riiv- '■ < ; ^ ifornia )nal ty t I ! '-!> FIRST PRINCIPLES OF PIANOFORTE PLAYING TOBIAS MATTHAY BOSWORTH & CO. LTD., 14/18 HEDDON STREET, REGENT STREET LONDON, W.l X)E IN ENGLAND IMPRIME EN ANGLETERRE THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF PIANOFORTE PLAYING WESTERN f^USlC(B.C.)U:,Ui^^ "Mubic fcxciusiveiy" 570 Seymour Stveet Vancouver, B. C. J 16 THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF PIANOFORTE PLAYING BEING AN EXTRACT FROM THE AUTHOR'S "THE ACT OF TOUCH" DESIGNED FOR SCHOOL USE, AND INCLUDING TWO NEW CHAPTERS DIRECTIONS FOR LEARNERS AND ADVICE TO TEACHERS BY TOBIAS MATTHAY BOSWORTH & CO. LTD., 14/18 HEDDON STREET, REGENT STREET, LONDON, W.l CorTRiGnx, 1905, BY LONGMANS, GREEN &, CO. All riy/Us resened. LOWC AND BRYDONE PRINTERS LTD. VICTORIA ROAD, LONDON, N.W. 10. /111 PREFACE. This little work is issued to render the teachings of "The Act of Touch" better available for the School-room and Class- room, and as a Text-book for Examinations. It is intended as an Introduction to the subject. The supreme importance of early training in this subject — the mechanism of playing — need not be further dilated upon here, since it has been proved that AgiHty itself, and all those contrasts of Tone and Duration which enable us musically to express ourselves through the Pianoforte, depend immediately on the proper fulfilment of the laws of Touch, the polemics of which have been amply dealt with in "The Act of Touch." This "Introduction" consists of the promised "Extract" from the original work, from which I have drawn the Preface and a selection from its Recapitulatories and Summaries, Tc these selections I have added two new and important Chap- ters : ^^ Advice to Teachers and Self-teachers,^^ and ^'Directions and Definitions for Learners." This last Chapter roughly covers the whole ground. It is intended for those beginning the study of Touch, and I have endeavoured to couch it in language simple enough to fit it even for children. Its study — accompanied by constant experiment at the keyboard — should be followed by the perusal of the "Extract"; taking this in the following order: (1) the final Summary and VI PKEFACE. Conclusion; (2) the Summaries of the four Parts; and (3) the llecapitulatories of the Chapters of each of these Parts. Constant reference to the "Directions for Learners" should accompany subsequent Practice. Students sufficiently earnest and intelligent to desire more detailed information should follow this, by study of the "Advice to Teachers," and of "The Act of Touch" itself; first referring to the "Contents" of its Chapters, and finally to the text of these. The flattering reception accorded to the parent work leads me to hope that this, its offspring, may prove even more di- rectly helpful alike to Teacher and Pupil. The promised extra Part, '^ Relaxation — Exercises in Muscular-discrimination," is also in preparation. The second Edition is a reprint of the first, except that some slight misprints have been corrected, and some addi- tions made to pages 1, 126, 129, etc. Tobias Mathiay. Hampstead, London. COI^TEN^TS PAGE Preface . v DIRECTIONS AND DEFINITIONS FOR LEARNERS ... 1 General Directions (Summary) 24 Summary — Reminder of Main Points 25 EXTRACT FROM "THE ACT OF TOUCH."* Part I: — Introductory. Preface 29 Summary of Part I: " The Act of Play ing " 34-35 Note: "On Listening" 35 Note: "On Rhythm" 36 Note: "Piano-talent" 37 Note: " As to Self-consciousness and Nervousness " .... 37 Part II: — Instrumental Aspect of Key-Treatment. Recapitulatory of Chapter VIII: "The Instrument" ... 41 Fig. 1: Diagram of Pianoforte Action 42 Recapitulatory of Chapter IX: "On Sound" .... 44 Recapitulatory of Chapter X: "The String" .... 45 Fig. 2: Pendulum Oscillations 45 Note: "On Pedalling" 46 Recapitulatory of Chapter XI: "The Key" .... 47 Fig. 3: Diagram Illustrating Key-Levhrage .... 47 Fig. 4: Diagram Illustrating Sudden and Gradual Key-De- pression 48 Summary of Part II 50 Part III: — Muscular Aspect of Key-Treatment. Recapitulatory of Chapter XIII: "The Link Between Key and Muscle" 55 Recapitulatory of Chapter XIV: "On Key-Contact" . . 56 Recapitulatory of Chapter XV: "The Concepts of Resting and Aoded-Impetus. 58 * N.B.— The page-references found in this " Extract " apply to "The Act of Touch." ^^i Vni CONTENTS EXTRACT (Continued) page Table of the Two Concepts 61 Recapitulatory OF Chapter XVI: "The Limbs Employed" . 62 Figs. 6 and 7: Illustration and Description of Thrusting AND Clinging Finger 63 Recapitulatory of Chapter XVII: "The Required Actions and In-actions" 65 Tarle of Required Muscular-Discriminations .... 72 Figs. 8 and 9; The Muscular-Tendencies During Flat and Bent Finger-Methods, Respectively 74 Fig. 11: Faulty Action in Two Front Phalanges of Finger 75 Note: The Staccatissimo 75 Note: The Nature of Ghssando 76 Recapitulatory of Chapter XVIII: "The Three Chief Muscular TEsts" 77 Recapitulatory of Chapter XIX: "The Three Species of Touch- formation" 79 Table Showing Relationship Between Species of Touch, Move- ment, AND THE Resting 84 Recapitulatory (reduced) of Chapter XX: "Enumeration and Classification of Touches" 85 Table — Final Classification ........ 88 Summary of Part III 89 Note: Exceptional Forms of Staccato and Legato .... 98 Note: Incorrect rs. Correct Finger-technique 99 Part IV: — On Position. Pre.\mblb 103 Recapitulatory of Part IV (Position) 104 Summary of '^ Position" Ill Fig. 16: Faulty Position of Thumb 112 Fig. 17: Illttstration of Flat-Finger Staccato . , . .112 Fig. 19: Correct Position of Thumb . . . . . . .112 Figs. 20 and 21: Illustration of Correct and Incorrect Posi- tion of Arm 112 CondtLsion: Glossary and Summary of the Main Teachings . . 113 Final Summary of " Extract " 119 A-DVICE to teachers and SELF-TEACHERS . . . .121 Summary of Main Points to be Insisted Upon whilst Teaching 128 APPENDIX. Legato First, or Staccato? , 129 DIRECTIONS AND DEFINITIONS FOR LEARNERS. SECTION L HOW TO TREAT THE KEY: § 1. Regard the Pianoforte as consisting of two distinct portions: (I) the instrument itself, which can be made to sound — being the Strings and connected Sounding-board; and (II) the machine, or Tool, by which it is made to sound — being the Key and its mechanism, ending with the felt-covered hammer. § 2. When you move the key down, its other (hammer) end tilts up - like a see-saw, and in rising it gives up to the String any motion which you may have succeeded in imparting to the key while you were moving your end of it down,* § 3. The hammer reaches the String when your end of the key is nearly down, and the mechanism allows the hammer to jail back at that very moment. Any motion you wish to give the String througli the hammer must therefore be imparted to it before that moment. § 4. You can best become aware of that moment by listen- j^ for it, for it is the beginning of the sound. Anything you do to the key after that moment cannot possibly help to make the sound in any way. § 5. The strings will howTver continue sounding (more and more faintly) until you let the key rise, when the descend^ ing Damper at once stops the sound. 'An Upright, unlike a Grand piano, has its strings placed upright; hence the hammer itself moves horizontally to reach the strings. Nevertheless the hammer-end of the key (and connected mechanism) does " tilt up" just as m the case of the Grand-action. * Listen for this moment. 2 DIRECTIONS FOR LEARNERS. § 6. The louder you want a note to be, the more swiftly must you make the key move during its descent. § 7. If you want the sound to be beautiful in quaUty, you must set Key and String gradually into motion — however great the swiftness required at the last moment of key- descent. § S. Whereas, if you want a less beautiful but more incisive and "brilhant" tone, you may depress the key suddenly, — you may then hit the String by means of the key, but still taking care not to hit the key instead. § 9. If the sound is to be exactly what you want as regards tone-amount and tone-quahty, you must be careful not only to direct your effort wholly to the sound, and to that only, but you nmst also succeed in choosing that effort, rightly, for each note. This you can only do, by actually feeling how much the key resists being moved. § 10. Since you must be able to judge Key-resistance, it follows that you must always reach the key gently. This you may do at the moment that you want the key to move down, or you may do so beforehand. In this way, as you meet the key, and while you are moving it, you can judge its resistance, and can thus accurately judge how much force is required and how to use it. § 11. You will now understand why it is wrong to squeeze the key upon the "bed" beneath; for if you do so, you can- not "aim" your effort to the sound only. If you commit this error, your effort (chosen for a particular inflection of tone as it should be) will be partly spent upon the key-beds instead of upon the strings; hence the result thus obtained cannot represent the effect you intended; and your playing must hence sound un-musical, because the result is un-meant. "Key-bedding" also tires your hands and fiogers. Like- wise, it prevents agility, since it impedes your passage across the keyboard; and in the same way ruins your Staccato, since the key cannot then be free to rebound, as it should be for Staccato. DIRECTIONS FOR LEARNERS. 3 § 12. The two chief rules of Technique (as regards the Key) are therefore: (a) Always jeel how much the Key resists you — feel how much the key "wants" for every note; and (b) always listen for the moment each somid becjins, so that you may learn to direct your effort to the sound only, and not to the key-bed. If you have succeeded in these two respects, you will have successfully judged each note both musically and instrumentally , and you will have made considerable progress towards playing musically. § 13. You will now understand the following General Direc- tions : You must never hit a key down, nor hit at it. The finger- tip may fall upon the key — and in gently reaching the key, you may follow up such fall, by acting against the key. This action against the key must be for the sole purpose of making it move — in one of those many ways which each give us quite a different kind of sound. And you must always therefore direct such action to the point in key-descent where sound begins. In short : (a) If you hit the key, you cannot feel it, and cannot then tell how much it requires doing to; and (b), if your action is too late during key-descent, you cannot then obtain the exact sound you intend, nor any ease in playing. § 14. The following little Summary of the Chief Facts AS TO THE Key will now prove useful. Fix these facts well in your mind, otherwise subsequent study of the Muscular-facts will prove useless. a) : It i!!i only by making the liamnier-end of the key move, tliat you can make sound. b) : The swifter that movement, the louder the sound. o): The more gradually this swiftness is obtained, the more beautiful is the quality of the sound, d) : For brilliant tone, you may hit the String by means of the Key, but do not by mistake hit at the key instead. e): You must "aim" the key to the beginning of caeh sound, because the hammer falls off the string as you 4 DIRECTIONS FOR LEARNERS. hear that beginning, and it is« too late then to influ< encc the sound, execpt an regards its mere continua- tion. vf): It is irrong to squeeze the key-heds, because it pre- vents tone, impairs musical-result, impedes Agility, and is besides fatiguing. g): You must feel the ''giving-way point" of the key, so that you may be able to tell how much force is re- quired for each note. Never therefore really hit the keys. SECTION II. CONCEPTS OF TOUCH: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STACCATO AND LEGATO, HOW IT SHOULD BE PRODUCED AND CONCEIVED: § 15. To obtain Staccato, you must allow the key to re- hoimd; otherwise the damper will not descend sharply enough to prevent the prolongation of the sound. It is not enough merely to allow the key to rise soo7i after the sound is reached; on the contrary, you must so carefully time the cessation of your action against the key, that the key jumps hack like a ball, and brings your finger up with it, in its rebound. § 16. If you want the sound to continue (Tenuto or Legato)^ then you nmst allow sufficient Weight to continue resting on the key to keep it down. But you should not use more Weight continuously on the key than will just suffice to sound the key softly. The weight left on the keyboard between the suc- cessive notes in Legato, should therefore be (juite light, even when you have to use much energy and weight during key- descent to obtain a jorte. § 17. Realise now, that in playing a loud note either Tenuto or Legato, you have really to do two different things:— (1) you must use sufficient energy to make the key move down swiftly enough to obtain that jorte, and while you must stop using most of this energy the moment the hammer reaches the string, you must nevertheless (2) continue, using some little remnant of energy (just sufficient Weight) to keep the key depressed. DIRECTIONS FOR LEARNERS. 5 § 18. Next recognise: that such a combmation also applies to running passages taken Staccato; for unless you also rest on the keys in Staccato, you can neither feel where the keys are, nor how much force they require to move them. But this continuously-resting weight must be Hghter than in Legato. It must be so light that it does not compel the fingers to con- tinue holding their keys down. And if you want Staccato, you must also be careful to remember the rule given in § 15 — to leave the Ke}'' free to rebound. § 19. In fact, you now see that this process of "Resting" can be of two kinds, and that it forms the physical difference between Staccato and Legato : — (1) In Staccato, the "Resting" must continue at the surface- level of the keyboard — for the keys will then be instantly free to rebound, provided you accurately time the cessation of each key-depressing action. (2) In Legato or Tenuto, the "Resting" must be very slightly heavier, but not more so than just suffices to compel (he finger to retain its key depressed. § 20. Realise meanwhile, that the something you do to each key during its flash of descent must be different for each kind and degree of sound. We call this short-lived act "the Added-impetus," because it is added to the "Resting." Alwa5^s remember that the duration of this "Added-impetus" must in no case be longer than in the shortest Staccato, — it mu?t cease the moment that sound is reached in key-descent. PIANISSIMO WEIGHT-TOUCH AND THE TENUTO- RESTING : § 21. The force or weight required to keep a key depressed in Tenuto or Legato {vide § 16) is \Qry slight indeed. You can tell how slight, if you carefully weigh the key down. To do this, you must allow your whole arm to relax (from the shoulder) until the key is just overbalanced, and in giving way thus, it sounds at its very softest. You here realise how slight is the force required to retain a key depressed. 6 l)IKECTIO]Sr3 FOR LEAKNEH3. § 22. Notice that in thus learning to weigh keys until they as it were "slide down" under you, you have also learned to produce one of the most valuable effects available from the instrument, and that is the true 'pianissimo, for in thus over- balancing the keys you are producing the very softest sound possible from them. This most delicate of all "Weight" touches is important for several reasons: — a) It enables you to play Legato with ease and certainty. b) It enables you to play really ppp. c) It teaches you to judge Key-resistance, and thus enables you also to judge how much more effort will be required for any greater tone. § 23. Notice also, that in thus weighing a key down at its softest, you are doing only one kind of thing before, during, and after Key-depression; and that this is therefore the only kind of "simple'' Touch. All other touches are "compound," as we have seen in §§17 and 18; for in them you find that the something you continue to do after the key is down is quite different from the something you do to make it go down. THE STACCATO-RESTING: §24. The weight employed for the Staccato "Resting," should be the weight of the Hand alone, left loosely resting on the keys.^ This, though insufficient to compel the fingers to retain their keys depressed, does serve to tell you where they are; and you can in this way rest continuously on the key- board at its surface level, nevertheless obtaining a perfect Stac- cato, — always provided that you carefully "aim" and cease each tone-making impul^e.^ § 25. You see therefore (as pointed out in § 19) that the ' When the hand lies released on the keys, it is only half its whole weight that can take effect upon the keys— since its wrist-end is sni)i)orted by the arm. 'I'tie whole we'ght of the hand of (■(HUSO, lieconies available when the arm itself is relaxed. Release of tlie shoulder helps arm-weight in tlie same way. * The following makes tliis clear: a) The Resting : ^_^ ^^^ ^lavi^ ^^" — *") -^* S«r/ac«-level. TTTT- bb) Aimed towards Tone-emis- , 1 sion. b) Tone-prod ncing Impulse: "^ ^e) The •' Key-bed" surface. Some residue of force is bound to reach the key-beds at cc)— beyond the tone-producing climax at bb). DIRECTIONS FOR LEARNERS. difference between natural Staccato and Legato (or any inflec- tion of Tenuto) depends on tliis slight difference in the Weight applied during the "Resting"; — in the first case allowing the fingers to rebound with the key, and in the second case com- pelling them to retain their keys depressed. LEGATO— TENUTO-RESTING TRANSFERRED : § 26. To obtain the effect of Legato, you must learn neatly to transfer the heavier Resting-weight from key to key. This transfer of weight from finger to finger is exactly like walking: — You must cause the weight to pass on to each next finger, not by trying to do something with that "next" finger, but by carefully timing the last-used finger to stop the slight work it is doing in supporting the continuously-resting weight. That is: you must carefully stop using the last finger at the very moment that you want the weight to "pass on" to the next finger. The transfer of weight will then seem to do itself, and the Legato will then seem " natural "—because semi-automatic. ^ The sHghter weight allowed to rest on the surface of the keyboard in Staccato is transferred from key to key in the same way. SECTION III. HOW WE SHOULD USE OUR ARMS, HANDS AND FINGERS: § 27. You have perceived how necessary it is constantly to iveigh and jiidge the resistance of the keys, and how the pianissimo requires that same process. You must now at once learn to do this at the keyboard :— Place several finger-tips upon the keys— upon the notes forming a triad is best, first of all. Now relax iHere re-read §§ 16, 17 and 18; also 21. 8 DIRECTIONS FOR LEARNERS. your whole arm gradually until the keys give way, and they sound without your seeming to "do" anything. In this way you learn to weigh the keys exactly in the same way that you weigh or "balance" any other object. You can learn to do this balancing so neatly, that (for the sake of practice) you can even succeed in swaying the whole arm (from the shoulder) up and down ivith the keys, meanwhile not taking them down far enough to sound them.i In any case, you must not rest satisfied until you succeed in letting the keys tell you with certainty the least amount of weight they require to make them sound at their softest through being thus weighed down. To succeed in this, you nmst give your attention to the key itself; you must not think of your arm, but you nmst try to feel "how much the keys want." § 28. In thus weighing the keys, you are aware that you are using Arm-weight, and that this reaches the keys through the finger and hand. Particularly notice now, that your finger and hand must therefore be doing something; in fact that you have to exert them very slightly (l^ut sufficiently) to sup- port this slight arm-weight upon the keys. It is difficult at first to realise that this is so, as the whole combination of exer- tion and weight is so slight in this case. § 29. Try to understand next, that your finger, in thus acting downwards upon the key to support the weight, also re-acts upwards against the knuckle of the hand, and that it does so with exactly equal force. The hand itself, moreover, is also exerted downwards at the Knuckles, and it in turn again re-acts upwards against the arm at the Wrist-joint, and thus supports the arm there. ^ If you succeed in thinking this out, you will learn, that all exertion made during the Act of Touch must feel upwards — and not downwards as you might at first expect. The exer- tions must jeel upwards (by re-action from the keys), because ' The movement should be but sliiiht ; and the fm^i;'^.|f^'^«j"",^ ^ provided we insist on these faculties determining the proper mission of each ^ote.- It is said there have been ehowmen who have trained thiB faculty to the extent of being able to distinguiph at a glance the exact number of ballB thrown down, up to about thirty I INTRODUCTORY. 37 *^ PIANO-TALENT' Note IV.— For §§ 3 and 5, Chapter V., pages 32 and 34. Here once again, is a point where natural endowment differs widely. Those who, with- out effort, unconsciously give Attention with full purpose, possess indeed " talent" in the most important respect of all : — For talent itself, in its most general sense— that exhibition of a strong bias toward some particular pursuit, may be defined, from its results, as sim- ply : ability to learn with ease. Now our ability to learn anything, directly depends on the power of our Memory— its impressionability, and its retentiveness ; and memorizing again directly depends on the degree of Attention we can provide. Hence, it is, that Power of Attention, or ability to acquire this, is synonymous with : good memory, ease in learning, and in a word "Talent." A few words of Summary, may prevent misapprehension with regard to the question of Pianoforte ' ' talent : " — Special phases of endowment are needed in addition to general Musicality. These are : a good "piano-voice" — the possession of a sufficiently ample muscular endowment, combined with Ease in mental-muscular discrimination ; a good "Ear," not only for Time, but also particularly for the discernment ofsubtledistinctionsin tone-quantity, and above all, in tone-Quality ; "Brains" to enable Attention to be given, combined with a personal bias toward giving the particular form of Attention demanded in playing. These particular endowments are nevertheless not very far-rcaohing. unless there be besides, a general endowment musically. Musical imaginativeness is required, both emotionally and intellectually. Without that, nothing vivid can be done, however excellent the other, the special, phases of Talent. Moreover, even such endowments do not constitute a player. To succeed as an Artist, we need besides all that, PERSISTENCE. That depends on character, on our real love for the Art, and whether we possess Health sound enough to stand the necessary close application. For eventually, as Rubinstein once said to us Royal Academy Students : "real Ifa7-d Work is the only road to success." ^^AS TO SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AND NERVOUSNESS" Note V.— For § 7, Chapter V., page 36. This dread horror kills many a possible player. Perhaps the following advice may help to eradicate the nervousness resulting from self-consciousness. Try to realise, that when your audience is really listening, that at that moment they cannot really be conscious of you at all ; for their attention is then given to Music alone, just as yours should be. Even if a thousand people are looking at the same spot that you are look- ing at, that fact will not render you self-conscious, nor " nervous." No, even if they are shouting at the same object that you are shouting at, nor will that do so. Hence, in performing, try to realise, that the audience is not listening to you, but is listening to the same Music that you are listening /or; i.e.: that Observation is being directed to the same spot, by yourself and ycnir audience. It is your duty to " look," with your ears, at a certain spot in Music at a definite time ; realise that your listener is looking at that same musical-spot, and that moment you cease being aware that he is listening to You. personally. Moreover, once you feel that that listener's attention is directed to the same musical Point that yours is, it will intensify your attention to it, and you will see the music more vividly than in the practise-room I It is impossible for the listener to concern himself with you personally, if he is listening to the sounds provided by your fingers in obedience to your musical wishj and vice versa: if the listener is aware of you. then he cannot 38 INTRODUCTORY. at that moment be aware of the music provided, and the performance cannot 1 tlien be under criticism. Hence, in either case, there is nothing to be self- ' conscious about ! - In a word, force yourself to realise that the listener is watching for that ^1 which you also are trying to hear, and all self-consciousness with its conse- ? qucnt nervousness inevitably vanishes at that moment. > Incapacitating nervousness during performance is therefore usually only j the result of sheer inattention. The causes of sucli inadequate attention are various. _ i They may prove at once remediable by a better understanding, and a con- sequent better practice, of that which constitutes Performer's Attention. i Inadequacy and Uncertainty of Technique {i.e., of Tone-production itself) 1 does however form perhaps the most potent factor in causing our attention to be distracted from where it should be, ] EXTRACT. PART II. KEY-TREATMENT FROM ITS INSTRUMENTAL ASPECT. key-treatment; instrumental aspect. 41 THE INSTRUMENT. (Chapter VIH.) RECAPITULATORY. 1 ) : The outer case of the instrument contains two distinct portions ; the Instrument-proper, and the Implement by which to excite it into sound. 2) : The instrument-proper consists of .- a)y the Sounding- board, and b)i the Strings, with the wooden or iron Frame to take their tension. 3) : The exciting-implement consists of the " Action " or Mechanism. 4) : This Action, or Mechanism, comprises the Key and all its appurtenances ; these include : — a) : A Leverage-system, see-saw like, designed to facilitate the attainment of a high degree of velocity at the Hammer-end, and thus to communicate Energy to the String in the Form of Motion. b) : The Escapement, a device to enable the hammer to re- bound with and from the string, while the key remains de- pressed. c) : A supplementary device, to enable Repetition to be easily effected. dj : A "check," to catch the hammer on its rebound from the string, so as to prevent its re-striking the string by a further rebound. 5) : The "action" has the following accessories : — aaj : The Damper, to stop the string's vibrations when the key is allowed to rise. ddj : The damper Pedal, to raise the whole of the dampers off the strings, and thus leave them free to vibrate. aj : The soft pedal, the UNA CORDA pedal. D 42 KEY-TKEATMENT ; INSTRUMENTAL ASPECT. t>^ X VM rt CS o t; :/l +j yj c o -. c3 +- U a. O 2 (3 3 0) C 3 c jy 'a 3 a a> a I g +- 0; rt >i g ri CO t. tj :; «3 ly; Sh £. P*^ I 2 .2 g ii ^ a* •S ^"^ o oj 2 cS (- O^ -i^ > O >!•« ^ ^ -5 i' IT !3 y; "^ 2^ c 5 c -r "S i - ^ — OQ dj cK rt oj & oj ±: .Si ii ^ -^ ? > ^ 2 gtL O 5: G .t; rt -^ ^ o ?: . »,f,T3 '^ •:= rt -^^ >? 5* t. C eg 5- O ci ^ 'TZ ci '—> tCJS 0) t; CD aj ^- ai p -te 00 1, — • »> ^ k_> 5j -3 ,_ ^ M ^ O 3 - D.H *" r^ o S c3 u aT^ ? 3 5S g -l-j r, -< 2 O " .;£ ^ ft 13 Eh -5 3 ■^ 3 o *^" cu^ vH ^.2 =0 THE INSTKUMENT. 43 ? g." I I |.io|.s f5|||£-S| I « u ^© b O ^ C ^^ P, ? Z "^ '^ 'V O -^^ r: -^^ OD ,Q <^ -^^ 'S ~ Mo'E*^ tea M G Q s^i2 5>>=P--5>^-^« P o wT -< -*j •^o CO TS S "^ ao ^ OJ c^ a Oi 3 o CO i3 O W a ^1 m 3 J a >% a ^-fe £ -2 ^S'^^o O'E'^'^S ^e~flc^ ^ 1 1^ I I 1^ -If lisl^iilll i i f ^M ! it«s« iisli :ipi s ^ "^ tc ,„ d S <:: o « br.— ^ -H ^ O «-• rr — > ■ — ' O S '^ a> d ^ S S =2 -d Qi 0.13 cc^dja o QQ ^d^o.z^a^'-'aCaj . S ^=^^-i _§'§::3§ii:s«s -2-^-5?"^^^^ l--?.-2r^o- +3 ^ i.25 -Ji|-|5 ^i I ^ s| S-?.! I §¥l ll |S^ gl li £';1slN^"2..|i'^g5i^-§td^;:liil3'§^ll||l 1-5 •Sao.- ^'^js^:: ^°l?ag^ic. ^ ^ 44 key-treatment; instrumental aspect. ON SOUND. (Chapter IX.) RECAPITULATORY. a) : A musical-sound (or note) consists of a series of concus- sions, equally timed and of equal strength, recurring at a suf- ficiently great speed to render it impossible for us to recognise the separate impacts delivered upon our ear, which consequently blurs them into a continuous sense-effect. I)) : Pitch, is the term used to designate the difference between a high and a low speed in the repetitions of the ear-impacts, — forming the difference between a high and low sound. c) : The pitch of a note depends solely upon the frequency with which the air is disturbed or beaten in a given time. i/J : The Amount of Tone depends on the Intensity of such dis- turbance. e) : Most notes are built up of a fundamental strong series of ear-impacts, accompanied by divers quicker and weaker impacts^ termed Harmonics. fj : Divergence in the Character, Timbre, or Quality of the tone, arises from the difference in the combination and strength of the harmonics heard with the fundamental sound. KEY-TREATMENT ; INSTRUMENTAL ASPECT. 45 THE STRING AND ITS BEHAVIOUR. (Chapter X.) RECAPITULATORY. aj : At the Pianoforte, the requisite concussions that form sound are communicated to the atmosphere by means of to-and- fro motions (vibrations) of the String, enhanced by the Sounding- board. bj : The greater the number of such vibrations completed by the String per second, the higher (more acute in Pitch) is the re- sulting note. cj : The greater the extent of these String vibrations, the louder is the note. dj : The string must therefore traverse space more quickly the louder the note ; since the time available (in which to traverse the larger distance embraced by the more ample vibration) re- mains the same as for a softer note. ej: To produce much tone, we must therefore induce much movement in the string. For the more quickly the string is made to move, the greater will be the distance it can traverse during the course of each complete vibration, [l^ide Fig. 2.] Fig. 3. — Comparison of large with small Dscillations of a pendulum ; both taking same space of Time for their completion. 46 key-treatmext; instrumental ajfect. f) : The string is set into motion by the felt-covered end of the Pianoforte mechanism — the hammer. g) : The hammer, upon being brought into contact with the string, shares its speed with the latter whilst deflecting it. Both thereupon rebound ; and the hammer, falling away from the string, leaves the latter free to continue in vibration, gradually expending the energy communicated to it, unless stopped by the Damper.' /ij : The hammer can therefore only communicate movement to the string during the latter's Jirst vibration ; and can only do so, during the first quarter of such first to-and-fro movement of the string. iJ : As the hammer ceases to influence the string the very mo- ment that Sound begins, it follows, that this moment forms the conclusion and cessation of the Act of Tone-production ; for the string cannot move quicker than it does at that moment, since it has ceased to be under the influence either of Key or Finger. J) : Tone-production at the Pianoforte is therefore a discontin- uous Act ; an act separate for each note ; and one that ceases with the moment when Silence changes into Sound. k) : Beauty in the Quality of a sound, depends on the string's vibrations tending rather toward the simple types of movement than toward the compound forms ;— the resulting tone is thus less embarrassed with the harsher harmonics. I).- This simplicity in the string's vibration that furthers beauty of tone (vibration of the string rather as a whole than in sections) depends on the manner in which movement is communi- cated to it. m) : The harsher effects arise, when the string is suddenly set in motion ; whereas the more sympathetic effects arise only when the string is set in motion as gradually as possible* ' We see therefore, tlmt to obtaiu a legato effect by means of the Pedal, we must let the pedal rise as we depress the keys fonniiig tiie next ciiord ; both the depression of the key and the ascent of the pedal being completed at the same moment. Since the dampers cannot reach their strings until the Pedal is nearly quite up, and as the da'.npers also act in the same way in con- nection with the rising key, it also follows that it becomes an inexorable rule in legato i)laying, not to depress the pedal at the same moment as a key the sound of which we wish to sustain, but instead to do so immediately after the completion of the descent of such key. Correct Pedalling during Legato — the putting down of the Pedal, thus forms a close syncopation follow- ing the sounding of the notes. KEY-TKEATMENT ; INSTRUMENTAL ASPECT. 47 THE KEY. (Chapter XI.) RECAPITULATORY. a J : "We find that the Key is a Speed-tool ; and that the laws that govern the use of other speed-tools must therefore equally apply in the case of the Pianoforte key. bj: We should always bear in mind, as previously suggested, that this Tool is akin to the See-Saw in principle.^ cj : This will prevent our being tempted either to squeeze it upon the pads beneath, or to punch its surface viciously, in our efforts to make Tone by its means. dj : We shall then, on the contrary, take hold of it — upon it, and realising its resistance, feel it to be so intimately in connec- tion with our finger-tip, as to seem literally a continuation of it. e) : Projecting our minds meanwhile to the opposite end of this tool — the hammer-end, we shall bring Force in the shape of Weight and Muscular-exertion to bear upon its hatuile — its ivory or ebony end. f) : We shall so time the application of this force, both as re- gards Amount and Gradation, that we shall ensure that the desired Fig. 3. — Diagrammatic representation of the ^ri««p7e of the compound-leverage involved, with omisBion of all details of the mechanism. A — B wooden rocker, with finger plate at A. C — D hammer. / string. E key- pad. J9l, /)2, /)3, are immovable centres or pivots. ^ It is well to keep this simile in mind, since it is so manifestly futile to con- tinue pressing down one end of a See-Saw, after this has reached the grotind, if our purpose be to induce movement at its other end. (Vide also Chapter VIII. , and above Fig. 3.) 48 key-tkeatment; instrumental aspect, speed of the Key — and String — is reached before our end of the tool is brought into contact with its underlying pad, and we shall thus have succeeded in obtaining the exact tone-shading which our musical conscience prompted us to desire, [l^ide Figs. 3 and 4.] ; c\ ^^^-"^ ., y4::^ Fig. 4. — The difiFerence between "sudden" and "gradual" key-depression. g): Of the two horizontally converging thick lines in Fig. 4 (both the above diagrams), the upper line (aa) illustrates the position of our end of the key when at rest — at << surface-level"; while the lower of these lines represents the position of the key's surface when fully depressed. The vertical (dotted) lines in both diagrams are meant to ex- hibit the degree in the key's motion during descent, respectively in brilliant and in sympathetic tone-production. In diagram A, we have Energy applied suddenly — << avec at- taque." Here the dotted lines c (supposed to represent the degree of speed) are seen to start at once some distance apart, but they remain only thus far apart to the end of the key's descent; for the key-descent is so sudden that it is practically impossible to attain any increase in speed during it. In diagram B, the key has on the contrary been reached prac- tically without percussion, without suddenness, — ** sans attaque." The dotted lines d therefore here commence together, and they widen out to represent the Speed-^r^5(:^;/. 3 c the sound uti and L pp. £■3 UJ Q. E E V UJ en nomeut ( y with th the kind nits all t nd Quan 3^ • a o OJ O eS s|§ £ « "1* Q 3 3 2 UJ o o c § iring ses ins atter v to prod in all amount dness Quali 0.0 (O < 1 e8 FORM, : first 73 C -2* '=' 2? a t" s ^ § s o 3 n « t« ~N Legato, wl the Tenuti transferred f r finger to fing r sustained es, or of Tl HEAVIER neludes the , and is all Tenu gati. press the ke tain it depr .5 O 50 .(-« f— Ik- v ST 9. T- «-l 00 fl ci to Oi O-l 1z a ® m fe y — T3 . z »- (/> LU E plir er p ND, ey-h 03 S5 -2 i^ a -S tl LU 0) 3 o 3 C 4-* jn of each s in all fing passages. SECO at k Sufi] softest. Ten all de Durati than tl to stac ^ 00 o « c ,_ zz Q£ ,^ t- >> LU 1- o o h the durat continuous, nd and Arn: *-• CO o o to to dep tlie ke ion of H HTE ce on "5 ugh rmits nclus « .2 o C o O ta 0) ■i-> '^ fl ^ QJ O M a -^-^ to .22 Not heavy e key ; lienc bound on th P4 oexistei absoh uance, T, OR at key- QQ 0) 0) 1 ^ !n a ■C <«-) 0^ .^ 1-1 -^ c oc H o 4J H S Lu .C "I' o ti u ca •s o o Eh P. s 'm >> o CO a o .a a] bo O o a o, p. 03 O \:> a -a o. < o tc o 62 TIIK LIMBS EMPLOYED. (Chapter XYI.) RECAPITULATORY. a) : The limb employed in playing consists of four main por- tions, four levers :— the Finger, the Hand, the Fore-arm and the Upper-arm. b) : Each portion or segment is individually provided with muscles ; we can therefore control each portion separately— both as to exertion, and as to lapse of it. c) : The finger can be exerted in two completely different ways ;— the Bent or Thrusting attitude ; and the Flat, or Clinging attitude.' d) : Exertion implies muscular-action. For every exertion we are able to make in any direction, we are also provided with muscles to provide the reverse exertion. e) : Exertion of a muscle leads to a visible result — motion of the limb-section to which it is attached, only when there be nothing to prevent such motion. fj: Four quite distinct effects may hence result from a mus- cular-exertion :— (i) It may lead to an actual movement of the portion of the limb to which it is attached ; (2) It may cause that limb-section to bear against some outside object, — such as the Pianoforte key ; (3) Or may cause it to bear against another portion of the same limb ; (4) Lastly, if allowed to act in sympathy with its opposite neighbour, it will deter that muscle (or set) in its work; thus leading to the work being done un-freely, or even inducing for the time a total stiffening or rigidity of the involved portion of the limb. g) : The isolation of each set of muscular impulses from its opposite set, is hence the first and most important step towards acquiring a correct Technique ; since any inexpertness in this ' Vide Figs. C and 7, next page. KEY -TREATMENT ; MUSCULAR ASPECT. 63 respect causes a << stiffness" of Finger and Wrist, etc., that In- fallibly precludes accuracy either in tonal or in rhythmical result. h) : Relaxation — Ease, derived from the omission of all un- necessary muscular-exertion (in conjunction with accuracy in its application to the key), forms the main secret of all easy and therefore accurate Playing. The Difference between Thrusting and Clinging Finger: W K Fig. 6.— The Thrusting (Bent) Finger-attitude. The position is with depressed key ; the dotted lines exhibit the index-finger fully Wis the Wrist, K the Knuckle. Fig. 7. — The Clinging (Flat) Finger-attitude. The position is with depressed key ; the dotted lines exhibit the index-finger fully raised. The above two figures are designed to exhibit tlie two opposite Finger- nttitudes employed in iiiaying. Tliey consist of differences in Tnovement and action, and they demand totally opposite cotidiHons (states) of the Upper-arm. The i\c{un\' Position assumed by tlie Wrist-joint and Knuckle may vary rather considerably, without interfering with tlie due operation of these two opposite sets of Muscular-couditious : — 6-i THE LIMBS EMPLOYED. The main point with the Thrnsting-atlitude, Fij;. 6, is, that the Knuckle must be sufficiently high to allow it easily to take the thrust of the lingers ; — wlierefore some teachers bend the fingers very fully and hold the Knuckle exceedingly high with u low-dropped wrist. The Clinging-action (Fig. 7) even adndts of the Wrist-joint being either held quite high, or of being dropped below the level of the key-board, — pro- vided no running passage be attempted in the latter case. It also admits of the linger being us much curved with full key-depression as in thrusting-action — but such contracted position in this case modifies the tone-character from that resulting from the fully " flat," — and " elastic " finger. The main difference to be noted by the eye, is, tliat when the finger is well- raised as a preliminary, it is much curved in the first attitude, whereas it is al- most fully opened out in the second. key-treatment ; muscular aspkct. 65 The Eequieed Actions and Inactions. (Chapter XVII.) RECAPITULATORY. a) : The Act of Touch implies levering weight upon the key, to cause its deflection. b) : This leverage-power is obtained : i) by exerting the Finger, 2) by exerting the Hand in conjunction with the Finger. cj : When the finger is exerted against the key, it bears up- wards by recoil against the Knuckle of the hand, and with equal force, dj : The hand, when it is exerted, bears downwards upon the finger at the knuckle, and it likewise bears upwards (by reaction) with equal force — against the Arm at the Wrist' joint. ej : At the Wrist-joint, these two combined forces meet the weight of the Arm ; and it is therefore the Arm that forms the Basis for the operation of the finger and hand against the key. fj : The arm may be employed for this purpose in two distinct ways: 1) It may be self -supported by its muscles. 2) It may be left iin-siipported during the action of tone-production. g) : Arm-weight, if insufficient for extreme fortes, may be supplemented by a bearing-up against the Shoulder. The weight of the Shoulder and even of the Body itself thus forms the ulti- mate Basis, or Foundation, Body-force must never be employed instead. hj : All sensation, during the Act of Touch, must invariably be upwards. This is so because all the work done reacts upwards againsi Weight — thus producing a stepping-up against the Knuckle and the Wrist, and even against the Shoulder in extreme cases. 66 KEY-TEEATJVIKNT ; MUSCULAR ASPP:CT. i) : There are therefore Three Muscular Components from which we can construct the Act of Touch, viz. • 1) Finger-exertion, 2) Hand-exertion, 3) Arm-weight, and its co-operatives. j) : These three components divide, broadly, into two distinct kinds — Exertion and Weight. The two opposite elements thus recognised, meet at the Wrist- joint. Exertion, there bearing upwards, meets the downward tendency of Weight. k) : The total quantity of tone (loudness) depends on the total amount of Energy used against the key during its descent, and obtained from these two sources. I) : The quality of the tone mainly depends on how we start this combination of Exertion and Weight against the key, viz. : I) : If we want tone of a beautiful quality, we must start the combination by Weight {i.e., by Arm-release) ; for the key is then more gradually driven into Speed. 2) : If we want a tone of a brilliant, aggressive, or sharp quality, we must start the combination by Exertion (of the finger and hand) ; for the key is then driven more suddenly into Speed. We thus obtain two completely different genera of Touch — *« Weight-touch " and " Muscular-touch." m) : The Tone-quality is further influenced by which attitttde we adopt of the Finger and Upper-arm conjointly. There are two opposite attitudes : i) The Clinging, or/aZ-finger attitude. 2) The Thrusting, or &£?«/-finger attitude. The Clinging-attitude makes for beauty of the tone, — the s/«^///;''-quality, with its carrying character : because the whole limb is here in its most elastic condition. The Thrusting-attitude makes for brilliancy and aggressive- ness, with its «* short" Tone-character; because the whole limb is then in a more rigid condition.^ ' Vide Figs. 6 and 7 ; also Figs. 8 and 9; pages 63 and 74 of Ais work. THE ACTIONS AND INACTIONS. 67 nj: To use the Clinging-attitude, we must leave the Upper- arm more or less relaxed during the moment of tone-production ; thus causing the Elbow to tend to hang on to the fingers. Weight thus set free permits the finger to cling to the key to the necessary extent. The finger, in thus tending to drag the Elbow towards the key- board, should be used as a wholes — all three joints nearly straight or << flat." o) : To use the Thrusting-attitude, we must on the contrary support the Upper-arm — more or less forwards. This permits the finger to thrust against the key to the necessary extent, the thrust being taken by the Elbow. The finger, in thus tending to thrust against the Elbow, is used in a very rounded (or bent) position, and it tends to uii-bend towards and with the key ; the nail-joint remaining almost up- right. The action is like that of the leg in walking up- stairs. p): Most of the work done by the finger, should be derived from the part of the finger next to the knuckle — the knuckle- phalanx, i.e. : The part of the finger next to the knuckle (or hand), is the part that should do most of the work. This applies egually in '* flat" and " bent" attitudes. ^ q) : The action of the finger, in both attituder., is best under- stood at first, by turning the hand palm upwards, and lifting a weight by the tip of the finger. r) : If we require the most sympathetic tone, we must com- bine Clinging-attitude with Weight-initiative. Remembering that the slightest <* putting-down" of the key, will destroy the desired result. s) : If we want a sharp incisive tone (sacrificing carrying- power) then we must combine the Thrusting-attitude with Muscu- lar-initiative. /j ; Finger-touch, Hand-touch ("Wrist-action") and Arm- touch, are terms iiof referring to the action or otherwise of the three various parts designated. They merely refer to movements of those parts, respectively. Whether an actual movement of the ' Vide Fig. 11 ; also Figs. 8 aud 9; pages 74 and 75 of tliis work. 68 key-treatment; muscular aspect. Finger, Hand or Arm accompanies keynlescent, depends purely upon ivbicb of the three components provides slightly more Energy. Thus: I) : Finger-touch (or movement) mav involve the oper- ation of all three of the muscular components — finger-ex- ertion, hand-exertion, and arm-weight. Or, finger and hand exertion may alone be used ; or, the finger-exertion alone. 2) : Hand-touch (or movement) must involve finger-ex- ertion, and may also involve arm-weight. 3) : Arm-touch (or movement) must involve exertion both of the finger and the hand, accompanied by Arm- lapse. u) : Choice of movement is chiefly determined by the actual speed of the passage ; i.e. : It is the actual speed of the passage that mostly determines which part of the limb we must move : — i) : Arm-movement (or touch) should be employed when the passage is sufficiently slow to admit of it. A more or less slight raising of the whole limb off the key-board renders the act of phrasing clearer. The first note of a phrase is therefore nearly always played by arm-descent. 2) : Hand-movement (or touch) must be chosen, when the notes succeed each other too quickly to be conveniently played by arm-touch. 3) : Finger-movement (or touch), as it provides the shortest lever, must be chosen for passages beyond the speed-capacity of Hand-touch. 4) : Finger-movement (or touch) is however also employed for slower passages, and even for the slowest. This, because we can only obtain a true Legato through the intervention of the fingers, thus enabling us to trans- fer the second kind of Resting from key to key. v) : Choice of Touch-formation (the Muscular-combination em- THE ACTIONS AND INACTIONS. 69 ployed during the act of key-depression) is however even more important than choice of Touch-movement. There are three main forms of such combination ; forming Three Species of Touch-formation or construction : I) : Finger-exertion alone, with passive Hand and self- supported Arm. 2) : Hand-exertion behind the Finger-exertion, with self-supported Arm. 3) : Arm- weight (etc.) released in conjunction with the Finger-and-hand exertion. i iv) : The weight of the arm, thus required for the <' Added- impetus," is obtained by omitting its self-support for the time. The -whole arm must be released from the shoulder (to the necessary extent), not the Fore-arm only. Movement of the arm, is moreover no guarantee that it is really descending of its own weight. xj : Arm- weight thus employed in the form of <* Added- im- petus " during the act of tone-production, must cease to bear upon the key the moment sound is reached ; but we must not cause this cessation, by trying to lift the arm off the keys. On the contrary, the arm must be made to resume its self-support automatically. This it will do, if we "leave it in the lurch," at the Wrist, by promptly ceasing all work of the finger and hand against the key, the moment that sound is reached. yj : The continuous weight required to form the second (or slightly heavier) kind of <* Resting," upon which depends the effect of Tenuto and Legato, is obtained in the same way : A very slight release of the whole arm suffices ; not dis-continuous as for the Added-impetus, but here continuous, and no greater than just sufficient to overbalance the key into descent. ^) : This same process also forms the absolute-/)/) Weight-, touch. ' Tliis all-important matter, the mnsctilar-construction of the act of Touch In its Tliree main Species, and the Varieties of these, is more fully dealt with In Chapter XIX., which see. 70 KEY-TREATMENT : MUSCULAR ASPECT. To obtain it, we must be careful really to weigh the key down by such arm-release, and not in the least to put it down by mus- cular-initiative. aa) : True Legato, we found, is only possible in finger-pas- sages ; ' for the Tenuto form of the Resting (or pp Weight-touch) must here be transferred from finger to finger during the continu- ance of each phrase. This transfer should be effected by timing the previous finger to cease its weight-supporting activity at the moment that the next key's descent is required to commence. Thus the new finger is compelled to take up its duties automatically in response to the weight being '* left in the lurch " by the preceding finger. bb) : Without any Added-impetus, this forms pp Transfer-touch. Here again we must be careful not directly to influence the new finger's depression ; we must instead insist on the previous finger giving way at the right moment. cc) : The following facts will now be clearer : — Pianissimo Weight-touch '^ accompanies all forms of Tenuto ; — since all tone beyond pp must be supplied by one of the multi- farious forms of the Added-impetus. Pianissimo Weight-transfer touch, in the same way accom- panies all Legati of greater tone-amount than pp. Tenuto and Legato of more tone than pp, hence consist of pp Weight-touch or Weight-transfer-touch respectively, with a tone-making operation added thereto for each note — the Added- impetus, the latter as short-lived as in Staccatissimo. dd) : For the first (or Staccato) form of the Resting, the weight of the hand alone is sufficient. For this purpose, the hand must lie quite loosely upon the keys. Tone, of whatever kind, must of course be obtained by employment of the Added- impetus in one of its many forms. ee) : Invisible adjustments of the Forearm are constantly re- quired in a rotary or tilting direction, to ensure Evenness of effect from all the fingers ; and also to enable the fingers at either side » Except by intervention of tlie Damper-pedal. Cliap. XV., etc • Ah-eady considered in Chapter XV. THE ACTIONS AND INACTIONS. 71 *>f the hand to pronounce their notes prominently. These adjust- ments enable us to support either side of the hand off the keys when required ; and enable us also to influence either side with more force or weight when that is required. ff ) : This forms Rotation-touchy when such adjustments are allowed to become visible as a tilting movement of the hand. gg) : Lateral movements of the Hand and of the "Wrist itself are also required to ensure Evenness. Without such movements, it would be impossible to connect without break or jerk the vari- ous f ngering-positions out of which passages are formed. These side to side movements (whether great or small) must be abso- lutely unrestrained. hh) : Rotary and lateral freedom of the Wrist enables one to feel always << ready " over every note beforehand. ii) : Purely Vertical freedom of the Wrist-joint itself must be insisted upon, besides this rotary and lateral freedom. Only in this way can a really free Wrist be ensured. jjj : Per contra : if we always insist on feeling ready and vertical over each note, before attempting its production, we shall fulfil these three conditions of freedom of the Wrist — laterally, rotarily, and vertically. kk) : To enable us to reach closely adjacent notes, slight lateral movements of the fingers themselves suffice. II) : To enable us to take larger skips, but such as do not ex- ceed about two octaves in extent, we must use lateral movements of the Forearm, with the Elbow as the apparent pivot. These are mainly induced by a partial rotation of the Upper-arm. mm) : For still larger skips, the whole arm, from the shoul- der, must move sideways. Such large skips however become exceedingly uncertain, if attempted beyond a comparatively slow speed. nn) : Muscular - discriminations in very definite directions have thus been proved requisite. These should be studied in the Table annexed to this chapter. 73 KEY-TREATMKNT ; MUSCULAIi ASPECT. TABLE OF THE MAIN MENTAL-MUSCULAR DISCRIMINATIOXS REQUIRED TO ENABLE US TO FULFIL THE CONDITIONS OF ACTION AND IN- * ACTION EMPLOYED DURING THE ACT OF TOUCH, I. Ability independently to leave lax — unsupported hy their respective muscles : — (a) The Hand, \ so that we shall be able to set free their I b) The Fore-arm, I Weight as required, independently of 1 c) The Upper-arm, j any downward exertion of the finger or Id) The Shoulder, J haud.> II. Isolation of the Finger'' s dovm-actioity {or exertion) from that of the Hand — ability to exert the finger against the key, independently of any exertion downwards of the liand.^ III. Isolation of the Hand's doivn-adivitij from that of the Arm — ability to exert the hand downwards behind the fingers upon the keys, even to its fullest extent, without permitting any down-activity of the Arm.^ IV. Freedom of the Finger's action — isolation of the finger's down-exertion from its opposite exertion — freeing the finger's down-exertion from the upward one.'* V. Freedom of the Hand's action — isolation of the hand's doAvn-exertion from the upward one.^ YI. Discrimination hetiveen the Thrusting and the Clinging application of the Finger against the key — with its correlated alternative, either of foriuard-suppoi'ted or lax-left Elbow and Upper-arm.*^ YII. Freedom in the rotary -adjustments of the Fore-arm — ( — a) ability to leave the fore-arm Jax in a tilting direction towards cither side of the hand, — both fifth-finger and thumb sides. — b) ability to exert the fore-arm rotarily in either of these directions.' • g§ 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 23. < § 23, also last chapter. • § 6, etc. * 5^ 23, iilso last chapter. • § 6, etc. * §g 12-15, also last chapter. '§31. These referouces apply to Chapter XVII. of " The Act of Touch." THE ACTIONS AND INACTIONS. 73 VIII. Freedom of the Wrist and Hand horizontalty — — i.-^oliition of the muscular act tliat moves the hand to one side hiterally, from the act that moves it in the opposite direction ; required to assist the thumb in turning* under, and the fingers in turning over.^ IX. Ability accurafeh/ to time the eessatlon of the doion-exer- tion of the Finger, employed' duri)i(j Jcey-descent — — ability to " cr//// " this exertion, so that it may culminate and cease at the moment of sound emission.'^ X. Ahility accurateh/ to time the ceftsation of the doim-rxertifoi. of the Hand, employed, dvrhig key-descent — - — ability to aim the hand-exertion, so that it may also be di- rected by the ear, like that of the finger.^ XI. Ahiliiy accuraiely to time the cessation of Weight, em^ ployed to produce tone — —ability to time the application of any Arm-weight emploj^ed for the creation of key-descent, so that it may culminate and cease at the moment of sound emission.^ XII. Freedom in the movements required of the Finger, the Hand, the Fore-arm and the Upper-arm in hringing tJiefnger- tips into 2^Iace over their required notes, antecedent to the act oj h'ey-depression — — freedom in the lateral, or side-to-side movements : (a) of the Fingers and Thumb, (b) of the Hand, (c) of the Fore-arm, with the elbow as a pivot, and (d) of the Elbow and Upper-arm itself.^ • § 84. ' §§ 24 and 28. rile also " The. Added Mpetus," last chapter. ' § 24, vide T/ie Added Impetus, last cTuipter. * A cessation that must he caused, hy the arm-supporting muscles acting in strict response to the timed cessation of the up-hearing action of tlie finger and hand aeainst the aim at the wrist, during the act of key-depression.* *§§ 24 37. 88. and 39- * § 24 and lust Ctjapter. 74 KEY-TREATMKNT : MUSCULAR ASPECT. Fig. 8. — Description : * The arrows in the above, represent the directions in whicb the forces tend during bent finger-attitude. a and b denote the direction of the energy resulting by recoil from the thrusting action of the finger and hand against the key, and manifesting itself upwards and back- wards respectively at the knnckle and wrist joints. c and cc, the energy that balances this, derived from arm-weight and force. K is the Knuckle ; W the Wrist ; E the Elbow, and IS the Shoulder. Fio. 0. — Description: The arrows denote tho tcndcnciof! during flat finger- attitude. a and h denote the direction of the energy resulting from the finger and hand clhiginci to the key, and how it manifests itself as an upward and forward-drawing stress at the knuckle and wrist. c and cc, the direction in which the energy tends, that is set free in this case at the elbow and wrist, and derived from Arm-weight through its release. f/, in both Figs., shows the direction of the total Energy-result, — vertical upon the key during its descent, and slightly dragging, in Fig. 9. * In Fig. ti the lieiit-finijer was shown with the wrist-position almost as high as it may be: in the aliove figure, the lower position-hmit is illustrated. On this point, the various Methods " differ com- pletely as to their Dogma. The fact is that thu prwMso position adopted should vary in accordance witli variety in hand-conformation. ( \'iUe Pari /^■., " On Vo-'iiUo)i.'") THE ACTIONS AND INACTIONS. 75 ^«-«^ Fig. 11.— Faulty action of the two front phalanges of the finger, shownng th« result of these bein^ exerted witli gre Any alteration in the degree of 'Weiffht forms presumptive proof that contrary-exertions liave been permitted ; so does any forward or backward sliding of the finger-tips on the key-surfaces. No alteration occurs in either of these respects, if tiie contrary -muscles of both Hand and Finger are left as re- laxed as tlicy should l)e. " N. B.— Tlie weight required for " Clinging-touch " must be obtained by release of tiie vpper arm. * If practis(!(l instead with "forward" or thnisting-toucli, the wrist will not fall, but will rebound upwards— but the fingers must nevertheless remain on their respective keys, with the rising keys under thcni. * This test should be practised in two ways : (a) with the whole arm rising in the air, and (b) with the fore-arm alone, thus responding to the rebound of the keys. KEY-TIIEATMKNT 1 MUSCULAR ASPECT. 79 e): Rotary and lateral freedom at the Wrist, should also con- stantly be tested for. This, by allowing the resulting movements to continue during the moment of key-depression and beyond that moment. Both kinds of movement to be perfectly free from all restraint. The Thkee Species of Touch-foemation, (Chapter XIX.) RECAPITULATORY. a): We have learnt that the three muscular-components available (Finger-force, Hand-force, and Arm-weight with its cooperatives) can be applied to the Key, under three main Prin- ciples of Combination, forming three distinct Species of Touch- formation : Description of the Three Species of Touch-formation : b): The First Species consists of Finger-force alone acting against the key during descent ; while the hand is passive, and the Arm self-supported. The Second Species consists of Hand-force acting in conjunc- tion with the Finger against the key during descent ; while the Arm remains self-supported. The Third Species consists of all three components, operative 80 THE THREE SPECIES OF TOUCII-FOIIMATION. against the key during descent ; Finger and Hand force being supplemented by Arm-weight, etc. How these Touch-formations are used : cj : To produce the ist Species : the Arm must remain fully but elastically supported by its own muscles, and while the Aiin thus floats over the key-board and supports the Wrist-end of the loose-lying Hand, the sound must be produced solely by the Finger's action against the key ; such Finger-action ceasing t.e moment that sound is reached. dj : To produce the 2d Species : the Arm-condition is the same as in the last, but the Hand must here act behind the Finger during key-descent : both Finger and Hand accurately ceasing to act, the moment that sound is heard to begin. e) : To produce the 3d Species : we have to add Arm-weight behind the Finger and Hand, the latter acting as in the other Species. Such lapse in Arm-support must reach its climax at the moment of sound-emission, and it, as well as the finger-and- hand actions employed, must disappear at that very moment. The forms of Movement available : fj : The Third Species can be employed either in the form of Arm-touch (arm-movement), or Hand-touch' (Hand-movement), or as Finger-touch (Finger-movement) ; all three forms of move- ment being available in this Species, since it contains all the three muscular-components. The Second Species can only be employed either in the form of Hand-touch or as Finger-touch, since the Arm does not here change its condition during the act of tone-production. The First Species is only available as Finger-touch, since neither Hand nor Arm should here show any change of condition during key-descent. The speeds at which the Species are available : g) : The Third Species can however only be used, when the speed of the passage does not exceed a certain rate ; — the speed ' " Wrist-action." THE THREE SPECIES OF TOUCH-FORMATION". 81 being restricted by the limit beyond which we cannot give the necessary repetitions of Arm-release.^ The Second Species permits far greater Agility, while The First Species offers no physical limit to speed, beyond the mental difficulty of keeping the passage ** in hand." The contrasts of Tone-qucintity available : hj : The Third Species offers us the whole range of Tone, from the very softest to the loudest and fullest, owing to the presence of Arm-weight. The Second Species cannot procure us so much Tone, as the Hand and Finger here have only the self-supported (or suspended) Arm as a Basis. The First Species only renders a very small quantity of Tone available, since we here have only the slight weight of the loose- lying Hand as a Basis. The contrasts of Tone-qua.[i{y available : ij : The Third is the only Species, under which all varieties of Tone-qualify are available. For it is owing to the inclusion of Arm-release, that we can under this Species start the act of Tone- production either by Weight-release or by Muscular-exertion. ^ The Second and First Species only permit '* Muscular-initia- tive." No '< singing" tone can therefore be obtained through them. jj : All three Species can moreover ba somewhat modified (either towards Beauty or towards Harshness) by selecting either the flat (or clinging) attitude, or the bent (or thrusting) attitude. kj : To obtain fully ''sympathetic" cantabile or cautaudo, we must combine the Clinging-attitude with the Third Species, in its Weight-initiative form. ' Such alternations of Arm-release and renewed self-support, are, "s-e must remember, not necessarilj' shown as iwn\-movemenis. What may be considered a Variety of tliis Species, is, however, also avail- able«in full-speed passages, provided we do not attempt to obtain more tone than a ^lorno— provided, th(^refore, that it takes the form of " transfer" (or " passing-on ") touch. In this form it is also available as a Glissando. ' We must remember that with " Weight-tou(;h " tlie tendency is towards beauty of tone, wliile with "Muscular-touch" it is towards hardness, harsh- ness (or asperity) of quality. 82 THE THREE SPECIES OF TOUOH-FOKMATION. Bent finger, ad Species, compulsory, for rapid forte passages. I) : We moreover now discern, that the Clinging (or flat) finger, requires some measure of Upper-arm release. This in- capacitates this form of touch for rapid passages, when these are required /or/^. For rapid forte passages, we must therefore use the self-sup- ported arm (Second Species) with the thrusting (or bent) finger in combination with it.^ m) : The secret of Agility, hence, is found to lie in the self- supported arm ; and combined with it, the thrusting finger, when the passage is for fe. Accuracy in ceasing the action at sound, is a law that meanwhile bears no breaking. The contrasts in Duration, how available : nj : All three Species of touch-formation are Staccato, provided we insist meanwhile on the Act of Resting being sufiiciently light ; — so light that the arm is continuously in a state of com- plete self-support ; and provided we are also careful to time our actions against the keys to cease so accurately as to permit these to rebound."^ oj : All the Species can be transformed into Tenuti, by merely changing the Resting into a slightly heavier form, the arm (as to its continuous condition) being here not quite so fully supported as in Staccato. pj : All the Species can moreover be transformed into Legati, by transferring such Tenuto-form of the Resting from key to key. The danger of forgetting to think of Sound, when learning new muscular habits : qj : In endeavouring to acquire correct Muscular-conditions, we must meanwhile never lose sight of their Object, vi;^. : to move the Key for the sake of Music. ' The clinginff-finger, would in rapid forte passages, tend to dull the pas- sage by dragging the Upper-arm on to the key-i)eds. ' We must recall that the Continuous condition of the arm, here implied in the Resting, does by no means preclude our using the momentary lapses re- quired in Species III., to form the Added-impetus. THE THREE SPECIES OF TOUCII-FOIIMATION. 83 To succeed in this, we must remember to watch the key un- remittingly, both before depression— for its weight, and during depression — for the Place where tone-production culminates and ceases. We can moreover only ensure our doing this, by remem- bering to watch TIME. We must therefore insist on judging not only how, but where each note should sound. Thus, only, can we hope to learn to em- ploy Technique solely for a Musical Purpose. rj : The following Table should now be studied. o t— I o Ph i1 O Eh W H . ifl P^ O I ft pq P ft < D I- U 0. T Q U o a I o o bio , CS-S — <3 C y O O < bl Z S « a cr u O U Q. (0 Q a X :3 a B o 4) _ j'^ iJ ii ^ « rt 5 2i fe-- 09 -=2:= U o u Q. (a Q Z o o u (0 t= •=.■= a a n ~ o) S ^ a. 1 t< M H to c3 a -a-o (0 U O Ul Q. (0 h (0 >^ c =? c: ;t3 ' i 3 I ^.-^ a X '4= ji •a c a u ~ o o '4 ^•2 " E .E« .El c o u x: u 3 O ■*-< u be c a_ rj o a S -2 to tn O t/3 1 E(^ a '-'J 'to 2 u O o 5a -o ' a a ^ CJ >.^ . F— t/3 rr- f= 5^ o c P « ~ t« ^&£ ■* *^ a p4. a a rt'o ^ > CJ CJ CJ o 3 m *tn 8 -a to 2 o a OJ a> o 03 C/ UJ e '■c -! ^ r/: vU un ( ■. QJ o tf T! (1; a is a o CJ CJ tn K « o ■i. H u 1 c 1 ^ 1) » > ;- 1) ^> "■^ b^ >-. QJ QJ ^4 « key-tkeatment ; musculaii aspect. 85 Classification of Touches. (Chaptek XX.) RECAPITULATORY AND SUMMARY. a J : Enumeration and Classification only become possible (and easy) if we bear in mind the main facts of Touch-construction, vi{.: — i) : The Resting. 2) ; The Added-impetus. 3) : The Three distinct Species of muscular-combina- tion, or Touch-formation ; and 4) : The two great distinctions thence elicited : I.) : lVeighf-imtia.ted Touch. II.) : M//S(;«/«r/j'- initiated Touch. 5) : The Distinction between Clinging and Thrusting attitudes. bj : To attain our present object, we must review some of the potentialities of these Elements : I) : The Third Species of Muscular-combination (or Touch-formation) alone offers us (because of its two Sub- genera) the option both of Muscular-initiative and of Weight-initiative ; the other Species being necessarily Muscularly-initiated. This Third Species, as regards movement, can be ex- hibited either as Finger-touch, Hand-touch, or as Arm- touch. 2) : The Second Species only offers the option between Finger-touch and Hand-touch. 3) : The First Species can only be obtained as Finger- touch. 4) : The Thrusting and Clinging muscular-attitudes tend to qualify all Touch towards the Brilliant type and towards the Sympathetic type, respectively. 5) : The whole of these Tone-producing Elements can be applied either under the first (Key-surface) form ot 86 CLASSIFICATION OF TOUCHES. the Resting, or under the second (Key-depressed) form of the Resting : In the first case the effect is STACCATO ; and *in the second case it is TENUTO, and the latter can, moreover, in the case of Finger-touch, be transformed into Legato. 6) : The Second form of the Resting, applied by itself to the key (without the assistance of any Added-impetus) forms the true /)/)-tenuto or Legato— ;>/) Weight-touch or Transfer-touch. It is identical with the muscular-combination, Species III., and can therefore exist either in the guise of Finger, Hand, or Arm-movement.' c) : From the Artist's point of view — and the Student-<:o/oz/r- isVs"^ — Classification must therefore needs take the following aspect : Div. I.: Weight X'. Muscular-initiative.^ Forming the distinctions Div. n. : Flat t-. Bent Finger-arm Atti- - oiioui^-qyaiUy :xinmi\. ° ness».li;U(iuess,orbyiii- tude (Clinging v. Thrusting), j pathetic v. Aggressive. Div. III. : The Three Species of Added-im- ) Giving various options petus-construction \^ Agility'-porerf ^' """'^ Div. IV. : Key-surface v. key-bed Rest- ) Forming the distinctions y between Legato and ^^S ) Staccato. and lastly, Div. V. : Finger, Hand, and Arm-touches. . Forming the distinctions \ °^ mere movement. d) : Subsidiary modifications are : — I) : An additional set of touch-forms, exhibited as Fore-arm Rotation-touch, sometimes advisable, and avail- able under most forms of touch-construction. ' Tliis Resting, when applied in coniunction with a 1st Species Added- impetus, subtly modifies the hitter's tone-quality. ''Without Colouring, Piano-playing is reduced to mere strumming. KEY -TREATMENT ; MUSCULAR ASPECT. 87 2): The '< Kick-off" Staccato influence; capable of being added to all the enumerated forms of Staccato. 3) : The " Artificial " form of Legato, induced by slight and continuous pressure of the hand and fingers, in place of the usual heavier form of the Resting. e) : All these distinctions need not be consciously kept in view, once we have mastered their application. But we must more or less remain conscious of those few main principles re- called in §§ a and c of this Recapitulatory. f): The following Table should now be referred to. o I— I o I— I Ph I— I m < Hi Q t M T3 a e3 V a o .a o c: a, 3 O o O o o .a J. ■" a y3 O O 00 'c« .a 0) < I !?; o Eh 1 • ..- " w. O) *s-3 3 1 - c a; fr. towards Aggressiveness of tone, ide, respectively. « , •^ ^ *V r— 3 1 c 3 ng at Surface-level of Key-board ; is — The Itesting at depressed-leve Oi C3 a 'E.S:^ t. CO <-- . ' : jopuu ]):)UlJOJ DIVISION II. c Cm Species I, Species 11, or Species III, in its 2nd larly-initialed. Q -^ ♦ 0) -J .3 a u a ^ 3 5 b: 1 (Wrist) touch. 2nd Species, or 3r(l Species, in its 2n(l Sub- genus. = :jopuu joijiio a paiujoj .3.3 .^ i^ —^ ^ •- OO (s/ ^ . ' Q.ti >< - 2 .S S X S 4-^ ■^ rt a> 13 ••z '3 .« ' 3 E b; .2^ f^ : japun joiijia O if prjtujoj *^^^" 05 ~ — ■" aj ^ 1 ^ <" J f^ ? c« ^ -3 *^ < ^ ^ 2'^ 3 *^ G D C4-1 "o 5 - "t; 3 S-S ■3 "2 c g .. S g3 'c .5 F?- «3 < c o ^•s=q r '^ 'c?3' tp i2 '^ 2 -■ - ^-.^ - — ^ > u K c IT. O c 5 ■5 ^. t. a •'• ISION HT-TOUC •r. _tr,^ « a 33 r»j p '3 I- 3 ^_- a t> 2 a ^ a.a a >i .2-^ -3 a •J Ml C/3 C kr-l v,^-^^^ > c •S <5 ■— H c rt 1) "u »sS CJ 3 • § ;_• •-• >, aj -3 ■r 3 •" e; s- 0) -a r^ rt S^ a a M bO ■« 3 ^ a s « s the form of a real blow, if we desire musical-accuracy- ' For explanation of §§ 2 to 4, refer to Chapter XIII., paG:o 114. » Explanation of §§ 5 to 7, found in Chapter XIV., page 125. N B.— These references are always to " The Act of Touch '' r. 89 90 kky-treatmp:nt ; muscular aspect. 6) : Not only shoold we therefore reach the key-surface quite easily and lightly ; but we must also be most careful to remem- ber^ that the required tone has to be made duringf the ensuing short descending movement of the key.^ 7) : Tliis light fall of the limb upon^ and subsequent move- ment with the key^ may either form an unbroken descent^ or we may instead bring the finger into contact with the key before the moment its depression is due* But in either case v,'C must, before using the key, insist on feeling its resistance. 8) : Since careful Contact is so essential, and Touch ' since Tenuto and Legato further require the op- eration of a light resting Weight, and as we must nevertheless often apply much energy to the key in addition to this Resting to provoke the key into the necessary tone, it fol- lows that TOUCH consists of the combination of two muscular operations, viz, : a) The act of "Resting,*^ and b) The act of ** Added-impetus.'' 9) : The act of ** Resting ** is practically continuous during each phrase, but may differ in its actual weight. This consti- tutes the difference in Basis between Staccato and Legato. JO): The " Added-impetus '' is applied only for and during key-descent ; and it must cease to exist the very moment that tone-emission commences. This law applies both in Legato and in Staccato. n ) : For StaccatOf the Resting must be no heavier than the key will bear at its top-most level. For Tenuto and Legato, the Resting should never be heavier than will j'ust suffice to retain the keys depressed. J2) : The Legato -resting, employed without any Added- impetus, is the only simple form of touch ; and thus employed, it gives us an absolute ppp Tenuto or Legato. ' For the act of Tone-production does not really commence until we ha^e actually reached the key. ' Explanation of gg 8 to 15, found in Chapter XV., page 135. SUMMARY OF PART III. 91 J3); Lcgfato implies a sequence of complete Tcnuti, trans- ferred from finger to finger. J 4) : Duration therefore depends on the kind of Resting. wliile Sound-kind depends on the kind of Added-impetos. . 15) : Four distinct living-levers are employed, their muscles ' *^^^* * *^^ Finger, the Hand, the Fore-arm, and the Upper-arm. J6) : The finger itself can be exerted in two completely dif- ferent ways : a) The Bent, or thrusting attitude, and b) The Flat, or clinging attitude.^ M) : By means of attached muscles, we can exert any of these living-levers in many directions. J 8) : Moreover, for every direction in which we can thus ex- ert these levers, we can also exert them in the opposite direction, by means of opposite muscles. J 9) : Stiffness is induced, when we exert both these sets of muscles simultaneously. We must therefore carefully guard against doing this ; for unless we provide every required action and movement with perfect freedom, we shall certainly spoil all our playing. 20) : The muscular-operation against the key and In-actions.= *"^P^^^^ leverage on the part of the finger and hand* This leverage re-acts upwards : (a) against the hand at the knuckle, and (b) against the arm at the wrist. 2J) : To form the necessary Basis, the arm may be employed in two ways : (a) it may be fully self -supported by its own mus- cles, or (b) its ger unless apparently so during the movement of Rotation-touch. g) : To keep the thumb vrell a^vay from the hand, Avith the nail-phalanx in line ivith its key. h) : IVot as a rule to alloiv the fingers to reach the keys near the outside edge of the key-board. j): The slight re-adjustmenti of w^rist-h eight, in passages Avith the thumb alternately on black and white keys, k): In Hand-touch, and Arm-touch, the assumption of the depressed position of the fingers relatively to the hands, before the down-movement of the hand or arm. 1 ) : Attention to the tw^o alternative return-movements of the finger in thrusting or clinging Finger-staccato, respectively. 112 ON POSITION — ILLUSTRATIONS. Fig. 16. — Faulty position of the thumb. Fig. 19. — Correct position of the thumb. Fig. 17 ; showing movement of the finger va. fiat-finger (or clinging-touch) Staccatc, w w Fig. 20. — Approximately correct position of Arm. Fig. 21 . — Incorrect position of Axm^ S represents the shoulder ; E the elbow ; and W the wrist-joint. EXTKACT. 113 CONCLUSION. Glossary and Summary of the main teachings of this work. § 1. ThI'J Act of Playing demands perception A i ' °t>i°' ^^^ facility in two distinct directions : (a) Musi- act of playing : cal-perception, and (b) Teclinical-facility. § 2. Musical-perception implies that of Feel- ing and that of Shape. § 3. Technique implies (a) knowledge of the requirements of Taste, and (b) knowledge of, and facility in Key-treatment. § 4. Key-treatment, again, has two aspects : (a) Knowledge, or perception of the instrument's requirements, and (b) knowl- edge of, and facility in muscularly fulfilling these. Part II Instru- § ^- Tone-production can solely be wrought mental aspect by causing the key to move. of Key-treat- § 6. Loudness depends purely on the degree °^^"^ '• of speed attained by the key during its descent. § 7. Beauty of tone depends on our inducing this key-speed as gradually as possible. § 8. Opportunity for causing or influencing tone, absolutely ceases the moment the hammer reaches the string and re- bounds therefrom. § 9. This moment, the beginning of the note (the moment of transition from Silence to Sound) must be listened for, so that our propulsion of the key can be accurately aimed to it. § 10. The key, in the shape of weight and friction, offers resistance to movement. § 11. The energy required to overcome this resistance, 114 EXTKACT. varies with different keys, and with the speed at whi6h we try to impel them. Part III the § l^- ^® ^^^ ^^^^^ gaug-e key-resistance, by Muscular as- physically feeling- it through the muscular-Sisnse, pect of Key- before and during- Key-depression, treatment. g 13^ The act of Attention during- performance is dual, since it implies attention musically and attention in- strumentally. We must listen inwardly and outwardly, so that we hear what should be, and so that we also hear the ac- tual result ; and we must meanwhile constantly /de^ the giving- way point of the keys, so that we can gauge the necessary efforts. § 14. Since the key must be reached so carefully, the con- tact should never be in the form of an actual blow, unless ac- curacy as to notes and expression do not matter. § 15. The act of Touch is consequently a Duplex process — excepting- in the case of ^>/:>;:)-Tenuto or Legato : — It consists of the two acts (a) of Kesting-, and (b) of Adding- Energy to the key to move it. § 16. The act of Resting (which is continuous during- each phrase) may either occur (a) at surface-level of key-board, or (b) at bottom-level of key-board. This slight difference in Resting-weight constitutes the difference in Basis between Staccato and Tenuto, or Legato. § 17. The first (or lighter) form of Resting does not assist key-depression. The second (or heavier) form does ; — being slightly heavier, it suffices to overbalance the key into de- flection. Both forms of Resting serve to tell us where the keys are, and their resistance. § 18. The absolute pp is obtained by employing this second form of the Resting, unassisted by any Added-impetus. § 19. The Added-impetus (Energy momentarily applied to the key during descent) is meanwhile required in all touches (except in pjyp-Ten. or Leg.) to induce the requisite tone-amount and quality. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIOJS'. 115 § 20. This Added-impetus must absolutely cease to exist at the moment that souud-emissiou begins, — in Legato as well as in Staccato. § 21. The Added-impetus can be muscularly j^rovided in the following three forms of Touch-construction or formation: — 1st S'pecies : Finger-exertion alone, with passive hand and self-supported arm. 2d Species : Hand-exertion behind the finger, with self - supported arm. 3d Siiecies : Momentary lapse in arm-support, behind the hand and finger exertions. § 22. The Muscular-components which provide the Act of Touch are therefore : (a) Finger-exertion, (b) Hand-exertion, and (c) Arm-weight. § 23. The sensations of correct touch are hence always up- wards — upwards by reaction from the key, against knuckle and wrist. This, because we can only positively /t^e^ the actions of the finger and hand, and not the operation of arm-weight, since the latter is derived from lapse in muscular-exertion. § 24. Movement during- key-descent, depends on which of these three components is slightly in excess of the other two at the moment. The resulting distinctions of movement are termed : Finger-touch, Hand-touch and Arm-touch. § 25. The third Species is available in either of two Sub- genera: either as " "Weight -touch " or as "Muscular-touch." This, because the combination of 'the three touch-components may, in this Species, be started either (a) by "Weight-release — that of the arm, or (b) by Exertion — that of the finger and hand. The first makes for roundness of tone ; the second for brill- iance and even hardness. § 26. Hardness or harshness is bound to ensue if we ap- ply arm down-force to any appreciable extent, and when we apply our efforts too far doion iii key-descent. § 27. We should therefore be careful always to play " only to the sound." 116 EXTRACT. § 28. Quality of tone is moreover influenced by the two di- verse Attitudes of the liug-er and upper-arm, respectively termed, the " Cling-ing- " and the " Thrusting." The first helps towards sympathetic (and carrying) tone, the second towards brilliant (and short) tone. § 29. It is the condition of the upper-arm (or elbow) that determines in which of these two ways the finger shall act. § 30. Most of the finger's work must be done by the Knuckle- phalanx ; this applies equally in clinging and in thrusting at- titude. § 31. To obtain the most sympathetic effect, we must pro- vide key-descent through the co-operation of the clinging atti- tude with the third species, in the latter's weight-initiated form. § 32. Arm-weight, when employed in the Added impetus, must automatically cease its operation— in response to the ac- curately-timed cessation of the up-bearing stress at the wrist- joint. § 33. The transfer of the Kesting weight should likewise be an automatic process, occasioned by the accurately -timed cessation of the supporting duty of the finger last used. § 34. Perfect freedom is imperative in all the movements and muscular actions employed in playing, — freedom from contrary-exertion. § 35. Rotary-freedom of the fore-arm must be insisted upon, as well as horizontal and vertical freedom of the wrist- joint. Lack of rotary-freedom, especially, is one of the most com- mon faults, since the here continually required adjustments mostly remain invisible. § 3G. The shoulder must be at such a distance r. ^ ' from the instrument, as will enable the arm to be Position : ^ , ' . 1.1 opened-out almost into an obtuse angle, thus enabling us to employ its Weight when required. We must be seated suificiently distant from the instrument to admit of this. SUMMARY AISTD CONCLUSIdST. 117 § 37. We must distinguish between the " flat " and " bent " positions and movements of the finger, that respectively accom- pany the Clinging and Thrusting attitudes, and their corre- lated upper-arm conditions. § 38. The wrist and hand must constantly adjust their position laterally, so that we can easily connect fingering-posi- tions by means of lateral movements of the thumb, etc. The wrist must meanwhile be neither too high nor too low ; and it must change its height, slightly, when the thumb al- ternates between black and white keys. § 39. The hand must be level, since the little-finger would otherwise be jDlaced at a disadvantage. More important still, the knuckles must never be permitted to fall in, as a normal position. § 40. The fingers should not move during key-descent, ex- cept in Finger-touch. § 41. The thumb, in its normal position, should be well away from the hand, and its nail-phalanx should always be in the same line as its key, unless it is required upon two keys simultaneously. § 42. Above all things, we must always insist on being properly in position over — and even on — each ^ey, before using it, so that Energy can be applied to it, vertically. § 43. Each of the keys forming a passage must not be con- ceived as a separate unit ; — each key's position must be con- ceived and must be found as a particular distance from each 2>recedi7ig key, or set of keys. § 44. In conclusion : The student and teacher must once again be warned not to forget th.epur2)ose of Technique whilst studying its neces- sary details. The reminder is essential, for in studying these details, the mind is apt to dwell on o?ie aspect of the problem, to the almost complete exclusion of the others. Thus, in endeavouring to secure the visible eifects of correct Position and Movement, we are apt to forget that these are quite sub- 118 EXTRACT. sidiary to those of correct Condition — the muscular actions and inactions required of us by the key, at the moment. Ag-ain, although we may not lose sight of this more important matter, we may so concentrate our mind on the re- quired Muscular-conditions, as to cause us to forget to apply these, accurately-timed, to the key ! And even if we do not forget this, we shall nevertheless fail, unless we do meanwhile use the key only in response to the promptings of our Musi- cal-sense ; — for " Execution " itself should always be prompted by the performer's wish to give expression to his Musical- sight. Hence, we must study the details of Position only for the sake of obtaining the Muscular-act at its easiest, and we must apply the latter only in answer to the resistance the keys are constantly offering us in varying measure. And while thus muscularly judging the key, we must do so solely for the sake of the Musical-effect perceived to be necessary by our musi- cal intelligence and feeling. In short we must apply Energy to the key, only in strict response to what we feel is there needed to fulfil the Sound we musically wish at that moment. A final Summary follow*. EXTRACT. 119 FINAL SUMMARY OP SOME OP THE MAIK TECHNICAL POINTS TO BE INSISTED UPON IN TEACHING OURSELVES AND OTHERS.' I. We must remember : how sound can only be made through key-movement ; and how beauty of tone can only be obtained by insisting upon the gradual depression (gradual propulsion) of each key ; and how we must listen for the beginning of each sound, if we would accurately <' aim " the efforts by which we intend to produce it. II. We must remember : how Touch consists of the two ele- ments, the Resting and the Added-impetus ; how the one is con- tinuous and the other not only dis-continuous, but always as short-lived as in Staccatissimo. How the act of touch is muscularly mainly built up of the three components. Finger and Hand exertion, versus Arm-weight, etc., and why we must there- fore always feel the act of touch as one of leverage upwards. How these components can be combined into three main species of Touch-formation, of which the tbird offers us the two great distinctions between Weight and Muscularly- initiated touch, with the consequent divergences in Quality of tone ; and how Quality is further influenced by the opposite Arm-and-finger conditions re- spectively termed Clinging and Thrusting. How Weight must be ceased automatically, and how this also applies to the act of transferring weight in Legato. Also the great im- portance of insisting upon the Rotary-adjustments of the fore- arm ; and how the doctrine of Ease implies perfect freedom from contrary-exertion in all the movements and actions required, in- cluding those horizontal ones of the Hand and Wrist. ' These last Summaries are useless, unless the preceding portions of this work have been studied. 120 FIXAL SUMMAKY. III. How Position, whilst mainly a result, and not a cause, includes nevertheless some points of importance : such as the sufl&ciently-opened arm ; the difference between the raised bent and flat finger ; the lateral adjustments of the hand ; and the teaching, that every key must be felt before being played, and must be found as a lateral distance from its preceding fellow. IV. Above all things, we must always remember that the ul- timate purpose of our study is not to obtain correct Movements, nor correct Muscular-habits, but that our purpose is to obtain Com- mand over Musical-expression. With this purpose in view, we must, in playing, constantly feel key-resistance, so that we may thus be muscularly prompted to fulfil the requirements both of Key and Music. Good tone-production can in fact be thus defined : — we must al- low Key-resistance and Musical-sense to prompt us easily to move each key at requisite speed and increase of speed, to a definite Place in Time and Key-desceai. ADVICE TO TEACHERS AND SELF-TEACHERS So many enquiries having been made, how the teachings of "The Act of Touch" should be practically apphed, and as to the best plan for commencing instruction in the Facts of Touch as therein described, the following advice is tendered, an out- line for first lessons, which, although perhaps the best, logically, need not be strictly adhered to; and indeed should bo motli- fied to suit each individual c^se. In dealing with adults, it is best to devote the first two, three (or more) lessons to a general consideration of the main pi'inciples and laws which must be obeyed during Practice and Performance if one would succeed technically and musically. Experiment at the instrument itself, both by teacher and pupil, should constantly accompany this description and out- line of these main facts. At the end of each of these first les- sons, the teacher should jot down a few questions on the points explained, and should request the pupil to supply answers to these, as best he may, by the next lesson. In this way the teacher can judge how far the pupil has really understood these explanations, and the weak points can be made good. Although the pupil cannot be expected to grasp the full sig- nificance of these explanations and directions at once, or even to remember all the statements made, yet the general outline, thus gained, of the principal laws and facts will greatly facilitate the ultimate understanding of them and their 'practical applica- tion, when during subsequent lessons they are constantly brought under the pupil's notice, as they should be. After these preliminary lessons, the actual teaching of the I 121 122 ADVICE TO TEACHERS. various loiich methods must be at once proceeded with. Where to begin in this respect must entirely depend on the state of each particular pupil's Technique at the time; the most obvious faults being first taken in hand.^ These practical lessons in Touch should largely consist of explanations of the pupil's particular difficulties as to Key- treatment, — muscular, instrumental, or both. Understanding these difficulties, he will then be in a position to start forming and enforcing the particular muscular-habits w^hich will lead to correct Kc3^-treatment, and will be able to master each dif- ficulty in turn, — be it of Agility, Tone, or Duration. Exercises, Studies, and Pieces best suited to the pupil's stage of advancement, should be selected for this purpose ; these selections should contain, examples of the particular technical difficulties forming the pupil's weakest points at the moment. - His deficiencies being thus brought home to him, one at a time, he will be only too ready to listen when the teacher points out how these can be directly overcome, by strict adherence to the particular laws of Touch concerned; the teacher taking care to urge the necessity of unremitting attention to these laws note by note, during every moment of Practice, until correct habits are formed; and how non-attention to these laws will cause the Practice-hour to be w^asted, — by forming wi'ong and undesirable habits in ])lace of the right ones. The student's attention should meanwhile be directed to the particular paragraphs bearing on his difficulties, found in the present httle work, under "Directions for Learners" and in the "Extract"; and, if he be sufiiciently earnest and intel- ligent, to the further study of the matter in "The Act of Touch" ' Further remarks on tliis subject — tlie Order in which to study the v.-irious lonch-nietliods — are to be found in The Act of Touch: Note xi, Appendix of Part III., from the seventh parag-raph onwards ; also i:$28, Chapter XIX.; § 18, Chapter XX.; and conchiding chapter of Part IV., page 320. - Thus, if the pupil is deficient as regards " singing" touch, a more or less easy Nocturne must be given liim ; while if his passage-work is faulty, we must clioose a Study, Toccata, or Sonnta rctpiiring suf;h touches, and give him Techniques besides, which include his p;irticul;ir dithcultics. The teacher must of course insist on attention to every noie ; oidy b_y this means, — and suthciently .slow practice therefore, — can the learner hope to combat old-standing habits. ADVICE TO TEACHERS. 123 itself — referring first to the "Contents" and then to the text of its chapters. It is also well, at every lesson, to set the pupil a few questions on the difficulties under treatment, and to require him to answer these from the material thus provided. As regards Finger-exercises, etc., selections may be made from any well-planned set; such as the old-fashioned "Plaidy," the elaborate "Le Rhythm des Doigts" of Camille Stamaty, or Oscar Beringer's very sensible " Daily Practice." Whichever set adopted should always be practised rliyth- mically, as recommended by Stamaty. — The performance of Music always implies the placing of the notes in some kind of Rhythmical relationship to each other, and it is therefore sheer folly to spend hours in practising supposed "Exercises" while all the while losing sight of this, the most important element in performance — and thus unlearning to attend properly. To practise such Exercises, Scales, and Arpeggi "in rhythm," does not mean that they should be practised with accents, — that might even prove harmful under certain conditions; on the con- trary, they should be practised perfectly evenly, but consciously divided into rhythmical groups of two, three, four, six, or eight notes; changing, from time to time, from one kind of division to another, while keeping the main pulse unchanged as to Tempo. It is also useful, in addition, to practise Techniques in uneven rhythmical figurations, such as: — doing this with sufficient but not exaggerated accentuation. Such training in Time, and in its subdivision, is absolutely essential if we would learn to play musically. Accuracy of perception in this respect also plays a strong part in the acquisi- tion of individual isation of finger. Too much time must however not be devoted to such exer- cise-practice. The interminable strumming of finger-exercises, etc., formerly considered necessary, was for a widely different purpose. As there was no knowledge then available of the 124 ADVICE TO TEACHERS. required muscular and instrumental operations, the only course was to make the student practise masses of such exercises, in the hope that he might sooner or later stumble upon the correct ways of playing; — hence the legions of "Methods of Studi{;s" extant.^ Such wasteful pi'actice should now be discarded in favour of a relatively small number of such Exercises and Studies, judiciously chosen to exemplify in a concentrated form the principles of Touch involved in the mastery of the various difficulties met with. The purpose being to enable the student to give his whole mind to the conquest of each difficulty in turn — a far better way than if such difficulties were casually presented to him in the course of a musical work. Such Exer- cises and Studies must also be practised for the sake of gain- ing Endurance — a very important item. It cannot however be impressed too strongly upon the student, that his steadfast })urpose in practising (not only such Exercises and Studies, but Pieces also) should always be: to learn to apply the laws which he has learned govern Ease and Accuracy in performance, and never to allow this purpose to be lost sight of — nor his practice to deteriorate into a mere automatic sounding of notes. Indeed, one should never allow a single finger to sound a note, without its musical (and rhythmical) purpose being kept in view, — nor without keeping in sight the laws of technique by which alone success becomes possible.^ Technical-practice, when thus closely directed to the fulfil- ment of these laws at every step, becomes astonishingly fruit- ful, for progress then remains unchc^cked througliout the prac- tice-hour. This can^ful supervision of the Muscular-act must not in the least be relaxed until good habits are well-established; antl even then, attention to them is desirable in a measure, — lest we should revert to previous faulty habits. Meanwhile, the student must be constantly urged to attend ' Vide the note at the bottom of pa«rc 227—" Tlie Art of Toucli." •Vide remarks as to Musical Attention, further on, under the treatment of children. The same remarks apply to adult-students ; only in rare cases have even these any inkling how to look for Musical-shape, — plirase-sense, etc. ADVICE TO TEACHERS. 125 to MUSIC itself — and to do this through Attention to the key. Not only is this necessary during the first stages— when learning new Touch-methods — but it is necessary ever afterwards, even when the Artist-stage is reached. For we find that even those most gifted musicall}' are at times liable to jorget to use their musical-imagination and judgment; and are besides always prone to forget to attend instruynentally , — to 'forget to attend to Key-resistance through the Muscular-sense, and to the Beginning of sound through the Ear; omissions (the last two especially) which instantly impair the musical effect of the per- formance. This last point cannot be urged too strongly upon Teacher and Pupil ; — that it is only through attention to his instrmnent that a performer can attend to Music. Coming now to the treatment of children: Much the same course should be pursued with them as with adults. With an intelligent child one need not hesitate to start with a recital of the facts to be learned, even as advocated for adults. Of course this must be reduced to the simplest and barest outline; the teacher being careful to draw attention rather to what has to he done, than to the explanation of ichij it has to be done; for a child cares not to know the Wherefore so much, as the How-iore\ Every intelligent child will indeed be found quite interested to know "the rules of the game" before starting to play; much therefore depends on the way these matters are presented; — one can only expect the child to be interested, provided the teacher makes plain the immediate and practical application of these rules. And here, again, the moment the child essays to touch the instrument, tendencies towards some fault or other will at once manifest themselves to the alert teacher, and will thus give him the desired opening from which to start the whole chain of instruction. But before a child (or adult, for that matter) is permitted to touch an instrument, the teacher must insist on a clear understanding of the nature of the first principles of PLAYING itself, — how the pupil must attend (and intend) 126 ADVICE TO TEACHERS. musically: It must be made clear, that playing consists of the combination of two things: (a) Perception of what is musically required of each note at the moment of playing it, and (b) its physical Fulfilment. Moreover, it must be made clear, that we must acquire such Musical-judgment by learning to under- stand Music, not merely emotionally, but also as to its con- struction; that is: we must learn to see how the piece we wish to play is built-up, — its general Shape, and its rhythmical con- struction, down to the minutest details. We must learn to perceive what the Music does, — where it is that each idea, phrase, sentence, and section has its natural climax or crisis. Such understanding of the actual material of the music, will also enhance our perception of the musical feeling underlying these Shapes. For this reason, it is wrong to permit even a child to sound notes without some musical intention. Tliis applies even when a child has to sound, say, merely three notes in succession. These must not be sounded meaninglessly. On the contrary, they should be thought as a musical "shape" or sentence.^ Thus the following three notes may be perceived to consist of a pro- gression of two notes towards the third and chief one, for the implied harmonies suggest a half-close : — >»- i -iTp- Even finger-exercises and scales, etc., should be thus treated; and although not necessarily accented, they should always be felt to be musical progressions; that is, as notes progressing towards rhythmical landmarks, towards the key-note here, for instance : — ¥ ISOE g zetc.— In this way, the beginner will start with correct notions, realising that his endeavours must always be musically pur- posed, — that every depression of a key must be done for the sake of Music, and that keys must never be depressed merely for the * A musical phrase or sentence may be defined as a succession of notes rhythmically progressing towards a climax, in the shape of a definite point in Key, or TonaUty. advicp: to teachkks. 127 sake of making Sounds, or for the mere muscular-enjoyment of doing so.^ Teachers, who may find it difficult to plan out tne suggested "Introductory Lessons" in logical order, will find a scheme of such lessons added to "The Act of Touch" in its second Edition. This scheme naturally falls under the following headings:— I) How the key must be used. II) Why true Musical-expression remains impossible unless attention is given to Key-resistance and Sound-begin- ning. III) The Dual Conception of Touch. IV) Plow the Muscles must be used, — a glossary of the Muscular-means emj)loyed in the act of Touch. V) Allusion, incidentally, to the implicated laws of Position. The whole ground is of course covered in the "Directions and Definitions for Learners"; and the teacher may therefore profitably ask the student to read out a portion of this Chapter at each of the first lessons, when fuller verbal explanations will suggest themselves as required, as the ground is gone over. The Student should anyway start by studying these ''Direc- tions" carefully, and when he finds points unclear, he should refer to the "Extract," first referring to the Summaries of the Parts, and when those do not supply the desired details, to the Recapitulatories of the Chapters concerned. When still further detailed information is required, "The Act of Touch" itself must supply this. The following are the mam points to be constantly insisted upon, when the keyboard stage is reached, especially so at first, and alike in the case of children and of adults: — ' Vide the last part of the note " On Listening," belonging to the Appendix to Part I. of "The Act of Touch," reprinted here. (Page 35.) In tiiis con- nection, I would also urge teachers of children, not yet acquainted with the volumes, to adopt Mrs. Spencer Curwen's admirable method for the young; " The Child Pianist," and " Teacher's Guide"— Curwen and Sous. 128 ADVICE TO TEACHERS. SUMMARY OF MAIN POINTS AS TO TOUCH, TO BE INSISTED UPON WHILST TEACHING. a) : Attention to the fact that tone-amount depends solely on the speed attained by the key during its descent. While — b) : Beauty of tone depends on the gradual attainment of the required swiftness in key-descent. c) : That correctness in expression (correspondence of tonal- result with that intended) depends on applying one's work in answer to the key's resistance, and hcjorc it is too late to do so ; while — d) : Agility and Staccato depend greatly on this same law being fulfilled — the avoidance of forcing the key upon its bed. Whence also we derive: — ■ e) : The " two laws of AgiUty " — and of Staccato : I) : Accuracy in aiming and ceasing all Energy (intended to create sound) the moment that tone is reached in key- descent, ^and which does not preclude the application of the Legato-element when required ; and II) : Self-support of the arm, to enable this to be done, — ■ the arm supported in a balanced condition, off the fingers and keys. f) : The avoidance of all key-hitting or tapping; while never- theless insisting upon ample preliminary movements towards the keys, when the tempo of the passage admits of such, and when this is found helpful in individualising the fingers. g) : The use of Weight, instead of exertion, when singing tone is required; and — h) : The related contrasts in the finger-methods employed respectively in singing-touches and brilliant passage-work.^ i) : Attention to the constantly-required rotary adjustments of the Fore-arm and j) : A few obvious points as to Position; such as sufficient dis- tance from the keyboard at all times; the greater curvature of the finger the more pronounced its preliminary raising in thrust- ing-touch ; the position of the hand sideways and as to the height of the knuckle, etc. ' This implies a clear understanding of the three main Species of Touch- formation, or structure. APPENDIX. LEGATO FIRST, OR STACCATO? The question is often asked, should one teach Legato first, or Staccato? There can only be one answer to this question, once we have really under- stood the first laws of Touch. For we find, that the energy required to produce tone, if properly directed during key -descent, must never be applied longer than in the shortest Staccatissimo, except in tlie absolute pp-tenuto or legato — when the tone-producing energy consists of the unaided " Resting" itself. Staccato, properly executed, consequently offers us an unfailing guarantee, that we have 7iot prolonged the action required for tone-production beyond the required moment, for we cannot obtain a true Staccato (by rebound of the key) unless we do cease the energy applied during key-descent early enough. Once we have learnt to apply the tone-producing energy tlms accurately enough to admit of the rebound- ing-key Staccato, it is easy subsequently to change this into a Tenuto or Legato, by simply accompanying this accurately-timed tone-production by the heavier 'Legato) form of the " Resting " in place of the lighter (Staccato) form of it. In teaching such Staccato, we must of course be careful to avoid all puUing- up of the fingers and hands — as so often fallaciously taught; and we must be careful to fulfil the law of Staccato-resting — with the hand lying so lightly and loosely, that the rebounding key can bring both finger and hand back to the surface-level of the keyboard after each short-lived act of tone-production. If it is found difficult at once to provide this Staccato form of the " Resting ", we may start by teaching the " Resting " ivithout any " Added impetus ", and in its slightly heavier form, as required for Legato ; and having acquired this form, and its transference from note to note (in pp-legato), we may then proceed to the Staccato form of it, showing how this can be transferred from key-surface to key-surface without any actual sounding of tlie notes. Having acquired the Staccato-resting, tlius without any sounding of the notes, we can then success- fully add to this, the short-lived act of key-depression which produces the sound in Staccato — and in all Legati beyond the pp tone-amount. It stands to reason, however, that before a child can be taught the somewhat comple X nmscular differentiations between Legato and Staccato, or for the matter of that any correct form of " Touch ", he must have mastered (at least to some extent) the more elementary muscular-discriminations between one finger and another. This can however often be done more profitably at a table than at the Piano itself. For no cliild should ever be allowed to attempt to Bound a Piano-key without understanding at least those first " rules of the key" summed up on pages 3 and 4 ; he must at least start with a clear understanding of the simple fact that it is only by creating key-speed that he can create sound. Moreover, before he is allowed to attack even tlie simplest tune, it must be with the knowledge that Rhythm is the supreme thing, and that he must try to make musical sentences (by means of rhythm, in the sense of accentuation) and nanst not merely sound successions of notes without such life being given them. Works by TOBIAS MATTHAY from the Catalogue of BOSWORTH & CO. LTD. 14/18 Heddon Street, W.i FIRST PRINCIPLES OF PIANOFORTE PLAYING Net 4/6 MUSCULAR RELAXATION STUDIES Net 10/6 PRINCIPLES OF FINGERING AND LAWS OF PEDALLING Net 2/- SOME COMMENTARIES ON THE TEACHING OF PIANOFORTE TECHNIQUE Net 3/- TONE PRODUCTION— ACT OF TOUCH Cloth Net 10/6 WHAT MATTHAY MEANT AMBROSE COVIELLO Net 4/6 LB 104 MT 220 M44 1905b L 006 993 524 5 l.lBRi MT i 220 M44 190 uc SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACIU^^^^ AA 000 541 271 3 J Unive Soi Li 1