Piano Practice: Practice Routines and Techniques for Concert Pianists
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Piano Practice: practice routines and techniques for concert pianists Bryan Wallick Supervisor: Professor John deC Hinch Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree DMus (Performing Art) Department of Music University of Pretoria May 2013 i © University of Pretoria Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people for their part in this dissertation: • Professor John Hinch for his guidance, patience and supervision • The eight selected pianists who participated in the interview sessions in New York • Isobel Rycroft from the UP music library for her help in locating information sources • My wife and two children who have patiently allowed me to finish this project • My parents who initially inspired my love for the piano, and who also helped edit the final version of this study ii Abstract This study investigates the various types of practice concert pianists utilize in preparation for performance. There are surprisingly few published documents which examine the highest levels of piano practice, and this study examines these scarce ideas in comparison with the newly collected material given by eight selected concert pianists regarding their practice methods, techniques and regimes. Keyboard practice techniques from the middle of the 19th century until the present are examined and presented here. Some of the techniques are physical applications of how to practice the instrument, and others are mental preparations which suggest philosophical guidance toward physical practice or enhance performance capabilities. Advice from many famous (older) concert pianists regarding their practice is compared with the newer advice of the eight pianists selected for this study. The amalgamation of all the compiled suggestions should enlighten any pianist’s approach toward practice, and could also be a helpful compendium to any professors of piano who wish to offer a wider variety of practice methods to their students. iii Contents Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Contents iv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Background to the study 1 1.2 Motivation for the study 2 1.3 Literature review 3 1.4 Research questions 5 1.5 Purpose of the study 5 1.6 Research methods 6 1.7 Delimitation of study 7 Chapter 2: Literature review part 1: Didactic material concerning practice and performance 8 2.1 Introduction 8 2.2 Literature review 8 2.2.1 The influence of Franz Liszt 9 2.2.2 Early technical methods 11 2.2.3 The Russian school 12 2.2.4 The German and English methods 13 2.2.5 A return to more practical demonstrations of practice and technique 15 2.2.6 Bernstein, Camp, and Sandor 19 2.2.7 Various modern studies on practice and performance 24 2.2.8 Pseudo-scientific studies 26 2.3 Summary of the examined literature 32 Chapter 3: Literature review part 2: Concert pianists’ thoughts on practice and performance 34 3.1 Introduction 34 3.2 Chopin’s influence 34 3.3 Concert pianists’ thoughts on practice 36 iv 3.4 Moving away from the Russian school 41 3.5 Collections of important interviews with contemporary pianists 49 3.6 Mach’s interviews 50 3.7 Dubal’s interviews 60 3.8 Noyle’s interviews 69 3.9 Conclusion 73 Chapter 4: Introduction of the eight concert pianists interviewed 74 4.1 Introduction 74 4.2 Orion Weiss 74 4.3 Andrew von Oeyen 76 4.4 Spencer Myer 77 4.5 Soyeon Lee 79 4.6 Vassily Primakov 80 4.7 Konstantin Soukhovetski 82 4.8 Tanya Bannister 83 4.9 Inon Barnatan 85 Chapter 5: Interviews with the selected concert pianists 88 5.1 Examination of pianists’ early practice history 88 5.2 University level practice habits, techniques and influences 91 5.3 Examination of specific practice techniques 94 5.3.1 Hands separate 94 5.3.2 Rhythm practice 95 5.3.3 Using a metronome 100 5.3.4 Slow practice 101 5.3.5 Playing through 102 5.3.6 Unhelpful practice techniques 103 5.4 Thoughts on practice two weeks prior to a performance 105 5.5 Practice and preparation the day before and the day of a concert 107 5.6 Last thoughts on practice 113 Chapter 6: Analysis of practice methods 117 6.1 Themes for investigation 117 6.2 Eastern and Western European approaches toward technique 117 6.3 Practice histories compared 119 6.4 Practice strategies compared and contrasted 121 6.4.1 Effective practice strategies 121 v 6.4.2 Ineffective practice strategies 123 6.5 Practice performances 124 6.6 Performance mindset 125 6.7 Practice on the day of a concert 126 6.8 Practice after a concert 126 6.9 Conclusion 127 Chapter 7: Personal thoughts on practice 129 7.1 Practice history 129 7.2 Specific practice methods 130 7.3 Suggestions for efficient practice 133 7.4 Conclusion 138 Chapter 8: Summary and recommendation 139 8.1 Summary 139 8.2 Recommendation 141 Sources list 142 Appendix A: Interview schedule 145 vi Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background to the study The subject of piano practicing has been of particular interest to me for many practical reasons. I am in the early stages of an international concert career and I spend many hours of my life practicing. My practice habits and structures have changed over the last ten years as I continually realize how much time is wasted during practice sessions. During my studies at The Juilliard School in New York and the Royal Academy of Music in London, I would often secretly listen to other (better) pianists practice in the hope of learning new techniques or ways of practicing which might enable my work to be more efficient. This clandestine listening provided more insight and help than any advice I was given by my teachers1. I also had numerous conversations with many of the pianists regarding how they practiced, and these discussions were very informative. When I explored and experimented with new ways to practice as suggested by my colleagues, I often found I could do much more quality work in less time2. As I began to perform more frequently, I returned to my colleagues and discussed not just practical practice tips but other issues concerned with giving successful performances. I again found the advice of my colleagues more helpful than the advice of the teachers. I began to question why the practical advice of colleagues, who were not “experts,” was more helpful than the very expensive advice I was paying for at the music institutions. During my time in London, I had the opportunity to study with concert pianists who were not teachers, and the instruction I received was of a different nature to the instruction gleaned from teachers who mainly taught 1 In this document the word ‘teacher’ refers to practical music teachers at secondary and tertiary institutions. 2 Further discussions regarding my personal experiences and motivation for this study appear in Chapter 7. They are not included here as they include discussions that would pre- empt information that appears in Chapters 5 and 6. 1 and no longer performed. After considering these circumstances, and following on from many subsequent discussions with numerous colleagues, I have concluded that there is a serious lack of practical information concerning efficient practice for the concert pianist, especially at the beginning of his or her career. 1.2 Motivation for the study Many young concert pianists attempt to study or perhaps have lessons and masterclasses with great performing artists, but continuous access to them is very limited. This leaves most students in the position of exclusively relying on their teachers at academic institutions to instruct them in the various techniques of practicing. I would like to suggest that in this respect there is a gap in the knowledge-exchange between students and teachers. There are, of course, numerous teachers who do their best to inculcate efficient practice methods in their students. But I have attempted to identify three different, but typical stereotypes of piano teachers who have corresponding limitations: (1) the teacher who currently performs (perhaps often) while also teaching; he has the most direct access to the experience of performing and should have the most experiential insight to offer students; (2) the teacher who used to perform but now devotes most his time to teaching; he may have a wealth of performance experience, but since he no longer performs there is a high likelihood that he may have forgotten some of the day-to- day struggles involved with mastering the instrument; (3) the teacher who never really performed and only teaches; he may have a wonderful understanding of music but may be severely limited in offering practical advice to the pianist. There are two major areas where teachers attempt to engage students. The first and perhaps most essential element is a pianist’s musicianship. Teachers spend a great majority of their time teaching the philosophy of good musicianship and most of this instruction is not necessarily related to a teacher’s performance ability. The second element, the practical demonstration of these philosophical musical ideas, is derived from a teacher’s musicianship and seeks to display in sound what a teacher describes in words. The conundrum is that there exist teachers who are incapable of performing on a musical level equivalent to the philosophical level they can describe with language, while other teachers can perform at the highest level, but are unable 2 to verbalize how they accomplish this. Both of these scenarios have obvious drawbacks. This study is not an attempt to belittle the quality of piano instruction at the secondary or tertiary3 level or to insult the competence of their teachers.