Part 8

Will I advance quicker by practising eight hours instead of four, as I do now?

Playing too much in one day has often a deteriorating effect upon one's studies, because work is profitable, after all, only if done with full mental concentration, which can be sustained only for a certain length of time. Some exhaust their power of concentration quicker than others; but, however long it may have lasted, once it is exhausted all further work is like unrolling a scroll which we have laboriously rolled up. Practise self-examination, and if you notice that your interest is waning--stop. Remember that in studying the matter of quantity is of moment only when coupled with quality. Attention, concentration, devotion, will make unnecessary any inquiries as to how much you ought to practise.

[Sidenote: _Playing With Cold Hands_]

Shall I, when my hands are cold and stiff, play at once difficult and fatiguing things in order to limber them up?

In forcing things with cold hands you always run the danger of overstraining, while with a gradual limbering you may safely try the same tasks with impunity. Handle the piano lightly while the hands are cold, and increase both force and speed only when the hands have gained their normal temperature and elasticity. This may take half or even three-quarters of an hour. It may be accelerated by putting the hands in hot water before playing, but this should not be done too often, because it is apt to weaken the nerves of the hands.

[Sidenote: _Counting Out Loud_]

Is counting aloud injurious to a pupil's playing--that is, does not the sound of the voice confuse the pupil in getting the correct tone of the note struck?

Loud counting can hardly ever be injurious--especially not while the pupil is dealing with time and rhythm. This part mastered or fully understood, the audible counting may be lessened and finally abandoned. During practice loud counting is of inestimable value, for it develops and strengthens rhythmic feeling better than anything else will, and, besides, it is an infallible guide to find the points of stress in a phrase.

[Sidenote: _The Study of Scales Is very Important_]

Must all study of the piano absolutely begin with the study of scales?

Scales should not be attempted until a good finger-touch has been formed and the very important action of the thumb in the scale has been fully prepared. After that, however, I consider the practising of scales important, not only for the fingers, but also for the discipline of the ear with regard to the feeling of tonality (key), understanding of intervals, and the comprehension of the total compass of the piano.

[Sidenote: _The Study of the Scales_]

Do you approve of the study of all the fifteen major scales by piano students, or is the practice of the enharmonic ones unnecessary?

One should learn everything in that line in order to select from one's store of learning that which the occasion calls for. Study or practise all scales as they are written, and later also in thirds, sixths, and octaves.

[Sidenote: _When Reading Over a New Piece_]

When studying a new composition, which is preferable: to practise first with separate hands or together?

When first looking over a new composition both hands should be employed, if possible, for this is necessary to obtain, approximately, at least, a mental picture of it. If the player's technique is too insufficient for this the deciphering must, of course, be done for each hand separately.

[Sidenote: _Practising the Two Parts Separately_]

When I am learning a new piece should the hands practise their parts separately?

Provided you have formed a general idea of the piece, it is well to practise the hands separately, because you can, in this way, concentrate your attention upon the work of each hand. As soon, however, as each hand knows its work the hands should play together in order now to pursue the musical purpose for which the separate practice was only a technical preparation.

[Sidenote: _Four Ways to Study a Piano Piece_]

Should a composition be studied away from the piano?

There are four ways to study a composition:

1. On the piano with the music.

2. Away from the piano with the music.

3. On the piano without the music.

4. Away from the piano without the music.

2 and 4 are mentally the most taxing and fatiguing ways, no doubt; but they also serve best to develop the memory and what we mean by "scope," which is a faculty of great importance.

[Sidenote: _The Conditions Which Dictate Speed in Playing_]

How fast or slow should Schubert-Liszt's "_Auf dem Wasser zu singen_" be played? What modern parlour pieces would you recommend after Bendel's "Zephyr"?

Even if I did believe in metronomes, as I do not, I could not indicate speed for you or for anybody, because it will always depend upon the state of your technique and the quality of your tone. For modern parlour pieces I suggest the two volumes of Russian piano music published by G. Schirmer, New York. You will find pieces of various degrees of difficulty there from which you may select what suits you best.

[Sidenote: _To Work Up a Fast Tempo_]

Which is the best way to work up a fast tempo?

The best help is to hear the piece or part which you have in mind played quickly by another person, for this aids you in forming the mental concept of it, which is the principal condition to which all ability is subject. There are, however, other ways which each one of us must find for himself: either by a gradual increase of speed until you reach your individual maximum or by starting at once at full tilt, even though some notes should drop under the piano and then be picked up in subsequent repetitions. Which of these two or any other ways is best for you no one can tell; your musical instinct will guide you if you follow it cautiously.

[Sidenote: _The Best Way to Work Up a Quick Tempo_]

Is it ever a waste of time to practise a piece over and over again for months as slowly as a beginner and with utmost concentration? After having done so and gradually working up a tempo, I then find I cannot play so fast as I want to. Is it not wise to begin all over again as slowly as possible? I prefer to work this way, but have been told that one gets "stale," studying the same music for a long time.

Do you advise practising with or without the pedal?

Slow practice is undoubtedly the basis for quick playing; but quick playing is not an immediate result of slow practice. Quick playing must be tried from time to time, with increasing frequency and heightened speed, even at a temporary loss of clearness. This loss is easily regained by subsequent returns to slow practice. After all, we must first learn to think quickly through the course of a piece before we can play it quickly, and this mental endeavour, too, will be greatly aided by occasional trials in a quicker tempo. As for getting "stale," a variety of pieces is necessary to preserve the freshness of each one.

Regarding the pedal, I suggest that you use it judiciously from the very beginning of the study of a new piece; though never in finger exercises.

[Sidenote: _Watch Your Breathing_]

What is the purpose of associating breathing with piano playing, and to what extent should it be practised?

Breathing is as important in piano playing as in all physical exertion, and more so when we speak of pieces that entail the use of great muscular force; for this causes a quickening in the action of the heart; respiration naturally keeps step with it, and the result is often a forcible breathing through the mouth. Players resort to open-mouth breathing in such cases because they cannot help themselves. If, at the last spurt of a bicycle race, we should call to the wheelmen, "Breathe through the nose!" we could not wonder if our advice remains unheeded. This open-mouth breathing, however, need not be learned; it is the self-help of nature. I recommend breathing through the nose as long as possible. It is more wholesome than mouth-breathing, and it refreshes the head more. When physical exertion becomes too great then you will neither need nor heed my advice or anybody's; your nature will find its own line of least resistance.

[Sidenote: _Take a Month's Rest Every Year_]

Must I keep up my practice during my Christmas holidays of a month?

If you have worked well on your development during the spring, summer, and autumn it will be to your advantage to stop your practising entirely for a month. Such a pause renews your forces as well as the love for your work, and you will, upon resuming it, not only catch up quickly with what you may think to have missed, but you will also make a quick leap forward because the quality of your work will be better than it could be if you had persisted in it with a fatigued mind. In a tired condition of mind and body we are very apt not to notice the formation of bad habits, and since "to learn means to form correct habits of thinking and doing" we must beware of anything that might impair our watchfulness as to bad habits. The greatest persistence cannot turn a bad habit into a virtue.

MARKS AND NOMENCLATURE

[Sidenote: _The Metronome Markings_]

What is the meaning of M. M. = 72 printed over a piece of music?

The M stands for "metronome," the other for the name of its inventor, Maelzl. The figures indicate the number of beats a minute and the note shows what each beat represents--in this case a quarter note. The whole annotation says that the average speed of the piece should admit of seventy-two quarter notes being played in a minute. I advise you, however, rather to consult the state of your technique and your own feeling for what is musically right in deciding upon the speed of the piece.

[Sidenote: _The Personal Element and the Metronome_]

In Chopin's Prelude No. 15 is the movement in C-sharp minor to be played in the same tempo as the opening movements, or much faster? How should the 6-8 and 9-8 movements of Liszt's Dance of the Gnomes be metronomized?

The C-sharp minor movement should not increase in speed, or only very little, because it rises to a considerable height dynamically, and this seems to counteract an increase of speed. As to the metronoming, I would not bother about it. The possibilities of your technique must ever regulate the speed question in a large degree. Tempo is so intimately related with touch and dynamics that it is in a large measure an individual matter. This does not mean that one may play andante where an allegro is prescribed, but that one person's allegro differs slightly from that of another person. Touch, tone, and conception influence the tempo. The metronome indications are to be accepted only with the utmost caution.

[Sidenote: _Metronome Markings May Better Be Ignored_]

How fast, by metronome, should the minuetto of Beethoven's Sonatina, opus 49, Number 2, be played?

If you possess an edition of Beethoven that has no metronome marks you have been singularly fortunate, and I would not for the world interfere with such rare good luck. Consult your technique, your feelings, and have confidence in your good sense.

[Sidenote: _There are Dangers in Using a Metronome_]

How should one use the metronome for practising? I have been warned against it, as my teacher tells me one is liable to become very stiff and mechanical by the persistent use of it.

Your teacher is eminently right. You should not play with the metronome for any length of time, for it lames the musical pulse and kills the vital expression in your playing. The metronome may well be used as a controlling device first, to find the approximate average speed of a piece, and, second, to convince yourself that, after playing for a while without it, your feelings have not caused you to drift too far away from the average tempo.

[Sidenote: _The Real Meaning of Speed Terms_]

What is the meaning of the words Adagio, Andante, and Allegro? Are they just indications of speed?

They serve as such; though our musical ancestors probably selected these terms because of their indefiniteness, which leaves a certain margin to our individuality. Literally, Adagio (_ad agio_) means "at leisure." Andante means "going" in contradistinction to "running," going apace, also walking. Allegro (a contraction of _al leg-gie-ro_) means with "lightness, cheerful." Primarily these terms are, as you see, indications of mood; but they have come to be regarded as speed annotations.

[Sidenote: _A Rule For Selecting the Speed_]

As the words "largo," "allegro," etc., are supposed to indicate a certain rate of speed, can you give a rule so that a student who cannot have the aid of a teacher will be able to understand in what time he should play a composition?

If the metronome is not indicated you have to consult your own good taste. Take the most rapid notes of your piece, play them rapidly as the general trend of the piece will æsthetically permit, and adjust the general tempo accordingly.

[Sidenote: _How Grace Notes Are Played_]

How are the grace notes played in these measures from Chopin's Valse, opus 42, and when are grace notes not struck simultaneously with the base?

Grace notes and their chiefs--that is, those notes to which the grace notes are attached--should ever be played with one and the same muscular impulse. The time occupied by the grace notes should be so minimal that it should not be discernible whether they appear simultaneously with the base note or slightly before it. In modern music it is usually meant to precede the bass note, though the good taste of the player may occasionally prefer it otherwise.

[Sidenote: _Rests Used Under or Over Notes_]

What is the meaning of a rest above or below the notes of the treble clef?

The rests you speak of can occur only when more than one voice (or part) is written in the same staff, and they indicate how long the entrance of the other voice is to be delayed.

[Sidenote: _What a Double Dot Means_]

What does it mean when a note is double-dotted, like:

I thought first it was a misprint, but it seems to occur too frequently for that.

As the first dot prolongs the note by one-half of its own value, so does the second dot add one-half of the value of the first dot. A half-note with one dot lasts three-quarters, with two dots it lasts seven-eighths.

[Sidenote: _The Playing of Slurred Notes_]

Should I accent the first note under a slur thus:

or should I lift my hand at the end of the slur thus:

Slurs and accents have nothing to do with each other, because accents relate to rhythm, while slurs concern the touch. The last note under a slur will usually be slightly curtailed in order to create that small pause which separates one phrase from another. Generally speaking, the slur in piano music represents the breathing periods of the vocalist.

[Sidenote: _How a Tie and a Slur Differ_]

What difference is there between a slur and a tie?

None in appearance, but much in effect. A tie continues the sound of the note struck at its beginning as long as the note-value at its end indicates. It can be placed only upon two notes of similar name in the same octave which follow each other. As soon as another note intervenes the tie becomes a slur and indicates a _legato_ touch.

[Sidenote: _Slurs and Accents Not Related_]

How should the beginning of slurs be accented?

Slurs and accents have nothing to do with each other. Slurs indicate either a legato touch or the grouping of the notes. Which one of the notes thus grouped is to be accented depends upon its rhythmical position in the measure. The strong and weak beat (or positive and negative beat) govern the accent always, unless there is an annotation to the contrary, and such an annotation must be carried out with great judiciousness, seldom literally.

[Sidenote: _How Long an Accidental Affects a Note_]

Where there is an accidental on the last beat of a measure does not that note resume its signature beyond the bar unless tied? The case I speak of was in a key of two flats, common time. The fourth beat, E, was naturalized and the first note of the next measure was E with the flat sign. I maintain that the flat sign is superfluous, and I should like to know if this is right?

You are quite right, theoretically. Nevertheless, the proper tonality signature of a note that was changed is very frequently restated when the same note recurs beyond the bar. Though this special marking is not necessary theoretically, practical experience has shown that it is not an unwise precaution.

[Sidenote: _"E-Sharp and B-Sharp" and the Double Flat_]

What is the meaning of the sharps on the E and B line, and of a double-flat? Are they merely theoretical?

They are not theoretical, but orthographical. You confound the note C with the key on the keyboard by that name. B-sharp is played upon the key called C, but its musical bearing is very remote from the note C. The same applies to double-flats (and double-sharps), for D with a double-flat is played upon the key called C, but it has no relation to the note C. This corresponds precisely with the homonym in language: "sow"--"sew"--"so"--sound alike, but are spelled in various ways according to the meaning they are to convey.

[Sidenote: _The Effect of Double Flats_]

How is an octave, written thus, to be played?

As the single-flat lowers a note by a half-tone, so a double-flat lowers it by two half-tones or a full tone.

[Sidenote: _Double Sharp Misprinted for Double Flat_]

In playing an operetta recently I found the double-sharp sign used for double-flats as well. Is this correct?

The sign may be a misprint. But if it should occur repeatedly I advise you to make quite sure, before taking the misprint for granted, that the sign is not, after all, meant for a double-sharp.

[Sidenote: _When an Accidental Is in Parentheses_]

Please tell me how a chord or an interval marked thus, is executed. What does an accidental in parentheses mean?

Chords marked as above are slightly rolled in the same manner as if marked by a serpentine line, unless the sign denotes a linking with the other hand. Which of the two meanings is intended you will easily infer from the context. Accidentals in parentheses are mere warnings given by some composers wherever there is a possibility of doubt as to the correct reading caused by a momentary harmonic ambiguity. I have found these accidentals in parentheses so far only in the works of French composers.

[Sidenote: _The Staffs Are Independent of Each Other_]

Does an accidental in the right hand influence the left?

Inasmuch as piano music is written in score form, the two staffs are as independent of each other as are the staffs in an orchestral score. We may, in cases of suspected misprints, draw certain inferences from one staff to the other, provided that they are justified by the prevailing harmony. As a rule, the two staffs are independent of each other in regard to accidental chromatic signs.

[Sidenote: _Why Two Names for the "Same" Key?_]

I am often asked why there must be fifteen keys in music instead of twelve--that is, why not always write in B instead of C-flat, in F-sharp instead of G-flat, in D-flat instead of C-sharp, or _vice versa_? I can only say that the circle of fifths would not be complete without the seven scales in sharps and the seven in flats: but Bach does not use all the fifteen keys in his Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues, omitting entirely, in the major keys, G-flat, D-flat, and C-flat, and, in the minor keys, A-sharp and A-flat. Are compositions in sharps considered more brilliant than those in flats? Do composers consider modulation in selecting their key?

The answer to your question hinges upon whether you recognize in music mere tone-play or whether you concede a mental and psychic side to it. In the former case the mode of spelling a tone C-sharp or D-flat would be, indeed, irrelevant. But in the latter case you must admit the necessity of a musical orthography qualified to convey distinct tonal meanings and musical thoughts to the reader and to the player. Though there is in the tempered scale no difference between C-sharp and D-flat, the musical reader will conceive them as different from one another, partly because of their connection with other related harmonies. These determine usually the composer's selection in cases of enharmonic identities. In the script of human language you will find an analogy than which none could be more perfect. In English there are, for instance, "to," "too," and "two"; words in which the spelling alone, and not the sound of pronunciation, conveys the different meanings of the words.

[Sidenote: _The Meaning and Use of "Motif"_]

What is the meaning of a "motif"? What does a dash mean over a note? What is the best book of instruction for a beginner, a child of ten?

A motif is the germ of a theme. A theme may be composed of reiterations of a motif, or by grouping several motifs together; it may also combine both modes of procedure. The most glorious exemplification of construction by reiteration of a motif you will find in the opening theme of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. A dash over a note enjoins the player to hold that note with the finger until it has received its full value. The best "instruction book" for a child is a good teacher who uses no instruction book, but imparts his knowledge to the child from out of his own inner consciousness.

[Sidenote: _Tied Staccato Notes_]

In playing notes written thus is it permissible to slide the fingers from the keys or should there be only a clinging touch?

Notes marked as above are to be played in such a manner that each note is slightly separated from the next. The best touch for this is from the arm, so that the fingers are not lifted from their joints, nor from the wrist, but that the arm pulls the finger upward from the key.

[Sidenote: _The "Tenuto" Dash and Its Effect_]

What do short lines below or above a note or chord mean in contradistinction to a staccato or an accent? And does it affect the whole chord?

The dash under or above a note is a substitute for the word "tenuto" (usually abbreviated into "ten."), which means "held," or, in other words, be particular about giving this note its full sound-duration. This substitute is usually employed when the holding concerns a single note or a single chord.

[Sidenote: _A Rolled Chord Marked "Secco"_]

How should I execute a chord that is written with a spread and also marked "secco"?--as in Chaminade's "Air de Ballet, No. 1."

Roll the chord as evenly as possible in all its parts; but use no pedal and do not hold it, but play it briskly and short.

[Sidenote: _Small Notes Under Large Ones_]

What is the meaning of small notes printed under large ones?

Usually the small notes are an indication that they may be omitted by players who have not the stretch of hand necessary to play them.

[Sidenote: _Accenting a Mordent in a Sonata_]

How should one play and accent the mordent occurring in the forty-seventh measure of the first movement--allegro di molto--of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, Opus 13?

The accent ought to lie upon the first note of the mordent, but you should not make a triplet of it by occupying the whole quarter with its execution. The mordent must be played fast enough to preserve the rhythmic integrity of the melody-note.

[Sidenote: _The Position of the Turn Over a Note_]

The turn stands sometimes directly over the note and sometimes farther to the right of it. Does this difference indicate different executions and, if so, how would the two turns have to be played?

The turn always begins with its uppermost note. When it stands directly over a note it takes the place of this note; when more to the right the note is struck first and the turn, judiciously distributed at the time of its disposal, follows.