Letters to a Young Lady

Front matter

LETTERS

TO

,

Letter 1

LETTER I. FIRST RUDIMENTS OF THE PIANO.

Miss Cecilia,

When I, some years ago, had the pleasure of being personally acquainted with your family, I discovered in you so decided a talent for music, that I am exceedingly rejoiced to hear that you are now really about to devote yourself to the delightful art of playing the pianoforte. Your memory, at that time, easily retained any agreeable melody which you heard; you manifested a natural feeling for time and musical expression; and, added to this, your delicate fingers and hands possessed all the natural qualities so necessary for playing the pianoforte—flexibility, quickness of movement, and lightness, without being either too weak or too stiff.

So decided a disposition and inclination for this fine art could not, in truth, remain long dormant; for no art is more noble, nor more surely indicative of general mental cultivation than music; and you know that pianoforte playing, though suitable to every one, is yet more particularly one of the most charming and honorable accomplishments for young ladies, and, indeed, for the female sex in general. By it we can command, not only for one’s self, but for many others, a dignified and appropriate amusement; and, where great progress has been made, we also ensure a degree of distinction in the world, which is as agreeable to the amateur as to the professional artist.

As, on account of the distance of your residence, I cannot, alas! satisfy the wish of your honored parents by undertaking your instruction in person; I, with pleasure, impose it on myself as a duty, to urge you, from time to time by letters, to still greater diligence, and also to direct your attention, according to my own views, to all that may facilitate your tuition, and accelerate your progress; though, on the part of the very respectable master to whom your instruction is confided, all will unquestionably be done to cultivate your talent in a way equally tasteful and solid.

I beg of you, therefore, Miss Cecilia, to look upon my remarks merely as an explanatory repetition of what will have already been delivered to you, either verbally or in my Pianoforte School; and my end will be fully attained, if by this means your zeal is augmented, and the time and labor of learning abridged and facilitated.

The first principles, namely, a knowledge of the keys and of the notes, are the only really tedious and unpleasant points in learning music. When you have once conquered them, you will every day experience more and more amusement and delight in continuing your studies.

Consider the matter, dear Miss Cecilia, as if you were for a time compelled to wend your way among somewhat tangled and thorny bushes, in order to arrive at last at a beautiful prospect, and a spot always blooming in vernal beauty.

The best remedy against this disagreeable necessity is, to endeavour to fix these preliminary subjects on your memory as firmly and quickly as possible. Such pupils as manifest from the very outset a desire and love for the thing, and who strongly and rationally apply their memories to the matter, will acquire a perfect knowledge of the keys and notes in a few weeks; while others, frightened at the apparent tediousness of the acquisition, often lose several months in attaining the same object. Which, then, of these two ways is the better?

Before any thing else, I earnestly entreat you, Miss Cecilia, to acquire a graceful and appropriate position, when sitting at the pianoforte. The seat which you use must be just so high that the elbows, when hanging down freely, may be a very little less elevated than the upper surface of the keys; and if your feet should not reach the ground, have a dwarf stool or ottoman made, of a proper height, to place them upon. You must always seat yourself exactly facing the middle of the key-board, and at such a distance from it that the tips of the elbows may be a little nearer to the keys than the shoulders.

Equally important is a graceful position and carriage of the head and upper part of the chest; it must neither be stiff nor bent. Some of my former little pupils, whom I used to teaze with the reproach of making a cat’s back—that is, sitting with their backs bent and oblique—have, in later days, thanked me for the strictness which I shewed in this particular.

It is not merely that an awkward position is disagreeable and ridiculous, but it also impedes, if not prevents, the development of a free and elegant style of playing.

The fore part of the arm (from the elbow to the fingers) should form a perfectly straight horizontal line, for the hand must neither rise upwards like a ball, nor be bent so as to slope downwards.

The fingers are to be so bent that the tips of them, together with that of the thumb, when extended outwards, may form one right line; and so that the keys may always be struck with the soft and fleshy tips of the fingers, and that neither the nails nor the flat surface of the fingers shall touch the keys. In striking the black keys, the fingers must be stretched out a little more; but even in this case they must always remain sufficiently bent.

The percussion on the keys is effected solely by the fingers, which, without any actual blow, must press each key firmly down; and in doing this, neither the hand nor the arm must be allowed to make any unnecessary movements. The thumb should always strike the key with its external narrow surface, and in so doing it must be but very little bent.

The white keys are to be struck on the middle of their anterior broad surfaces, and the black keys pretty close to their nearest extremities or ends.

You must take great care, Miss, that you do not strike any key sideways or obliquely; as, otherwise, a contiguous and wrong key may chance to be touched; and, in music, nothing is worse than playing wrong notes.

While one finger strikes, the other fingers must be kept close to the keys, but always bent, and poised quite freely in the air; for we must not touch any key before the moment in which it is to be struck.

The most important of the fingers is the thumb; it must never be allowed to hang down below the key-board; but, on the contrary, it should always be held over the keys in such a way that its tip may be elevated a little higher than the upper surface of the black keys; and it must strike from this position.

To observe all these rules exactly, it is requisite that the elbows should never be too distant from the body; and that the arms, from the shoulder downwards, should hang freely, without being pressed against the body.

The necessity of all these rules you will not be able to comprehend till a future period.

The knowledge of the notes is a mere affair of memory; and for every note you must endeavour to find and strike the proper key, on the instant and without the least hesitation. In music, this constitutes what is called reading the notes; and when you shall have acquired this readiness, you will have overcome the most difficult thing which elementary objects in music will be likely to present to you.

At first, you will naturally learn only the notes in the treble clef; and for this purpose we may employ the following means:

First. When you look at a note, you must name it aloud, and then seek for and strike the key which belongs to it.

Secondly. When you strike at hazard any white key on the treble side of the key-board, you must name it aloud, and seek directly for the note belonging to it.

Thirdly. After having struck any white key at hazard, you must describe aloud, in words, on what line or in what space the note belonging to it must be written.

Fourthly. You must often play slowly through some of the easiest pieces for beginners, note by note, and with great attention, naming each note as you proceed.

Fifthly. I must also recommend you, Miss, to adopt the following expedient: since you are already much advanced in writing, as it becomes a young female of education to be, you must learn to write music. The little trouble that this will cost, you will find amply recompensed by great advantages. Notes are much easier to write than letters; and, if you daily devote a short quarter of an hour to this task, in a couple of weeks you will become sufficiently expert at it.

Your teacher will give you the instructions requisite for this purpose; and when you have been in this way accustomed to place the notes as they come, exactly on or between the lines, copy out daily one of the easiest elementary lessons, and then write in letters over each note its proper denomination; after which, play the piece over slowly.

When, in this way, you have learned to know perfectly all the notes in the treble clef, and are able to play slowly, but correctly, with both hands, all those little pieces in my School, which are written for both hands in the treble clef, then take the bass notes, and proceed with them just in the same manner.

You must practise each piece, paying the strictest attention to the fingering indicated, till you are able to execute it without stopping or stumbling. Each day you should read through a couple of fresh little pieces, to accustom the eye and the fingers to the various and ever-new passages which are formed by means of the notes.

At first, after each note, we must also look at the key which is to be struck; but afterwards, when we have attained a tolerable certainty in finding the keys, it is better to fix the eye on the notes rather than on the keys.

And now, Miss, allow me in this letter to offer this last very important remark: the best knowledge of the notes avails us very little, if, at the same time, the fingers do not begin to develop that degree of flexibility which is requisite for striking the keys and for playing in general. I therefore most earnestly recommend you to practise daily, with untiring diligence and the greatest attention, all the five-finger exercises in both hands, which you will find at the beginning of my Pianoforte School, and which your instructor will explain to you; in order that your small and delicate, though still sufficiently powerful fingers, may speedily acquire that pliability, independence, and volubility which is absolutely necessary to playing.

Do not be alarmed at the little trouble and application that this may require; try three or four times every day, for at least a quarter of an hour each time, to play through these exercises with attention. In fact, it is as impossible to play the pianoforte well with stiff and untractable fingers, as to dance well with stiff and untractable feet. Volubility of finger is one of the chief requisites in pianoforte-playing.

It is very proper that your teacher gives you an hour’s lesson every day. If, in addition to this, you daily dedicate another hour—or, if possible, two hours to practising by yourself—you will in a few months have for ever conquered all that is difficult or tedious in the elementary branches of playing; and you will each day see augmented the pleasure which the delightful art of music so richly bestows on its votaries.

And now, Miss Cecilia, farewell; and rejoice soon with the intelligence of your progress,

Your most devoted, &c.

Letter 2

LETTER II. (TWO MONTHS LATER.) ON TOUCH, TONE, AND THE MODE OF TREATING THE PIANOFORTE.

My dear Miss,

I have just received your welcome letter, and learn from it that you have already made a notable progress in reading the notes, and that you are able to play several of the first and easiest little pieces, somewhat slowly perhaps, but still intelligibly.

Continue daily to decypher a couple of new little pieces, and at the same time to practise still more those which you have already learned, so that these latter ones may go off quicker and quicker, and that you may each week study at least two fresh pieces. For, as you have an earnest wish to attain to a high degree of excellence in pianoforte-playing, you must look upon all that has been given to you as yet, only as a means to that end, and, indeed, as that means which will conduct to this end as quickly and as agreeably as possible.

I could not refrain from laughing a little, if I may be allowed to tell you so, at your com to me how much your master vexed and tormented you with finger-exercises, with rules relating to touch, to the position of the hands, to clearness, volubility, &c. &c.

“Ah!” exclaim you, in a manner quite touching, “must all this really be so?”

Yes—such is indeed the case; and here, dear Miss, I cannot assist you; your worthy teacher is quite right in being so strict as to all these points, and I will explain the reason why. From every musical instrument we may produce either a fine tone or a detestable one, according as we handle it. The same excellent violin which, in the hands of a clever player, sounds so delightfully, will, when handled by a clumsy person, yield as disagreeable sounds as if a number of kittens were squalling. It is the same with the pianoforte. If it is not properly handled by the player, or if we merely thump and bang the keys, the best instrument will sound hard and unpleasant. On the other hand, if we employ too little force, or do not know how to use this power in a proper manner, the tone will be poor and dull, and the performance unintelligible, and without soul or expression.

The interior mechanism of the keys is such that the strings will only sound well when we—

First. Strike each key perpendicularly; that is, straight downwards, and exactly in the middle, and therefore not sideways nor obliquely.

Secondly. When, after the percussion, each key is so firmly pressed down as to cause the full tone of the instrument to be audible.

Thirdly. When, before the percussion, we do not raise the finger too high; as otherwise, along with the tone, there will be heard the blow on the key.

Fourthly. When the hand and arm, even when striking with considerable force, do not make any jumping, chopping, or oscillating movement. For you will find, Miss, that the fingers cannot possibly play pleasantly and tranquilly when the hands and arms are unsteady.

Fifthly and lastly. When the player observes all these rules in rapid runs, or even in skips and extensions, as strictly as in slow and quiet passages.

All the finger-exercises, and particularly the scales, have no other end than to accustom the fingers to the application of these rules so thoroughly, that the player shall practise all that he studies in future strictly according to the principles we have given.

“Ah! the scales,” you write to me; “that is truly a tedious story! Are these things then really as necessary as my teacher says?”

Yes, Miss Cecilia, these scales are the most necessary point of all, not only for beginners, but even for pupils who are much advanced; and, indeed, the most expert players do and must constantly have recourse to and practise them. Permit me to demonstrate this to you, as I know that you have a good understanding, and are fond of reflecting.

You know already that the passing of the thumb under the other fingers, and of the three-middle fingers over the thumb, is absolutely necessary, and that it is the only means by which we are enabled to strike a long series of keys quickly one after the other.

But this passing of the thumb and fingers, even in the most rapid passages, must be effected in a manner so natural, equal, and unlaboured, that the hearer shall not be able to distinguish the smallest interruption or inequality. This, however, is almost the greatest difficulty in pianoforte-playing; and it is possible only when neither the arm nor the hand makes the smallest movement upwards or sideways, and when the joints of all the fingers attain gradually and by long practice so great a degree of flexibility and address, that in a rapid run over the key-board one is almost tempted to think that the player has at least fifty fingers on each hand. To attain this highly necessary property, there is no other means than the most diligent, uninterrupted daily practice of the scales in all the keys, as you will find them given in a connected arrangement in my Pianoforte School, and illustrated by the requisite explanations.

But these scales have many other various uses. There are few musical compositions in which they are not introduced by the author in some shape or other. In every piece, whether written to day or one hundred years ago, they are the principal means by which every passage and every melody is formed. The diatonic scales, or the chords broken into arpeggios, you will every where find employed innumerable times.

You will now easily imagine, Miss, what an advantage it gives a player when he is perfectly acquainted, in all the keys, with these fundamental passages, from which so many others are derived; and what a command over the entire key-board, and what an easy insight into any musical piece he gains thereby.

Farther, no property is more necessary and important to the player than a well-developed flexibility, lightness, and volubility of the fingers. This cannot be acquired in any way so quickly as by the practice of the scales. For, if we were to try to attain those qualities by the merely studying of different musical compositions, we should spend whole years to accomplish our purpose. Many beautiful pieces require to be executed in a very quick degree of movement, and with great volubility of finger. But how tiresome and detestable would not these same pieces sound, if played slow, stiff, and unequal! And even those compositions which are slow on the whole, still contain many occasional runs and embellishments which require great rapidity of finger. All these he has already conquered who is able to play the scales well and with sufficient quickness.

At present, Miss Cecilia, you cannot form an idea of the beauty and effect which is produced by a pure, clear, rapid, and strictly equal execution of such runs; they are musical rows of pearls; and many great artists are more particularly distinguished on account of their peculiar excellence in the performance of them. You will no doubt have already remarked, that correct fingering is a very important part of pianoforte playing, and one which costs every pupil a good deal of labour. Now, the scales contain all the principal rules of fingering; and they are in themselves sufficient, in almost all cases, to shew the pupil the right path. What do you say to all these advantages? Is it not well worth the while to occupy yourself seriously with these same tiresome scales?

I must now tell you in what way you ought to proceed to do this. For, if studied in a wrong manner, the scales may prove as injuri as they are capable of being serviceable when properly practised. You know, Miss, that the five fingers are by no means equal to each other in natural strength. Thus, for example, the thumb is much stronger than any of the other fingers; the first finger is much stronger than the little finger, and the third finger, on the contrary, is, with almost every person, the weakest of all. The pianist, however, must know how to employ these various degrees of power, so that in playing the scales all the fingers may strike their appropriate keys with perfect equality of strength; for the scales sound well only when they are played in every respect with the most exact equality.

This equality is three-fold; namely—

First. Equality of strength.

No one note ought to sound in the smallest degree louder than another, whether it be struck with the thumb, or the first, second, third, or little finger.

Secondly. Equality in point of quickness.

Each note must follow the preceding one strictly in the same degree of movement, whether we play the scales slow or quick.

Thirdly and lastly. Equality in holding the notes down.

No key must be held down for a longer or shorter time than the rest; that is, each finger must only keep its key pressed down till the following one is struck, and it must then be taken up exactly at the very moment that the next finger comes in contact with its key. This must, of course, also be observed in passing the thumb under the middle fingers, or in passing the latter over the thumb.

If we offend even against only one of these three principal rules, the equality and beauty of the run is destroyed, and the utility of the practice lost. Each scale, therefore, must be practised in the order prescribed in my Pianoforte School, first with the right hand only, and then with both hands, and, at first, extremely slow, always consulting the judgment of your teacher, or taking the counsel of your own good ear as to whether the fingers sufficiently observe all the rules.

From week to week you must increase the degree of rapidity, till at last all the fingers are in a condition to fly over the keys with lightness, firmness, and distinct and beautiful execution. Every day, when you seat yourself at the pianoforte, let the scales be, for one half hour, the first thing which you attack; as by this means the fingers will be got in readiness for every thing else.

But I will not torment you longer to day, for I hope soon again to receive intelligence of your further progress, and I remain, Miss,

Yours, &c. &c.

Letter 3

LETTER III.

(TWO MONTHS LATER.)

ON TIME, SUBDIVISION OF THE NOTES, AND FINGERING.

My dear Miss,

The intelligence of your further progress rejoiced me very much.

Your fingers already begin to develop a well-regulated flexibility; your touch and execution are no longer heavy and sluggish; the finger-exercises, the runs, and scale-passages go off tolerably quick, light, and equal; and, lastly, you already play several dozen little pieces without faults, and generally without stumbling. You see, Miss, that a reasonable degree of diligence and obedience to the precepts of your teacher will soon be rewarded by the most pleasing results.

The difficulty which the observance of the ♯, ♭, ♮, 𝄪, and 𝄫 still causes you, will soon disappear, if you firmly apply your memory to this point, and if you constantly take good notice of, and learn to quickly retain the marks of transposition which are indicated at the beginning of each piece, as well as those which occur accidentally in the bar.

But the time and the subdivision of the notes cause you, as you write to me, still much trouble; and we will therefore treat a little on this subject to day.

The subdivision of the notes in music is a thing so certain and so positively determined, that we cannot well commit a fault against it, if we give to each note and rest its exact value, and if, in so doing, we consult the eye rather than the ear. For the eye always sees aright when it is supported by the memory; but the ear by itself may very often be deceived, particularly in beginners.

The duration of the notes is, as you know, expressed by the fingers being held down on the keys; that of the rests, on the contrary, by the fingers being kept off the keys, and free; and we must take care not to confound these two things; for each note must be held exactly as long as its prescribed value requires, and the key must not be quitted either sooner or later. Simple and easy as this rule appears, it is often sinned against by much better players than yourself. This arises from the circumstance that most persons are neglectful on this head when they are first taught; partly out of carelessness, and partly also because the holding down of the keys appears tiresome and inconvenient; or, on the contrary, sometimes because the fingers are too unapt and sluggish to quit the key at the right moment.

Those who hold down the keys too long, accustom themselves to a lingering, adhesive, indistinct, and often discordant manner of playing. He who quits the keys too soon, falls into an unconnected, broken style of playing, which is without melody, and which at last degenerates into mere hacking and thumping the keys. That both modes will conduct us into the wrong path, I need not further explain to you.

The art of subdividing the notes consists in introducing the quicker notes, exactly at the right moment, among the longer ones.

But, as there occasionally occurs groups of notes which must be played very quick; if we are to observe the exact movement and the length of the bar, you will see, Miss, how necessary it is that the fingers should early be accustomed to play with readiness and rapidity. For without this, even with the best knowledge of the subdivision of the notes, we are at every moment in danger, either of lagging behind in the time, or of scrambling over these quicker notes in any way we best can.

You perceive here, again, that the diligent practice of the finger-exercises and scales if of the last importance; for the quick perception of the different values of the notes requires only a practised eye; while, for the rapid and correct execution of them, we also require a well-practised finger.

It is of great advantage to you that, in every piece, your worthy teacher either counts aloud each separate bar, or beats the time with a bit of stick, by which you are compelled to continue always in the right time.

Equally useful is it, that you have already studies several easy pieces as duets for four hands, occasionally playing the lower or bass part.

The two following capital points are most essential, and must not be overlooked:

First. Strictness in taking the right notes.

For every false note is also a dissonant note, which generally sounds very disagreeably, and strikes as unpleasantly on the ear as a spot of ink on a white frock does on the eye.

Secondly. Correctness in keeping time.

For, without time, music is unintelligible, and lost on the hearer.

To correctness in playing belong attention, tranquillity, a good position of the bands, correct fingering, and the requisite habit of striking every key in the middle of its breadth, so as not to touch any contiguous key.

To keeping time belong also the following points:

At the first decyphering of a new musical piece, the beginner cannot of course easily play in time; since he must bestow great attention on taking the notes correctly, and on the fingering, and must stop at each wrong-taken key to set himself right. As soon, however, as this is amended, he must endeavour to play through the piece; at first slowly indeed, and then continue to practise it, till he can go through it as quickly as the composer has indicated.

If you can accustom yourself, while playing, to count aloud, it will be exceedingly advantageous to you. But this it is difficult to manage, because, by so doing, freedom of playing is apt to be impeded; and, besides, we easily fall into the error of counting unequally. When you practise alone, therefore, it will be best only to count in idea, and to consult your car with great attention, in order to recall to your mind how the piece sounded while your teacher was present. Beating the time with the foot cannot well be recommended, because it often settles into a bad habit.

When long rests occur in both hands, counting mentally or aloud is exceedingly necessary; for you know that, in every musical composition, each bar must occupy exactly the same quantity of time as the rest, whether it consists of notes or rests.

Hitherto, I have only spoken of that sort of keeping time in which we neither come to a stand-still, nor omit, nor pass over any thing. But there is another sort of keeping time, in which we may observe all this very correctly, and yet commit errors against time.

These faults consist in this—that, in the course of the piece, we either continually play quicker and quicker or slower and slower; or else, that we sometimes play too quick, and then again too slow.

Into the error of accelerating the time, just such young and lively persons as my dear Miss Cecilia are most apt to fall; and who knows whether I have not guessed right when I imagine that you sometimes begin a piece which goes off pretty fluently, at first very quietly and sagely; but then, becoming excited as you go on, you play quicker and quicker, and at last, finish with such rapidity as if your fingers were holding a run-away pony? Have I not guessed right?

To avoid this, you must practise even those pieces which you already play well, as composedly and as attentively as when you first began to study them; and in so doing, you must not allow the fingers to indulge their own fancies, or to be in the least degree inattentive. For the fingers are little disobedient creatures, if they are not kept well-reined in; and they are apt to run off like an unbroken colt as soon as they have gained some degree of fluency.