BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE PIANO TECHNIQUE WHILE AVOIDING INJURY: A COMPARISON OF THE EXERCISES IN ALFRED CORTOT’S RATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF PIANOFORTE TECHNIQUE AND CARL TAUSIG’S DAILY STUDIES FOR THE PIANOFORTE Lae Hyung Woo, B.M., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2017 APPROVED: Pamela Mia Paul, Major Professor Bradley Beckman, Committee Member Gustavo Romero, Committee Member Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music John Richmond, Dean of the College of Music Victor Prybutok, Vice Provost of the Toulouse Graduate School Woo, Lae Hyung. Building an Effective Piano Technique while Avoiding Injury: A Comparison of the Exercises in Alfred Cortot’s Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique and Carl Tausig’s Daily Studies for the Pianoforte. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2017, 137 pp., 4 tables, 5 figures, 63 examples, bibliography, 59 titles. It is the teacher's responsibility to guide students in building an effective and injury-free piano technique. Improper technique, poor training and bad posture at the instrument all may cause problems such as lack of muscle control, weakness, or tension in the hands. Many teachers are interested in finding information about specific exercises dealing with finger strengthening, stretching, and warm-up strategies, as well as guidelines for safe practicing. It is therefore important for both teachers and students to understand how to build a technique from the earliest years of instruction. Carl Tausig (1841-1871) and Alfred Cortot (1877-1962) both contributed to the development of piano technique by writing books that include a significant number of exercises and excerpts. Their books incorporate detailed instructions on how to play each exercise effectively and without fatigue. Subsequently, Heinrich Ehrlich (1822-1899) collected and systematically arranged Tausig's notes, complementing them with detailed information on how to play Tausig's exercises without causing injury. This dissertation compares and contrasts the exercises found in Alfred Cortot's book, Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique, and Carl Tausig's book, Daily Studies for the Pianoforte. The latter is based on the practical guidebook, How to Practise on the Piano: Reflections and Suggestions, written by Heinrich Ehrlich. Included in this study are references to the performing arts medical literature dealing with pianists' injuries. By comparing two different historical piano methods and considering their effectiveness in light of modern medical performance research, this dissertation aims to help teachers to determine which methods might be better for students to build a solid piano technique without injuring themselves. Copyright 2017 by Lae Hyung Woo ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ................................................................................................ vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2. ALFRED CORTOT AND CARL TAUSING: MUSICAL LIFE, TEACHING METHODS, AND PIANO EXERCISES ........................................................................................4 CHAPTER 3. RISK FACTORS AND PRINCIPLES FOR AVOIDING PIANO-RELATED INJURY .........................................................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 4. PRELIMINARY EXERCISES ...............................................................................18 4.1. Schedule and Plan for Daily Preliminary Exercises ..............................................18 4.2. Posture of Body and the Hands ..............................................................................26 4.3. Gymnastic Exercise ...............................................................................................42 CHAPTER 5. COMPOSITION OF CORTOT AND TAUSIG/EHRLICH’S BOOKS ................55 CHAPTER 6. FINGER EXERCISES............................................................................................57 6.1. Independence and Strengthening Exercises ...........................................................57 6.2. Stretching Exercises ...............................................................................................76 CHAPTER 7. WRIST EXERCISES..............................................................................................96 CHAPTER 8. APPLICATION EXERCISES ..............................................................................116 CHAPTER 9. CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................130 BIBLOGRAPHY .........................................................................................................................133 iii LIST OF TABLES Page 4.1 Cortot, “Transferable Table” from Rational Principles, pp. 105–106 ............................. 20 4.2 Cortot, “Repertory” from Rational Principles, pp. 97–98 ................................................ 23 8.1 Cortot, Repertory example for the music of Brahms from Rational Principles, p. 102 ......................................................................................................................................... 117 8.2 Cortot, Repertory list from Rational Principles, p. 100 ................................................. 122 iv LIST OF FIGURES Page 4.1 Finger joints and phalangeal segments: DIP, PIP, and MP ...............................................33 4.2 MP Joint Force ...................................................................................................................36 4.3 DIP Joint Force ..................................................................................................................37 4.4 Fingertip Positions .............................................................................................................38 4.5 Three Hand Positions .........................................................................................................40 v LIST OF EXAMPLES Page 4.1 Cortot, Daily Keyboard Gymnastics from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 1, p.4 ........44 4.2 Cortot, Daily Keyboard Gymnastics from Rational Principles, Transposition, p. 5 .........45 4.3 Cortot, Daily Keyboard Gymnastics from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 4, p. 5 .......46 4.4 Cortot, Daily Keyboard Gymnastics from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 7, p. 6 .......47 4.5 Tausig/Ehrlich, gymnastic exercise for independence and strength from How to Practise, p. 9......................................................................................................................................48 4.6 Tausig/Ehrlich, gymnastic exercise for scales from How to Practise, p. 10 .....................49 4.7 Tausig/Ehrlich, gymnastic exercise for the wrist from How to Practise, p. 15 .................50 6.1 Cortot, Exercise for four fingers with one finger held from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 2a-b, p. 11 .....................................................................................................................59 6.2 Cortot, Tenuto exercise for double notes from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 1a-d, p. 38........................................................................................................................................61 6.3 Cortot, Tenuto exercise for double notes from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 2, p. 39........................................................................................................................................62 6.4 Tausig/Ehrlich, One note held exercise from Daily Studies Book I. Nos. 17–18, p. 9 ......64 6.5 Tausig/Ehrlich, Tenuto exercise for double notes from Daily Studies Book II, No. 23, p. 47........................................................................................................................................66 6.6 Tausig/Ehrlich, Tenuto exercise for double notes from Daily Studies Book II, No. 24, p. 48........................................................................................................................................67 6.7 Cortot, Evenness and independence of the fingers from Rational Principles, p. 15 .........70 6.8 Cortot, Evenness and independence of the fingers from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 6a-d, p. 19 ............................................................................................................................70 6.9 Cortot, Developed exercise for building evenness and independence from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 7a, p. 19 ......................................................................................71 6.10 Cortot, Trill exercise from Rational Principles, Exercise No. 8a-b, p. 20 ..........................72 6.11 Tausig/Ehrlich, Finger exercises for independence and strength from Daily Studies, Book I, No. 9, p. 5 .......................................................................................................................72 vi 6.12 Tausig/Ehrlich, Finger exercise for independence and strength from Daily Studies, Book I, No. 14, p. 7 .....................................................................................................................73