Part 13

Refrain from all especially technical work. Since your love of music is strong enough to cause you to resume your playing you should take as much pleasure in it as possible and work technically only in the pieces you play--that is, in those places which offer you difficulties. Decide upon a comfortable fingering first, and practise the difficult places separately and slowly until you feel that you can venture to play them in their appropriate speed.

[Sidenote: _First Learn to Play Simple Things Well_]

What pieces would you advise me to memorize after Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor and Chopin's A-flat Ballade? These pieces do not appeal to the majority of people, but I enjoy them.

If such a work as Chopin's Ballade in A-flat does not "appeal to the majority"--as you say--the fault cannot lie in the composition, but must be sought in the interpretation. Why not try a few pieces of lesser complexity and play them so perfectly that they do appeal to the majority. Try Chopin's Nocturne, opus 27, No. 2; Schumann's Romanza, opus. 28, No. 2; or his "Traumerei," or some of the more pretentious "Songs Without Words" by Mendelssohn.

[Sidenote: _About Starting on a Concert Career_]

I am twenty-four, have had four years' rigorous work in a conservatory and a partial college training. My technique is adequate for Brahms's Rhapsody in G minor and McDowell's Sonatas. I have good health and am determined not to grow self-satisfied. Is there a place on the concert stage--even if only as an accompanist--for a woman thus equipped?

Any public career must begin by earning the good opinion of others. One's own opinion, however just, is never a criterion. My advice is that you speak to some of the prominent concert agents, whose names and addresses you find in every well-accredited music paper. Play for them. They are usually not connoisseurs by actual knowledge, but they have developed a fine instinct for that which is of use to them, and you are, of course, aware that we must be of use to others before we can be of use to ourselves. If the right "stuff" is in you you will make your way. People of ability always do. That there is room for women on the concert stage is proved by the great array of meritorious women pianists. Especially for accompanying women are in demand--that is, for _good_ accompanying. But I would not start out with the idea of accompanying. It seems like going to a commercial school to study be to an "assistant" bookkeeper. Become a fine, all-round musician, a fine pianist, and see what the tide of affairs will bring you. The proper level for your ability is bound to disclose itself to you.

[Sidenote: _Accompanist Usually Precedes Soloist at Entering_]

Should an accompanist precede or follow the soloist on the stage in a concert or recital, and should sex be considered in the matter?

If the soloist be a man the accompanist should precede him on the stage in order to arrange his music, the height of his seat or whatever may be necessary, during which time the soloist salutes the audience. For these reasons it should be the same when the soloist is a woman, but as women are of the feminine persuasion it will, perhaps, look better if the accompanist yields precedence to her.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF QUESTIONS

PAGE

About Starting On a Concert Career 162

Accenting a Mordent in a Sonata 70

Accompanist Usually Precedes Soloist at Entering 164

Action of a Beginner's Piano, The 87

Action of the Little Finger, The 17

Advantage of Legato over Staccato, The 22

Affected Movements at the Piano 126

"Afraid to Play Before People" 121

Age of the Student is Immaterial 139

Always Keep in Touch With Bach 81

Art of Accompanying a Soloist, The 118

Art of Playing With Feeling, The 124

As to one Composer--Excluding All Others 160

As to Playing Rubato 100

As to the Bach Fugues 88

Bach's Music Necessary to Good Technique 80

Bach's Preludes and Fugues 82

Beethoven Sonata with a Pastoral Character, The 84

Beginner in Bach Music, The 80

Best Physical Exercise for the Pianist, The 181

Best Way to Improve Sight-Reading, The 117

Best Way to Work Up a Quick Tempo, The 54

Better Not Give the Child "Modified Classics" 148

Biting the Finger-Nails Spoils the Touch 19

Books that Aid the Student Working Alone 155

Broad-Tipped Fingers Not a Disadvantage 20

C-Scale Fingering for All Scales, The 28

Can Music be Studied in America? 148

Cantabile Passages 7

Charm of Chopin's Touch, The 86

Chopin's Barcarolle 88

Chopin's Works for a Popular Concert 88

"Colour" of Various Keys, The 187

Company that One Keeps in Music, The 188

Composition Must Fit the Player, The 130

Conditions Which Dictate Speed in Playing, The 53

Counting Out Loud 50

Difference Between Conception and Rubato, The 102

Difference Between "Finger Staccato" and Other Kinds, The 22

Difference Between Major and Minor Scales, The 109

Difference in Playing Trills, The 74

Different Conceptions May be Individually Correct 102

Difficulty of Playing Repetition Notes, The 34

Disputed Chopin Reading, A 78

Do not Allow the Wrist to Get Stiff 10

Do not Injure the Hand by Stretching It 13

Do not Over-Use the Soft Pedal 44

Do not Raise the Piano-Stool too High 4

Do not Raise Wrist in Marking a Rest 99

Do not Stiffen the Hands in Playing Scales 9

Do not Use a Piano Extreme in "Action" 36

Double Sharp Misprinted for Double Flat 65

E Sharp and B Sharp and the Double Flat 64

Easiest Way to Memorize, The 113

Effect of Double Flats, The 65

Effect of Playing the Same Piece Often, The 122

Either Trust Your Teacher or Get a New One 146

Etudes for Advanced Players to Work At 94

Exercises for the Beginner to Practise 93

Fatiguing the Hand by Stretching 12

Few Sonatas of Beethoven, Well Played, Are Enough, A 85

Fingering the Chromatic Scale 28

Fingers Needed to Play a Mordent, The 28

Firm and Crisp Legato Touch, The 24

First Learn to Play Simple Things Well 162

Four Ways to Study a Piano Piece 52

Fourth and Fifth Fingers, The 16

Frequent Lessons and Shorter 147

General Rule About the Pedal, A 39

Genuine Piano Hand, The 130

Give Your Teacher a Fair Trial 145

Good Finger Exercises 93

Good Intermediate Books of Etudes 94

Greatest Composers as Pianists, The 91

Hearing a Piece Before Studying It 104

Height of the Piano Seat, The 5

Horseback Riding Stiffens the Fingers 132

How a Tie and a Slur Differ 63

How Are Syncopated Notes to be Played? 71

How Best to Play the Octaves 29

How Grace Notes Are Played 61

How Long an Accidental Affects a Note 64

How Much You Can Get from Music 157

How Organ Playing Affects the Pianist 26

How Tight to Keep the Piano's Action 37

How to Get Music Published 150

How to Hold the Thumb 16

How to Improve the Technique 4

How to Play Passages Marked "Rubato" 100

How to Use the Pedal 39

How Waltz, Menuet, Mazurka and Polonaise Differ 111

Importance of Studying With the Right Teacher, The 140

Incorrect Position of the Fingers, An 8

Individual Teacher or Conservatory? 142

In Order to Memorize Easily 115

In Playing a Sonata 75

"International" Piano Pitch, The 136

International Pitch, The 136

Is the Piano the Hardest to Master? 127

"It is So Much Easier to Read Flats Than Sharps!" 157

Kind of Piano Upon Which to Practise, The 35

Kullak's "Method of Octaves" Still Good 34

Learning the Art of Accompanying 118

Learning to Accompany at Sight 117

Learning to Modulate 107

Let Your Ear Guide Your Pedalling 41

Loose Wrist, The 9

Masters Cannot be Studied In Order 90

Meaning and Use of "Motif," The 68

Meaning of Solfeggio, The 74

Meaning of "Toccata," The 111

Memorizing Quickly and Forgetting as Readily 115

Metronome Markings, The 57

Metronome Markings May Better be Ignored 59

Modern Piano Music 92

Mood and Tempo in the A Flat Impromptu 87

More Technique the More Practice, The 3

Morning is the Best Time to Practise 46

Morning Practice on the Piano, The 45

Music as a Profession or as an Avocation 156

Music Schools and Private Teachers 141

No Necessity to Watch the Fingers 19

Not Playing the Two Hands at Once 25

Nothing But the Best Will Do 141

Number of Lessons Depends on Progress, The 147

Old Problem of Duple Time against Triple, The 98

Omitting One Note in a Chord 89

Once More the "Soft" Pedal 44

One Lesson a Week 147

Only Kind of Practice Worth While, The 47

Order of Studying Beethoven's Sonatas 83

Organ Playing and the Piano Touch 26

Organizing a Musical Club 150

Perfect Rubato the Result of Momentary Impulse 101

Personal Element and the Metronome, The 58

Pianist Who Fails to Express Herself, The 123

Piano Study for Conductor and Composer 128

Play Chords With a Loose Arm 11

Playing Duple Time Against Triple 96

Playing from Memory is Indispensable 112

"Playing in Time" and "Playing in Rhythm" 151

Playing of Double Thirds, The 35

Playing of Slurred Notes, The 62

Playing On a Dumb Piano 38

Playing the "Melody in F" 79

Playing the "Spring Song" too Fast 77

Playing with Cold Hands 49

Point in Playing the "Moonlight Sonata," A 76

Position of Auxiliary Note in a Trill 72

Position of the Turn over a Note, The 71

Position of the Wrist, The 10

Practising Eight Hours Instead of Four 48

Practising the Two Parts Separately 52

Premature Fatigue in the Arms 33

Problem of Transposing at Sight, The 119

Proper Course for a Little Girl, The 146

Rapid Octaves 30

Real Meaning of Speed Terms, The 60

Relation of Harmony to Piano Playing, The 105

Rests Used under or over Notes 62

Results Count, Not the Methods, The 6

Rolled Chord Marked "Secco," A 70

Rubinstein or Liszt--Which is the Greater? 158

Rule for Selecting the Speed, A 60

Safe Way of Stretching the Small Hand, A 13

Sensible Scheme of Playing for Pleasure, A 161

Sex of the Piano Teacher, The 143

Should Piano Students Try to Compose? 108

Slurs and Accents Not Related 63

Small Notes under Large Ones 70

Some Pieces for a Girl of Fourteen 75

Speed and Smoothness in Trilling 73

Staffs are Independent of Each Other, The 66

Starting a Child's Musical Training 138

Stiff Wrists in Playing Octaves 33

Student Who Cannot Play Fast Music, The 151

Student Who Wants to Compose, The 108

Student with a Fondness for the Pedal, The 42

Study of Mendelssohn, The 85

Study of Operatic Transcriptions, The 91

Study of the Scales, The 51

Study of the Scales is very Important, The 50

Studying Counterpoint by One's Self 107

Take a Month's Rest Every Year 56

Taking Liberties With the Tempo 89

"Tenuto" Dash and Its Effect, The 69

Text-books on Harmony 106

There Are Dangers in Using a Metronome 59

There Is Only One Minor Scale 109

Tied Staccato Notes 69

Tilt of the Hand in Playing Scales, The 6

Time to Devote to Technical Exercises 47

To Gain Facility in Sight-Reading 117

To Keep Errors from Creeping in 116

To Play a Glissando Passage 29

To Prevent Sore Finger-tips After Playing 20

To Produce a Softer Tone 43

To Produce Good Legato 23

To Strengthen the Weak Finger, Use It 18

To Work up a Fast Tempo 53

Too Much "Method" 144

Trill Begins on the Melodic Note, A 72

Twenty-five Not Too Late to Begin 139

Two Hands Playing Difficult Rhythms, The 97

Universal System of Marking Fingering, The 27

Use of the Pedal for Colouring, The 39

Use Pedal With Caution In Playing Bach 41

Using the Two Pedals at Once 48

Value of Clementi's "Gradus" To-day, The 95

Value and Correct Practice of Phrasing, The 98

Value of Going to Concerts, The 153

Value of Heller's Studies, The 93

Watch Your Breathing 55

Weak Fingers of the Left Hand, The 18

Well-Tempered Piano Scale, The 137

What a Dot May Mean 77

What a Double Dot Means 62

What Does "Technique" Mean? 3

What Is the Best of Chopin? 86

What Is the Difference Between the Major and Minor Scales? 110

"What Is the Matter with My Scales?" 14

What the Leschetizky Method Is 144

What the Object of Study Should Be 135

What to Do with an Unemployed Hand 21

When an Accidental Is in Parentheses 66

When Playing Octaves 31

When Reading Over a New Piece 51

When the Fingers Seem Weak 18

When to Keep Away from the Piano 132

When to Play for People 120

When Tremolo Proves Unduly Fatiguing 11

When Two Fingers Have the Same Note 79

Where Outside Criticism Is Desirable 143

Where the Accent Should Be Placed 78

Which Fingers Demand Most Attention? 16

Which Should Come First--Conception or Technique? 103

Why Rag-time Is Injurious 134

Why So Many Different Keys? 105

Why the Pianist Should Study Harmony 104

Why the Piano Is So Popular 128

Why Two Names for the "Same" Key? 67

"Wonder Children" as Pianists 152

Wrist Staccato at a High Tempo 21

Wrist Stroke In Long Octave Passages 32

INDEX

A flat, key of, 67. Impromptu in, 78, 87. Chopin's Ballade in, 162.

A sharp, key of, 67. difference between, and B flat, 137.

Accent, where the, should be placed, 78.

Accenting a mordent, 70.

Accents, slurs and, not related, 68.

Accidental, how long an, affects a note, 64. when an, is in parentheses, 66.

Accompaniment, 118.

Accompaniments, in left-hand waltz, 17.

Accompanist, 118, 119, 164.

Accompanying, at sight, 117. a soloist, 118. the art of, 118.

Action, of the wrist, 9. of the arm, 11. of the little finger, 17. a piano extreme in, 36. how tight to keep the piano's, 37. of a beginner's piano, 37. a too heavy, 38. too light an, 38.

Adagio, 60.

Advantage, of legato over staccato, 22. of universal fingering, 27.

Affected movements at the piano, 126.

Age, and physical development of the beginner, 138, 139.

Age of the student, immaterial, 139.

Aid, books that, the student working alone, 155.

Allegretto grazioso, 77.

Allegro, 60.

America, can music be studied in, 148.

"American" fingering, 27.

Andante, 60.

Appassionata, the last movement of the, 76.

Appoggiatura, 72.

Arm, action of the, 11. play chords with a loose, 11.

Arms, premature fatigue in the, 33.

Arpeggio, 3, 9.

Art, of accompanying, the, 118. the canons of, 125.

Attention, which fingers demand most, 16.

Auber, 136.

Auxiliary, position of, note in a trill, 72.

Average, speed, 59. tempo, 60.

Avocation, music as a profession or as an, 156.

B flat minor, Chopin's Prelude in, 95.

B sharp, 64, 65.

Bach, use pedal with caution in playing, 41. the beginner in, music, 80. in touch with, 81.

Bach, Philipp Emanuel, 88.

Bach's, music, 80, 81. preludes, 67, 82. fugues, 67, 82, 83.

Bad music, 183.

Baermann, Carl, 94.

Ballade, Chopin's, in A flat, 102.

Baltzell, "History of Music," by, 150.

Barcarolle, Chopin's, 88.

Beethoven, the sonatas of, 83, 85.

Beethoven's Sonatina, opus 49, 59. Fifth Symphony, 69. Sonata Pathétique, 70. "Moonlight Sonata," 76. sonatas, 83. order of studying, sonatas, 83. Sonata, opus 28, 84. style, 85. first and last sonatas, 90.

Beginner's, the action of a, piano, 37.

Bendel's "Zephyr," 53.

Berceuse, Chopin's, opus 57, 86.

Berens, 95, 143.

Berlin, 118.

Berlioz, 91, 136.

Best, how to play the octaves, 29. morning is the, time to practise, 46. way to work up a quick tempo, 54. what is the, of Chopin, 86. the, book of instruction for a beginner, 93. the, way to improve sight-reading, 117. the, piano hand, 130. the, physical exercise for the pianist, 131. nothing but the, will do, 141.

Biting the finger-nails, 19.

Blumenstuck, Schumann's, 79.

"Blurring," 23.

Body, general position of the, 4.

Books, of Etudes, 93, 94. that aid the student working alone, 155.

Brahms, 162.

Breathing, 55.

Broad-tipped fingers, 20.

Bulow, 17.

Büssler, 106.

C flat, 67.

C sharp, key of, 67.

C sharp major, Bach's fugue in, 83.

C sharp minor movement, the, 58.

Cantabile passages, 7.

Cantata, 112.

Chaminade, Toccata by, 111.

Chaminade's "Air de Ballet," No. 1, 70.

Chopin, Polonaise, opus 53, 74. a disputed, reading, 78. Life of, 86. the best of, 86. Etude by, 94. Etudes in C minor, 95.

Chopin's works, 23, 79. Prelude, No. 15, 58. Valse, opus 42, 61. Polonaise, opus 58, 74. Polonaise, opus 26, No. 1, 77. Nocturne in F sharp, 78. Impromptu in A flat, opus 29, 78, 87. charm of, touch, 86. Chants Polonais, 88. Fantasy Impromptu, 88, 97. Barcarolle, 88. Nocturne, opus 27, No. 2, 88, 162.

Chopin's works for a popular concert, 88. Ballade in A flat, 162.

Chord, rolled, marked "secco," 70. in the Waltz in E minor, 89.

Chords, play, with a loose arm, 11.

Chromatic, the, scale 28. thirds, 35. accidental, signs, 66, 67.

Classics, "modified," 148.

Clementi, 81.

Clementi's "Gradus ad Parnassum," 95. Sonatina, opus 37, 96.

"Colour," of various keys, 137.

Colouring, 39, 44, 137.

Composer, piano-study for, 128. as to one, 160.

Composers, the greatest, as pianists, 91.

Composition, 108, 130.

Conception, difference between, and rubato, 102.

Conceptions, different, 102.

Concert, Chopin's works for a popular, 88. etudes, 94. work, 156. career, 162.

Concerto, the Grieg, 35.

Concerts, the value of going to, 153.

Conservatory, individual teacher or, 142.

Conductor, piano-study for, 128.

Correct practice of phrasing, 98.

Counterpoint, studying, 107, 142.

Cramer Etudes, the, 17, 45.

C-scale fingering, 28.

Counterpoint, studying, by one's self, 107.

Counting, 50.

Course, proper, for a little girl, 146.

Criticism, where outside, is desirable, 143.

Curved fingers, 6, 7.

Czerny, 45, 81.

D flat, key of, 67. arrangement of Bach's Fugues, 83.

Damper pedal, the, 43.

Dance, music, 134. Liszt's, of the Gnomes, 58.

Dangers in using a metronome, 59.

Dash, "tenuto," and its effect, 69.

Diatonic, thirds, 35. sequel, 73.

Different, conceptions, 102. rhythms, 97. keys, 105.

Difference, between "finger staccato" and other kinds, 22. in playing trills, 74. between conception and rubato, 102. between major and minor scales, 109.

Difficulty of playing repetition notes, 34.

Doppio movement, in Chopin's Nocturne in F sharp, 78.

Dot, double, 62. what a, may mean, 77.

Double notes, 35. thirds, 35. dot, 62. flat, 64, 65. flats, 65. sharp, 65.

Dumb piano, playing on a 38.

Duple time, 96, 98.

E minor, Waltz in, 89.

E sharp, 64.

Ear, let your, guide your pedalling, 41.

Easiest way to memorize, 113.

Edition, Peters's, of Chopin, 79.

Edition, Steingräber, of Beethoven, 84.

Education, general musical, 141.

Element, personal, and the metronome, 58.

"English" fingering, 27.

Erlking, Liszt arrangement of the, 32.

Errors, to keep, from creeping in, 116.

Ethical, 135.