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Continuing Abby Whiteside's Legacy--The Research of Pianist James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Dissertations The Graduate School Fall 2011 Continuing Abby Whiteside's legacy--The eser arch of pianist Sophia Rosoff 's pedagogical approach Carol Ann Barry James Madison University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/diss201019 Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Barry, Carol Ann, "Continuing Abby Whiteside's legacy--The er search of pianist Sophia Rosoff's pedagogical approach" (2011). Dissertations. 84. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/diss201019/84 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONTINUING ABBY WHITESIDE’S LEGACY—THE RESEARCH OF PIANIST SOPHIA ROSOFF’S PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH (Based on the Playing Principles Outlined in the Book On Piano Playing by Abby Whiteside, with Practice and Performance Observations by Carol Ann Barry) Carol Ann Barry A Research Project submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements Of the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts School of Music December 2011 DEDICATION This Research Project is dedicated to Pianist Sophia Rosoff. Her patience, dedication and commitment to helping pianists around the world play with musical and physical freedom has been an inspiration for more than fifty-five years. I dedicate this work in honor of her ninetieth birthday in January, 2011. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I offer my sincere thanks to my advisor and piano professor, Dr. Eric Ruple. His enthusiasm for this project has been a great source of encouragement. I deeply appreciate my husband, Timothy, for his editing skills and personal sacrifice. He has made the work on this document possible. I would also like to recognize my student Max Gaitán for agreeing to pose for the pictures demonstrating warm-ups at the piano. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………….. ii Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………........................... iii Table of Figures………………………………………………………………………..... vii Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………... ...x Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter I: An Overview of Abby Whiteside’s Pedagogical Principles……………………4 Whiteside’s Musical Training and her Quest for Solutions to Students’ Problems..5 The Abby Whiteside Foundation…………………………………………………9 Chapter II: Biographical Background of Sophia Rosoff…………………………………11 Sophia Rosoff Meets Abby Whiteside…………………………………………...13 Chapter IIII: Rosoff’s Teaching Strategies: Warm-ups and Set-ups…………………….15 Becoming Physically Available to Play…………………………………………..16 Focusing the Body Away from the Piano………………………………………..17 iv Discovering the Function of the Upper Arm……………………………………18 Feeling Physically Alert…………………………………………………….……19 Bench Height and Distance………………………………………………….…..22 Set-ups with Sound……………………………………………………………..23 Octave Work……………………………………………………………………24 Full-Arm Arpeggios…………………………………………………………….25 Five-Finger Pentascales…………………………………………………………27 Chapter III: The Basic Emotional Rhythm…………………………………………….28 Basic Emotional Rhythm in the Arts…………………………………………...28 The Difference Between Basic Rhythm and Basic Emotional Rhythm…………32 Finding the Basic Emotional Rhythm……………………………………….…..33 Tapping Rhythms at the Piano…………………………………………………..34 Rhythm Talk……………………………………………………………………37 Chapter V: Outlining—A Crucial Practicing Technique…………………………………39 Benefits of Outlining……………………………………………...........................40 Basic Outlining Examples……………………………………………………….41 v Chapter VI: Additional Practice Suggestions…………………………………………….49 Test Measures…………………………………………………………………....49 Upside-Down Practice…………………………………………………………51 Transposition……………………………………………………………………52 Practicing with a Blind-fold..…………………………………………………….53 Slow Practice……………………………………………………………………54 Chapter VII: Teaching Philosophy, Lessons and Group Performance Classes……….…56 Teaching Philosphy……………………………………………………………...56 Group Classes…………………………………………………………………..57 Chapter VIII: Practice and Performance Observations…………………………………58 Personal Playing Improvement…………………………………………………59 Application of Concepts in the Independent Studio……………………………62 Application of Concepts in the Collegiate Studio………………………………64 References……………………………………………………………………………..66 vi TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1……………………………………………………………………………4 Figure 2……………………………………………………………………………6 Figure 3…………………………………………………………………………….10 Figure 4…………………………………………………………………………….11 Figure 5…………………………………………………………………………….17 Figure 6a…………………………………………………………………………...18 Figure 6b…………………………………………………………………………...18 Figure 7a……………………………………………………………………………19 Figure 7b……………………………………………………………………………19 Figure 8……………………………………………………………………………..20 Figure 9…………………………………………………………………………….22 Figure 10…………………………………………………………………………....24 Figure 11a……………………………………………………………………...........25 Figure 11b………………………………………………………………………….25 vii Figure 11c………………………………………………………………………..26 Figure 12…………………………………………………………………………27 Figure 13…………………………………………………………………….........28 Figure 14………………………………………………………………….…..….35 Figure 15a………………………………………………………………………..37 Figure 15b……………………………………………………………………….38 Figure 16a………………………………………………………………………..43 Figure 16b………………………………………………………………………..44 Figure 16c……………………………………………………………………… .44 Figure 16d………………………………………………………………………..44 Figure 17a…………………………………………………………………….…..45 Figure 17b…………………………………………………………………..…….45 Figure 17c…………………………………………………………………………45 Figure 17d…………………………………………………………………………45 Figure 18a………………………………………………………………...………..46 Figure 18b…………………………………………………………………………46 viii Figure 19………………………………………………………………...…………46 Figure 20…………………………………………………………………………..47 Figure 21a…………………………………………………………………………49 Figure 21b…………………………………………………………………………50 Figure 21c…………………………………………………………………………50 Figure 21d…………………………………………………………………………50 Figure 21e…………………………………………………………………………50 Figure 22a…………………………………………………………………………50 Figure 22b…………………………………………………………………………51 Figure 23…………………………………………………………………………..51 ix ABSTRACT Since 1956, Sophia Rosoff has dedicated herself to performing and teaching principles developed by piano pedagogue Abby Whiteside. Whiteside became internationally known between 1930 and 1956 for her pioneering work in the study of the use of the body in producing beautiful sound and freedom of technique. Her research was considered revolutionary and instrumental in raising physical awareness in pianists. Committed to ongoing research, Rosoff continues to teach in her apartment in the Upper East Side of New York City. The purpose of this document is to present Rosoff’s musical background, research, teaching philosophy, and the strategies she has developed for teaching Abby Whiteside’s pedagogical concepts to pianists of all ages and technical abilities. To understand the significance of Rosoff’s work, an understanding of Whiteside’s teaching principles must be surveyed. A chapter devoted to Whiteside, her musical background and training, and an overview of the process she used to develop her principles is presented first. Rosoff encourages students to use many practice strategies that she has developed. Each one uses a vocabulary unique to her teaching, and is presented at the beginning of each section. The most comprehensive of these is the use of outline-based learning. Rosoff teaches pianists to learn repertoire from the broadest structure of the piece possible. This involves learning the piece using a series of outlines. Instead of attempting to play all the notes present in a phrase, the pianist is encouraged to play skeletal outlines, beginning with only first beats. Notes are systematically included in subsequent outlines. Because different textures of music require different approaches to x outlining, several examples are included that cover a broad spectrum of compositions and textures. The first outlines might include only the first beat of each measure. Rosoff believes that outlines are essential to finding the basic emotional rhythm which is discussed in depth in Whiteside’s book, The Indispensables of Piano Playing. 1 Whiteside documents her study of the different art disciplines. This document extends that study by including statements made by well-respected artists, poets, directors, and athletes. An avid reader, Rosoff often refers to a wide range of quotes that offer the pianist an in-depth look at the importance an emotional rhythm is to a large cross-section of physical and artistic activities. 1 Abby Whiteside, The Indispensables of Piano Playing. (Portland: Amadeus Press, 1997). xi Introduction In 1716, keyboardist and pedagogue François Couperin wrote the treatise, L’Art de toucher le clavecin. Numerous treatises and keyboard instruction manuals have been published since then. Each one contributes new pedagogical concepts to the art of playing the piano. When Bartolomeo Cristofori designed and built the first pianoforte in 1709, he unwittingly launched more than two hundred years of design and technological improvements, culminating in the piano we have today. 2 The rapid development of the structure of the piano required changes in the physical approaches to practice and performance. For example, Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) wrote the Introduction to the Art of Playing the Pianoforte in 1803. 3 Clementi focused on the production of a legato sound. He instructed pianists to hold down a note until the next was pressed. Ludwig Deppe (1828-1890), considered
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