Transposition

Every piece of music should mean tones to the student, not merely keyboard fingering adjustments. Transposition should be based on this principle. The early stages of transposition consist merely in finding the five finger positions in various keys and then playing the transposed melody with the same fingering as in the original key. Ear and muscular memory aid with this process.

At first the transpositions should be to keys made familiar by the pieces the students have previously studied, but very soon students will enjoy exploring the keyboard to find other possible transpositions. For the first of these new keys the piano teacher could show the five finger position. She may then play the phrase in several other keys, calling attention to the similarity of tonal effect. The student is then encouraged to find the five finger positions and play the phrase in other keys. The new five finger positions should be discovered chiefly by ear. Let the step and half-step relationship come as a result of these ear training explorations rather than as preliminary directions. Occasionally a student must be guided by such directions, but only when the teacher observes that he is becoming impatient or discouraged.

The contrast between major and minor five finger positions provides a definite place for clarifying the step and half-step relationships on the keyboard.

Melodies involving the entire scale are naturally more difficult to transpose than the five finger melodies. Even so, let the ear be the chief guide, and reserve mechanical directions as a last resort. In these melodies, it is most helpful for the student to play the scale of the key into which he intends to transpose the selection.

For more information about learning transposition, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Dynamics

Crescendos, diminuendos, stresses and accents constitute vital piano dynamics in expressive playing. Like the inflections of the voice in speech, they point the meaning of the composition. Two successive tones should seldom be sounded with equal intensity. As in speech, there should be constant variation in the tone, volume, stress and accentuation. The possible variations in dynamic contrasts are almost limitless, but there should always be reason and purpose in the way they are employed. Ascending passages usually increase and descending passages decrease in volume, but sometimes the opposite procedure is all the more effective because it is unexpected. Of course the printed dynamic indications must be observed, but the student must be led to delve deeper into the reasons for contrasts in tone volume and must not mechanically follow marks and directions nor imitate blindly the playing of the piano teacher.

It is not uncommon for teachers to over-stress the importance of measure accents and in so doing to lose sight of the larger rhythmic units. Such constant pounding on the first beat of each measure is like the metrical sing-song way of reciting dull poetry.

Every phrase has its climax, and every composition has its principal climax. In longer works there is a series of climaxes which cumulatively lead to the principal climax. A great composer builds his climaxes with the same careful planning that is given by an architect to the designing of a building. The performer must realize the design in a musical composition, and must plan his dynamic scheme with care, so that each climax, subordinate and principal, may receive its due proportion of emphasis. This principle may be illustrated in the very simplest of little pieces, provided they are based on the principles of artistic design.

Children should be directed in their study of every composition to the consideration of the general dynamic effects of the piece as a whole, contrasts within the piece, and the relationship of primary and secondary climaxes.

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Coaching Piano Students

By following these three Principles to Learn Piano, piano students will soon experience a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in their practice. Being satisfied, they will feel happy and encouraged in their pursuit of music and will want to learn more.

Readiness. Being tired, preoccupied or distracted are obstacles to a student being ready. Interest in playing is supremely important in motivating students. Teachers should encourage students toward piano playing, toward the music being studied, and all the other elements leading to success. Students need to feel successful. Today's success means tomorrow's readiness.

Satisfaction. Satisfaction strengthens; frustration weakens. Success means satisfaction, as does accomplishment as the result of creative practice. Each step forward brings its own feeling of accomplishment, with much praise and encouragement from the piano coach.

Finger Exercises. Drilling finger exercises is essential in fixing an idea in our mind, and in making fingering more accurate and rapid. But drills work only when a student is conscious of the need of them to achieve the music that the student desires. Scales, for example, should be drilled so that playing them becomes automatic, but only after the pianist has slowly built the scale and realizes that scale progressions are actually found in the music the student wants to play. The same is true of all the other elements of technique and theory. Finger exercises alone aren't enough - they must lead to satisfaction for the student.

For information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.