Part 9 (1/2)
”If you were to ask Leschetizky about the 'Leschetizky Method,' he would probably laugh and tell you he has no method, or he would tell you his 'ers and pliable wrist
”These are the principles upon which I base the technical training of my pupils I first establish an arched hand position, and then test the fir them At first the joints, particularly the nail joints, are very apt to sink in when tapped by a lead pencil; but by having the pupil continue the tapping process at ho of conscious fir with this exercise it is in at once rist exercises, as otherwise, froer, the wrist may beco and lowering this joint, with the hand and arer separately, then on two, three, four and five fingers The wrist should not be so limp as to be incapable of resistance; but rather it should be like a fine steel spring--a 'spring-wrist,' I call it--capable of every degree of resistance or non-resistance the quality of tone deinners as ine It is h, than it is to teach theato_ touch at the piano, which is only to be attained by playing close to the keys, without raising the fingers It is difficult to get pupils to play a perfect _legato_ who have had years of training with high finger action, soato_ and _staccato_ finger work _after_ the ato_ touch has been mastered
TONE PRODUCTION
”The subject of tone production is one which is lected by piano teachers Viewed from this standpoint the piano is an instruan A young violinist, 'cellist or flutist has to study for soood inner on the violin has to go through before he can make a respectable middle C; but anybody, even a totally unmusical person, can play middle C on the piano without the least trouble It is just this ease in tone production at the piano which leads to carelessness as to the _kind_ of tone produced; and so piano teachers, above all others, coet their pupils to listen to what they are playing Pupils should be made to listen, by o hand in hand with the technical exercises used at the very beginning Otherwise they ie on the rack, and set the correct keys in motion
”There is no other instrue part of the audience; for the character of the piano is such that the general public often think it finenoise Pianists of considerable reputation often take advantage of this lack of discrimination on the part of piano-recital audiences, which, above all the other audiences, see correctly the musical value of a performance
”Of the hundreds of piano recitals which take place yearly in the musical centers of Europe, only a comparatively small number are of real h the players were uage; just as though I should repeat a poeht pronounce after a fashi+on, but theof most of them would be a blank to me--so how could I make others understand them
RHYTHM IN PIANO PLAYING
”The subject of rhythiven it Leschetizky once said that tones and rhyths which can keep the piano alive as a solo instrument I find in pupils who come to anized classes in ear-training and rhythm
”If pupils have naturally a poor sense of rhyth with athis instrument of torture daily until results are evident, when, of course, theredown in its use The mechanical sense of rhythroup the notes of a piece correctly, can be taught to any person, if one has the patience; but for those delicate rhythmic _nuances_ required by a Chopin ift must be possessed by the pupil
”Leschetizky says little to his pupils on the subject of technic; I cannot re spoken a dozen words toall the time I have known him His interest, of course, lies wholly in the matter of interpretation, and technic comes into consideration only as a means and never as an end
”Leschetizky likes to have the player talk to hi but sit still and not speak 'How do I know you co,' he asks, 'that you understand what I a?' At first a student ht he will soon 'catch on,' and see what is expected of him
Leschetizky says sometimes: 'When the Lord made the ten commandments He omitted the eleventh, ”Thou shalt not be stupid”' If one is not very quick, one h school in technic I use Joseffy's _School of Advanced Piano Playing_ with hest possible technical development at the keyboard, and I consider it the last word in piano technic The hundreds of exercises have been devised with enuity, and the e The book is not a dry series of technics but has vital connection with all the big technical proble, I consider a second piano an absolute necessity There are sowhich cannot be put into words, and the teacher must constantly illustrate How can one teach the interpretation of a Chopin nocturne, for instance, byabout it I can say, 'play loud here--soft there'; but how far do such directions go toward an artistic conception of the piece? One cannot indicate the swell of a roupetto_--and a thousand other things in any other way than by the living exah imitation one learns rapidly and surely, until one reaches the point where the wings of one's own individuality begin to sprout
ABOUT MEMORIZING
”On the subject ofwho can lay down rules for this inexplicable ood for every one? For myself, I hear the notes mentally, and know their position on the keyboard In actual perforer memory, but one must actually have the notes in his o over all ram mentally, and find this an excellentfrom one city to another To those who study with ; there is no universal way; each must find out by experiment which is most suited to his individual case
”With soe plays the principal role in ; with others visual memory of the notes on the keyboard; with still others ear-ressions I believe inthe pupil familiar with all these different ways, so that he may find out which one is most helpful to him
”For pupils eak hands and ar and evening Physical strength is a very necessary essential for a brilliant technic; the student ould accos must possess it in order to succeed
KEEPING TECHNIC IN REPAIR
”The only way to keep one's technic in repair is to be constantly working at it Technic is theorder one ine driver tinkers with his locomotive or the chauffeur with his autoent pupil will recognize certain exercises which are particularly i; from these exercises he will plan his daily schedule of technical practise
”In order to keep a large repertoire going at the same time, one must have a weekly practise plan, which will allow for a frequent repetition of the pieces Those pieces which have been recently added to one's list will require more frequent repetition, while those which have been played for a longer periodup