上课笔记
(A beginner's note on the basics of piano playing)
-- It is much easier to be unhappy with your playing than be happy with it. It is easy to hold on to the renditions of the greatest pianists and feel doomed but it does not help anyone. You are still learning the essentials; it is necessary to realize one's limit at this stage and say, I am happy with this piece, I am ready to move on to the next. -- Likewise, don't be afraid of playing. At some point, you will need to stop analyzing and start playing. Back to your question on Mozart, I do not think that these repetitive patterns and simple texture sound dumb even when played just as they are. -- Have very active fingers, and trust the keys. ----------------- -- This fugue you are learning, is like a piece of baklava, if I may. Of the 3 voices, the upper is nice and fluffy, crispy yet it melts in the mouth. The pistachio filling in the middle is full of flavor (holy fatty goodness!). The base, drenched in honey and syrup, is sweet and solid. ----------------- No no, your mind is going a tiny bit too fast; it is going to the next few bars -- well to be fair this is absolutely necessary and correct, but make sure it has gone through the next note before going to the next bar. Make sure the next note is ready when you are still playing this one.
----------------- -- Cortot showed us an excellent way of deconstructing this etude in the techincal aspects. Brilliant as it is, it's only one of the many approaches out there. I think you have familiarized yourself with his ideas and been quite fluent with the top voice. Now let's try a vertical instead of horizontal dissection of the right hand and focus on the chords of the first beat of every four notes.
(And it works!)
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Have your fingers fall on (not hit on!) the keys and further down to the deepest the keys can go, with weight of course, from your arms, all the way through the wrist to your fingers. Slide to the next. Fall on the key, further down, and slide to the next. To have consistent control over the quality of sound, keep your fingers in their anatomical neutral position -- curved, not stretched. The rest of your hand supports, but not hinders, the movement of your fingers. This way you will have some extra room, extra energy and attention freed from exerting yourself, and the more you play, the "happier" you get. (Un)surprisingly, this is actually how some works were composed (plays the third piano sonata of beethoven). I think you would see improvement in playing ornaments from practising like this too, both technically and mentally.
(On the Chopin piece) The bottom notes can be a bit more relaxed and slightly more emphasized than they are played now. You don't have to scratch the chords with so much tension. Try gliding your hand as the top voice goes, and when the thumb and second finger are where they are supposed to be, play as if they are a pendulum at its lowest point.
(On a Schubert impromptu) Hold the top notes -- not only because they are written to be held (and behold!) -- but you see, it shifts the weight away from your heavier fingers, putting the pivot on your pinkie.
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It's time to learn some Schenkerian analysis!
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(On the #C major fugue) Look look look, in the last bar the upper voice sings the last 5 notes of the theme, not the "top" notes! Gotcha hahahaha... （好吧是我大意了）
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Bigger muscles are less likely to tire out and less prone to injuries compared to small ones. Ask them for help!
Having trouble with your etude? No problem. Let's just take the first page and work on it now. I am sure you knew all of this. Metronome to 88 (44), play it 5 times, ...and that's your 5 times without making mistakes. Now 5 times at 92 (46), ...ok that's the 5th time. Reward yourself with one time at 120. Now go back to 92, 5 times. I know you have been working this way (me:...I wish) but it's good to be reminded every once in a while.
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Well, courante indeed means "running" and here it is an Italian style "corrente"...however, you don't have to play the courante as if today's first dose of caffeine just kicked in. In fact, there is hardly anything you "have to" do except for when you have to go to the bathroom then you have to go...
(Bars 31-34 of the fugue in #C major) A little bit more of some circular movement of the wrist would help here with this "non troppo ligato". Having said that, it is not necessary to focus more on the form than on the music itself. Techniques, in my point of view, display themselves when one plays the music effortlessly. That's all they are about (I think).
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（一堂教小朋友的课。一整节课练习拇指的各种走位与打开方式...照着练了几天，突然发觉弹久了手腕也不累了）
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Hypermobility in the joints is a phenomenon but hardly a "syndrome" that stops you from playing in your case. Just work on your muscles, be mindful of the quality of sound, and play every note solidly with confidence. The feeling of insecurity while playing will fade and eventually one finds a way to cope and coexist with whatever remains of it.
You've never played 2-part inventions? They are a lot of fun. *looks for the sheet music* Here are 15 of them. Memorize the first 5 and play them to me next time, and all 15 in a month. (绝望
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Hear the sound first before attempting to produce it on the piano. Know where it is and then conjure it.
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(spending hours and hours on playing contrasting dynamics on repetitive patterns and phrases without changing articulation etc) Piano or pianissimo is not achieved solely by focusing on smaller and slower finger movements, or firmness of the bridge. In fact, focusing too much on just the finger movement tenses you up -- like right now. I personally find weight shifting helps, together with some mind game. Imagine that this pp is coming from afar. No matter how quiet the stronger phrase already is, the softer phrase can (almost) always come from even further away. It is projected from a point over there, recepted, and reflected by you.
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I understand that you play to talk to the composers rather than to perform for the audience. I understand that you find it hard to make sense of amateur competitions. However, there is this tension, a tension that brings everything together, that allows endless possibilities due to interaction, and an organic flow of music in time —— that exists only in live performances. I find that willingness to perform for others is helpful towards building up a good focus. That focus, is actually your attitude towards making music, how seriously you are taking it. I would be thrilled if one day you would come to me and say, I got this chance to perform on stage and, I want to learn this piece with you.
You might not feel well prepared or being able to devote what it takes to prepare to be on stage. Nevertheless, I would like to remind you that performing is not about what has happened so far. It is about this performance, this phrase, this note now.
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(On the prelude of BWV 875 & direct touch) Sit straight. Sit straight. Relax your shoulders. Heavy arms, strong fingers, fast attacks. Don't jam your fingers into the keys or flex, just do quick and agile attacks. And count!
Indirect touch is a valuable technique that produces a watercolor-like tone when executed well. Nevertheless I want you to be able to confidently and stably play with a most efficient mechanism, that is, a direct touch. It is not everything, but works for a lot of stuff.
(On portato) Hold the weight of your upper arm and play with flatish fingers + forearm weight. (Holds my arm and let the fingers hover over the keys) now reach for the keys with the weight of your hand and forearm. (works magic for Auf dem Wasser zu singen doesn't it?)
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Never practice on autopilot ---- always be aware. Build a connection through a pathway like "the sound you want -- action -- reflection". Whatever happens without awareness is an accident and everything you build on it is an accident. It's probably the reason why things dont stay fixed after we fix them.
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(On far-stretched arpeggio-like broken chords): It's a whole-body, or at least a whole-upperbody experience. It is not about pre-stretching your fingers -- let's face it, even Rachmaninoff can't fit this chord in one hand position. Picutre a hawk diving down to hunt; it doesn't do a split leap with the claws to reach the prey, the body does the travel. Same with this F--C--A--F: the fingers "catch" the notes when it's time with relatively relaxed hands. Feel where they are, the fifth, the sixth, the second sixth, when the arm travels. Just imagine you have omni-hands and omni-fingers. （take-home: 不要劈叉）
(On the same piece, some of my own thoughts): It's not about "turning the thumb". It's all about touch, touch, touch. Delicate, unforced, sensitive touch at the fingertips. No need to push. If this (tone/dynamic range/tempo) is what you are capable of now then so be it.
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Dynamic is a promise.
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龟速爬下来了人生中第一首肖邦！
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（当然后面还有第二三四首了。。）
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