How to practise on the piano : reflections and suggestions

Front matter

H. EHRLICH

REFLECTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

REFLECTIONS

Book I

THE author recommends that Exercise No. 9 be taken up first of all, each separate tone being struck not only twice, as written, but 8 or 10 times. Observe well that each finger should be raised as high as possible, and then fall on the key with full force, and with the fleshy tip. The wrist must be held motionless, almost rigid, upper arm and elbow close to the body. After this, Exercise No. 1 should be taken up, and thereafter the rest in regular order.

No. 1. — To be played with great distinctness, so that each tone be heard separated from the other.

No. 2. — Play in f time, raising the fingers high ; let the 5th finger in ascending, and the thumb in descending, always remain down till the next tone is struck. Thus :

In the left hand, of course, the thumb remains down in ascending, the 5th finger in descending.

No. 3. — To be played in exactly the same way as No. 2.

No. 4. — Likewise |. The last three notes of each group crescendo,

I | J J j j — , and similarly in descending. ;j_ *^» — *-{?•< .J.

Perfect distinctness is an essential condition.

No. 5. — Slow and loud ; the first note for the 2d finger must be struck powerfully, and not shortened.

No. 6. — The last three notes of each group somewhat crescendo.

No. 7. — Slow, loud, the quarter-notes strongly accented ; the whole force must proceed from the fingers, the hand to be kept perfectly quiet and not to add the slightest pressure.

No. 8. — Raise the fingers high without the aid of the wrist, and let them fall hammer-fashion. The exercise is, after frequent slow practice, also to be played in quicker tempo, when the wrist will come a little into play.

No. 9. — Already spoken of.

Nos. 10 and 11. — The groups perfectly uniform, the first note not to be shortened, but rather to be played with a very slight accent.

No. 12. — Perfectly uniform ; here no note is to be made prominent above another.

No. 13. — In both hands hold the first note (#, right hand, c, left hand) as a half-note. Also play the exercise in contrary motion, the right hand taking the notes of the left hand, and vice versa.

No. 14. — The 4th, 3d, and 2d fingers should, being kept perfectly rigid and half-bent, glide one after the other, thus holding the key as firmly as possible ; let the fingers fall powerfully on the fleshy tip ; keep the arms perfectly quiet.

No. 15. — This exercise is to be played fast, yet with the greatest distinctness on the part of the 4th and oth fingers.

HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO.

etc.

No. 16. — The main point of these exercises consists in the stretch from the 2d to the 3d finger. Do not, therefore, spring from one tone to another, but play legato, slowly, leaving the 2d finger down till the 3d has struck.

To attain perfect uniformity of both hands in this exercise, play it in the left hand thus :

No. 17. — To be played slow, with heavy stroke on each tone. Beware of letting the tones run into each other ; each one must be heard distinctly, perfect in itself. The left hand plays two octaves loiver, that the two thumbs may not collide. No. 18. — An essential condition here, as also in Nos. 19, 20, and 21, — is, that the finger which holds the quarter-note should be raised, nota£ the fourth sixteenth-note, but after it. Hence a slow tempo must be observed, in which it is much more difficult to perform the exercise well, than in quick tempo, in which the holding-on till after the fourth sixteenth would be impracticable.

No. 22. — This exercise is likewise to be played slowly, each separate note to be powerfully struck ; the half-notes must be strictly held.

The author feels bound to observe here, that the exercises should invariably be played in all the keys, in order to produce really satisfactory results.

It is only by being forced to move with certainty in all directions that the fingers obtain that elasticity and muscular power which the mechanical part of modern piano-playing demands. But, as it would consume much time and cause fatigue to practise eveiy exercise in all the keys, consecutively, they should be played the first time in 4 keys, c, c$, d, eb, the second time in e, /, /$, g, the third in at?, a, bb, b. When the pupil has gone once through all the keys, he can select those which he has found most difficult. Transposition may at first be found troublesome ; but now-a-days every one who studies music as a profession must transpose. Amateurs who practise these exercises, may avoid the drudgery of transposing by having them written out in the different keys by a copyist. At any rate, it is indispensable, we repeat, to practise in all the keys, and the lamented Tausig regarded this as the chief basis of his system. His idea was, it is true, to begin with the most difficult keys, but the author deems it better for the sake of unity to start from C major.

No. 23. — This exercise is most generally quite wrongly conceived and practised. All pupils play it with an accent of the hand, even, if possible, with a push of the arm. This

HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO.

is all wrong. The author cannot better indicate the correct execution than by advising the pupil first to play the exercise very slowly as follows,

=3^=3^3=

0 0 etc.

with the accent, that is, on the first note ; only the fingers may move and by their own strength strike the keys ; the palm of the hand should be perfectly quiet, and must not give emphasis to the fingers. When the above preparatory exercise has been practised for some time with great exactness and very slowly, the pupil may play the first note — the appoggiatura — always faster and faster with a sharp accent, being very watchful that the hand does not fall. This is best prevented by holding the elbows as close to the body — in front — as possible. As many pupils, despite our repeated caution not to let the hand sink after the finger-stroke, nevertheless move the arm and hand, I have introduced the following variant, which, though difficult, leads most surely to complete independence and repose of the fingers :

HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO.

I etc.

etc.

No. 24. — This exercise, which the author of this work invented ten years ago for his own use, and through which Tausig was primarily induced to confide to him a share in the work, and afterwards its entire elaboration, is very difficult, and many a stretch is impracticable for small hands if the half-note be held strictly. This exercise is also fatiguing, and should at first be played perhaps in only two major and two minor keys, always alternating from one to the other. The main point is the perfectly even execution of the thirty-second notes, which must be played loud and very legato. The exercise is to be taken only in moderate tempo. No. 25. — - All these exercises formed from scales are to be practised as indicated in the Introduction ; i.e., when the thumb passes under or is passed over, the key previously struck is to be held by the respective finger. The exercises may also be extended by variants, such as

The fingering here, especially at the transition to dfr, is somewhat awkward.

No. 26. — In this exercise the chief object of attention should be that the tones struck by the 2d and 4th fingers be played perfectly legato and quietly. Any tempo may be applied here.

No. 27 This exercise is one of those which are to be

practised only in moderate tempo; the quickest would be j = 100. For the chief point is the perfect distinctness of the individual notes simultaneously with a perfect legato. Here, too, the hand must be kept perfectly quiet, which at first is difficult, especially in passing the thumb under the 2d finger in the minor keys.

No. 28 — For practising this exercise with the greatest profit, it is advisable to hold in both hands the notes for the thumb and 5th finger as quarter-notes.

The left hand plays two octaves lower.

No. 29 A crescendo at so that the tones struck by the 2d and 4th fingers may sound loud and distinct. The exercise should be practised chiefly in those keys in which the 2d and 4th fingers have to strike black keys.

No. 30 — To be played loud, the 5th finger well bent. Any tempo is suitable.

No. 31. — Rather slow. The elbows must lie close, so that in passing the fingers over or under the hand may retain its position unchanged. Even though the body should follow the motions of the fingers, the arms must remain firm in position. This very useful exercise may, without fatigue, be carried through all the keys at one time.

No. 32 The main point here is the strengthening of the

3d and 4th fingers. Practise in three major and three minor keys at a time (major and minor alternately) ; the exercise is somewhat fatiguing.

No. 33 The first exercise,

HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO.

not fast, loud, the octaves not detached but very smoothly connected. The following variant will be found very useful, for the left hand especially :

The second exercise is to be played as fast as possible, but very distinctly and very loud.

No. 34. - — - Legatissimo, loud, not fast.

No. 35. — In tolerably slow tempo, with perfectly quiet hand ; the right and the left hand hold firmly the notes struck by the thumb and followed by the skip of a seventh, with a view to perfect legato. The left hand plays the exercise two octaves lower. Here is a somewhat difficult but very useful variant:

No. 36 This exercise is to be played in precisely the

same manner as No. 35 ; here too the thumb firmly holds the tone followed by the skip (here that of a sixth). The arms close to the body. The left hand two octaves lower. For the left hand in the first measure take the fingering 3 5 instead of 4 5 and so on throughout in descending.

No. 37. — - This exercise may be taken in any tempo not incompatible with the most perfect repose, certainty and evenness of stroke, and legatissimo playing. Not being very fatiguing, it may be carried through all the keys at one time.

No. 38. — To be taken at first very slow, and even after frequent practice not faster than 0 = 100. Always loud and legatissimo. An essential condition is a perfectly uniform legato at the places where the fingering is given. To be practised in all keys (always four at a time ; see p. 32, No. 22), as often as possible, because the motion of the fingers hereby excited will be of great assistance in executing broken chords.

No. 39. — This exercise also is to be played legatissimo ;

in ascending, the 3d finger is to be held down, in descending, the 5th finger

This exercise is most profitable in tonalities in which the 3d and 5th fingers must often strike black keys.

Nos. 40 and 41 are exercises with the hands in contrary motion ; hence the direction that each hand should first prac-

HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO.

tise its own part separately. The pupil must then aim at the most perfect distinctness and uniformity, in a rapid tempo. The exercise is to be practised forte, as well as piano.

After these exercises, let the pupil attempt to play the first of Cramer's Studies, in Part I, with his hands crossed, the left hand taking the right-hand part, and vice versa :

Book II

No. 1. — The exercise can be played in any tempo ; in the left hand two octaves lower.

No. 2. — The chief condition here is that the hand, at the passing-over and under of the finger immediately after of before an octave, shall remain in the same position ; hence, the exercise should be played at first very slowly. Players with small hands are advised to hold the hand rather high, so as to facilitate the passing-over and under.

No. 3. — This exercise is one of the most difficult and fatiguing, and at the same time most useful. It is, of course, to be attacked by those players only to whom the other exercises are already tolerably easy, or who, without having studied special preparatory exercises, have a powerfully built hand and strong fingers. As indicated in the Book itself, the exercise is to be taken adagio, and with the fingers lifted high. It is to be practised in those tonalities especially in which black keys often occur. For small hands the 1st exercise (on the second brace), marked " Another fingering," is perhaps quite impracticable if the quarter-notes are to be strictly sustained. With this fingering, however,

32121 the exercise may be played without special difficulty. The other difficulties are much less important. The exercise belongs, as has been said, among the best, but it must (like many a gymnastic exercise) be practised quietly and with great moderation, till the fingers are so strengthened that they can carry it through six keys without fatigue.

No. 4. — This exercise also — Tausig constructed it for his own use - — is difficult and fatiguing, but unsurpassable for strengthening the fingers and rendering them independent. The chief points aimed at are uniformity of stroke and a perfectly smooth connection between the 2d finger and the thumb. It is another of those exercises which are to be played at first in only three keys, for avoiding excessive fatigue.

U"0i 5. — Here may be applied all that was said concerning No. 23, in Book I ; the 4th finger must attack with a rather

HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO.

strong accent, bent, and with the fleshy tip ; the chord is to be struck with the power of the fingers only, with no aid from the hand.

No. 6. — This exercise is to be played in various ways. First, with two ties, thus :

second, connecting only the 4th sixteenth with the following one, the others being played staccato :

-0- -•- -9 and third, thus :

In this staccato the wrist comes into play.

No. 7. — This difficult but excellent exercise, which bears eloquent testimony to the genial Brahms' earnestness and thoroughness in whatever he sets about to do, is to be practised with the 3d, 4th and 5th fingers of both hands sharply curved, the thumb remaining, on the contrary, always perfectly extended. In this way alone can the exercise be mastered. It may be taken in any tempo ; distinctness is of

HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO.

course indispensable. Only a practised and strong player will be able to carry it through more than three or four keys. No. 8. — - Play legatissimo, loud, and separate the single tones one from the other. The surest means of avoiding all uneveaness is, at first to keep the thumbs of both hands always down :

and in the variant the 5th finger in the right hand, the 4th in the left :

i

-- •- -

No. 9. — This exercise is perhaps still more useful for strengthening the weaker fingers than the preceding one. It must be practised first by each hand separately, with the arms perfectly close to the body, and — as in No. 8 — keeping down the thumb in the right hand, the 4th finger in the left. Play with powerful stroke. A most excellent exercise is, to practise the variant, in the following manner in both hands and in all the keys, i

playing the tones given to 5 1 as a Trill, which may be prolonged at option.

In this some very difficult positions will occur, as, for example, at the transition from at> to a, — here the hand is to be kept perfectly quiet — no easy matter even, for practised players. The author can give this exercise — which is entirely original with Tausig — as also the Trill-variant above indicated, the strongest recommendation, founded on experience.

EXERCISES FORMED FROM BROKEN CHORDS.

Before proceeding to the directions for each separate exercise, the author deems it necessary to repeat with emphasis that precisely these exercises are all to be played with the awkward close position of the arms, and that it is better that the body should follow the movement of the hands, than that the arms should be freed from their awkward position. Only after long practice can the teacher permit more freedom, or the pupil take upon himself to use it.

44 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIA^YO.

No. 10. — The pupil should lay his hands — extended and with the fingers bent — over the keys to be struck, before beginning. Each tone must then be struck, slow and loud, with a slight accent on the double-notes.

No. 11. — The same way of playing. The accent on the Third must, however, be stronger than in the preceding exercise. The player should take special care that the Thirds always sound perfectly even, full and strong, avoiding the arpeggiating way of playing — into which so many pupils unconsciously fall.

No. 12. — Here, where the 3d and 4th fingers have the Thirds, or Seconds, as the case may be, the directions for Nos. 10 and 11 must be applied with still greater emphasis. Only when the double-notes are struck perfectly full and even, is the aim of the exercise reached.

No. 13. — The same manner of playing. Here, however, special attention should be given to the 4th and 5th fingers, that they remain curved and always strike powerfully with the fleshy tip.

No. 14. — Here each group should be sharply detached ; the Sixteenths are to be played with perfect evenness, the first one of a group by no means to be shortened.

Nos. 15 and 16 are exercises which require the fingers to exert all their muscular strength. For the fingers only must strike, and that with full force, the hand and the wrist not being allowed to add any emphasis to the stroke. For avoiding any such emphasis, the pupil will do best to hold firmly the first two tones, thus :

HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO.

and

The left hand will here play two octaves lower. Difficult as these exercises are at first, they will in a short time show themselves to be proportionately excellent and beneficial. The player who practises them slowly, with moderation, and in the manner prescribed, will feel by the end of a week how greatly and rapidly they promote the independence of the fingers and also the power of stroke.

No. 17. — An almost easy exercise, when played in quick tempo, in which the touch is facilitated by the swing of the hand ; but difficult and fatiguing when played slowly, so that the fingers must each time strike with full force, unsupported by the swing of the hand ; to be practised, therefore, slowly and in moderation until the pupil can play it for a long time without feeling the least fatigue.

TRILLrSTUDIES.

Nos. 18a, 18b. — It is to be remarked chiefly that the trills in these two exercises may be extended much further than indicated ; i.e., they may be repeated 20 or 30 times :

the player has only to take care, that the hand, in changing to the next position, remains perfectly quiet. The duration and rapidity of the trill must depend on the pupil's strength and usual practice.

No. 19. — Here a repetition of the trill (in the Sixteenths} would not be expedient ; the exercise is to be practised precisely as it stands. The chords are to be played with a perfectly quiet stroke of the fingers, without any aid from the hand. A faster tempo than a moderate allegro will be hardly practicable even for a well-trained pianist.

No. 20. — A perfect legato, especially in the lower tones (eighths) ; no finger should be raised before the other strikes its note. The following would be the exercise for the left hand corresponding to that for the right :

This exercise may also be very profitably practised in the following manner, prolonging the trills, —

An excellent variant is also this —

HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO.

No. 21. — This exercise is less for practice in trills than for that of double-notes; it is difficult, and must be practised very slowly. Here also are two variants applicable with great profit. Extension of the trill :

In both cases the quarter-notes should be held strictly.

No. 22. — The directions for Nos. 20 and 21 apply also to this exercise. As an exercise for double-notes it is to be played with the fingers lifted rather high.

EXERCISES ix DOUBLE-NOTES.

The author advises the earnest student to practise, before attacking these exercises, some preparatory exercises in Thirds and Double-notes. Tausig added to his edition of dementi's " Gradus ad Parnassum " a series of scales in Thirds, with special fingering. Another most excellent exercise, too little known, was published many years ago by Czerny ; it forms a complete piece in itself, leading, in continuous passages of Thirds, through all the major and minor keys, and often exhibiting very original combinations. The author can conscientiously advise all teachers and students to become acquainted with both the exercises just najned, certain that they will find so much the less difficulty in the Tausig-Ehrlich exercises now to be discussed.

No. 23 This exercise must be practised at first very

slowly, with a powerful stroke ; the whole note must be sustained till after the last 16th (this of course only in slow tempo ; in quick tempo the note cannot be held so long). It is very profitable to so extend the trill that each measure may contain 8 quarter-notes.

No. 24 This exercise cannot be practised too 'slowly at

first. For its chief aim is the connecting — as closely as possible — the two Thirds :

smoothly together. The player must endeavor to bring over the 3d and 5th fingers to the keys in such manner that they may glide rather than jump. This requires a considerable exertion of strength on the part of the fingers, especially if the arm remains firm in position. It is, therefore, perfectly clear that the exercise is most profitable when played very slowly, powerfully and as legato as possible. It is easier in quick tempo, because in the passage given above the fingers glide more easily. The variant on the same page, in which the Thirds in the right hand ascend, and those in the bass descend, offers some difficulties on account of the stretches, but is perhaps less awkward; here, too, a slow tempo is advisable.

No. 25 This exercise in Sixths is difficult for very small

hands only ; but in a slow tempo it is generally conquered before very long. Somewhat more difficult is the second part with the descending figure ; this requires slow tempo and precise, even attack where the fingers cross. The upper arm must always be held close to the body.

No. 26 Only slowly and forcibly ; to be played in hardly

more than 4 keys.

No. 27 This exercise may be played in any tempo, provided it sounds distinct. It is advisable to take it through in both piano and forte. The chief care here must be for a very exact and uniform connection of the tones.

No. 28 A genuine finger-breaker a la Tausig, especially

for small hands ! But also one of the most original inventions of the great executive artist, who in technical combinations has evinced so much cleverness ; there exists perhaps no second exercise aiming, like this No. 28, with such directness and certainty at developing the stretch between the 2d and 3d fingers. In execution the hand must be stretched and the fingers firmly bent. Players with small hands will hardly be able to avoid sometimes holding the 2d and 3d fingers stretched out high and rigid ; the augrn.

Fourth c a or . will always be difficult for short fingers.

Nevertheless, this exercise is so efficacious and beneficial, that it cannot be sufficiently recommended. Only let the player practise it with moderation and leisurely, carefully avoiding all excessive fatigue.

Nos. 29 and 30 Each of these exercises consists of several parts, each part to be gone through by itself. The first part in No. 29 contains the chromatic scales as a basis for double-notes ; in No. 30 the chromatic scale lies in the higher part of the double-notes. The other parts are each another combination of double-notes in chromatic progression ; here the tempo cannot well be prescribed. It is hardly necessary to say, that in playing each double-note the greatest distinctness combined with a perfect legato is absolutely essential.

The whole series of exercises in double-notes is to be recommended only to advanced pupils who have passed beyond the middle stage, or to such as have long and powerful fingers ; these will be able, even should their technical skill be not yet markedly developed, to go through most of these exercises in double-notes without risk of incurring excessive fatigue.

W RIST-EXERCISES.

Although mention has already been made (p. 15) of the proper manner of beginning and going through the wrist-exercises, the author deems it expedient to return to the subject with some additional remarks. That in all octave-passages the black keys are generally to be struck with the 4th finger, will be best realized by the player in executing the chromatic scale in octaves, without following the author's method, therefore with the arms unrestrained, being only concerned to keep the hand so quiet that it does not slide forward and backward, but remains in the same position. Here he will at once discover that the 4th finger automatically — so to speak — falls on the black keys ; these are shorter than the white ones, and to reach them, the finger must be more extended. The 5th finger is often unable to reach from a white key to a black one unless the hand pushes it forward, while the 4th finger naturally lies perfectly free near the black key ; it has only to strike it, without the least stretching being necessary. The author can give the fullest assurance that Liszt and Thalberg (his teacher) as a rule played octaves in no other way, and only in certain special leaps here and there used the 5th finger, along with the 4th, on black keys. It has happened of late that virtuosi and teachers make frequent use of the 5th finger on black keys. The author ventures to disapprove of this usage, and to maintain that it can be justified by exceptional circumstances only. That the " Daily Studies " contain no actual Octave-exercises, is explained in the preface to that work by the fact that Theodor Kullak's " Method of Octaves " has exhausted the subject, so that nothing new remains to be said on this head.

The author therefore refers students to that work, at the same time offering the suggestion that the wrist-exercises on

_J I l_ the single tones rfjrF"** a n be repeated 10, 20, or 30 times, or oftener, as they are among the most strengthening. Moreover, the chromatic scale in the compass of an octave, with the hands in contrary motion, practised with the arms and elbows close to the body, is an excellent preparation for the most difficult passages which require the action of the wrist, such as now come under consideration.

No. 31. — The wrist-exercises of this collection are subject to no particular tempo — the player may, when he has mastered the difficulties and made sure of uniform wrist-motion, choose the tempo for himself. The beginning should, however, even with trained players, be taken quite slow, for the perfectly uniform raising and lowering of the hand is the first indispensable condition, and is attainable and kept under sure control at first only by slow playing, with arms and elbows close to the body. The player has but to attend to the one point, that the elbow lie in front as steady as possible — everything else will come of itself, including. the stroke with the fleshy finger-tip.

No. 32 This exercise (devised by the author of this work

for his own use) should be played loud, and with perfect evenness. The pupil should give the preference to tonalities having many black keys. In playing the exercise legato, be very careful not to clip off the 1st pair of sixteenths from the second pair, thus :

the 2d sixteeenth should be fully sus-

HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIAXO. 53

tained : at the two sixths E5Ezz^=i?iz the hand should be pushed along, as it were, without being raised.

The following repetition may be employed as a variant:

No. 33. — In this exercise perfect evenness of stroke in both hands is the chief condition. To attain this, the hands should remain always spread out over the keys, so that between the last chord of the left hand and the first of the right, and contrariwise, no break be felt, and the chords sound as if played by one hand.