The San Francisco call., 1903-12-09
INSTRUCTIVE JTUDEg
By YlNOIEDAllEEsN AND
IAS6FfEN
I4S@~

substitute the thumb for the fifth nm
ger and start anew, whether the desti-
nation be two, three or four octaves.
We are now about to make a notice
able increase in tempo, and to accom-
plish this the pupil must play three
notes to a count instead Of two as in
the two-octave scale.
He must count "one,' two" all the
way up. accenting on the ''one," just
AS before and counting in exactly the
same time as before-no faster and no
slower. In this case, however, two"
falls on f. making three notes to
count. Thus. c, d, E fall on one; r,
G. A fail on two: B, c, d fall on
.'one": E, F. fall on two and so
on. until the end of the third octave IS
reached, and the pupil returns as ne
came without a pause, until he again
reaches middle c.
At first he will need much relaxing
after his long journey of three octaves
and back-in fact. it would be well TO
let him stop playing entirely Tor
moment after finishing the use of the
water motion" as the rest will be OF
great advantage to him at this juno
ture-
Don't forget to go back to first prin-
ciples every little while-it is lmpor-
tant now, as at all times.
In this three-octave scale the pu-
pills arm should be particularly free-
In a frequent, natural progression
up or down the scale as the case may
be. the wrist plays a great part, NOV
ing continuously up or down the key
board to assist the fingers to go over
or under. and at the same time hold
ing itself in a parallel position and
perfectly relaxed. In other words,
IT'S position is almost identical with
that of the wrist in the water mo-
tion" and as the scales become more
and more rapid the similarity between
the two motions is more marked. In
fact. in a very rapid scale the wrist
glides quickly from one end of the
piano to another, while the notes fall
from the tips of the fingers just like
drops of water.
Thus it will be seen that the "wa-
ter motion is to be more and more of
a help as time goes on; in fact, scale
playing is only one of many things
wherein it's great benefit will be
proved.
Right here I want to remind our
pupil not to forget the necessity Of
raising his fingers as quickly as possi-
bic. whether in fast or slow scale.
II is very important in rapid playing,
if one wishes to acquire clean, clear
cut tone. Remember this, not once,
but every time.
Also watch the hand to see that il
is keeping its proper position. Go
back to the hand shaping" exercise
once in a while. comparing the ''per-
feet playing position" with the posi-
ton of your hand when you are in the
midst of your scale, and if the result
is not perfectly satisfactory keep at it
until it is.
A good aid to melodious and rhyth-
mic scale playing will be found in the
metronome If prudently and judicious-
ly used. Mark my qualification, how
ever, for unless the>instrument is used
UNDERSTANDINGS ii is harmful rather
than advantageous.
1t should never be used in playing, or
in Dracticing pieces when taken as a
whole, although when working out any
knotty little piece it is of great help
when used in the right way.
It's original use was to set the proper
time at which pieces of music were to
be played. and the little numbers are
often to be found at the top of a sheet
of music, showing the desire of the
composer in this respect. 1 shall ex-
plain all this more fully later on. For
our present needs il is sufficient to say
that the metronome is a time -beater.
which one winds up like a clock and
which beats rapidly or slowly at the
win of the student. by raising or low
ering little weight on the pendulum,
easily adjusted by the finger.
In working up scales to greater and
greater velocity, 1 know of nothing else
Of so much assistance to the pupil; and
/ it does not tend to make the pupils s
playing mechanical in the very least
when used for this purpose and no
other.
A good Maelzel metronome (to be
purchased at any music store) costs
only 50 or 81 and will last lifetime.
strongly advise one for our little pu-
pill and he may begin to use it at once
in this way:
After winding up the metronome,
place the weight at the figure so and
start the pendulum going by touching
it with the finger.
Fifty is very slow count-just about
what the pupil has been counting in
his slow scale. Each time the pendu-
lum ticks, he strikes note. until he
1 has played one octave scale through
once. Then (while the metronome
still goes placidly on, he begins his
two-octave scale, playing two notes to
the tick of the metronome, empha-
sizing every other note. that is. the
ones that come. on the stroke of the
/ metrOnome.
Tips From Big Fair.