third "action" is the rolling of the forearm, which is identical to

Matthay's forearm rotation consisting o f supination (turning outwards), and

pronation (turning inwards). Kc said rotation begins in the elbow joint and is the

most common of the four primary actions. Breithaupt considered trills and

tremolos to be examples that require this type of rolling movement

Breithaupt's last "action" is the free oscillation of the fingers, involving arm

weight being transferred from finger to finger with unprepared finger strokes.

Any unprepared finger stroke begins away from the surface of the key, as

opposed to a prepared finger stroke, which begins on the key surface. In this

action, the fingers are to be raised no more than an inch from me key <mu then

flexed while the weight of the arm descends into the key. Because the fingers are

passive and the strokes are unprepared, there is little control over key descent and

thus little control over individual tone qualities in this type o f movement.

Matthay believed that the arm could be used in six distinct ways at the

keyboard. These include the poised arm element, the forearm-rotation element,

forearm weight, whole arm weight, forearm down-exertion with upper arm

weight, and the upper arm forward dig with forearm down-exertion.21 The first

two elements are to be used in all playing, whereas the last four are optional and

are applied only during the moment of individual key-descent.

The poised arm element involves balancing

the whole arm by its raising muscles, causing it to float above or on the
keyboard. No pan of its weight or force rests upon the keyboard when the

21See Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 26-38, for his in-depth explanation of
these elements.

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 36

arm is fully poised When fully poised, its inertia, alone, suffices as a
basis for the exertion of the hand-and-finger in light, rapid passages.22

The poised arm also serves as the basis for arm-vibration touch and to a lesser

degree, weight-transfer touch. These touches will be described in detail in

Chapter Six, Weight and Weight Transfer.

According to Matthay, the forearm-rotation element should always be present

in piano playing. He said that his discoveries on this point do not just refer to the

actual rotary movements of the forearm, but rather,

deal particularly with those invisible changes of state rotationally (momentary

reversals or repetitions of stress and relaxation rotationally), which, although
unseen, are needed for every note we play, whether we know of them or not.
. . . As these all-important alternations and repetitions o f rotational stress are
comparatively hidden, they have totally escaped attention or recognition, alike
by players and teachers during all these past centuries of keyboard use.23

Matthay also said that the direction of rotation is important, moving away

from the finger last used, and towards the finger being used. For example, when

a passage moves melodically alternately upwards and downwards, the rotational

stresses are alternately inwards and outwards, as the following example

il’ustrates:24

22Ibid., 27.
23Ibid., 50.
24Ibid., 56.

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 37

Example 4
(Used by permission of Oxford University Press.)

R.H . O utw ards'^

When the melodic movement proceeds in the same direction, then the rotative

stresses must be repeated in the direction of the passage, instead of alternating

them. This is illustrated in the following five-finger exercise:25

Example 5
(Used by permission of Oxford University Press.)

B .H . towards little finger tow ards thumb

thumb

The four remaining forms of arm-use are applied when the poised arm

element does not offer a substantia] enough basis for the work of the fingers and

hand. Matthay believed that the choice of one o f these four depends on the kind

of tone required.

Matthay said that forearm weight is used by releasing the upholding muscles

of the forearm during key descent. This forearm weight, "invisibly supported

“ Ibid., E22.

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 38

and countered by the exertion of the hand and fingers,"26 then serves as a base

for the exertions of the smaller levers. Forearm weight is comparatively light and

is suitable for light, delicate chord passages. Matthay is quick to point out that

releasing the weight of the forearm does not necessarily entail any actual visible

movement o f the arm itself.

According to Matthay, whole arm weight is used for louder passages, when

the weight o f the whole arm is needed to support the exertion o f the hand and

fingers. Matthay stressed that the weight itself does not produce the tone, but

rather "serves as a basis, and it must correspond to the desired exertion of the

finger and hand."27 In other words, the base (whole arm weight) is stabilized by

an invisible counter-reacting movement of the arm simultaneous with the

movement o f the hand and fingers.

The forearm down-exertion with upper arm weight is used to produce the

fullest tone possible. Matthay taught that this is achieved by adding a down-

exertion of the forearm to the momentary weight release of the whole arm. In this

element, the shoulder becomes the base for the arm, hand, and fingers.

The last element is the upper arm forward dig with forearm down -exertion.

Matthay said this touch causes most bad tone, and should be avoided unless used

very lightly. If used gently it is good for staccatissimo or certain color effects

such as the sounding of horns. It is produced by a simultaneous forward drive of

the upper arm and down-exertion of the forearm.

26Ibid., 32.
27Ibid., 33.

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 39

Unlike Breithaupt, Matthay also discussed finger and hand movements in

detail. Matthay said there could be

a movement of the finger alone—while the exertion of the hand remains

invisible [finger touch], or, a movement of the hand instead, while the finger-
exertion may here remain quite hidden from view [hand touch].28

He also stated that in order for the fingers to move efficiently, there must be a

momentary downward exertion (either visible or invisible) o f the hand during

each key descent, and that this hand exertion forms a base for the movements of

the fingers.29

Unlike both Leschetizky and Breithaupt, Matthay believed that there were

two distinct types of finger use. The first involves a folding in o f the finger when

descending towards and with the key. He said this was the normal grasping

motion of the finger and he called it the "flat" finger touch.30 The second type

involves unfolding the finger from a bent position as it descends towards and

with the key.31 Matthay called this the "curved” finger touch and it was also

known to many pedagogues as the "bent" finger touch. According to Matthay,

both of these finger movements can be achieved with two different types of

muscular exertion. The first type involves exertion of the small muscles only (the

lumbricales, located in the palm of the hand), which suffice to hold the notes

down once they are sounded. The second type involves exertion of the strong

flexing muscles situated underneath the hand, wrist, and forearm. This exertion

28Ibid., 25.
29Ibid., 24.
30Ibid., 22.
31Ibid.

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 40

is used to create the tone and is achieved by a down-exertion o f the hand each

time the finger is used. Both Ortmann and Schultz disagreed with Matthay's

explanation of muscular exertion in finger strokes.

Figure 3. Matthay’s Two Types of Finger Stroke32

(Used by permission of Bosworth and Co.)

W ia tba W riat. K the Kouokla.

m
The C linging (F lat) Finger-attitnde.
T he position ia w ith depreaaed key ; th e dotted linee exh ib it the index-finger fully
raiaed

Tb* Throating (H eat) Finger-attitnde.

T h e position ia w ith depraaaed k e y ; the dotted line* exh ib it the index-fiogvr folly
raiaed.

32Matthav. Act of Touch. 151.

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 41

Ortmann believed that piano playing involved four specific elements: weight

(displacement of a certain body), distance (through a certain space), time (in a

certain interval), and aim (because the movements are not random).33 According

to Ortmann, a coordinated movement is one that fulfills these four requirements

with a minimum waste of physical energy. He continued by saying that

coordination m Iiu iw la X a ilC f: a iC u G t S y iiO x i^n iG u S uCCauSC

a coordinated movement necessitates the presence of just that degree of

muscular relaxation that will transmit the desired force to the desired point in
the proper time. The degree of relaxation depends entirely upon the force
required to produce the effect, more rigidity or less than necessary will produce
an incoordinated movement. An incoordinated movement results from excess
relaxation as well as excess contraction.34

Ortmann also listed two fundamental classes of arm-movements used in

piano playing: vertical and lateral. Vertical arm movement involves three types:

arm-lift, arm-drop, and a forced down-stroke. Ortmann pointed out "that the

lifting of the aim from any position below the keyboard to any position over it,

and the holding of the hand in any playing position involves the muscular system

of the entire arm."35 In other words, simply raising the arm to place the hand

correctly on the keyboard involves a complex set of muscular contractions. This

important discovery led Ortmann to be one of the first pedagogues to surmise that

relaxation in piano playing is present to a lesser degree than had previously been

thought. (See Chapter Five, Concepts of Relaxation and Fixation, for an in-depth

analysis of Ortmann's findings concerning this topic.)

330rtmann, Physiological Mechanics. 99.

34Ibid., 100.
35Ibid„ 149.

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 42

The second type of vertical arm movement is the arm-drop, and Ortmann,

unlike Breithaupt, thought that a completely relaxed arm-drop was useless in

piano playing because it was uncontrolled.36 Ortmann and Schultz both found

that a modified or controlled arm-drop is useful and is achieved by a partial

contraction of the lifting muscles of the arm, which oppose gravity and slow

down the descent of the arm.37 Ortmann's experiments proved that the controlled

arm-drop begins its descent more gradually and with less speed than the

completely relaxed arm-drop. He also discovered that in order to minimize the

percussive elements and to avoid jerky movements, the flexors of the playing

fingers are slightly contracted as they approach the keys, thus allowing the fingers

to remain slightly curved after they meet with key resistance. Finally, the wrist

descends slightly below the keys so that the descent of the arm is gradually

stopped.38

The third type of vertical arm-movement is the forced down-stroke. Ortmann

said this form of arm-descent occurs when

the muscles controlling the descent of the arm contract forcibly and, reinforced
by the action of gravity, serve to lower the arm more rapidly than when gravity
acts alone, as in the free arm-drop. Such down-strokes are used in the
production o f fortissimo chords, particularly when combined with a relative
rapidity of tempo.39

Ortmann found that the initial descent begins more abruptly than in either the free

or controlled arm-drop because the forced down-stroke involves throwing the arm

36Ibid., 150.
37Ibid„ 151.
38Ibid.
39Ibid„ 152.

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 43

down by a forceful and maximum muscular contraction. This is immediately

followed by a partial relaxation "during which the momentum given to the arm at

the beginning o f the stroke serves to carry it as a relatively free body through the

remainder of its stroke."40 Obviously, this is a more uncontrolled and percussive

movement than the controlled arm-drop.

Through his experiments, Ortmann found that the effect o f tonal intensity on

arm-drop was as follows: in order to increase tonal intensity there must be an

increase in the speed of key descent, and Ortmann discovered the easiest way to

do this was "by decreasing the ratio between arm-speed and finger-speed; in other

words, by transferring more of the arm-speed into the finger."41 He believed that

in order to transfer this speed, stiffening of the elbow, wrist, hand, and finger

joints must take place. The degree of fixation would depend on the desired tonai

intensity. For example:

For very loud tones the wrist is practically fixed, and is used without
movement in the wrist-joint, so that the finger depresses the key at a speed
equal to that of arm-descent In all loud chordal work, therefore, the arm is
fixed as, or immediately before the tone is produced. This rigidity is essential
from a mechanical standpoint in order to attain the desired tonal intensity.42

Ortmann said that lateral arm-movement, when transferring the hand from

one pan of the keyboard to another, involves more than just a simple horizontal

movement. He discovered that the movement is really a combination of arm-

drop, arm-lift, and lateral arm-shift in varying amounts.43 In agreement with

40Ibid., 154.
41 Ibid., 155.
42Ibid., 157.
43Ibid., 160.

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 44

many earlier pedagogues, Ortmann proved that curvilinear motion is more

efficient than rectilinear motion in moving the hand across the keyboard.

Ortmann’s scientific study found that the most efficient type o f curve is an

asymmetrical shape with a relatively low curve, rather than a perfectly rounded

shape. This is because the hand reaches the key in a vertical direction in the

asymmetrical curve, rather than at an inefficient angle in a perfect curve, as the

following diagrams show.44

Figure 4. Two Types of Curvilinear Motion

(Used by permission of Da Capo Press.)

Asymmetrical Curve Symmetrical Curve

O f course, variations in intensity affect the curve of this lateral motion. Not

surprisingly, Ortmann found that for louder tonal effects, the curve itself became

higher, but its angularity did not increase. For faster tempos and wider ranges,

the curve flattened out somewhat, although it never became rectilinear.45 The

diagrams on the next page illustrate the results of Ortmann's experiments in this

area.

“ Ibid., 161.
45Ibid., 170-71.

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 45

Figure 5. Photographs of Lateral Hand Movements46

(Used by permission o f Da Capo Press.)

P h o t o g r a p h «>t h u n « J - m o \ c t n e m in t h e o c t a v e hi»ure • C — I ) — C—
— C — H— f. - ( • ('- \ ( - H — ( . — C . I n t e n s i t y u n i f o r m . N o t e flat te n
mi; o f c u r v e w i t h i n c r e a s e o f in t e r v a l .

Same js O abovC wi t h .. aJJeJ. N o t e in c re a se in h e ig h t

( ani j'iii uUe 1 <*t e u r \ e. i( • <mpaic w i t h l ie s. (>*, 6 *, 64 a n J 6c,.)

D is p la c e m e n t o f c u rv c - a p c x a s a re s u lt o f to n c -a c c e n tu -ti< » n .

46Ibid„ Plate XIV.

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 46

Ortmann, like Matthay, believed there were two types of finger strokes used

in piano playing. The first is the flat finger stroke, involving the fully extended

finger moving from the hand-knuckle. No movement takes place in the middle

joint or the nail joint, and descent of the finger results from contraction of the

palmar muscles (the lumbricales and interossei). Ortmann stated that this stroke is

a lever of the third class, with the force applied between the fulcrum and the

resistance.47 In finger strokes the fulcrum is the hand-knuckle, the resistance is

the key, and the force is finger movement. Use of this type of lever is good for

transferring force into speed, thus the finger-tip gains in speed but loses in force.

Ortmann found that because the fleshiest part of the finger comes into contact with

the key, the flat finger stroke is valuable in the production of soft tones with

minimal percussive noise 48 Onmann's flat finger stroke is completely different

from Matthay’s flat finger stroke, because in Ortmann's concept the finger

remains straight all the way down with no "give” in the joints, while Matthay's

concept involves some movement in all three finger joints as the finger descends.

Ortmann considered Matthay's flat finger stroke to be an elliptical stroke. (See

below for a description of this stroke.)

Ortmann's second type of finger stroke is the curved stroke, occurring when

all three finger joints bend so that the nail joint is held vertically, thus allowing the

finger-tip to drop into the key in a nearly vertical line. In this state, the resistance

(key) is nearer the fulcrum (hand-knuckle), so there is an increase in downward

47Ibid., 218.
48Ibid„ 218-19.

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 47

force, as well as an increase in percussive noise since the less cushioned part of

the finger now comes into contact with the key. However, there is less actual

percussiveness needed to produce the desired tone because curved fingers offer

better leverage and are thus more efficient in producing force than flat fingers.49

Ortmann believed that passages of moderate intensity and great speed are more

suited to curved fingers than flat fingers.-0 His curved finger stroke is similar to

Matthay’s curved finger stroke, although Ortmann's stroke begins with a more

severely bent finger. Ortmann's elliptical stroke is a subcategory of the curved

finger stroke, and involves the finger joints bending in towards the palm o f the

hand. He compared this stroke to the "pawing" motion of a horse, and this type

of stroke is most often used in the execution of rapidly repeated notes.51 Figure

6, parts a and b, illustrates Ortmann's two types of finger stroke. Figure 6, part

c, shows the path of the finger-tip from a side view during the elliptical stroke.

49Ibid., 220.
50Ibid., 219.
51Ibid., 228.

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 48

Figure 6. Ortmann's Types of Finger Stroke52

(Used by permission of Da Capo Press.)

52Ibid., 220-21.

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 49

Schultz believed that there were seven possible movement types at the

keyboard53, but that only three of these should be used in an efficient piano

technique. The three types of movement are: weight movement, contra-fixation

movement, and trans-fixation movement.

The first movement is produced by weight alone and generally involves the

whole arm as the playing unit, since Schultz considered that the weight of the

finger or hand is incapable o f producing anything above a pianissimo. He called

this movement a controlled arm drop and it is very similar to Ortmann's vertical

arm drop. Schultz's arm drop is achieved by relaxing some of the muscles that

are holding the arm in its playing position. In order to support the descending

weight, it is important that the player contract the flexor muscles of the hand and

fingers when the falling arm meets with key resistance.54 Schultz found that the

advantage of weight movement is its wide range of tonal intensity, and its

disadvantage is a lack of velocity. In this touch, lack of velocity occurs because

the large and slow shoulder muscles control the amount of weight resting on the

keys. Thus, the process of releasing and retrieving arm weight is fairly slow and

causes key depressions to follow each other at a relatively slow xaic.55

The second movement is contra-fixation movement, involving an unmoving

base supplied by fixation of the joints in the base. By using the prefix "contra"

(Latin for against or opposite), Schultz is referring to a base that does not move.

He said that contra-fixation movement takes place "when a playing-unit swings in

53Schultz, Riddle. 34.

54Ibid., 40.
55Ibid., 45.

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 50

a joint, the position of which is fixed and independent of the movement o f the

playing-unit."56 The playing unit itself, which may be the finger, hand, or arm,

is moved by muscular contraction. Schultz added that this movement must fulfill

three conditions:

1. The joint in which the playing-unit swings (the base) must show no
movement, either up or down, during the movement of the playing-unit.
2. The piaying-unit must not support the base during key-descent, nor after
key-descent.
3. The antagonistic muscles which fix the base must not contract in excess of
the degree required to withstand the reaction of the playing-unit. If they do,
energy is wasted and endurance is needlessly decreased.57

The advantages of contra-fixation movements are excellent control over

individual intensities and durations, as well as extreme velocity. Each ftnger may

choose its own specific intensity and duration since there are no separate

adjustments of the base from key to key.58 Schultz said that velocity is achieved

because movement is confined to the playing unit without displacement of the

base, and because the finger can ascend "from the key-bed immediately after key

depression without waiting for the next finger to assume the support o f the

base."59 The disadvantage of contra-fixation movement is a smaller range of

tonal intensity, and Schultz believed this is due to the fact that "the degree of

contraction . . . of the muscles operating the playing-unit must be limited by the

force of the fixation [so as not to dislodge the base]".60

56Ibid„ 135.
57Ibid„ 135-36.
58Ibid., 77.
50Ibid., 79.
60Ibid., 72.

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 51

The last movement Schultz discussed is trans-fixation, involving a moving

base of fixation. By using the prefix "trans" (Latin for across or through),

Schultz is referring to a base that moves. Trans-fixation occurs when the

muscular contraction of the playing unit exceeds the degree of fixation of the

base. This excess contraction forces the base upward as a reactive movement.61

Schultz said that this touch is useful when "the degree of velocity and the degree

of tonal intensity are both relatively high, and it is also appropriate for staccato

effects."62

One advantage of trans-fixation over contra-fixation is that trans-fixation

produces a much greater volume of tone: "the muscles of the playing-unit contract

more strongly when they displace the base, and deliver, accordingly, more force

into the key."63 Schultz believed that the disadvantages of trans-fixation are its

lack of efficiency in legato passages and in very rapid passages. The lack of

legato is due to the fact that trans-movements are generally incapable o f keeping

the key on the key-bed for the required duration of legato tones, because the base

is dislodged by the reactive movement and must be returned to its original

position before another key depression can take place. Although the playing unit

retains effective contact with the key during the course o f its descent, it loses key

contact before the full duration of the tone. The lack o f velocity in trans­

movements is due to the fact that although the key descent with a moving base is

quicker than with an unmoving base, "the recovery o f the playing mechanism . . .

61Ibid., 84.
62Ibid., 83.
63Ibid„ 94.

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 52

is slower—so much slower that any advantage for velocity accruing to the

swiftness of key-descent is considerably more than offset."64

Schultz believed that there were seven possible ways to apply muscular force

to the finger65, but that only four of these should be used in piano playing. The

first type of finger stroke is produced with the small muscles alone: the

lumbricalis and the interossei, located in the palm of the hand. (See Figure 7 on

the following page.) Schultz said that "the use o f the small muscles alone gives

rise to the sensation that the arm is completely divorced from the activity o f the

fingers, for these muscles have their origin below the wrist joint and exert no pull

upon the arm."66 This finger coordination can be used with either a flat finger or

a bent finger. Since the small muscles are the weakest of all the muscles in

playing units, the greatest disadvantage of this stroke lies in its very limited tonal

range. According to Schultz, the advantages c f the small muscles are their fine

control over individual tonal intensities and their extreme possibilities for

velocity.67

Schultz's second type o f finger stroke is produced by the small muscles plus

the long flexors. Each of the three finger joints in this stroke receive a downward

pull: the long flexors pull on the second and third joints, the lumbricales and

interossei pull on the first joint. This must be done with a fairly flat finger,

"otherwise the pull of the long flexors can have little effect in the direction of key-

MIbid., 88.
65Ibid., 107
66Ibid., 263.
67Ibid., 133.

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 53

descent."68 The long flexors and small muscles exert force directly against the

key and not against an opposing muscle, so there is direct sensitivity to key

resistance. This sensitivity is not quite as subtle as when the small muscles are

used alone, because two sets o f muscles are being contracted instead of only one

set.69 However, this stroke does offer a larger range of tonal contrast than when

the small muscles are used alone.

Figure 7. Location of the Flexors, Extensor, and Small Muscles.70

(Used by permission of Carl Fischer, Inc.)

XY indicates the extensor located on the top of the hand and forearm
A'B' indicates the flexor which bends the third (nail) phalanx
C'D' indicates the flexor which bends the second phalanx
E'F’ indicates the pull of the interossei and lumbricalis

68Ibid., 115.
69Ibid., 116.
70Ibid., 103.

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 54

His third type o f stroke is produced by the long flexors plus the extensor.

Schultz defined this as a slightly stiffened finger moved by an excess contraction

of the long flexors. The long flexors and the extensor contract simultaneously to

stiffen the finger, and the long flexors then contract in excess of the fixation to

move the finger downward.71 This stroke is used only rarely, for very loud

passages, because of its poor velocity and poor control of individual tonal

intensities.

Schultz's last stroke is produced by the long flexors plus the extensor plus

the small muscles. It is similar to Ortmann's curved finger stroke and is achieved

by a slight stiffening of the finger through contraction o f the long flexors and

extensor followed by a propelling of the finger downward into the key by the

small muscles.72 Schultz believed that slightly stiffening the finger, although not

desirable, was unavoidable in most piano playing due to the use of the extensor

muscle. He said that "some lifting of the fingers is indispensable for the playing

of practically all passage-work-to reach black keys, to pass the fingers over the

thumb, etc."73 Since the extensor tendons of the four fingers are interdependent,

it follows that if the extensor muscle contracts to pull on one of the tendons, part

of this force is also transmitted to the other tendons. For example, the only

reason that the second finger stays down when the third finger is lifted by its

extensor is that the long flexors of the second finger have tightened.74 Since both

71Ibid., 107.
72Ibid., 123.
73Ibid.
74Ibid., 124.

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 55

the long flexors and the extensor are contracted simultaneously, the finger is

fixated. Although this touch is not quite as efficient as the first two strokes for

velocity and variety of tonal intensity, it is equally as efficient in its control of

individual intensities.

In summation, Schultz believed that four types of strokes are practical in

piano playing. These are achieved by (1) the small muscles alone, (2) the small

muscles plus the long flexors, (3) the long flexors plus the extensor, and (4) the

long flexors plus extensor plus small muscles. The first, third, and fourth types

can be produced with a flat or a bent finger, but the second stroke is only possible

with a flat finger.75 In general, Schultz believed that curved fingers are better for

maximum intensity with minimum expenditure, but are not especially good for

cantabile legato. He agreed with Ortmann when he said that although slightly

flattened fingers require more energy to achieve great intensity, they are better for

creating legato lines.76

The table on the following page shows Schultz's various types of finger,

hand, and arm movements arranged by him in order of their efficiency for

velocity, intensity, and endurance. Number one indicates the greatest amount of

efficiency, while number twelve indicates the least amount of efficiency.

75Ibid., 133.
76Ibid., 134.

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 56

Table 1. Schultz's Ranking of Movement Types According to Velocity,

Intensity, and Endurance.77
(Used by permission of Carl Fischer, Inc.)

V rL o crT T

C o n tr a - T ra n a -
P lay m g -U n it H u tto n f ix a tio n

1
F inger operated by sm all m uscles plus long fle x o r s.......................... 2 3
5
6 7
Forearm plus upper-arm r o ta tio n ......................................................... S 9*
W hole a r m .......................................................................................................... IO 11

Ihtiniitv

T ra n a - C o n tr a -
P laying-U nit fix atio n fix a tio n

2
Forearm plus upper-arm r o t a t i o n ....................................................... 3* 4
5 6
Finger stiffened and operated by long flex o rs...................................... 7 8
Finger operated by sm all m uscles plus long flex o rs................... 9 IO

EnoutAMCc

P lay m g -U n it ... . ‘ i rant- C o n tra-

W"« M | flit.io n fixation

W hole arm ....................................................................... ' ! 2 3

. . . . | 4 *
S
H a n d .. .. .. ... .. .. ... .. ... .. . ............................................................................. .. . . j 6 1
Finger stiffened and operated by long flexors. . . .............. ! 8 9
Finger operated by sm all m uscles plus long flexors ............ IO 11
Finger operated by sm all m uscles alone . ................... 12
......... i ..........
•F o re a rm only

77Ibid„ 207.

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 57

In summary, although these pedagogues use widely varying

terminologies, some of their ideas concerning types of arm movement are similar.

For example, Breithaupt's longitudinal oscillation is comparable to Ortmann's

completely relaxed arm drop, although Ortmann did say that this type of stroke is

useless in piano playing. Breithaupt's rolling of the forearm is almost identical to

Matthay's forearm rotation, except in Breithaupt's rotation the fingers are passive,

rather than active, and simply follow the movements of the arm. Neither Ortmann

nor Schultz emphasized forearm rotation and, in fact, they discouraged its use

except for certain tremolo patterns.

It is quite possible that Matthay's poised arm element is identical to

Ortmann's and Schultz’s idea o f an arm whose weight is supported at the

shoulder. Both concepts imply that the arm is a self-supported base, not

stabilized by weight, but rather by a slight fixation of the opposing muscles of the

arm. O f course, Matthay would disagree with this analysis because he did not

consider a poised or self-supported arm to be fixated in any way. Matthay's

forearm down-exertion with upper arm weight is quite similar to Ortmann's

forced dow’n-stroke. Both of these arm strokes release the weight of the upper

arm and add active muscular contraction to that weight.

Ortmann’s controlled arm drop is related to Schultz's weight movement alone

(which Schultz also called a controlled arm drop). Both of these strokes employ a

partial relaxation of the lifting muscles of the arm.

In general, Schultz's contra-fixation movements are similar to Ortmann's

concept of movement because both stress the importance of combining varying

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 58

degrees o f fixation and relaxation with active muscular contraction. Schultz's

trans-fixation movements are distantly related to Breithaupt’s longitudinal

oscillation, because both employ a moving base, although Breithaupt’s base is

supplied by weight while Schultz's base is supplied by fixation.

The terminology used by these pedagogues to describe types of finger stroke

is less variable than that used to describe types of arm stroke. Leschetizky,

Matthay, and Ortmann used the terms "flat" and "curved" (or "bent") to define

types of finger movement. It is true that Leschetizky, unlike Matthay and

Ortmann, recommended the use of curved fingers almost exclusively except in the

case of stretches. However, he was in agreement with Matthay, Ortmann, and

Schultz about the need for a certain amount of finger independence.

Breithaupt is the only pedagogue under discussion to denounce the concept

of finger independence. He believed that an active finger stroke from the knuckle

was incorrect, and instead he recommended free oscillation of the fingers. This

unique concept involves fairly flat fingers that continually roll the weight of the

arm from key to key.

Matthay and Ortmann agreed on the idea of a bent finger stroke which

employs a finger curved in all three of its joints and a fairly vertical descent of the

finger tip into the key. However, they disagreed on the execution o f the flat

finger stroke. Matthay's flat finger stroke is the commonly used "grasping"

motion o f the finger that involves a small amount o f flexing in all three finger

joints. Ortmann's flat finger stroke is to be performed with a completely straight

finger (no "give" in any of the joints), and for all purposes this stroke is not

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 59

practical for piano playing. Ortmann equated his elliptical stroke (using an inward

brushing motion) with Matthay's flat finger stroke.

Schultz differed from the other pedagogues under discussion in regard to his

approach towards analyzing finger strokes. He studied seven possible muscular

coordinations o f the three muscle groups involved; in finger movement, and found

that four of these muscular coordinations are usable during playing. Thus, his

types of finger stroke are much more detailed and sophisticated than the "flat" and

"curved" designations used by Leschetizky, Matthay, and Ortmann.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

CONCEPTS OF RELAXATION AND FIXATION

From the writings of his students it appears that Leschetizky did not refer to

relaxation in piano playing. He did stress the need for firm joints in the fingers,

hand, and wrist. Concerning this he said that "there is no method for the wrist,

except the easiest way to the next note.. . . You can get your softest as well as

your strongest tones from the arm with a firm wrist."1 Leschetizky may have

equated firmness with a slight fixation of the joints, but there is no account of him

using the word "fixation".

Breithaupt frequently referred to a "completely relaxed state of the arm."2 In

his School of Weight Touch he described an experiment in which the teacher

supports the student's arm (which is hanging loosely from the shoulder) with his

hand, and then lets the arm fall upon the student's knee. The most important pan

of this experiment is that "no conscious muscular contraction in any way affect or

disturb the relaxed state of the arm."3 Breithaupt goes on to say that

this loosening or relaxing of the limb constitutes the most important feature in
the whole technic. The solution of the diverse problems relating to technic is
essentially o f an intellectual nature, consisting, as it does, in the faculty of
producing an arm relaxed in its joints, on the mental impulse, at any time,
anywhere.4

N ew com b. Leschetizky. 106-7.

2Breithaupt. Natural Piano-Technic. 13.
3Ibid.
4Ibid., 17-18.

60

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This seems to be an oversimplification of the solution to technical problems in

piano playing. Recent theorists have shown that complete relaxation does not

exist in piano playing, that relaxation is a relative term, and that some degree of

fixation is present at all times when playing.5 Breithaupt himself briefly

mentioned fixation at the conclusion of his book. He believed, strangely enough,

that fixation in technique belongs only

to the artistic education of the professional pianist.. . . Contrary to other

methods, we start from the principle that we must begin by developing
looseness, flexibility and suppleness in the physical organism, before
attempting to strengthen and fix the muscles and jo in ts .. . . To play 'fixed' is
perhaps the same as to play 'with concentrated attention’; it is midway between
relaxation and rigidity, and produces the sensation of a fine, constant muscular
tension, holding the balance between absolute independence (relaxation) and
retention (active stiffening) of the joints.6

Unfortunately, Breithaupt gave no specific instructions about how to achieve any

degree of fixation, or when fixation was to be properly used in playing.

Matthay stressed over and over again the idea of being free from all contrary

exertion in the muscles. He cited three specific aspects of relaxation; these

include the relaxation of the raising muscles of the arm, ceasing of all work and

weight at the moment when these are no longer required, and relaxation of the

antagonistic muscles as much as possible.7 Regarding the last aspect, Matthay

taught his students to "isolate the actions of each set of muscular impulses from

5See the later discussion of Ortmann's and Schultz's work in this area. See
also James Ching, Piano Technique: Foundation Principles (London: Chappell,
1934) for an in-depth discussion of this topic.
6Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 99-100.
7Tobias Matthay, Piano Fallacies of Todav (London: Oxford University
Press, 1939), 1.

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 62

the opposite set in order to achieve the playing ease which could only be achieved

when all unnecessary muscular exertions were omitted."8 Matthay also stated

three undesirable types of muscular exertion that create stiffness at the keyboard:

(1) You may use the antagonistic muscles as well as the required ones.
(2) You may jam your limb against the keybeds by playing 'too late', [by
continuing to exert after the tone is already produced] and
(3) You may allow the psychological effect of Fear to cause you to contract
more or less every muscle in your body!9

Obviously, Matthay was entirely against the idea of using antagonistic muscles to

"fix” a joint, and this puts him in direct conflict with later theorists such as

Ortmann, Schultz, and James Ching. He equated fixation with stiffness and even

went so far as to say that "the term 'fixation' should be strictly banished from the

pianist's vocabulary."10 However, Matthay believed that some involuntary

tension was always present in piano playing.

Indeed, we are bound to have tension in the muscle when we exert them, also
tension of the tendons across the joints when we use the muscles, also tension
in the joints themselves, owing to such muscular pull across them; and, finally,
that residue of tension in the muscles (tonicity) which we cannot alter. But all
four o f these manifestations of tension are quite outside of our control: they
are bound to occur whenever we use a muscle, and we cannot possibly
strengthen or weaken them by force of will. How useless, then and wrong
psychologically and pedagogically, to try and draw the player's attention to
their presence?11

Matthay's belief in relaxation is best summarized by his idea that all

movements at the keyboard "must be kept perfectly free from any sensation of

resistance not directly attributable to the resistance of the key, before and during

8Boardman, "Theories of Piano Technique," 120.

9Matthay, Visible and Invisible. E7.
10Ibid., 25.
1M atthay, Piano Fallacies. 32-33.

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 63

its descent."12 One of Matthay's contemporaries, Thomas Fielden, criticized

Matthay for overemphasizing this concept of relaxation.

In every movement he insisted on the necessity for keeping the hands and arms
in a state of relaxation: it is true t h u t h v pointed out the necessity of there being
a moment of rigidity at the point where the hammer reached the string, but he
did not insist strongly enough on it, or rather he did not carry the argument out
to a definite enough scientific conclusion, viz. that the weight of the arm
meeting the answering 'upward thrust’ of the keyboard necessitated points of
resistance somewhere, as well as corresponding levers formed by the definite
and strong, though momentary and resilient, contraction of the flexing muscles
o f the fingers, forearm and upper-arm .. . . So much stress was laid on
relaxation that the necessity for contraction was too often overlooked.13

Ortmann was one o f the first modem pedagogues to discover that relaxation

is piano playing is a relative condition. He devised five principles of relaxation as

a result of intense investigation into this topic and his first principle is as follows:

In order to maintain a joint at a given position in space, without external

resistance at this point or at any intervening point, all other joints between this
point and the trunk must be fixed to an extent sufficient to overcome the weight
of the intervening pans.14

For example, the shoulder supports the whole arm, the elbow supports the

forearm and hand, and the wrist supports the hand. Without this support

(through slight fixation o f the muscles), the arm would fail iimpiy at the side of

the body, rather than be held up in the correct playing position.

Ortmann's second principle is that

in order merely to maintain the finger-tip in a fixed position upon a key, not
more than one joint may be in full relaxation between this point and the
shoulder-girdle. All other joints must be fixed at least to the point necessary to

12Matthav. Act of Touch. 180-81.

13Fielden, Pianoforte Technique. 6.
14Ortmann. Physiological Mechanics. 125.

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 64

overcome the weight of the intervening parts.15

This is true because if two or more joints are relaxed simultaneously, then the

spatial position of the parts in the playing mechanism change radically. Ortmann

pointed out that "this means that the mere Testing' of the aim upon the keys by

means o f the finger-tip . . . is not a relaxed arm-condition at all but one o f mild

fixation, most probably in all joints."16 For example, shoulder muscles are

contracted in practically all piano playing, since these muscles lift the upper arm in

order to keep the arm from sinking against the side of the body.

Ortmann's third principle is that

in order that a force greater than the weight of the moving part be exerted upon
the finger-tip, muscular contraction must be added to the weight, and the
muscular contraction necessitates greater fixation in all joints acting as a fulcra.
The degree o f fixation required is directly proportional tc the force demanded
at the finger-tip.17

This is an obvious statement of a simple fact: since the muscular contraction

necessitates greater fixation in all joints (to prevent collapsing joints), the greater

the muscular contraction, the less the relative relaxation. This applies to finger,

hand, forearm, and full arm strokes.

Ortmann's fourth principle states that

the amount o f fixation or muscular contraction necessary to do work at the

finger-tip depends upon the positions of the parts of the arm. It is greatest
when the resistance acts at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the bone; it is
least when the resistance acts parallel to this axis.18

l5Ibid., 125-26.
16Ibid., 126.
l7Ibid., 127.
l8Ibid., 131.

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Therefore, the best possible position to get the most arm weight directly into the

key would be a slightly elevated wrist and a slightly descending angled upper arm

(achieved by a slight incline of the trunk away from the keyboard). This is

illustrated by Figure 8, diagram B, on the following page.19 Ortmann also

discovered that "the nearer the shoulder is over the elbow, the less arm-weight

can be directed to the key",20 and this is illustrated by Figure 8, diagram G, on

the next page.

Ortmann's final principle of relaxation says that

for speed and dexterity the mass of the playing-unit or units must be reduced to
a minimum, a thing which requires a degree of fixation that makes impossible
the relaxed arm necessary for arm-weight.21

In other words, the more arm weight that is used, the greater the inertia involved

and the greater the muscular contraction must be in order to overcome this inertia.

In order to minimize this inertia, it is advisable to bring the shoulder forward

(more over the keys), thus actually removing the weight o f the upper aim from

the keys. That is why Ortmann and many other pedagogues advocated the use of

position G (see next page) over positions A, B, or D when muscular contraction

rather than weight alone is used to exert force. Ortmann believed that "normally,

not arm-weight is used in piano-playing, but arm-stroke."22

19Ibid., 129.
20Ibid., 130.
21Ibid., 132.
22Ibid„ 131.

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 Figure 8. Various Positions of the Arm23
(Used by permission of Da Capo Press.)

f = finger c = center of gravity of the arm

h = hand e = elbow
w = wrist s = shoulder

23Ibid., 129.

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 67

Schultz agreed with Ortmann's idea that fixed joints are not only inevitable in

piano playing, but also desirable. Like Ortmann, Schultz said there is no such

thing as complete relaxation when playing the piano. Schultz also made an

important distinction between the supporting contraction of a joint and the fixation

of a jo in t He believed that a supporting contraction occurs when the contraction

of a muscle is just enough to keep a joint from collapsing (breaking through)

without causing movement in the base in a direction opposite to the joint.24 For

example, if the arm is the playing unit, muscles must contract under the elbow,

wrist, and the finger joints at the moment of key impact; otherwise these joints

will break through and the arm will fall to the side of the body.25 Schultz said

that fixation occurs when antagonistic (opposing) muscles stiffen the various

joints of the base. This also prevents a break within the playing unit. Unlike a

supporting contraction, fixation can range all the way from slight to extreme.

Schultz disagreed with Breithaupt's and Matthay's views on relaxation by

saying that

the only general value of relaxation, let it be repeated, rests in its promotion of
endurance. It cannot be, accordingly, a panacea for all the technical evils.
Piano technique implies much more than the ability to endure, and the
emphasis on relaxation as a principle has been excessive to the point of
absurdity.26

24Schultz, Riddle. 32.

^ Ib id .
26Ibid., 27.

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 CHAPTER SIX

WEIGHT AND WEIGHT TRANSFER

Extensive research on Leschetizky has revealed nothing about his approach

regarding the use o f weight and weight transfer in piano playing. Breithaupt,

however, wrote a great deal about the subject of weight and weight transfer. He

declared that

the full utilization of the massive weight of the arm, when combined with the
elastic muscular tension of the whole physical apparatus set in motion
(shoulder, upper-and forearm, hand, fingers), constitutes the fundamental
elements of piano-technic. The essential condition of its employment is a clear
conception of the various degrees of energy needed-the mental control of the
heavy, loose, free oscillating arm, or realization of weight.1

Breithaupt believed that there are two basic elements in weight technique.

The first element is "the arm weighted 'for playing': the weight of the relaxed

arm, or the normal pressure of the bulk of the arm suspended passively or

reposing with its full weight, all its muscles completely relaxed."2 Breithaupt

said that this was the best way to transfer weight, and called this the passive

bearing process. It involves a heavy arm hanging loose and relaxed from the

shoulder, while the fingers support all of the arm’s weight by taking turns

carrying and transferring the weight "from one high curved knuckle to the

other."3 The passive bearing process occurs during key descent.

breith au p t, Natural Piano-Technic, 11.

2Ibid., 12.
3Ibid., 16.

68

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 69

Schultz disagreed with Breithaupt’s idea that the weight of the whole arm can

be transferred to the keys through a completely relaxed arm. Instead, Schultz

believed that Breithaupt's "passive suspension" simply means an arm supported

by its lifting muscles. He also pointed out that in Breithaupt's system the only

function o f the fingers and hand is the support of arm weight or arm pressure.4

Schultz thought that the term "levered force" was more accurate than "weighted"

in describing the passive bearing process, since it actually involves muscular

contraction added to the force of gravity.5 Although Breithaupt would disagree

with this opinion, more recent theorists have proven that some muscular

contraction must occur during weight transfer.6

Breithaupt's second element is

suspension or removal of the weight resulting from the withdrawal of the point
of support of the arm, as when the arm is raised from off the table and held,
borne by the muscles of the shoulder up in the air, a form of muscular action
which takes place even during the shortest pause or rest in playing.7

Breithaupt called this the active bearing process and it occurs during key ascent,

with the fingers remaining constantly in contact with the keys.

Breithaupt said that the "weight-bearing act" consists of the passive bearing

process (key descent succeeded by immediate relaxation), followed by the active

bearing process (key ascent as w-eight is removed).8

4Schultz, Riddle. 268.

5Ibid., 272.
6See Ortmann, Physiological Mechanics. 134-48, Schultz, Riddle. 36-61,
and Ching, Foundation Principles. 12-27, for an extensive discussion of this
topic.
7Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 12.
8Ibid., 16-17.

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 70

Matthay had a slightly different viewpoint than Breithaupt concerning how

weight transfer was to be achieved. For slower tempos he believed that a lapse in

muscular activity of the arm-supporting muscles is responsible for weight

transfer. This means that the arm-supporting muscles are momentarily relaxed

during key descent, allowing the free weight of the arm to serve as a base for

finger and hand exertion. However, beyond a certain speed, Matthay discovered

that these separate aim lapses became physically impossible. At moderate to fast

tempi Matthay advocated using either "weight transfer touch" or "arm vibration

touch".

Weight transfer touch is executed with a partially poised aim, that is, an arm

in w'hich the lifting muscles are relaxed so that some weight rests continuously

and gentiy on the keys.9 In this touch the weight is transferred from one key to

the next through the fingers. Weight transfer touch forms the basis for what

Matthay called "natural" legato, because it forces each finger to hold down its note

until relieved by the next finger.10 This touch also involves a continuously

applied pressure of the hand, thus making it impossible for the fingers to control

the volume or duration of each individual note. In other words, Matthay

discovered that this type of weight transfer allows for only very gradual

inflections o f tone, such as a crescendo, and only gradual changes in articulation.

Therefore, Matthay concluded that weight transfer touch is only appropriate for

soft non-melodic passages such as "soft accompanying passages and figurations,

9Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 28.

10Ibid.

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speedy arabesques, ornamental virtuosities, 'filling-up' arpeggios and scales not

of a melodic nature.11

Matthay's arm vibration touch involves a fully poised arm, with weight

transfer occurring at the surface level o f the keys.12 He believed that arm

vibration touch forms the basis for what he called "artificial" legato, because the

resting weight of a fully poised arm is insufficient to compel the fingers into a

"natural" legato. In "artificial" legato, the small muscles of the finger must be

used to hold down the notes for the desired duration.13 The primary difference

between Matthay’s weight transfer touch and arm vibration touch is that arm

vibration employs individually applied hand pressures for each finger during key

descent, rather than continuously applied pressure as in weight transfer touch. As

a result, the arm is driven into what Matthay called "sympathetic vibration" by

reaction from these individual and momentary exertions of the finger and hand.

The individual exertions allow for careful selection of tonal intensity and duration,

and therefore Matthay concluded that arm vibration touch is appropriate for

melodic passages of all dynamic ranges.14 Matthay was also careful to point out

that there is a limit to the speed with which the individual hand pressures can be

applied during arm vibration touch. Therefore, he said that pianists should "never

“ Ibid., 95.
12Ibid., 101.
13Ibid., 102.
14Ibid., 101.

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 72

plav musical passage-work faster than they can give these separate hand-stresses

for each note."15

Ortmann disagreed with the relaxed arm concept of Breithaupt and Matthay

when he said that there was no such thing as relaxed weight transfer, since a

slight degree of fixation in the arm is always present. "The force exerted upon the

piano-key is not simply the weight of a free arm, but that [force] resulting from an

active contraction of muscles of the fingers, hand, wrist, and elbow, plus the

action of gravity."16 Ortmann's definition of weight transfer is the

act of transferring a given weight from one point of support, a finger-tip for
example, to another.. . . As this weight is transferred to another finger, the
muscles controlling that finger are appropriately contracted in order to support
the weight; and the muscular contraction for the first finger is correspondingly
lessened as weight is released. If the relaxation for the first finger occurs
before the contraction for the second finger, weight is lost; it is removed from
the first key before the next finger is ready to take it up on the second key. If
the release occurs after the contraction of the following finger, there will be an
overlapping of weight which will result in unnecessary pressure upon one of
the two keys.17

Ortmann stated that weight transfer depends on three factors, including tonal

intensity, speed, and percussiveness of touch. To test the effect of tonal intensity

and speed on weight transfer, Ortmann measured these effects on a series of trills

played at various dynamic degrees. He found that the softest dynamic level

produced the fastest finger speed and the least amount of fluctuation in weight

transfer from finger to finger. As the dynamic intensity gradually increased, the

finger speed slowed and greater fluctuations in weight transfer were seen. In

15Ibid., 42E.
I60rtmann, Physiological Mechanics. 130.
17Ibid., 134-35.

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other words, at loud dynamic levels, there was a significant loss of weight

between each of the finger strokes. From this experiment Ortmann formulated the

following law: "At a given speed only a certain amount of weight can be

transferred from one finger to another."18 When rapid strokes between two

fingers (such as in a trill) are eliminated (such as in a five-cinger pattern or scale),

Ortmann found that weight transfer between fingers was much more definite. He

discovered

that weight-transfer cannot depend upon speed of finger-stroke unless the

element of rapid repetition is involved Rapidity of finger repetition, not
rapidi*y of successive strokes, therefore becomes the chief determinant of
weight-transfer as measured in terms o f speed.19

Ortmann's experiments on percussiveness and weight transfer led him to

discover that a percussive touch destroys the continuous contact of fingertip and

key so necessary to the maintenance o f weight transfer. The more percussive the

touch, the greater the fluctuations in weight transfer from finger to finger.

After studying these three elements of weight transfer, Ortmann concluded

that legato weight transfer was most easily obtained at a very slow tempo, with a

soft dynamic degree, and with a non-percussive touch. This is in agreement with

Matthay’s idea that relaxing the arm-supporting muscles during key descent

allows for more complete weight transfer, but that this transfer takes time and can

only occur at slow tempi. If weight transfer at a quick tempo is necessary,

Ortmann said that "a light touch and a non-percussive stroke are the easiest means

18Ibid., 137.
19Ibid., 142-43.

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 74

o f securing the effect."20 Both Ortmann and Matthay knew that weight transfer

interferes with speed, thus they both advocated using less weight at faster tempi.

Ortmann concluded that there are two major fallacies concerning weight

transfer. The first fallacy is that the arm must be fully relaxed in order to transfer

weight, and the second fallacy is that a large percentage of arm weight can be

transferred to the keys. Ortmann wrote that

not only can there be no fully relaxed joint in any usable arm position, but also
only a part o f the arm-weight, and usually only a small part, can be transferred
to the finger in any condition. The shoulder continues to support the
remainder, regardless of relaxation.21

Schultz disagreed with Breithaupt and Matthay and agreed with Ortmann

when he said the idea that all touch consists of levering weight upon the keys is

false. Instead, he believed that the base for finger and hand exertions could be

supplied by a fixated arm (contra-fixation movement). However, Schultz did

acknowledge that weight transfer touch was occasionally appropriate in certain

passages. Schultz's term for weight transfer touch is "contra-weight movements

of the fingers."22 The base for this movement is hand and arm weight, and it is

kept immobile while the movement itself is caused by muscular contraction o f the

fingers. The base does not move because the force of the weight exactly

counterbalances the force of the muscular exertion in the fingers. Weight is

allowed "to rest on the key-beds, and may be transferred by the fingers from key

20Ibid., 146.
21 Ibid., 147.
22Schultz, Riddle. 51.

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 75

to key without being released and recovered for each successive depression."23

Therefore, according to Schultz, there is a base of continuously released weight

coming from the shoulder, exactly balanced against the fingers, which transfer the

weight from one key to the next.24 The mechanics o f this touch involve the

weight of the arm depressing a key while the finger which has played the key

supports the weight on the keybed. To transfer the weight from one finger to the

next, the second finger to play must contract its muscles at the same rate that the

original finger is relaxing its muscles. Schultz said that "with such an

arrangement the weight is continuously supported and the base cannot move

down into the key."25 Schultz is quick to point out that although the key descent

is controlled in this touch, velocity and control over individual intensities is only

fair to poor. Velocity is poor because the release of each key must be gradual and

is therefore slow. Control of individual intensities is poor because

transferred weight is incompatible with separate key-treatment. The degree of

tonal intensity in all contra-weight movements depends primarily upon the
amount of weight released at the shoulder. Inflection of individual tones,
accordingly, is definitely at the mercy of the rate at which the large shoulder
muscles can release and retrieve the arm-weight. Clearly, separate adjustments
of the large mass of the whole arm cannot be made for each individual tone of a
series taken at even a very moderate tempo.26

Initially, this may sound like a contradiction'of Schultz's earlier statement that

weight may be transferred from finger to finger "without being released and

23Ibid.
24Ibid., 54.
“ Ibid.
26Ibid., 55.

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recovered for each successive depression."27 However, it is important to

remember that in weight movements the base is not completely independent of the

playing un it As Gerig points out, in weight movements

the base tends to bear down and rest directly on the playing unit. If the
opposing forces are equal, no significant movement will be evident in the base.
For each variation of tonal intensity, caused by force variations in the playing
unit, there must be a corresponding adjustment of the opposing force operating
in the base or the base itself will be dislodged.28

In other wcrds, even if weight is allowed to rest on the keys, any adjustments

required to change the individual tonal intensities can not be achieved merely by a

change in the muscular contraction of the fingers. If this happens, then the

weight is no longer correctly balanced against the playing unit and the base will

move. To keep the base immobile requires that there is a "corresponding

adjustment" of the amount of weight resting on the keys, and this can only be

achieved by an adjustment of the large and slow shoulder muscles which control

the amount of weight bearing down on the keys.

Schultz, like Matthay, found that weight transfer touch can produce only

gradual inflections of tone and duration. If varying intensities are necessary for

each tone, as is most often the case in piano playing, Schultz said that the

requisite adjustments of the arm simply cannot be made quickly enough, unless

the tempo is slow. This concept is in disagreement with Matthay’s idea that all

but the fastest melodic passages may still be played with separate adjustments of

the hand and arm.

27Ibid., 51.
28Gerig, Famous Pianists. 451.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN

TONE PRODUCTION

According to Malwine Bree, Leschetizky always told his students that "it is

tone which makes music."1 Harold Schonberg notes: "All o f Leschetizky's

pupils were agreed that in his teaching Leschetizky concentrated more on tone

than on anything else.”2 He often compared good tone on the piano to a good

singer, saying that he learned to play melodies beautifully by listening to

keyboard melodic lines as if they were vocal lines. Leschetizky taught that good

tone production begins with accurate listening to oneself. One of Leschetizky's

most famous students, Ignace Paderewski, said that Leschetizky taught him "to

evoke a fine tone from the instrument and to make music and not noise."3 In

Leschetizky's words, "listening to the inward singing of a phrase is of far more

value than playing it a dozen times."4 Another student and teaching assistant,

Ethel Newcomb, said that "his principle was that one should not strike a note or a

chord without thinking of, and visualizing . . . the next one, and all of his

assistants made this the basis of their teaching of technique."5

Although Leschetizky was very concerned with good tone production, he

did not address the physical mechanics behind this concept, other than to say that

^ r e e , Leschetizky Method, 28.

2Harold Schonberg, The Great Pianists from Mozart to the Present (New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1963), 282.
3As cited by Gerig, Famous Pianists. 274.
4Newcomb. Leschetizky. 19.
5Ibid., 132.

77

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 78

pianists with big, fleshy hands had an advantage over those with thin, bony

hands in producing good tone. Harold Schonberg commented: "Thus,

Leschetizky came to the conclusion that the thin hand had to use considerable key

pressure, whereas the fat and heavy hand had to be trained to play with the least

amount of pressure."6

Breithaupt said that tone production depends on several factors, including

mental concentration, the amount of weight that is used (finger, hand, or arm

weight), the speed with which the key is struck, the shape and build o f the fingers

and hands, and the motion used in key attack (either a swinging, rolling, or

gliding motion). Concerning the shape and build of the fingers and hands,

Breithaupt, in agreement with Leschetizky, said that thin, bony hands and fingers

have less weight and power to produce volume and fullness of tone than thick,

fleshy hands and fingers. Concerning the motion used in key attack, Breithaupt

said that low swinging motions produce round, full sounds; high swinging

motions produce a more pointed accented tone; rolling motions are good for soft,

sweet tones; gliding motions produce a singing tone quality.7

Breithaupt contradicted himself several times in his discussion o f tone

production. At one point he said that "the manner and form in which hands and

fingers touch the keys is immaterial, in as far as only their own velocity, and the

velocity imparted to the key determines the tone."8 Then he went on to say that

both different types o f hand and finger build and different types of motion used in

6Schonberg, Great Pianists. 283.

7Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 68.
8Ibid.

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 79

key attack affect the tom; quality. Because of these contradictions, it is impossible

to determine whether or ic t he actually believed that tone quality is determined

only by the speed with u hich the key is struck. Most pedagogues would agree

that velocity is oniy one fa nor in determining tone quality. For example,

Ortmann and Schultz both believed tone quality to be the result of intensity

(mass), percussiveness (prepared or unprepared finger stroke), duration

(articulation), and attack a :d release of the key (velocity into and out of the key).

Tone production is om: of the most important topics in Matthay's treatises on

piano technique. In his Ac of Touch he said tone production consists of two

elements, the "Resting" (the continuous element), and the "Added-Impetus" (the

discontinuous element).9 The Resting occurs in two places on the key, with the

first taking place at the key surface only, thus forming the basis of all staccato

articulation. The second form of resting is a heavier gesture, sufficient to depress

the key softly, which comes to rest at the key bed. It forms the basis of all tenuto

and legato articulations. The Added-Impetus lasts only during key d ep ictio n

and stops immediately after the tone is produced. Matthay said there are three

species of touch involved in this element. The first species is produced by finger

exertion alone with a relaxed hand and self-supported arm. This touch allows for

the greatest possible velocity. The second species comes from hand exertion

combined with finger exertion and a self-supported arm, and the third species

9Matthav. Act of Touch. 146.

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 80

results from arm weight release combined with finger and hand exertion. The

third species is only used for comparatively slow movements.10

Matthay believed that third species could be weight-initiated or muscularly-

initiated, whereas species one and two could only be muscularly-initiated. He

taught that weight-initiated touch occurs when the arm weight is released at the

moment of key descent, "thus compelling the fingers and hand to do their

work."11 On the other hand, muscularly-initiated touch involves a partially or

completely self-supported arm combined with exertion of the fingers and hand to

depress the key. Matthay said that "the inertia of your arm-weight becomes the

basis for your finger and hand action; and to the extent that you exert them, the

weight of the arm is levered upon the keys, whether you release the arm or not at

that moment."12 He also pointed out that weight-initiated touch generally

produces a fuller, richer tone than muscularly-initiated touch.

Ortmann believed that all qualitative differences in tone production result

from quantitative differences. He defined and discussed the following types of

tone qualities in terms of intensity, percussiveness, duration, and attack and

release of the key.

Sparkling tone quality is characterized by percussiveness, moderate to great

tonal intensity, and extreme brevity in duration. The muscular contraction needed

for this tone quality is a rapid initial contraction of relatively short duration.13

10Ibid., 232-37.
^M atthav. Piano Fallacies. 11.
l2Ibid.
13Ortmann, Physiological Mechanics. 339-40.

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 81

Velvety tone quality is characterized by a gradual increase in pressure,

beginning with a non-percussive attack, long duration, moderate or little tonal

intensity, and gradual release of pressure. When this quality is used in fast

tempos, the gradual increase and release o f pressure arc absent, but the non-

percussive attack and moderation o f intensity remain. This touch must include a

high degree of legato.14

Dry tone quality involves a touch in which the impact noises overshadow the

tonal elements, thus creating a lack of color in the tone. The main characteristic is

the increased ratio of noise elements (finger-key impact, key-bed impact,

hammer-string impact, hammer-check impact and friction among the action parts)

to the amount of tone. It is a percussive touch of variable duration. A "dry"

staccato, for example, is produced by a very marked muscular contraction and a

very small amount of key depression.15

Crisp tone quality involves at least moderate tonal intensity which is marked

in relation to its duration. There is a quick release of pressure at the end of the

tone. This tone quality does not exist when the pedal is used, unless it is played

staccatissimo.16

Cantabile tone quality is characterized by moderate tonal intensity and a non-

percussive key attack. Duration must be long in order for the sound to "carry",

and both the attack and release of the key are gradual. Cantabile is produced by a

relaxed arm and the pressure is sustained or increased after tone production,

14Ibid., 340.
15Ibid., 342-44.
16Ibid„ 341.

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 82

although this does no: actually affect the tone. The tonal intensity must be great

enough to sustain through the diminuendo quality of all held piano tones.17

Schultz admired Ortmann's thorough analysis o f tone qualities and agreed

with him that tone is influenced by controlled intensities (sensitivity to key

resistance), percussiveness, pitch, duration, intensity, and degree o f legato. In

addition, Schultz pointed out that "the amount of percussive noise depends upon

the speed with which the finger comes into contact with the key-surface."18

Therefore, he surmised that a prepared finger stroke would be less percussive

than an unprepared stroke. Schultz also believed that poor piano tone is almost

always due to the absence of true legato, especially in moderate to rapid

successions of tones. He observed that most performers have no trouble with

legato at slow tempi, because weight transference, which "is almost

unexceptionally recommended for the production of a legato",19 works well for

slow speeds. Schultz, like Ortmann, found weight transference to be ineffective

at faster speeds, and according to Schultz, only contra-fixation movements of the

fingers can produce true legato at moderate to fast tempi.20 Consequently, he

declared that "contra-fixation finger movements with maximal contractions of the

small muscles are the most important technical factor in beautiful tone-quality."21

17Ibid„ 345-46.
18Schultz. Riddle. 199.
19Ibid., 198.
20Ibid.
21 Ibid., 204.

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 CHAPTER EIGHT

ARTICULATION

Leschetizky often said that a well developed legato was essential for good

tone quality. A superficial definition of legato is found in Ms. Brae's book: "The

execution of the legato is as follows: The finger is lifted - in the normal style -

only when the next finger has struck its key. To obtain a legatissimo, let the

finger lie a trifle longer, after the next tone is struck."1 This definition mentions

nothing about the muscular coordinations involved in producing legato nor

anything about the presence or absence of weight transfer during legato

articulations.

According to Ms. Bree, staccato is executed by the keys being struck down

from above, rather than being pressed down. This is done either from the

knuckles (finger staccato), or the wrist (wrist staccato). She noted:

The finger-staccato is played by throwing the fingers upward. Practice slowly

on five tones. Holding the wrist loosely and unmoved, raise the bent finger
high, strike the key swiftly, and let the finger fly back instantly as at first. In
rapid tempo the staccato becomes a non-legato, because the finger has not time
to draw back fully before the next strikes, the two movements nearly
coinciding.2

In wrist staccato the finger strikes the key in the same way as finger staccato,

except that the finger is then instantly withdrawn from the key by the wrist.

Again, this definition makes no mention of the actual muscular coordinations

^ r e e , Leschetizky Method, 29.

2Ibid.

83

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 84

needed in staccato. As for the portato touch, Bree defined it as a finger pressing

the key down slowly, being held firmly for a moment, and then being lifted

slowly by raising the hand and forearm.3

Breithaupt went into much greater detail on the subject of articulation. He

stated that legato was the result of forearm and upper arm rolling, combined with

the extension (straightening out) of the forearm and upper aim. At the same time

a nat ural transfer o f weight from key to key occurs through the fingertips as they

remain constantly and closely in contact with the key. Breithaupt emphasized that

"we must reject the idea of connecting the tones by independent finger-action

consisting of pressure and over-stretching, which is wrong."4 Schultz and other

modem theorists are critical of this definition because they believe that legato can

not be achieved by forearm or upper arm rotation, but rather that both key-release

and key-descent must result from finger movement.5

Breithaupt believed that "staccato is nothing more nor less than the rebound

of the striking mass."6 He compared staccato to an elastic body falling to the

ground, and then rebounding (being thrown back in the reverse direction) until

the power of the fall is exhausted. Schultz disagreed with this definition by

pointing cut that the arm is not an elastic body, but instead, it must be lifted out of

the key bed by contraction of its lifting muscles.7 Breithaupt believed that "in

3Ibid., 31.
4Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 50.
5Schultz, Riddle. 282.
6Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 52.
7Schultz, Riddle. 283.

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 85

ordinary staccato, with the natural rebound o f the whole arm, as one mass,

released, neither hand nor finger participates actively in the movement."8 He also

thought that staccato was not the result of wrist action, but of the whole arm

oscillating in its three principal joints. Leschetizky, Matthay, Ortmann, and

Schultz all disagree with this idea, believing instead that the hand, moving from

the wrist joint, can be the playing unit in staccato articulations. Breithaupt

thought that portato articulation involves raising the arm from the keys "as a

whole", and then using a "wiping" motion of the fingers to produce the tone.9

Matthay described articulation first in the form of staccato. He said that "a

true Staccato should signify a note without Duration. Therefore the key must here

be free to rebound the very moment that tone-production is completed, so that the

damper can stop the sound instantaneously."10 He believed that in staccato the

key descends momentarily to its bed (from the momentum of the descent), but

then quickly rebounds.11 He also said that all staccato touches involve a complete

withdrawal of the finger from the key at the exact moment the tone becomes

audible. For these reasons, Matthay stressed that staccato articulations involve

the act o f "resting" very lightly on the surface level of the keyboard, since a

heavier form of resting would inhibit a quick cessation of finger exertion. In

order for this light resting to occur, the arm must be in a continuous state o f self­

8Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 52.

9Ibid., 67.
10Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 84.
11Ibid., 38E.

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 86

support. The "added-impetus" element in staccato (as in all touches) consists of

either first, second, or third species exertion applied only during key-descent.

Matthay recognized eight varieties of finger staccato touches: the first is

produced by finger exertion alone ficnown as his first species), the second

produced by hand exertion in conjunc tion with the finger (known as his second

species), and the third produced by a m weight in conjunction with both the hand

and finger (known as his third specie:). The third variety can exist in two forms,

either as weight-initiated touch or muscularly-initiated touch. These four touches

(first species, second species, and the two forms of third species) can exist either

with the "thrusting" (bent) finger, or the "clinging" (flat) finger, thus bringing the

complete number of finger staccato torches to eight.12

Matthay also recognized six varieties of hand staccato touches since the

second species provides two kinds of hand touch (bent or flat finger possible),

and the third species (if the hand exertion is allowed to outweigh the arm exertion)

provides four more touches (weight or muscularly-initiated touches with bent or

flat finger).13

Finally, he recognized four varieties of arm staccato touches, with the third

species (arm exertion now outweighs finger or hand exertion) providing four

touches (weight or muscularly-initiated touches with bent or flat finger).14

Matthay believed that legato and tenuto articulations involve a slightly heavier

form o f "resting", because this extra weight causes the finger to hold down their

12Matthay, Act of Touch. 242.

13Ibid., 243.
^Ibid-

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 87

notes until the weight is passed to the next finger at exactly the right time.

Matthay called this "natural" legato since it involves the transrtr o f continuous

resting weight from finger to finger. The arm here is slightly relaxed and not so

fully poised as in the staccato touch. On the other hand, he believed that

"artificial" legato, like staccato, used the lightest form of resting and a fully poised

arm. The one difference between "artificial" legato and staccato is that, in the

former, "the notes are here held down by the continued action of the ’small'

muscles of your finger."15

Matthay listed ten varieties of "natural" finger legato touch. The first two

types are obtained by the unaided "resting" itself (without any "added-impetus"),

done either with a flat or bent finger. The remaining eight varieties are obtained

by adding this slightly heavier keybed resting to any of the previously stated eight

forms of finger staccato. In other words, there are eight types o f finger legato

that consist of the "resting" element plus the "added-impetus" elements of either

first, second, or third species (either weight-initiated or muscularly-initiated)

touches, all possible with either a flat or bent finger.16

Matthay described eight "natural" hand legato touches. Again, the unaided

"resting" can be used in its two forms, and second and third species contribute six

more possible varieties. Second species provides two kinds of touch since either

the bent or flat finger is possible, and third species provides four more touches

15Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 86.

16Matthay, Act of Touch. 244-45.

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 88

since either weight or muscularly-initiated touches can be used with either bent or

flat fingers.17

Lastly, Matthay cited six "natural" arm legato touches, including the unaided

"resting" touch with either bent o ' flat finger, while four more touches are

obtained by using the third species, with its weight- initiated or muscularly-

initiated touch, in conjunction with either bent or flat fingers.18

Roger Boardman has the following observations about Matthay's concepts

concerning articulation:

In all three species of tone production, the touches previously described,

tenuto, legato, and staccato, were possible. The amount o f weight used in the
resting was the controlling factor, with the least for staccato, more for tenuto,
and still more for legato. In staccato, the resting was done at the surface of the
key instead of at the depressed level used for legato.19

And on the same subject:

Tenuto meant allowing the key to remain depressed so that the sound of the
string continued. It was accomplished by allowing just enough weight to
remain on the key to keep it depressed. Legato was induced in the same
manner, with the light weight being passed on or transferred from key to
20
■

Ortmann discussed arm legato at length in his book. He believed that arm

legato should be used in slow, cantabile passages with at least a moderate degree

of tonal intensity. Ortmann said this touch involves alternately raising and

lowering the arm while the finger tip remains in contact with the key. According

to Ortmann, "the primary value of such a touch-form, apart from its legato

17Ibid., 245.
18Ibid„ 246.
19Boardman, "Theories of Piano Technique," 128.
20Ibid., 126.

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 89

property, is in the control possible, and in the reduction of the percussive

noises."21 The main difference between this touch and Breithaupt's longitudinal

oscillation is that Ortmann's touch involves a partially relaxed arm with some

contraction of the arm-depressing muscles, rather than a completely relaxed arm

as in Breithaupt’s touch. Also, while both touches require a flexible wrist,

Ortmann's arm legato calls for a firm hand and fingers. In addition, Ortmann

disagreed with Breithaupt's explanation o f weight transfer during legato

articulations. Ortmann believed that arm legato does not involve the rolling of

arm weight from one key to the next. Instead, he said that only a few ounces of

weight are needed to keep the key depressed, and that the remairing arm weight is

withdrawn and supported at the shoulder during each arm ascent.22

Ortmann discovered that ’’the two essential characteristics of all staccato

touches are the shortness of the tone and its tonal separation from the preceding

and succeeding tones.' ’3 He also found that staccato differs fforr. legato in its

key release, not its ke> depression. The key ascends as soon as possible in

staccato, but the finger can not accelerate key ascent beyond the point established

by gravity and the con; auction of the action. Ortmann said that the weight o f the

arm is carried by the sh oulder muscles in this touch, because it is impossible to

have weight resting upc n the keys in any staccato articulation. This is the same

concept as Matthay's su "face resting for staccato touches. Ortmann believed that

staccato was achieved fc / exerting the playing unit (either the arm, hand, or

21Ortmann. Phvsiol ~>gical Mechanics. 177.

22Ibid., 180.
23Ibid., 196.

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 90

finger) down into the key and then v/ithdrawing it immediately.24 He also said

that portato articulation involves slightly longer duration and less tonal isolation

(separation from the preceding and succeeding tones) than staccato.

Schultz found that weight movements and contra-fixation movements are the

only two movements that result in controlled key descents. Thus, he believed that

these two movements are the most suitable for producing legato articulations.

However, Schultz said that the notion of legato being synonymous with weight

transference is false, since weight transfer works well only at slow tempi.

Schultz discovered that for moderate to fast legato passages, contra-fixation

movements of the fingers should be used.25 The main advantage o f contra-

fixation movements over weight movements, according to Schultz, is their control

over tonal intensity, since separate adjustments of the base are not required for

each key depression. In Schultz s own words:

With contra-fixation movements, however, the problem of controlling intensity

does not arise. Each finger may choose, so to speak, its own intensity within
the dynamic range which the strength o f the fixation allows. And each finger
may keep its key depressed as tong as it chooses without affecting the
movement of the next fin g er.. . The result is a combined control of intensity
and duration unmatched by any other touch-form 26

Velocity is easily achieved with contra-fixation movements because movement is

confined to the depth of key descent, and because movement is confined to the

playing unit without the displacement of the base.27

24Ibid., 198.
^S ee S ;hultz, Riddle. 71-81, for an extensive discussion of this topic.
26Ibid., 77.
27Ibid., 79.

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 91

Schultz believed that staccato articulation depends on the speed with which

the playing unit releases its key after tone has been produced.28 However, he

agreed with Ortmann that the actual speed with which the key ascends is

determined primarily by the mechanism of the key action. Schultz claimed that

trans-movements (in which the base moves) are more appropriate for staccato

than contra-movements, simply because trans-movements keep the keys on their

key beds for a shorter length of time. Thus, trans-fixation movements are suited

for staccato because the base in this movement is returned to its original position

as soon as the tone is made (simultaneous with key release). Therefore,

according to Schultz, the playing unit (either the hand or finger) ascends from the

key instantly after tone emission, creating a very effective staccato articulation.29

2SIbid., 96.
29Ibid., 97.

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 CHAPTER NINE

TECHNICAL EXERCISES

Czerny's attitude towards technical exercises epitomizes the nineteenth

century view of this subject. He believed in endless drill and repetition of studies

emphasizing one particular technical difficulty. Czerny strongly urged "that

technical exercises should have little or no musical content in order that the mind

be left free to think only about technical concepts."1

This idea has continued to be popular throughout the twentieth century as

well. For example, five-finger exercises play a very important role in The

Groundwork of the Leschetizkv Method. (See pages 28-30 for a representative

sample.) Tnis book contains many exercises already found in nineteenth century

technical treatises, designed to prepare the student for scale, arpeggio, octave, and

chord technique. Unfortunately, Bree's book does not sufficiently explain the

execution of these drills, nor does it often apply the technical concepts involved to

actual repertoire.

Breithaupt was also a strong believer in the technical exercise. His book, Die

naturliche Klaviertechnik. contains many studies for learning to release the weight

of the arm through what he called the free swing and throw of the arm. See

Example 6 for several types of this exercise. Breithaupt's book also contains

many pages of rather diy exercises designed to perfect the execution of "high-

^oardm an, "Theories of Piano Technique," 75.

92

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 93

fall", "low-fall”, and the rolling motion of the forearm. However, it is important

to point out that Breithaupt also demonstrated technical concepts through the use

of repertoire excerpts. For example, he illustrated his theories about scale and

passagework technique with detailed instructions about how to execute a passage

from the G major Chopin Prelude.2 Breithaupt applied his technical concepts to

many other repertoire examples as well.

Example 6. Exercises to Develop the Free Swing and Throw of the

Arm and Hand.3
(Used by permission o f C.F. Peters Corp.)
s j
** a ?. A A i A • ♦ j
. ♦ £? m 1
r * ‘ * *

£ 1 A a

£A I A A A
1 1

--£- A A A A A
■«— sr-
♦ v
v T w T .v T .V
i : ”
T T 11
J. B e fo r e s tr x k x n g each n e t t , rvtite
the in th e thcrcldrr-Joint and
throw i t w ith its f u l l w eight to
the k e y to be stru c k . A f te r s tr ik in g
the key, let th e a r m a n d h a n d
s w in g - o f f fr e e fr o m the key press­
ed d ow n, a n d let the w eight f a l l
upon the n e x t k e y w ith a fr e e
th r^w.
T = Throw o f the arm.
A = S w in g - o ff o f the arm.

2Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 59.

3Rudolf M. Breithaupt, Die natiirliche Klaviertechnik. vol. 1 (Leipzig: C.F.
Kahnt Nachfolger, 1905), 59.

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 94

In sharp con trast to Leschetizky and Breithaupt, Matthay did not advocate the

use of many technical exercises because he believed that technique should not

often be practiced outside the context of a musical passage. In his own words: "It

is . . . absurd and hopeless to try to acquire technique dissociated from its

purpose to express M usic.. . . From the very first, you must try to make strict

association between the spiritual and physical in playing."4 Throughout his

books Matthay stressed the importance of always having a "distinct music

purpose"5 for each and every note. Although he was very concerned with the

connec ion between technique and musicality, he did suggest that with younger

students

some practice o f five-finger exercises, scales, and arpeggios, is absolutely

essei tial. Such practice serves as a convenient vehicle for applying the
knowledge gained, and for transforming it into technical habits: and to help
towards the acquisition of a sense of tonality, and elementary rhythmical sense,
. . . and so as to learn the fundamental keyboard fingering-shapes.6

Additionally, Matthay stressed the importance of practicing all exercises with

freedom, rather than any degree of fixation, in both the knuckle-joint and the

wrist-joint.7

Ortmann did not prescribe the use o f any specific technical exercises,

although he did say that "the purely gymnastic training of the small muscles of the

fingers, hand, and fore-arm, in order to increase their absolute strength, is . . .

4Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 3.

5Ibid., 4.
6Matthay, Piano Fallacies. 43.
7Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 71.

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 95

highly desirable for pifjio technique.”8 Ortmann stressed the gymnastic training

of these particular muscles because he wanted the smaller levers to be capable of

transmitting as much force into the key as possible. In his words,

the player whose finger and hand muscles are string enough to give
considerable dynamic range has an advantage over the player who uses his
upper-arm muscles for similar dynamic effects, inasmuch as the speed of
movement is not retarded by the larger mass of the moving part or parts.9

Schultz agreed with Matthay that most technical exercises tend to produce

mindless repetition and are therefore useless in actual piano playing. However,

Schultz diu create several innovative exercises to teach his various movement

types such as contra-fixation, trans-fixation, and finger movements. He begins

each set of exercises away from the piano in order to assist the student in

discovering the physical sensations associated with the muscular coordination of

each type o f movement. He then moves to the keyboard and offers the simplest

five-finger pattern with very detailed instructions as to how the pattern should be

executed. See the next page for an example of this exercise.

Matthay, Ortmann, and Schultz all represent the gradual twentieth century

trend of moving away from mechanical and mindless technical practice. They

strongly believed that technical proficiency and ease in playing were the result of

understanding and applying correct muscular coordinations to the physical

challenges of the piano repertoire.

8Ortmann, Phvsioloeical Mechanics. 289.

9Ibid.

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 Example 7. Exercise :o Teach Contra-Fixation Movement10
(Used by per.nission of Carl Fischer, Inc.)

The purpose of an exercise ought not to be the

strengthening of the muscles themselves, bu t rath er the
strengthening of volur tery control over the muscles. From the
poiet of view of such an emphasis the simplest kind o f keyboard
figure is obviously the most advantageous. T he following suc­
cession is suggested ascending for two octaves:

and descending:

jff f rr
Bring the fingers of the right hand over th e first five-finger
position illustrated above, keeping the arm supported a t the
shoulder and the fingers ju s t touching the keys. Place the fin­
gers of th e left hand under the right hand so th a t they touch the
palm and are capable of supporting the right arm if its weight
it released or if it is pressed downward. Now depress M iddle C
w ith the thum b and prevent any m ovem ent of the right arm
from the hand-knuckle up by pressing it against the fingers o f
the left hand. W hen the thum b ascends from its key, retrieve
the arm again a t the shoulder. C ontinue similarly w ith the
other fingers. Play the exercise exceedingly slowly so th a t the
mind has ample time to realize and register the effect of each
key-depression.
N ote th a t the image of pressure which appeared in the two
exercises away from the piano appears also with the present
nnger-touch. The muscular contraction on the p art of the finger
is graded, and the movement of th e finger feels independent of
the base. N ote also the m anner in which the downward pressure
o f the arm upon the left hand is adjusted to the a m o u n t of re­
action from the finger: the harder the finger plays, th e harder
the arm presses downward.
Now play the exercise more rapidly so th a t the arm cannot be
recovered a t the shoulder after each key-dcpression but remains
pressed down on th e left hand during th e whole series o f tones.
T he am ount of downward arm-pressure will then be adjusted to
the strongest reaction, th a t is, to the finger which plays most
loudly.

10Schultz, Riddle. 142-43.

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 CHAPTER TEN

TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

This f napter deals with a brief examination o f common technical difficulties

and their various possible solutions as suggested by the five pedagogues under

discussion. The first category of technical difficulty is quick scale passagework

and can be illustrated using an excerpt from Prokofiev's Visions Fugitives. Op.

22, no. 4 (measures 17-19, right hand):

Example 8
(From Prokofiev: An Album for Piano Solo, used by permission of
CPP/Belwin, Inc.)

For this type o f passage, Leschetizky advocated using slightly curved fingers

and a gliding motion of the hand as the thumb turns under. At rapid tempi, such

as in this example, he suggested lifting the fingers quickly after each stroke in

order to create a "pearly" effect.1

’Bree. Leschetizky Method, 19.

97

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 .1 t
i, I
j - 98
t
i

Breithaupt agreed with Leschetizky’s definition of a "pearly" touch and

i
added that it also involves a loose sinking o f the fingers into the key, with just

enough weight to press the key down. Breithaupt believed scale technique

consists o f a minimal amount of longitudinal oscillation and forearm extension,

"involving scarcely more than a slight vertical oscillation of the hand."2 He also

thought that the passing under of the’thumb and the passing o f fingers over the

thumb "is performed by rotation of the longitudinal axis of the forearm, while the

finger which is being passed over or under by another acts as a pivot."2

Matthay agreed that forearm rotation is an important component of scale

technique, along with a poised arm (because the passage is soft) and a flat finger

stroke. He also believed that turning the fingers over the thumb "requires a

movement of the hand-w ith the thumb stationary."4 This movement should be

performed with the wrist turned slightly outwards, so that the relative position of

the wrist and forearm will not be disturbed. Matthay also taught that turning the

thumb under a finger requires a slight sideways movement of the wrist, but not

the elbow.5

Ortmann disagreed with this idea when he said that turning the thumb under

is achieved by a slant of the hand and a continuous upward shift of the arm in the

ascending right hand scale.6 This same hand slant facilitates the passing over of

2Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 28.

2Ibid., 38.
4Matthav, Visible and Invisible. 82.
5Ibid.
6Ortmann, Physiological Mechanics 254.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 PLEASE NOTE

Copyrighted materials in this document have

not been filmed at the request of the author.
They are available for consultation, however,
in the author’s university library.

Example 9 on page 99
Example 10 on page 100

University Microfilms International

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 99

three or four in the right hand descending si'.ale. For leggiero scales, such as in
i
Example 8, Ortmann suggested using a flat finger touch, because this stroke is

conducive to speed when combined with a minimum of force.

Schultz would conclude that this type o f passage requires contra-fixation

movements of the fingers, using the small muscles only, except when a finger lift

occurs (such as the passing o f thre1 over the thumb). In this case, the small

muscles plus the flexors and exten |;or must be used. Schultz’s contra-fixation

movements of the fingers are simil ir to Matthay's poised arm with finger stroke,

because each involves an unmovin s; base and a fully self-supported arm.

*

The next category of technical -lifficulty is arpeggios and this can be

illustrated using an excerpt from Chopin's Etude Op. 10, no. 1 in C major

(measures 1-2):

Example 9
(From Chopin Etiiden. copyright 1961 by G. Henle Verlag. Used by permission
of the publisher.)

Another excerpt illustrating arpeggio technique is from Beethoven's Sonata in C

major. Op. 53 , third movement (measures 251-254):

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 Example 10
(From Beethoven Klaviersonaten, Band II. copyright 1980 by G. Henle Verlag.
Used by permission of the publisher.)

Leschetizky believed that in arpeggios the hand should be firmly arched so

that the thumb can pass easily under the third or fourth finger. According to

Bree, Leschetizky taught that the turning o f the thumb under or the turning of

fin get's over the thumb should be a gliding motion rather than a high curving

motion, and that both of these movements require a slight sideways twist of the

wr .si. 1

Breithaupt believed that arpeggio technique, like scale technique, involves

longitudinal oscillation, forearm extension, and forearm rotation. According to

Breithaupt, in order for the thumb to pass under the fingers, or the fingers to pass

over the thumb, the wrist (slightly raised) and forearm nr. ist be rotated a* the

elbow joint so that the finger passing under or over is eas ly brought into its new

position.8 He said that this "rotary' swing, with extension of the forearm, permits

7Bree, Leschetizky Method. 22.

8Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 40.

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 101

the notes o f any interval being connected."9 Both the extension and rotation of

the forearm are slightly more pronounced in arpeggios than in scales, simply

because arpeggios involve larger intervals. For very large arpeggio stretches (as

in Example 9), Breithaupt said it is best to "let go immediately the notes that strain

the hand, and, after stretching the interval, to restore the hand to its normal pose

with a supple turn [of the wrist]."10 Breithaupt criticized Bree and Leschetizky

for their stretching exercises (see pages 29-30 for several examples) relating to

arpeggios and chords of four notes, saying these were useless and nonsensical

for physical reasons. He goes on to say that in arpeggios "the hand follows',

i.e. it does not execute stretches shifting according to position along the key­

board, but rolls without tension or distension from fin; er to finger, always

maintaining the unconstrained form . . . and loose, no wide-spread, fingers."11

Matthay believed that arpeggio technique, like seal; technique, involves a

continuously poised arm and forearm xvitation. Since Exumples 9 and 10 both

contain very quick arpeggios, he would advocate the ut z of a very small amount

of rotation, in order not to interfere with velocity. He a so taught that turning the

thumb under or passing fingers over the thumb (as in E tample 10) require a wrist

turned slightly outwards (abduction).12 Matthay felt th it this outward turn should

be restricted to the wrist joint, thus eliminating an awkward sideways movement

of the elbow joint.

9Ibid.. 41.
ICIbid., 35-36.
11 Ibid., 36.
12Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 83.

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 102

Ortmann said that arpeggios must be played with more aim-shift than scales

since arpeggios involve wider-distanced intervals, thus creating a greater distance

for the thumb to travel. He believed that the easiest way to turn the thumb under

in an arpeggio is to slightly lift the wrist, move the elbow forward, and shift the

arm (in the same direction as the thumb) so that the thumb can be brought easily

over its key.13 Ortmann also discovered that rapid arpeggiated passages

involving the turning under of the thumb (as in Example 10) require continuous

arm movement and must be piayed non-legato.14 In his words, "it is better to

sacrifice the finger-legato at the point of arm-shift [thumb under] than to introduce

a lateral shift (abduction) at the w rist"15 This is in disagreement with Matthay's

approach to arpeggio technique.

Schultz would agree with Ortmann and disagree with Breithaupt and Matthay

by saying that rotation is not present in arpeggiated passages. For both Examples

9 and 10, Schultz would advocate using a contra-fixation movement of the arm

(the base being an unmoving shoulder and trunk), with a finger coordination

involving the flexors, extensor, and small muscles. However, because he

considered legato to be such an essential factor in good tone quality, Schultz

would disagree with Ortmann concerning the necessity of playing rapid arpeggios

non-legato.

13Ortmann, Physiological Mechanics. 266.

u Ibid., 284.
15Ibid., 283.

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 103

A third category of technical difficulty is fast passagework requiring quick

reiteration o f note patterns with utmost clarity. This can be illustrated using

excerpts from the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata in F-maior. Op. 10, no.

2 (measures 30-35 and 56-62). The first excerpt involves a sextuplet figure in the

left hand, in which the first note is sustained for the duration o f each figure:

Example 11
(From Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Volume One, used by permission of
CPP/Belwin, Inc.)

The second excerpt involves quick broken chord patterns in the left hand:

Example 12
(From Beethoven Piano Sonatas. Volume One, used by permission of
CPP/Belwin, Inc.)

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 104

Breithaupt said the sustained tone in Example 11 must be held very lighdy

with a relaxed hand. He believed the execution o f this figure is facilitated by

lowering and raising the hand and arm by beginning each sextuplet with low fall

and then letting the wrist rise while the hand executes a gentle rotary motion.16 In

Example 12, Breithaupt v.ould use a combination of forearm and upper arm

rotation, describing either an inward or outward curve. In either directional

curve, the fingers are passive and simply follow the movements of the hand.17

Matthay advocated using a partially poised arm and forearm rotation for both

examples. Since these excerpts are accompanimental passages requiring

considerable agility, he believed weigh; transfer touch should be used, which is

comparatively light, involves continuously applied hand exertions (rather than

individual hand exertions for each note), and can create only gradual inflections of

tone.18 Matthay, like Breithaupt, would also suggest using a visible rotation in

the second example.

Ortmann, in disagreement with Breithaupt and Matthay, believed that any

figure involving rapid movement repetition can not be achieved by using weight

technique. In his words, "there can be no talk of weight technique or o f a relaxed

arm where speed and lightness are required."19 Instead, Ortmann wanted the arm

to be completely self-supported and the movements of the finger and hand to be

responsible for the tone production.

16Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 61.

17Ibid., 47-48.
18Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 95.
19Ortmann, Physiological Mechanics. 290.

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 105

Schultz would agree with Ortmann th a.t weight transfer is not involved in

these excerpts. He believed that contra-fixation movements of the fir gers, with

the small muscles only, would produce the most efficient results. Schultz also

thought that the rotational element would not be present in these types of

passages.20 Unfortunately, without the forearm rotation element, these

accompanimental patterns would have to be played for an extended length of time

with isolated finger strokes. This would inhibit any movement of the hand or

forearm and create tension in these parts o f the limb.

The third type o f technical difficulty is the trill and can be illustrated using

excerpts from the D-major Scarlatti Sonata. K. 96 (measures 11-1S and 25-30):

Example 13
(From Scarlatti. Sixty Sonatas. Volume One, copyright 1953 by G. Schiimer,
Inc. Used by permission o f the publisher.)

T rem u lo d i to p ra

JI

Example 14
(From Scarlatti. Sixty Sonatas. Volume One, copyright 1953 by G. Schirmer,
Inc. Used by permission o f the publisher.)

20Schultz, Riddle. 189.

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 106

Leschetizky was unclear about what type of motion is to be used in a trill.

According to Bree, he simply said that evenness o f finger pressure is essential to

a good trill and that "the difference in the strength of the fingers must be equalized

by a difference in pressure."21 Unfortunately, Bree did not explain how this

"difference in pressure" is to be achieved.

Breithaupt felt that a trill uses only a rolling motion o f the forearm. He

believed that the fingers do rot actively participate in the movement, but instead

just support the weight of the arm.22 Unfortunately, if no finger stroke is

involved in a trill, there is a lack of velocity (since the small levers do not

participate) and a lack o f tonal control (since there is no direct sensitivity to key

resistance).

On the other hand, Matthay thought that trills consist o f a poised arm,

forearm rotation, and finger stroke. The fingers are not allowed to leave the key

surface, and in a very soft trill the fingers do not allow the keys to rise fully to

surface level.23 This is a much more coordinated movement than Breithaupt-'s trill

technique, and results in high velocity and good tonal control.

Ortmann, however, disagreed with both Breithaupt and Matthay by saying

UttAVU*llS do not use a forearm tremolo, because this type of rotation is at a

mechanical disadvantage for small intervals like a second.24 He believed that

21Bree, Leschetizky Method. 59.

2:Breifnaupt. Natural Pinno-Technic. 34.
^M atthay, Visible and Invisible. 66.
^Ortm ann. Physiological Mechanics. 186.

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 107

highly coordinated trills are made up of finger stroke only, and that only a non-

legato touch is possible at the highest degrees of velocity.

Schultz agreed with Ortmann's suggestions for playing trills when he said

that contra-fixation movements of the fingers, with no rotary movements, are

appropriate for trills.25 However, in an extended trill (as in Example 13), such an

isolated finger stroke would again lead to tension in the hand and forearm. If a

small amount of rotation is added, this tension disappears.

The next category is octaves and can be illustrated using an excerpt from the

same D-major Scarlatti Sonata (measures 102-108, right hand):

Example 15
(From Scarlatti. Sixty Sonatas. Volume O ne, copyright 1953 by G. Schirmer,
Inc. Used by permission o f the publisher.)

U -l

Broken octaves can be illustrated using an excerpt from the third movement of

Beethoven's Sonata Op. 10, no. 2 (measures 108-117, right hand):

^Schultz, Riddle. 189.

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 108

Example 16
(From Beethoven Piano Sonatas. Volume O n;, used by permission of
CPP/Belwin, Inc.)

Leschetizky said that loud octave passages require a firm and slighdy raised

wrist. He believed in playing octaves from the wrist rather than the forearm or

upper arm .26

Breithaupt wanted octaves to be played with longitudinal oscillation, saying

that "the octave is taken in the free fall o f the brachial member oscillating as a

whole and unimpeded in the shoulder."27 He was adamantly against playing

octaves from the wrist, saying that this was unnatural and resulted in tension and

fatigue.

Matthay said that, depending on the volume required, octaves can be played

with a poised arm, forearm weight, whole arm weight, or whole arm weight plus

downward forearm exertion. He also taught that in octave passages traveling

away from the center of the keyboard, the octaves must be "felt" with the thumb

as a guide, while in passages moving inward, the octaves are "felt" with either the

26Bree, Leschetizky Method. 32-33.

27Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 24.

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 109

fourth or fifth finger as a guide.28 In the execution of broken octaves, Matthay

suggested that a slightly visible forearm rotation should be used.

Ortmann did not give specific directions on how to play octave passages,

other than to say that quick octaves should be played from the wrist rather than

the forearm or shoulder. He also believed that broken octaves of soft to moderate

intensity should be played with finger tremolo only, while loud intensities should

add a small amount of forearm rotation.29 However, in practice it is actually

impossible to isolate the movement of broken octaves to the fingers alone. It is

much more efficient to combine forearm rotation with finger stroke, as Matthay

advocated.

Schultz would suggest playing octaves with contra-fixation movements of the

hand, forearm, or upper arm, depending on how loudly the passage is to be

played. Trans-fixation movements would be used only if the passage involved

great intensity at moderate to fast speeds.

The next category of technical difficulty is chords and can be illustrated using

excerpts from the Brahms Rhapsody in b-minor. Op. 79, no. 1 (measures 9-12

and 53-60):

^M atthay. Visible and Invisible. 81.

29Ortmann. Physiological Mechanics. 188-89.

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B

110

Example 17
(From Brahms Piano Works. Volume Four, copyright 1974 by Henry Litolffs
Verlag. Used by permission of C.F. Peters Corp., New York.)

□H
i k
4=
s f clt f ir ipJ=-jrinas!f
f
J
-

>» t i=fafc . iti j t

- * 5 = P ' jj* .

Example 18
(From Brahms Piano Works. Volume Four, copyright 1974 by Henry Litolffs
Verlag. Used by permission of C.F Peters Corp., New York.)

tempre crese.

Leschetizky thought that chords require an arched hand, curved fingers, and

firm finger-tips and wrist. He recommended pressing chords rather than striking

them, and to reduce fatigue the wrist is to be relaxed instantly after a chord is

played. He also advocated preparing the hand for the next chord shape as soon 2 S

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 I ll

possible, especially in leaping passages.30 In Example 17, measures 11-12 (left

hand), he would suggest shaping the hand in the air for cciCii changing chord or

octave position as the hand moves up and down the keyboard. Unfortunately,

Leschefizky did not discuss the role of the arm in regard to chord technique.

Breithaupt wanted chords to be played with longitudinal oscillation o f the

entire arm, but he gave no other specific guidelines for chord technique. Instead,

he made a general observation that chords are to be secured by the finger-tips,

i.e., they are "felt" before they are sounded without raising the fingers

unnaturally.31

Ma.tthay believed that all chords require some invisible forearm rotation and,

depending on how loudly the chords are to be played, either a poised arm (soft

chords), forearm weight (moderate chords), whole arm weight (loud chords), or

whole arm weight plus forearm down-exertion (very loud chords).32

Ortmann pointed out that playing from the wrist or forearm is most efficient

for chord passages o f great velocity, but that using the larger muscles o f the upper

arm and shoulder is more appropriate for passages of great intensity. If a passage

requires both intensity and velocity, then Ortmann wanted a larger unit to be used,

along with more muscular contraction and fixation of the joints. In this case,

Ortmann said that it is important not to use an excess o f muscular contraction,

since this creates stiffness and fatigue.33 As his experiments show, the timing of

30Bree, Leschetizky Method. 35.

31Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 24.
32Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 31-35.
330rtm ann. Physiological Mechanics. 156-57.

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 112

the muscular contraction is also crucial, occurring at the moment of key impact,

not before. In addition, Ortmann proved that loud chordal passages are most

efficiently executed when this muscular contraction is immediately relaxed after

key depression.34

Schultz agreed with Ortmann's basic principles of chord technique. He also

found that fast and loud passages require more muscular contraction than fixation,

and thus the movement used for these passages becomes a trans-fixation

movement rather than a contra-fixation movement, because the base is displaced

when muscular contraction exceeds fixation o f the joints.35 Example 18 begins at

a moderate tonal level anti crescendos to a fortissimo. Thus, Schultz would say

the passage begins with contra-fixation movement (the unmoving base being the

shoulder and trunk), and becomes a trans-fixation movement (the base begins to

move as more muscular contraction is added) during the crescendo.

Another category of technique is leaps and this can be iliustrated using an

excerpt from the same D-major Scarlatti Sonata (measures 78-83):

Example 19
(From Scarlatti. Sixty Sonatas. Volume One, copyright 1953 by G. Schirmer,
Inc. Used by permission o f the publisher.)

34Ibid.
35Schultz, Riddle. 97.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 P L E A SE NOTE

Copyrighted materials in this document have

not been filmed at the request of the author.
They are available for consultation, however,
in the author’s university library.

Example 20 on page 113

University Microfilms International

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 113

An excerpt illustrating leaps in both hands is the sixth variation from

Mendelssohn's Variations Serieuses (measures 1-4):

Example 20
(From Mendelssohn Ausgewahlte Klavierwerke. copyright 1973 by G. Henle
Verlag. Used by permission o f the publisher.)

Leschetizky believed that the hand should not describe an arc in a leap, but

rather should glide along the edges of the keys, and that the note to be played

should be struck with the outer edge of the finger, rather than with its tip.36 This

allows for more finger surface on the key and a more advantageous angle for

striking the key. In Example 20, he would advocate finding the left hand octaves

by using the thumb as a guide while the hand opens up to an octave shape before

landing.37 This technique of finding the octave with the thumb gives the pianist

greater security by making the leap seem smaller.

Breithaupt said that "all skips are executed by a free swing and descent of the

arm (and of the hand).-58 He believed that the notes in a leap are connected with

36Bree. Leschetizkv Method. 79.

37Ibid.
38Breithaupt. Natural Pi:ino-Technic. 59.

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 114

each other "by one principal movement (curved projection of the arm)"39,

although he did not specify the heighth of this curve.

Matthay disagreed with Leschetizky and said the hand should describe a

perfectly rounded curve in large leaps.40 Leaps o f two octaves or more would

use a rotational movement originating in the shoulder, while smaller leaps would

use forearm rotation. Although Matthay said that this type o f rounded curve

creates an oblique angle for most of the hand's journey towards the key, he also

claimed that during the actual moment of key-descent, "the direction of force is

then practically vertical."41 However, it must be noted that if the initial force of

the finger moving into the key is at an oblique angle, the finger must continue at

this angle through the entire key-descent, unless the movement is stopped before

key-descent, changed to a vertical direction, and then continued into the key.

This type of disconnected movement would produce awkward and inefficient

results.

Ortmann and Schultz also believed the hand should describe an arc in leaps,

but they discovered that an asymmetrical, rather than symmetrical, curve is most

effective (see page 44 comparing these two shapes). Ortmann proved that since

the movement o f key descent is completely vertical, "maximum efficiency of the

force [acting upon the key] demands that it, too, act in a descending vertical.”42

This asymmetrical curve applies to single note leaps as well as to chordal leaps.

39Ibid.
40M atthav, V i s i b l e nnd I n v is ib le . 130.
41 Ibid., 131.
42Ortmann. Physiological Mechanics. 162.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 In addition, Ortmann suggested that in a leaping passage of great speed (such as

Example 19), a very light touch would be best, since louder tonal effects would

require the use of the large and slow muscles o f the arm.43

The next category concerns rapidly repeated notes and can be illustrated using

an excerpt from the D-major Scarlatti Sonata (measures 33-39):

Example 21
(Front Scarlatti. Sixty Sonatas./Volume One, copyright 1953 by G. Schirmer,
Inc. Used oy peimission of the publisher.)

i M CC ^ 0 0 f f 0 0 \\ * f - d-m-mr
tin
1*

......... 8* ? ¥ f fk f
—h—♦— —)_p— 4----

Leschetizky wanted the fingers to move from the knuckles and make a

"wiping" or "brushing" motion on the key. He thought the wrist should be rather

high, "allowing the hand to follow the movement of the fingers by turning

slightly outward."44

Breithaupt did not comment specifically on this technique, but from his

wntings it may be surmised that he would use free oscillation o f the fingers.

However, this touch would not be very efficient for rapidly repeated notes

because too much arm weight would be involved.

43Ibid., 172.
^B ree, Leschetizkv Method. 27.

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 116

Matthay advocated using finger movement only (small muscles), with a flat

finger stroke (folding in motion).45

Ortmann believed that an elliptical stroke should be used. This occurs when

"the finger-tip is drawn in as it descends and the tone is made, a rd returns in a

more flexed position o f the finger-tip to its original starting point."46 This is

similar to the "pawing" motion of a horse.

Schultz believed repeated notes should be played using contra-fixation

movements o f the fingers. All three muscle groups, the small muscles, flexors,

and extensor, would be used as the finger bends in all three joints and is then

quickly lifted off the key.

The next category of technical difficulty is legato articulation and can be

illustrated using an excerpt from Beethoven's Sonata Op. 10, no. 2, second

movement (measures 1-8):

Example 22
(From Beethoven Piano Sonatas. Volume One, used by permission of
CPP/Belwin, Inc.)

Allegretto.

45Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 66.

^O rtm ann, Physiological Mechanics. 228.

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 117

In this example, Leschetizky would advocate using a firm hand and curved

fingers, except for the occasional stretches in the melodic line.47 He also wanted

the fingers to be kept close to the keys wiiiie the notes are connected with a

smooth, gliding motion o f the hand ard arm. Since he did not address the issues

of arm weight o r weight transfer, it is impossible to surmise whether or not he

believed these elements to be important factors in legato technique.

Breithaupt thought that legato passages should be executed with rotation of

the upper aim and forearm, and forearm extension. He advocated the transfer of

relaxed arm weight from finger to finger as the fingers remain passive and close

to the keys 48 However, because the tempo in this excerpt is fairly quick

(Allegretto), weight transfer with a completely relaxed arm is impractical, because

the weight must be released for the descent and then withdrawn for the ascent of

every key.

Matthay disagreed with Breithaupt's approach to legato technique at moderate

tempi. He suggested the use of hand and finger exertion, with a fully poised arm

serving as the base for the movement. This can be classified as "arm vibration

touch" since it involves a light form of resting on the keys with individually

applied hand pressures for each finger during key descent. Matthay also called

this "artificial” legato, since a fully poised arm can not force the fingers to hold

their keys down as in "natural" legato, but instead must rely on the small muscles

of the finger to keep the key depressed.49

47Bree, Leschetizkv Method. 5.

•^Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 49.
49Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 102.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 Ortmann, like Matthay, believed that only a small amount o f weight is needed

to keep a key depressed during legato, while the remainder o f the weight is

supported at the shoulder.50 He also taught that a fully self-supported arm,

combined with prepared (non-percussive) finger strokes, would produce a well-

coordinated legato at moderate to quick tempi.

Schultz agreed with Ortmann and Matthay that weight transfer involving a

completely relaxed arm works well only at slow tempi. He believed that contra-

flxation movements o f the fingers are well suited for legato passages because each

finger can carefully choose the intensity and duration o f its own note.51

The final category o f technical difficulty is staccato articulation and can be

illustrated using an excerpt from Beethoven's Sonata Op. 10, no. 2, third

movement (measures 1-6):

Example 23
(From Beethoven Piano Sonatas. Volume One, used by permission of
CPP/Belwin, Inc.)

Presto.

50Ortmann, Physiological Mechanics. 180.

51Schultz, Riddle. 77.

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 119

Because of the quick velocity of this passage, Leschetizky would su ggest the

use of finger staccato rather than wrist staccato. In finger staccato the wiist is

held loosely ana motionless while the finger (moving from the knuckle joint)

quickly strikes the key and then is instantly withdrawn.52 Because this example

contains several repeated notes to be played with the same finger, Leschetizky

would also recommend a quick inward "brushing" or "wiping" motion o f the

finger on the key.53

Breithaupt completely disagreed with Leschetizky's ideas concerning staccato

by saying that "neither hand nor finger participates actively in the movement."54

He believed that all staccato passages should be executed by the rebound of the

whole arm, which is oscillating in its three joints (shoulder, elbow, and wrist).

However, this approach is impractical at very quick tempi, since the mass of the

whole arm would seriously interfere with velocity.

Matthay believed that all staccato articulations must involve a completely self-

supported ("poised") arm, because the use o f arm weight would inhibit a quick

rebound of the key.55 For fast staccato passages, he suggested using finger

exertion alone with a "clinging" (inward grasping) finger motion.

For all staccato passages, Ortmann agreed with Matthay's idea of using a

self-supported arm in order to reduce the amount of weight resting on the keys.

Because Example 23 is both quick and soft, he would advise using the smallest

52Br6e, 29.
53Ibid., 27.
^Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic. 52.
55Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 39E.

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 120

lever possible (the finger) as the playing unit. Ortmann, like Leschetizky, said

that finger staccato involves a quick downward exertion of the finger, followed

by an immediate lifting of the finger (by the extensor muscle) out of the key.56

Schultz found that staccato passages are most effectively played by trans­

fixation hand or finger touches.57 According to Schultz, trans-fixation occurs

when "the playing-unit, at the moment of impact, suffers a rebound from the key,

which then travels to its bed and rises without further influence from the applied

force."58 He also noted that when staccato passages are performed by trans-

fixation movements, this involves a moving base and unprepared finger strokes.

56Ortmann. Physiological Mechanics. 198.

57Schultz, Riddle. 97.
58Ibid.

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN

CONCLUSION

It is clear that approaches to piano technique have become increasingly

complex throughout the twentieth century. Leschetizky was on excellent example

of the intuitive teacher, one who believed that a detailed analysis o f physical

movements at the keyboard was neither necessary nor beneficial for his students.

Breithaupt, on the other hand, was the first pedagogue to define various detailed

movement types at the piano. His emphasis on arm movements and arm weight

was an obvious reaction to the isolated finger stroke methods of the late

nineteenth century, and his advice that finger action should never be used without

arm weight1was his urgent attempt to change the focus of piano technique from

the smaller to the larger lever:.. Gerig says in his book, Famous Pianists and

Their Technique:

Breithaupt and his contemporaries rightfully emphasized the need of more arm
and bodily participation in piano technique, but in the process they threw out
legitimate finger techniques and stressed erroneously conceived theories of
weight and relaxation.2

In his approach to weight and relaxation at the keyboard, Matthay was more

moderate than Breithaupt. While his writing style is complicated and abstruse,

his basic concepts o f physical movement are quite clear. He believed in a

muscularly coordinated integration of the arm, hand, and fingers, with no part

receiving more or less attention than the others. Although he was strongly

breith au p t, Natural Piano-Technic, 56.

^ e r i g , Famous Pianists. 508.

121

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 122

opposed to the use of antagonistic muscles in playing, he did stress active

muscular contraction much more than Breithaupt. Over and over in his writings

Matthay stressed that the sole reason for delving into the physical mechanics of

playing was to obtain "the power of expressing oneself musically."3 This

emphasis on purely musical motives perhaps explains why Matthay's

terminology, like Ercithaupt's, was far from scientific. For example, although

Matthay believed that an elementary knowledge of anatomy was useful, he

denounced the practice of instructing students "as to the precise locality and

nomenclature of the muscles employed [in piano playing]."4

Matthay was correct in pointing out that it is impossible to will an isolated

muscle into activity, without first prompting a limb movement or some tv >e of

limb exertion, and Ortmann agreed with him on this point. However, Matth 2 v

failed to emphasize that it is quite possible to carefully control the amount of

muscular contraction used in a limb movement or limb exertion. This physical

control is much easier to achieve if the pianist has a working knowledge of

anatomy, including the location of specific muscle groups and the way in which

these muscles work together. For example, a student will have difficulty in

learning how to play with arm weight if: (1) he is not aware o f the specific

muscles responsible for lowering and raising the arm (including the shoulder

muscles), and (2) he is unable to control the precise amount o f contraction and

relaxation in these muscles.

3Matthay, Visible and Invisible. 3.

4Ibid„ lb.

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 123

Matthay knew of Ortmann's work and praised Ortmann for what he called

"honest research by means o f paden: and painstaking experiments.”5 However,

he was also quick to criticize Ortmann for placing too much reliance "on touch-

analysis from without, analysis based on the visible movements, instead of

analysis from inside."6 Matthay believed that studying, remembering, and

reproducing the inner sensations o f muscularly coordinated movement was the

most "scientific" approach to playing and was the key to obtaining a really fine

technique.

Ortmann’s work was of a very different nature than Matthay's, primarily

because o f one basic philosophical difference between them. Matthay attempted

to analyze technique in terms o f the sensations during playing, but Ortmann

distrusted the performer's feelings about what was occurring physically and

measured kinesthetic reactions during playing in an objective way through the use

of recording instruments. In the conclusion to The Physiological Mechanics of

Piano Technique he wrote:

The experimental procedure adopted in the present study shows, too, the need
for getting away from the mere subjective reaction of the teacher or pupil by
using the graphic recording m ethod In a field where emotional colouring and
imagination play legitimate and important roles, the physical and physiological
bases can be separated only by eliminating the psychological factors.7

This scientific probing into technical problems was completely aside from the

performer's emotions or sensations while playing, and it differed substantially

5Ibid., 160.
6Ibid.
7Ortmann, Physiological Mechanics. 377.

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 124

from past pedagogical methods. This change in approach was perceived as very

radical and many pedagogues rejected and continue to reject Ortmann's findings.

It is ironic that many of his discoveries actually agree with basic technical

principles set forth by earlier pedagogues. For example, Ortmann discovered

through his experiments that a coordinated playing mechanism always uses the

minimal amount of muscular contraction necessary, and that any additional

contraction causes tension and fatigue. He confirmed this long-held theory, in

part, by proving that it is much more efficient to use the smaller levers (and thus

less muscular contraction) for fast and light passages, rather than the slower,

larger muscles o f the upper arm and shoulder. In addition, his experimental

findings reinforced the concept that, for moving the hand across the keyboard,

curved motion is more advantageous than linear motion.

However, it is important to realize that Ortmann disagreed with several earlier

theories regarding relaxation, fixation, and weight transfer. For example,

Ortmann discovered through experimentation that relaxation in playing was

present to a lesser degree than had previously been thought. He was actually the

first piano pedagogue to consider fixation as a positive aspect of technique.

Ortmann spoke only of a mild fixation of the joints in order to keep them from

collapsing, and he pointed out the obvious necessity for increased fixation as

muscular contraction becomes more pronounced. Several more recent

pedagogues have misconstrued the term fixation to mean stiffness or rigidity in

playing, and it is unfortunate that this word often carries with it the connotation of

excessive muscular contraction. Perhaps the theories o f Ortmann and Schultz

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 125

would have been more widely accepted if they had chosen a synonymous, but

less "loaded" word, such as "firmness".

Gerig noted Ortmann's scientific contributions to the field by saying that

piano technique was not placed on a thoroughly rational basis until the work of
Otto Ortmann had been accomplished. A technique with such a rationale will
find itself in harmony with empirical and analytical truth from any period.8

Anrold Schultz's work was a continuation o f Ortmann's approach to

technical study. Although Schultz used a highly individualized terminology, his

basic concepts of movement, relaxation, and fixation agree with the majority of

Grimann's findings. In addition, Schultz "scored a breakthrough in his analysis

of finger coordination."9 Unfortunately, some o f his terminology is so abstruse

that all too few pianists have ever bothered to seriously study his important book,

The Riddle o f the Pianist's Finger.

Another important point regarding the attitude o f pianists towards technical

treatises concerns those who totally reject the findings o f Ortmann, Schultz, and

other contemporary pedagogues simply because they appear to be o^eriy

analytical Many musicians seem to fear that too rational an approach towards

playing will destroy the spiritual aspect o f musical expression. However, a

physically coordinated playing mechanism, achieved by rational analysis, is

absolutely essential for fully expressing one's musical ideas and emotional

imagination at the keyboard. In order to understand how these physical elements

can best be utilized to create the desired musical effect, it is imperative that

8Gerig, Famous Pianists. 508.

9Ibid.

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 126

pianists make an attempt to investigate and explore basic concepts o f physical

movement, relaxation, fixation, weight, and weight transfer. The pedagogical

use of imagery will always play an important role in communicating the

sensations that accompany well-coordinated piano playing, but imagery must also

be reinforced by a sound understanding o f the scientific facts affecting these

technical elements.

All o f the pedagogues under discussion have contributed towards a more

precise understanding o f various aspects of technique, and students and teachers

of piano should be receptive to these contributions, regardless o f whether the

approaches employed are empirical or analytical. If students and teachers express

a greater interest in studying theories regarding piano technique, it will most

certainly broaden their basis for discovering practical solutions to inevitable

technical and musical problems. Open options are essential for choosing the best

technical approach, or combination o f approaches, towards the repertoire being

taught.

Finally, it should be noted that describing the subtle physical nuances

involved in piano playing is a difficult task, and one that any treatise or book can

never fully accomplish. Visual and aural demonstration, as well as personal

experimentation with these physical concepts at the keyboard, contribute

significantly to a thorough understanding of this topic.

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 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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CovLllo, Ambrose. Foundations of Piano Technique. London: Oxford

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Koc'nevitsky, George. The Art of Piano Plaving: A Scientific Approach.

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 VTTA

Pamela Jo Prater was bom in Pueblo, Colorado, on November 4,1959, the

daughter o f Joseph and Edith Prater. She graduated from South High School,

Pueblo, Colorado, in 1978. In May 1982 she received the degree of Bachelor of

Music with a major in Piano Performance from the University of Colorado at

P oulder. Pamela earned the Master of Music degree from Peabody

Conservatory, Baltimore, Maryland, in January o f 1984. In September 1984 she

entered the Doctor of Musical Arts degree program at the University of Texas at

Austin.

Permanent address: 2408 Manor Road, #210

Austin, T X 7S722

This treatise was typed by the author.

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