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Advanced Groups Pianoforte Technique

PIANOFORTE TECHNIQUE

Point form notes for lectures.

Lecture 1.
1. What is technique?
2. Act of Timing
3. Relaxation
4. Posture at the pianoforte and the use of economy of movement.
5. The four components of the arm – the living levers
6. The finger and how to use it
a) The two distinct modes of finger use: folding-in and opening-out.
b) The two muscular ways of finger use: small (lumbricales) and strong Forearm
muscles.

Demonstrations and practice on Schmitt exercises.

Hints on practising the exercises (Geoffrey Tankard)
1. Learn the hands separately first; try to attain a pure legato and absolute
equality of time and tone.
2. Practise the exercises at three different speeds: slow-moderate-fast.
3. Practise them at three levels of tone: f – mf - p and sometimes at different
levels between the hands e.g. LH f , RH p etc.
4. If you find transposition confusing, imagine the key signature.
5. Most of the exercises can be played in all keys.
6. Never practise them at a speed beyond your control.
7. Always listen carefully. (If you do this you will never be bored).
8. Many of the exercises can be practised staccato.

Lecture 2.
7. The Hand and how to use it – ten hands
a) Finger v. Hand Movement; visible and invisible components – Finger-touch and
Hand-touch – faster and slower passage work.
8. The Arm and how it is needed – The Hand’s Basis.
a) The Poised Arm (i) Arm-vibration touch
(ii) Weight-transfer touch
(iii) Continuous hand exertions

Demonstrations using scales and studies.

What is technique?

Technique means the power of expressing oneself musically.

It is rather a matter of the Mind than of the “fingers.”
Technique and Music are inseparable: you must induce and enforce a particular mental-
muscular association and co-operation for every possible musical effect. Therefore there

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is strong bond between Musical Intention and the means of its practical Fulfillment.
From the very first, you must try to make strict association between the spiritual and
physical in playing.

The Act of Timing

You cannot play any note with musical purpose without such accurate Timing.
Therefore Pianoforte technique is an act of timing the right activities of the limb at the
musically right moment during key descent and cessation of each note.

Relaxation

1. The Elimination of all unnecessary exertions.

2. The Cessation of the needed impulses at the right moment.
3. Weight-release – the cessation of limb-support, and hence Weight-manifestation
where and when needed.

The Importance of the correct posture at the piano

1. Correct height of the stool (forearm parallel to floor).

2. Correct distance of stool from piano (elbow in front of body).
3. Head high, straight back.
4. Feet planted firmly on the ground in front of the body.
5. Stool used as a pivot point to the body and must not encumber movements – Seating
should be at the edge of the stool.
6. Wrist down, knuckles up.

Arm as Basis for Hand-exertion

The Playing Apparatus roughly consists of Four Components – of four Living Levers:
1. Finger
2. Hand
3. Forearm
4. Upper-arm.

The FINGER and how to use it

The finger- tip is exerted downwards with the key during its moment of descent. The
finger must not hit the key down; it must reach the key quite gently, but must then be
exerted more or less forcibly, as needed by the tone.

The two distinct modes of Finger-use

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1. The folding-in direction, as in everyday life, when grasping anything. It is the best
and should be the most usual action at the Piano.
2. The unfolding or opening –out of the finger. One sometimes uses the middle finger
like that for example when playing marbles.

The former has been called the “flat finger” action as the finger is quite straightened out
when preparing to descend towards the key. Nevertheless, this “flat” finger maybe quite
curved when it is down with the key.

The two ways of Finger-use, muscularly

1. The exertion of its “small” (or weak) muscles only. These are the lumbricales,
situated on the inside of the hand.
2. The exertion also of its “strong” (or large) muscles. These are flexing muscles
situated on the forearm.

It is this second way of exerting the finger, which you must employ in sounding the
notes; whereas the first way suffices to hold notes down once they are sounded.

The Importance of playing to the bed of the keys for a fuller tone.

Position of hand
The most effective position and most economical of energy and effort will be to have an
arched hand with knuckles slightly higher than the wrist, whilst the tips of the fingers rest
on the key-surface with the nail phalanges of the longer fingers approximately vertical.
The hand must be level and not rotated towards the fifth finger, which must be held
staightened out to ‘lengthen’ it. The rounded fingers should maintain this position after
playing. Straightening the fingers after leaving the note can cause lack of control and also
wastes energy and time. It is good to try and maintain contact with the keys (Liszt own
playing in rapid passage-work seemed as if his fingers were glued to the keys).

The HAND and how to use it:

To enable the finger to do its work efficiently with the key, you must exert the hand
downwards upon it, each time momentarily and individually (as if we have ten hands!)
with each finger, during the moment of Key-descent, so as to form a stable Basis or
Foundation for its action. This is to enable the stronger forearm muscles to be used as
without hand-help, finger action alone is too uncertain and feeble.

Finger v. Hand Movement

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Now, with this muscular combination (of Finger-force and Hand-force) you have two
optional MOVEMENTS available.

(a) A movement of the finger alone – while the exertion of the hand remains invisible, or,
(b) A movement of the hand instead, while the finger-exertion may here remain quite
hidden from view.

When the finger provides the movement, this is called “Finger-touch”, although the action
is here compounded of exertions both of the hand and the finger; the first invisible but the
second visible.
Whereas, when the hand provides the actual movement, then it is called “Hand-touch”, or
in the old days, “Wrist-touch”. Although the action is here compounded of both finger
and hand exertions – the first here invisible, but the second visible.

NOTE: The difference in Movement has little influence on the actual tone. It is merely a
matter of convenience. Thus, for the quickest passages, the shortest lever, the finger, can
more easily be reiterated than can be the hand along with the finger, since this forms a far
longer lever.
When the Tempo of the passage is slow enough to allow of it, we may, instead use
movements of those still longer levers – the Forearm or the Whole arm. But the longer
and heavier the lever the heavier also is the mass of Inertia you have to cope with; since
more force is required to overcome the sluggishness of a larger mass than that of a
smaller mass, and this materially affects the problem of choice of Movement.

The ARM and how it is needed

- The Hand’s Basis.

The Hand, when vigorously applied in helping the fingers, again in turn needs a stable
basis for its operation. This basis is here needed at the Wrist-joint itself would give way
upwards, under the stress of the reaction or recoil arising from the down-exertion of the
hand and finger against the moving key.
For this purpose of Basis at the Wrist-joint, the ARM has to be employed; and it is
available in Six Distinct Ways.
1. The Poised-arm element
2. The Forearm-rotation element
3. Forearm weight
4. Whole arm weight
5. Forearm down-exertion added to the full weight
6. Upper arm forward-drive along with Forearm down-exertion – usually the cause of all
bad Tone.

The first two are the two COMPULSORY arm conditions. The other four depend upon
the choice of tone required and are therefore optional.

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The Poised Arm (The Floating Arm). You may “poise” (or balance) the whole arm by its
raising muscles, (the yawning sensation of the armpit), causing it as if to float above or
on the keyboard. No part of its weight or force rests upon the keyboard when the arm is
fully poised – or completely balanced by its own muscles. Thus it serves as a Basis for
the hand-and-finger exertions in both light, rapid passages as well as in legato passages.

Arm-vibration Touch:

In rapid “Agility” passages, where you must thus use the fully-poised arm continuously,
the tone is produced by individually-timed exertions of the finger and hand, and the arm
itself will here be sympathetically driven into vibration by reaction from these individual
and momentary impulses of the finger-and-hand, against and with the keys. This
constitutes ”Arm-vibration touch” and all rapid but musical passages should thus be
played by arm-vibration touch, whether legato or not.

Weight-transfer Touch:

Whereas, with the arm less fully poised, a measure of its weight may actually come to
bear continuously (although gently) upon the keybeds.
This constitutes “Weight-transfer” or “Passing-on” touch. It also forms the basis of
“Natural-legato,” since it compels each finger in turn to hold down its note until relieved
by the next finger. This kind of touch also compels you to EXERT YOUR HAND
CONTINUOUSLY (whereas in arm vibration, hand exertions are applied during key-
descent only).
Therefore ALL successful Agility passages must necessarily be played either as “arm-
vibration” or as “Weight-transfer” touch; and speedy finger passages form the very
backbone of all real Piano-music.

With the arm fully poised the hand remains uninfluenced by its weight, and it can here lie
quite loosely on the keyboard-surface.

The fully-poised condition of the arm may however be slightly modified in rapid finger
passages, when played forte. The arm may then be allowed actually to rest a little on the
Keyboard. This is feasible, provided the passages is sufficiently rapid to prevent such
extra weight from coming to bear solidly and continuously on the Key-beds.

PEDALLING

Types of pedalling

 Soft or Una Corda – acts as a mute. Tre corde – indication to release the
pedal.
 Sostenuto – prolongs only specific notes.
 Sustaining – to colour and to prolong

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1. Half pedalling (depressing pedal to full effective extent and raising it

to half of it: to remove bass sounds e.g. Debussy)
2. Half damping (depressing pedal to half its extent: to create echo e.g.
Debussy)
3. Legato or syncopated pedalling
4. Tremolando or “flutter pedalling – to reduce volume and sympathetic
vibrations.
5. Rhythmic pedalling – used originally. Its advantage is that it sustains
maximum sympathetic vibrations.
 Finger pedalling

Levels of Use of Sustaining pedal

_________________Roof of pedal hole

1.  ineffectual
_________________Area of raising dampers (pedal hardens, offers resistance)

2.  quarter, half, three-fourths and flutter pedaling

_________________Dampers fully clear the strings

3.  maximum richness of sound and sympathetic vibrns.

_________________Dampers rise even further

4.  no use to performer
_________________Floor of pedal hole

In general, the pedal should always be changed after the beat, after the chord.
This is known as syncopated pedal.
When changing pedal, be sure not to raise the heel and lose contact with the
pedal lever; then, instead of just pressing it down, you would be forced to step on
it and create disagreeable noise.
Another rule is that pedal and hands should be lifted simultaneously, unless you
intend to create a special effect. Otherwise it is bad.

Terms used in Pedalling

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Damper pedal, loud pedal, sustaining, amplifying, il primo pedale, con pedale,
ped. Simile, sempre pedale

Middle pedal, tonal pedal, sustaining pedal, organ point pedal, Steinway pedal

senza sordini, con sordini, una corda, tre corde, tutte le corde, shifting pedal, mit
Verschiebung (with shifting) used by Schubert in his Sonata Op.53, sourd
(muffled or muted) and en s’eloignant (fading away) in Debussy would seem to
call for the use of the left pedal.

Pedalling selected composers and styles

BACH : The Baroque line of thought here is that there should be a contrapuntal
clarity of parts, each set of parts defined by contrasting articulation.
- hence not much use in such passages
- helps achieve a very good legato when needed.

Although harpsichordists, clavichordists and organists of Bach’s day had to

achieve a legato with the fingers alone, they did not have the added concerns of
greater key depth, weight, and even size that face the pianist of today. These
latter present problems in legato when playing repeated notes or chords.

- pedal can also be used in melodic passages especially on long notes to

enrich them. Bach favoured cantabile – something which was very possible
on his favoured clavichord.
- Left pedal should generally be avoided.

HAYDN and MOZART: In initial early works we encounter practically the same
problems as Bach.
However soon both composers started to write with the early fortepiano in mind.
These used to have knee devices (mit dem knie: Beethoven’s indication) – levers
– to raise and lower the dampers. Although Mozart wrote no pedaling indications
in any of his keyboard works, we know from a letter written to his father that he
was very enthusiastic about it.

Haydn rarely indicated pedalling in his scores, though he did give two indications
in the Sonata in C major Hob XVI : 50 (1794). These are marked for unusual
effects – on pianos of today similar effect can be reproduced by using 50%
damper release or frequent changes. (Ref. Pianists’s Guide to Pedaling,
Banowetz p137).

In using the Right pedal on today’s instruments the performer should always
remember that in their music, clarity of texture, phrasing and articulation must
never by obscured – it must be imperceptible.

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In cantabile passages, especially on notes of longer value, the Right pedal can
be used to avoid dryness of tone – giving greater resonance and colour. The Left
pedal, on the other hand, should never be used. It was never indicated by either
Haydn or Mozart.

Slower passages with Alberti bass could use finger pedaling and/or damper
pedal. Very fast Alberti basses should not receive pedal but should sound like a
clarinet or a bassoon depending on the register.

BEETHOVEN: It was to him that we owe the greater development of the pedal
as he called for their use quite often.
Just as he found it necessary to state his tempos more precisely, so he found it
necessary to explain the sounds and textures he wanted – marking pedalling
even if he failed to mark dynamics e.g. Fur Elise.

Pedal markings also occur in his chamber and orchestral music – about 800 such
indications exist - of which only 2% call for “una corda”. These indications were
the special effects Beethoven called for – other movements went completely
unmarked – because of the obvious use of pedal in them.

Deafness and how it affected him: it probably did not as he had good and bad
days. Also as he grew more and more deaf, his inner, musical ear developed.

Beethoven used to indicate the damper pedal when:

- sustaining the bass
- improving the legato
- creating a collective or composite sound eg. Op.81a in the Vivacissimo
- implementing dynamic contrasts
- interconnecting sections or movements
- blurring the sound through harmonic clashes
- contributing to the thematic structure.

On modern pianos, the longer pedal marks have to be implemented with caution.

CHOPIN: “ The correct way of using the pedal remains a study for life”

A true pioneer in the use of the pedal, Chopin was constantly exploring its
effects. He made frequent use of it, geniusly knowing when to depress it and
when to raise it.

Chopin was very careful in his indications regarding the use of pedal.
Unfortunately his publishers were careless and no published version includes all
the original indications – best one are Henle and Vienna Urtext.

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He never indicates ‘una corda’ pedal but it was at the combination of the two in
which he excelled.

Chopin uses pedal

- to connect many final chords in his works but more for the purpose of adding
resonance than to help the legato.
- In scale passages either completely or in part – to avoid dryness and to give
needed brilliance and glitter.
- Through non harmonic tones in melody
- To reinforce sound
- To blur changes of harmony
- Sometimes through rests
- Flutter pedalling for fast passages.

SCHUMANN: His markings fall into two categories: general indications leaving it
at the performer’s discretion and markings intended to be followed explicitly in a
given passage. With the words senza Pedale, Schumann on occasion requests
that no pedal is to be used.

An important footnote appears in the first and second editions of his Sonata in
Fsharp minor, Op. 11
The composer uses the pedal in nearly every measure, always as the
changes of harmony demand. Exceptions are marked…………with the
next Pedale marking, its constant use begins again.

Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether Schumann is asking for only a

general use of pedal at the player’s discretion, or if specifically wishes a long
stretch of unbroken pedal.

Schumann on occasion indicates that notes are to be held longer with the pedal
by means of curved or straight lines after the notes.

Sometimes he uses the pedal to bridge over one section to another, even when
rests are indicated.

His pedalling can be boldly experimental for its time. In the Finale of Papillons,
Schumann indicates that the pedal should be held unbroken for some 27 bars.
This effect was inspired by an episode in a novel by Johann Paul Friedrich
Richter and portrays the confused chattering of partygoers leaving a ballroom as
the clock strikes six. This should be attempted with discretion on the performer’s
part, the use of half or quarter pedalling with the possible use of the middle pedal
being considered. A musical ”disappearing act” occurs a few bars later in the
same work, where Schumann’s unusual writing, gives the effect of a slow pedal
release.

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Schumann’s occasionally indicates that the left pedal is to be used by writing the
word Verschiebung as in Album for the Young: Fruhlingsgesang.

In his striving for new sonorities, Schumann often achieves marvelously original
pedalling effects. Like Liszt, Schumann many times uses the right pedal to
highlight a musical as well as a poetic or pictorial idea. The two men, along with
Chopin, were the nineteenth century’s most brilliant pedalling innovators.

LISZT: From both the implied pedal effects and the explicit pedal notation found
in many of his piano works, it is evident that Liszt must have possessed an
understanding of pedalling that was far ahead of his time. At least in his later
years, he used syncopated or legato pedalling, a technique then considered
advanced but now universally used and taught.

Liszt’s writing generally calls for a rich, full use of pedal, especially when it is
needed as a support for long pedal points. In his piano transcriptions of works for
voice and as well as for other instruments, aliberal or almost constant use of
pedal is an absolute necessity. Liszt advised his students to pedal all long pedal
melody notes, even in a series of unblending harmonies. He anticipates by over
half a century the pedal overlap of Debussy.

BRAHMS:
- Requests for not using pedal to create special effect e.g. Ballade Op.118
No.3
- Sometimes demands frequent pedal changes to keep melodic line clear.
- In low registers, pedalling requires a delay until sonorities are clear.
- In arpeggiato, it is better to play and hold all the notes before the beat and
apply pedal after the top note of the roll. If the notes cannot be held, play it on
the beat.
- Finger pedalling by silently re-depressing notes e.g. Sonata Op.5. Notes are
re-depressed and held after being first played. These are notes which couldn’t
have been reached by hand. Notes are depressed to just before reaching the
bed to avoid re-sounding.
- 50% released damper sound to create special blurring effects.
- Also gives indications of middle pedal.

DEBUSSY and RAVEL according to Gieseking

“the ear dictates and not the foot”

- pedal sign is the bass note i.e. the pedal should be held as long as the bass
harmony.

However “ in small rooms and on recordings, you can’t use as much pedal as
you can in Carnegie Hall”.

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- pedal should be kept throughout passages with

a) whole-tone scale
b) pentatonic harmony

- voicing of outer and inner parts is important when using long pedals.

- bass held with pedal even through rests.

- Sometimes a perfect legato is preferable to using pedal e.g. Le vent dans la

plaine 1st part.

- In diatonic harmonies, he strived to keep it clear using pedal only to connect

those difficult parts.

- Much use of a) flutter pedalling

b) half pedalling
c) finger pedalling
d) re-taking notes silently.

The Sostenuto Pedal

Students are often inclined to overlook the usefulness of the sostenuto pedal. Its
purpose is to sustain single notes or chords, thus avoiding blurs the damper
pedal would cause if held through various harmonies. It was invented in 1862 by
Claude Montal and later perfected by Steinway and patented in 1874. Although
rarely indicated by composers as a pedal, modern composers have been utilizing
it. It is indispensable for composers of the contemporary idiom, and its use for
earlier works should not be ruled out. Faithful renditions and special effects, often
attainable only with the sostenuto pedal, need careful attention and study.
e.g. Bach J.S. WTC Book 1 Fugue XX last measures l.h. long held note A.

The note or notes to be caught by the sostenuto pedal must be played and held
by the fingers until the sostenuto pedal is fully depressed. If a note or chord once
caught and held by the sostenuto pedal is repeated, it is not necessary to re-
catch it with a renewed change of pedal.

The right pedal must not be depressed at the same time as the sostenuto pedal
catches the notes to be held, for then all the dampers will be caught by the
sostenuto pedal. However once the sostenuto pedal has been depressed, the
player is free to use the damper pedal as much as necessary.

The sostenuto pedal must be kept completely depressed during its use, since
even a slight amount of release will immediately result in the catching of other
unwanted tones.

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Use the right foot for the damper pedal and the left foot for both the sostenuto
and left pedals, except when no right pedal is used at all. Then the right foot can
manipulate the middle pedal, while the left foot works the left one. On the
occasion of needing to use all three pedals, the left foot, turned inwardly to face
the damper pedal, will hold both the left and sostenuto pedals at once.

The Soft Pedal

This pedal, when depressed, shifts the keyboard and hammers simultaneously to
the right so that the hammer reaches two strings instead of three and, in
sympathy, the untouched string vibrates feebly. At the time of Beethoven it was
possible to shift farther so that the hammer might just contact one string, the
player thus changing the tone colouring. There are several instances where
Beethoven wrote “due corde” into his music, expecting the performer, with
sensitive and careful use of the pedal, to shift to una corda.

Use the soft pedal sparingly, as for example when repeating identical phrases
and with the intention of changing the colour. Try to get soft tones by hand and
not by pedal.

The soft pedal is more effective in the treble than in the bass. For composers
such as Haydn and Mozart, you may want to limit the strength of your forte in
consideration of the instruments of that period, and therefore you may want to
use the soft pedal when playing fortissimo.

The left pedal should not be depressed in the middle of a phrase even when
there is a diminuendo, since doing so may cause a noticeable change of tone
quality; there are exceptions e.g. when a passage has a striking color change
suggested by the harmony or by the composer’s own dynamic indications.

The Later Years

Pedalling has evolved and changed with time. A new practice is to apply the
pedal, where possible, before the note is struck in order to obtain maximum
sonority.

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Ref. The Pianist’s Guide to Pedaling by Joseph Banowetz

Piano Technique by Lillie H. Philipp

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