The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1903-04-29
! MUSICAL CORNER! ]
THE LIGHT AND THE DARK SIDE
OF THE PIANOS TUDENT'S LIFE.
SUSAN q. PAINE.
o>o>oOo%o%oa $500


and sunshine follow one another with
remarkable rapidity; the pathway is
bright and sunlight, and then dark with
threatening clouds. These clouds as
sumo such alarming proportons:in some
lives that it would be well to pause and
consider them.
Here is one, directly overhead, black
as Egyptian darkness, which completely
obscures the sunlight. Technical diff
culties! Whatan enormous cloud How
it does hide the sun at times! Indeed
in this age of technique and technical
achievements one might arrive at the
conclusion that this is the cloud-the
only cloud-whose oerhanging presence
need cause us disquietude.
What is technique? One writer has
said, "To the great majority of human
beings, the word technique, as applied to
the piano, means simply the ability to
strike great many notes in a minute,
without missing one. These people are
particularly fond of talking about brll-
ancy. Such and such pianist does not
display much warmth of sentiment, but
his playing is remarkably brilliant This
means that he plays very fast and very
loud. Another pianist is cold and ut
terly without brilliancy. This means
that he does not play fast, and seldom
INDUCES in fortissimo." This explana-
ton is not sufficient. 1t may be the
verdict of the multitude, but is not salts
lying to students of pianistic art.
"Pianistic technique implies in its
widest sense faultless mastery of every
mechanical difficulty, in the required
tempo and without perceptible effort"
Not a long definition, but it calls for
years-years-of unremtted toll and it
is this time element in music, which
piano students ought to consider. We
are constantly forgettin. the fact that
cart is long" We have need of patience.
This is especially applicable in the at
tainment of pianistc technique. When
ever an artist has been able to say, |
came, | saw, conquered, it has been the
result of patient practice.
Even if List said (and this is denied)
that the three things needed are-frst,
technique second, technique and third,
technique; he did not mean that techni-
que were the only requirement of
pianist, sor technique should not seek
to shine by itself, and least of all give
the impression of being the performers
strongest point"
How may technique be acquired?
Given flexible hane, and an ear for
tone color and there is no goal to which
the student cannot arrive with hard
work. Carl Czerny says, mo property
is more necessary and important to the
player than Il well-developed flexibility,
lightness and volubilitv of the fingers.
This cannot be acquired in any way so
quickly as by the practice of the scales"
Finger exercises and scales supplemented
with arpeggios and octaves, form the
basis O. technical excellence.
Another cloud of angry mien, whose
presence may cause anxiety, is Touch,
"Touch in its vulgar sense is mechanical,
teachable, and beIongs to technique: in
its nobler sense it is a gift, unteachable.
and belongs to talent if not emotion"
LISTS touch and peculiar use of the
pedal were the two secrets of his play
ing. Paderewski, even as boy, used to
sit at the piano touching the keys in
various ways until he produced the ideal
beautiful tone he had in his mind
Rubinstein said that "the real diff
Guilty OF piano playing does not lie in the
playing of scale passages and octaves,
but in the production of a certain quality
of tone" And again he says, Il have
sat for hours trying to initiate the timbre
OF Rubini's voice in my playing, and tits
only with labor and tears, bitter as death,
that the artist arrives at perfection Few
understand this, consequently there are
few artists"
Chopin's touch was so exquisite that
sometimes single chord was sufficient
to charm his hearers. Kleczyuski in
GLOW to Play Chopin" says, Chopin
considered the first requisite for good
touch to be good position OF the hand
he was extremely particular about this
matter. lie prepared the hand with in
finite care before permitting it to repro
duce musical ideas In order to give the
hand a position at once advantageous
and graceful land in his estimation. hese