H. EHRLICH 
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON 
 THE PIANO 
 
 REFLECTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
 
 Ho<w to Practise on the Piano 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 AND 
 
 SUGGESTIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 H. EH RL1CH 
 
 WITH PRECISE DIRECTIONS FOR THE PROPER 
 
 USE OF THE 
 TAUSIG-EHRLICH "DAILY STUDIES" 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY 
 
 J. H. CORNELL 
 
 THIRD EDITION, REVISED BY 
 
 DR. TH. BAKER 
 
 Price, net, 25 cents 
 NEW YORK : G. SCHIRMER 
 
 1917
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY 
 G. SCHIRMEK.
 
 Muria 
 Library 
 
 Mr 
 
 220 
 
 IT is not, by any means, the aim of this work to set up a 
 new Method of Piano-playing in general, or to supersede or 
 oppose any method already established ; but, on the con- 
 trary, to form a Supplement to all methods, and to call the 
 attention of unprejudiced experts to a manner of practising, 
 not of executing, which has hitherto not been attempted, and 
 from which the author has obtained the best results. At the 
 oufeset it certainly presents some difficulties ; but it provides, 
 within a short time, the surest means for the pupil's guarding 
 against a wrong position of hand and wrist, and for uner- 
 ringly regulating the various positions for the Legato and 
 Staccato, for octaves and double trills in one hand, and also 
 of forming a correct fingering, which is attainable, in fact, 
 only through a correct position of the hands ; precisely in 
 this matter of teaching his pupils to finger passages for 
 themselves, the author has obtained results which were often 
 surprising. 
 
 Every teacher and learner has experienced how difficult it 
 is, so to regulate the position of the fingers, hand and wrist, 
 and of the arms, that each may act independently of the 
 others. To attain this end, years of practice by the pupil 
 and the unremitting attention of the teacher are often neces- 
 sary. All kinds of machines, hand-guides, etc., have been 
 invented for promoting the proper hand-position. They may 
 do some good, but labor under this disadvantage, that the
 
 2 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 pupil depends too much on them, so that after they are given 
 up it is long before he can do independently what with their 
 aid was easy enough. This independence from the very out- 
 set, without the aid of any apparatus, is what the author aims 
 to promote. The method of practising which he here presents, 
 renders every incorrect position of the fingers, and more 
 especially of the wrist, and every objectionable movement of 
 the arms, impossible from the beginning. It is adapted for 
 beginners of course with great caution and moderation ; 
 but with more advanced pupils, who have had one and a half 
 or two years' instruction, it may be carried out strictly, with 
 perfect confidence. Always, however, even in the case of 
 very advanced pupils, due moderation must be strictly ob- 
 served and prescribed to the pupil for practice by himself. 
 
 In presenting this method to experts, teachers and learn- 
 ers, the author must most emphatically declare, and will often 
 repeat, that he submits it, not as an authoritative system of 
 instruction in itself, but as an important aid to practice, 
 standing in the same relation to piano-study as gymnastic 
 exercise to the ordinary motions of daily life. Such exer- 
 cise does not teach walking, dancing, graceful deportment, 
 etc., nor does it give any particular expression to the counte- 
 nance ; but it nevertheless develops each single muscle of the 
 body to such a degree as to secure perfect equilibrium, per- 
 fect co-operation of the several powers, so that the gymnast 
 does many things with ease, which even a strong but un- 
 trained man can accomplish only with great difficulty, or not 
 at all. The present method has this additional similarity to 
 gymnastics, that it is really profitable only when applied in 
 moderation and with slow motions. For gymnastic exercise
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. O 
 
 develops and strengthens the muscles, promoting health and 
 giving great certainty in all movements ; but as soon as it is 
 practised beyond a certain wholesome limit, exhaustion -and 
 relaxation result, often rendering its discontinuance neces- 
 sary. 
 
 The method I lay down, in conjunction with the practice 
 of the "Daily Studies" by Tausig-Ehrlich, strengthens the 
 fingers and wrist in the highest degree, but this kind of prac-^ 
 tice should not exceed 5 to 8 minutes at first, afterwards 
 say 10 to 15, perhaps three times daily ; otherwise, espe- 
 cially in the beginning, before the hands and fingers are used 
 to the method, the pupil will become so exhausted that he 
 may even have to give up playing for some time. 
 
 In order to acquaint himself with the physiological expla- 
 nation for the peculiar consequences of his method, namely, 
 the great fatigue at first, the unfailing success in a short 
 time, the author applied to Professor Kronecker, director of 
 a physiological department in the Royal University of Berlin, 
 and Dr. Remak, private tutor in the University, requesting 
 them to favor him with their views on the subject. They 
 kindly gave him the information, that the movements of the 
 muscles of the arms, wrist and fingers (like the ' movements 
 of all joints) are most extraordinarily complex. Dr. Remak 
 demonstrated to the author how every movement of a joint 
 is dependent on the appropriate co-operation of several mus- 
 cles ; furthermore, this co-operation has for its result not 
 only that movement which outwardly appears as the one 
 intended, but also (in the interior structure of the muscles) 
 movements in a direction contrary to those that appear out- 
 wardly. Thus, when the pianist merely raises his finger for
 
 4 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 the stroke, he sets in motion not only that muscle which 
 stretches the finger-joint nearest to the hand, but also a series 
 of other muscles which act partly in contrary motion. An 
 enumeration and description, however incomplete, of all the 
 muscles brought into action in piano-playing, would occupy 
 too much space, and does not come within the scope of this 
 work. The author will, therefore, confine himself to explain- 
 ing why the particular position of the upper arm which his 
 method prescribes produces results so extraordinary. 
 
 In piano-playing the upper arm is in so far active, that it 
 keeps the elbow in position. But the exact and steady 
 control of the position of the elbow and the forearm does not 
 by any means proceed from the mere will of the player, but 
 is the result of long habit, practice, and great watchfulness 
 on the part of both teacher and pupil. 
 
 Holding the upper arm free, as recommended and, at 
 the proper time, quite rightly to pianists, is, especially in 
 the first years of study, often detrimental to a correct posi- 
 tion of the fingers, hand and wrist, as it induces obliquity of 
 the forearm, a bad position of the hand, and an uneven 
 raising and lowering of the wrist faults which would 
 escape the pupil's notice. Such faults are, however, rendered 
 impossible if the upper arm is, during practice, for a short 
 time robbed, as it were, of its freedom of motion, and forced 
 to maintain a fixed position. Through the contraction here- 
 by imposed upon a part of the muscles of the upper arm, the 
 movement of the flexors of the upper arm is also in great 
 part prevented ; the player is forced to give up the oscillat- 
 ing motions of the elbow, and to move only the wrist or the 
 fingers, as may be required. That the upper arm can be
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIAXO. 5 
 
 kept inactive for a considerable time, the player will best 
 realize by pressing that member tight to the body, holding the 
 elboiv not against the side, but more to the front, and playing 
 the following : 
 
 The contrary motion of the hands does not prevent the 
 upper arms from retaining their position. Only when the 
 passage is extended upward and downward, must the upper 
 arms be freed from restraint. 
 
 From these considerations, it will be evident to the reader 
 that the chief aim in developing mechanical skill in piano- 
 playing must be, at the outset, to reduce to a minimum the 
 motions of the upper and forearm, and to concentrate activity 
 in the fingers, hand and wrist ^ to look after the right posi- 
 tion of the fingers, hand and wrist, and that of the arm at 
 the same time, is for pupils of the middle stage a very diffi- 
 cult task, seldom perfectly accomplished, and only after a 
 long time and great painstaking. The incorrect position of 
 the fingers, now too straight and again too much bent, causing 
 them to touch the keys either with the middle joint, or with 
 the nails ; the turning the elbow outward, by which the 
 position of the hand is changed every instant ; the drawing 
 the forearm forward and back, whereby the wrist is pre- 
 vented from being quiet and from ever attaining to even and
 
 6 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 regular motion ; the pushing with the upper arm, which 
 places the hand either too far back on the keyboard or too 
 far forward ; all these are drawbacks which every one 
 would like to be able to remove. The method now under 
 discussion enables the pupil in a short time to master the 
 chief difficulties, to escape the danger of contracting most of 
 the aforesaid bad habits, and to acquire easy and sure control, 
 during practice, over the position of the hand, wrist and 
 arm. The extremely simple basis of this method is this, that 
 in slowly practising all the passages that are to be played 
 with the hand at rest, and all those in which the wrist 
 comes in motion, but especially in practising the " Tausig- 
 Ehrlich Daily Studies," the upper arm should be held 
 against, or as close as possible to, the front of the body. 
 That this position of the upper arm is not to be rigorously 
 observed in playing pieces more rapidly, must be stated 
 emphatically, to avoid all misunderstanding ; but experience 
 will teach that strength will be developed in quite another 
 way, even in more rapid playing. In order to give the arm, 
 and thereby the fingers and wrist, the best position at the 
 present stage, and at the same time to exercise the most per- 
 fect control over all their movements, the following directions 
 should be observed. 
 
 First, lay the fingers of both hands flat on the keys c e g 
 a c, 1 yet so that the round, fleshy part of the finger tips, but 
 by no means the nail, touches the keys. The thumb, of 
 course, does not lie perfectly flat on its key, but is turned edge- 
 ways. The fingers having been thus set on the keys, the 
 
 1 Smaller hands will have to take c d efg, and here the thumbs of both 
 hands will, of course, lie more with the outer edge on the keys.
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 7 
 
 upper arms are to be moved toward the body so as to closely 
 press it with the elbows ; the elbows, however, must lie, not 
 beside but before the body, the forearm remaining extended 
 in front of the body, and planted on the ribs. The player 
 must, accordingly, sit perfectly upright. 1 The teacher will 
 do well to press, during some lessons, the pupil's upper arm 
 (holding it precisely where the elbow lies) firmly against the 
 body ; be it well observed, the elbow's place on the body is 
 in front ; for if it be held further back, the arm loses part of 
 its strength. In the very act of moving the arms close to 
 the body, the fingers must take the right position on the 
 keys ; it is impossible to hold the hands sideways, or for the 
 ringers not to lie immediately over the keys, unless the fore- 
 arm also is moved sideways ; hence, the moment the upper 
 arm is pressed against the body, the position of wrist and 
 hand is emphatically a compulsorily correct one. It remains 
 only to give the fingers, holding c e g a c, the proper position, 
 as prescribed by all schools. They should, while firmly stand- 
 ing on the keys, be slowly bent as far as is practicable, the 
 fleshy tip of each finger resting on the key. This bending 
 cannot be carried to excess, since the elbows form the natural 
 impediment, and would, at the moment of bending the fingers 
 too much, retreat behind the body. Hence, the position of 
 the upper and forearm, as above indicated, constitutes an in- 
 fallible basis of self-control for the proper position of the 
 
 1 Nearsighted persons should wear spectacles, in order to prevent bending 
 the body forward, and the consequent retreating of the elbow. The spec- 
 tacles should be so focussed, that the player, when sitting upright, can see 
 the notes distinctly. The wearing of such spectacles is absolutely essential 
 to prevent an incorrect position of the arm and hand ; and a good optician 
 should be consulted.
 
 8 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 fingers, hand and wrist. No one can, after a few days' 
 application of this method, hold the fingers, the hand and 
 the wrist higher than they can be raised of themselves, i.e., 
 without at the same time raising the arm ; both extremes, 
 that of too high and of too low, are absolutely avoided. 
 Besides these advantages, which are not fully recognized by 
 the pupil till after some time, this method also develops in 
 the highest degree the strength of the fingers and wrist, by 
 concentrating power upon them. This is best demonstrated 
 by means of examples. We will begin with the simplest 
 finger-motions. The pupil, we will suppose, strikes the tones 
 <$ d$ e$ /$ g%, each one five or six times alone, quite power- 
 fully, with both hands, ascending and descending, observing 
 meanwhile the prescribed position of the upper arm. At 
 the first attempts the fingers will perhaps still press the keys 
 down, instead of raising themselves and then falling and 
 striking in hammer-fashion ; but after a few minutes the 
 fingers will rise automatically in the proper way ; and if the 
 pupil will take care it is not difficult to remember to 
 have the fleshy finger-tip always fall straight on the key, he 
 will in a few days acquire the true touch, which is, of course, 
 also attainable by other methods, but only after much time, 
 with greater pains, and with the closest attention exerted in 
 many directions, whereas in the method here laid down it is 
 only necessary to attend to the finger-tips, for the position 
 of the upper arm is, after from five to eight trials, perfectly 
 assured. 
 
 The above exercise for the five fingers will be most profit- 
 ably practised in tonalities having many black keys, as a full 
 stroke is more difficult on the latter than on the white keys.
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 We here insert an additional exercise which the author 
 has recently introduced, -with great success, as a preparatory 
 exercise for all kinds of piano-practice. Before practising 
 any difficult passage, the pupil should execute the following 
 exercise with both hands : 
 
 In so doing, strictly observe the following directions : 
 Each finger must at first be stretched out horizontally to its 
 full length, and then, before striking the key, slowly bent 
 and held suspended over the latter. The finger should, there- 
 fore, not bend and then immediately strike the key, but must 
 remain lifted, after bending, above the key, and then strike 
 it. This exercise can be most precisely executed when the 
 pupil counts one ! two ! three ! at one extending the finger 
 slowly and completely, at two bending it and holding it lifted 
 over the key, and at three striking. The slower the move- 
 ments, the greater their effect. The author can give positive 
 assurance, from experience, that this exercise is one of the 
 most effective of all, promoting strength and lightness of 
 touch in a surprising manner. It should, of course, be exe- 
 cuted, as a preliminary exercise to any given passage, in the 
 same key as that passage. Also carefully observe the rule, 
 that the finger should strike with the fleshy tip, and never 
 with the nail, and should hold the key down until the next 
 finger has struck its key. 
 
 Players having large hands frequently bend the tip-joint
 
 10 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 of the finger too much, and strike the key with the nail. To 
 avoid this, they should bend the middle joint considerably 
 less, in order to insure the striking of the key with the fleshy 
 tip alone. The teacher has to bestow even greater attention 
 on the position of elbow and wrist, in the case of players 
 with large hands, than when the pupil's hands are small, 
 because the mere circumstance of having small hands often 
 forces the pupil to assume the correct position. 
 
 After these perfectly simple bendings and movements of 
 the fingers have been practised a few days three or four times 
 daily, from three to five minutes at a time, I would advise 
 that the pupil proceed at once to the practice of the scales, 
 in a compass of two octaves, the right hand beginning on c of 
 the Small Octave, and no finger being raised from its key till 
 the next one is lying full on its key, thus : 
 
 __ ]E __ ^^___^__^_ f ^ 
 
 J 
 
 ^^ft^^fL 
 
 ^=1=d: 
 T- -j- -.- 
 
 Descending :
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 11 
 
 In this exercise the striking finger must be raised as high 
 as possible (while the other remains down), and must fall 
 quite forcibly with its fleshy tip on the key; the upper arm 
 is, of course, held close to the body. The reason why I in- 
 sist upon keeping one finger down, is very important. The 
 striking finger must be raised high, in order to fall full and 
 strongly upon the key, yet ivithout at the same time raising 
 the wrist, of which there is danger. The wrist should remain 
 inactive, the power of the jingers only being exerted ; and, to 
 insure this, the finger which had the last tone remains down. 
 The next finger may then lift itself as high as it will, the 
 wrist is forced to remain quiet, as the finger which is down, 
 together with the elbow resting on the body, prevents its 
 rising. By this exercise it is made clear that the very best 
 legato may be acquired without in the least changing the 
 position of the hand ; in the ascending scale the 3d or 4th 
 finger of the right hand, being forced to remain down while 
 the thumb strikes the tone next above, thereby forms an 
 arch, under which the thumb reaches its key quite easily, 
 without at all changing the position of the hand ; in descend- 
 ing, the 3d and 4th fingers do the curving over the thumb, 
 which is kept down. What is here said of the right hand, 
 applies to the left also, with the difference that in the latter 
 the arcJies are formed in descending, the curvings in ascending. 
 The author must again call attention to two important points ; 
 first, that only slow and very careful practice affords real 
 profit ; secondly, that we are concerned only with a kind of 
 gymnastic exercise, by no means with an absolute system 
 applicable to all cases. 
 
 He who has for some weeks practised the scales in the
 
 12 HOW TO PKACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 manner here recommended, very slowly, and with the pre- 
 scribed position of the upper arm and the elbow, will be able 
 to play them in any other way, according to any other direc- 
 tions, with greater rapidity and certainty; just as the gym- 
 nast, who, from having been accustomed to lift the heavy 
 dumb-bells toward right and left, not suddenly but slowly, is 
 able later to lift much heavier weights, when accompanying 
 the action with a slight swing of the arm ; and whoever prac- 
 tises the scales slowly, tolerably legato and evenly, with the 
 upper arm in the prescribed position, will be able to play 
 them with free arms in the most rapid tempo, and with per- 
 fect correctness, and this after only half the time given to 
 practice which would have been requisite had he not adopted 
 this method. 
 
 After the scales have been practised in this way for some 
 time, it is proper to proceed to Broken Chords (Arpeggios), 
 and at the same time to attack some wrists-exercises. Broken 
 chords are to be practised in the same way as the scales, i.e., 
 one key must be held down while the next finger raises 
 itself for the stroke, then falls forcibly with the fleshy tip on 
 the key ; thus : 
 
 J.- 
 
 -J-=-N 
 
 ' !i f^p 
 
 Here the pupil will meet with some difficulties. It is im- 
 possible for a player with small hands, and difficult even for 
 one with long but untrained fingers, to keep the upper arm
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIAXO. 13 
 
 close to the body and at the same time to play a broken 
 chord slowly in the way indicated above. The forearm, and 
 with it the elbow, will necessarily take a somewhat slanting 
 position, thereby removing the upper arm from its close 
 proximity to the body. It is much easier to retain this prox- 
 imity of the upper arm in playing broken chords rapidly, 
 when of course the holding down the key must be given up. 
 The author recommends the following exercise at the begin- 
 ning : 
 
 I 
 
 =3= 
 
 d: 
 
 r-fjs 
 v v i 
 
 because in it the stretches are not so wide, and all the fingers 
 are brought into action. 
 
 It is indisputably easier to execute the legato in broken 
 chords (and even in scales) if the hands, when the thumb 
 passes over, are turned towards right and left, the elbows 
 outward. This ease and certainty however, last only as 
 long as the passages concerned are played piano or mezzo 
 forte. But to play a broken chord, a running passage formed 
 from a broken chord, or a scale, ascending with the right 
 hand, descending with the left, loud, or very loud, at the same 
 time holding the elbows turned outward, is almost as im- 
 practicable as to give a blow with clinched fist without keep- 
 ing the upper arm and the elbow close to the body. 
 
 Let the following be attempted :
 
 14 
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 
 SyLj* ^ 
 
 or even merely this :
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 15 
 
 playing in the left hand in contrary motion and keeping the 
 elbows turned outward, and it will at once be seen, that the 
 strength of the fingers decreases as they get higher or lower. 
 Then play the same passages, keeping the elbows as close to 
 the body as possible, and in front of it, and it will be evident 
 that the strength increases the more the hands move away 
 from the central point, and the more the upper arm can sup- 
 port this outward movement. The author believes that he 
 can, without great presumption, recommend his method of 
 practising chords as suitable for every kind of execution 
 for piano and forte ; doubtless (as he observed at the very 
 outset) it offers difficulties, especially for small hands, and 
 a perfectly close position of the upper arm to the body in play- 
 ing broken chords slowly is not possible. Asa set-off against 
 its difficulties, the method offers the very important advan- 
 tage, that the elasticity of the separate fingers is more de- 
 cidedly developed than in any other system. Be it well 
 understood, we are always presupposing slow practice ! 
 Whoever has been accustomed to this for some time, will 
 thenceforth be able to see his way clear under all circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Still more beneficial is the close position of the upper arm 
 in wrist-exercises, which it is earnestly recommended to take 
 up simultaneously with broken chords, both, of course, in 
 very great moderation, lest the pupil become too much 
 fatigued. A beginning should be made with octaves re- 
 peated on the same keys,
 
 16 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 in both hands, very slow ; the wrist must be raised each time 
 as high us possible, the elbow close to the body, and in front ; 
 the fingers, including the thumb, must fall with the fleshy 
 tip on the keys. In the first minute, many trying it for the 
 first time will deem it impossible to play an octave from the 
 wrist without at the same time moving the forearm a little ; 
 but on resuming the exercise after a short interruption, 
 even those least accustomed to it and most mistrustful will 
 be convinced, that the hand moves in its joint quite easily 
 without any raising of the forearm, and that the difficulty 
 lies rather in keeping the upper arm in position. More- 
 over, every imperfectly trained pianist will have an experi- 
 ence which ought to convince him of the correctness of this 
 method ; namely, if the elbow lies against the body, in front, 
 the forearm will, at the first attempts at wrist-exercises in 
 octaves and chords, move sympathetically, i.e., raise itself, yet 
 after some minutes it is so exhausted that the wrist alone 
 will move. The forearm cannot, in fact, in that position 
 long continue in motion, and is forced to remain at rest. 
 
 After the first wrist-exercises on the octave c, it is advis- 
 able to practise the same motion on octaves with black keys, 
 and then to proceed chromatically, thus : c, c, d, d, e,f, etc., 
 striking each octave from 5 to 6 times with the fleshy tip of 
 the finger. It is strongly recommended even in these begin- 
 nings to use the Ifih finger on black keys, it will be ex- 
 plained later why this usage is based on the structure of the 
 hand. After octaves on the same tones have been practised 
 for some time, as directed, alternating with broken chords, 
 the Scales in Octaves may be begun. Only a very slow tempo, 
 however, insures the perfectly uniform raising and lowering
 
 HOAV TO PRACTISE OX THE J'lAXO. 
 
 17 
 
 of the wrist, together with a uniform strength of stroke. The 
 author knows by his own experience and that of many pupils, 
 that uncertainty in octave-passages is often owing, not to in- 
 sufficient practice, but to want of uniformity of wrist-motion, 
 consequently of touch ; and that very sloic practice, with the 
 upper and lower arm perfectly still, far more speedily insures 
 unerring execution even in rapid tempo, than much longer 
 practice according to some other method, in which the raising 
 and lowering of the wrist cannot be so forcedly uniform as hi 
 the author's method. He has, especially of late, obtained 
 surprising results with pupils who had previously greatly 
 fatigued themselves over difficult passages. One could not 
 play with confidence the octave-passage in Schumann's No- 
 vellette in E major ; another found insurmountable difficulties 
 in the octave-skips for both hands in the Trio (in D major) 
 of the /$ minor Novellette, in this passage : 
 
 etc. ; 
 
 a third struggled in vain with the octave-passage in contrary 
 motion in Liszt's transcription of the Tannhauser-March : 
 
 The author had these passages practised in his presence 
 very slowly, some 10 or 12 times, at first holding the pupil's
 
 18 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 
 
 elbows close to the body, but after the fifth time allowing 
 him to exert his own strength. This procedure was success- 
 ful, even in the Tarinhauser-passage above cited, with both 
 hands ; 1 after the pupils had practised in this way three 
 times, with short interruptions, and had thus gone over the 
 passage some 30 or 36 times, they were able, by allowing 
 only a little more freedom to the forearm, immediately to 
 execute the passages in question in considerably quicker 
 time and with certainty, which they had never before accom- 
 plished after practising almost a hundred times with great 
 'care, but without system, at home. 
 
 The whole secret of this rapid success lay in the circum- 
 stance, that by holding the upper and lower arm as directed, 
 the wrist alone was brought into action and was forced to 
 raise and lower itself uniformly. For the chief fault of most 
 pupils in executing octave-passages and chord-successions in 
 staccato or portamento, consists in unconsciously uneven wrist- 
 motion ; they endeavor, it is true, to avoid raising the fore- 
 arm and the wrist at once, but it escapes them that they 
 sometimes do not at all raise the arm and the wrist, merely 
 pressing down, instead of striking, the octaves or chords, at the 
 same time generally pushing the arm forward. This fault is 
 impossible in the method now under consideration. The 
 method is undeniably difficult in wrist-exercises, and should be 
 applied only with great moderation and in slow tempo ; but 
 the author has found it infallible, and productive of sur- 
 prisingly quick results ; and he confidently invites teachers 
 to give it a trial, especially as it does not combat any other 
 method, but is only a supplement to all. 
 
 1 Short arms are, of course, not expected to remain perfectly close to the 
 body, from the upper cfl upward.
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 19 
 
 Whoever has for some time practised this method (how 
 to properly apply it and teach it to others, will be considered 
 further on), will often find with remarkable readiness the 
 best way of fingering passages, even the most difficult. If a 
 trained pianist who has not yet applied the method will take 
 the trouble to hold the upper arm as directed, and attempt 
 the following passages, the fingering of which generally 
 offers considerable difficulty, he will at once see how much 
 easier the author's fingering is. Let us take this passage in 
 the 3d variation of the Andante of Beethoven's Grand 
 'Sonata in /' minor : 
 
 holding the hand somewhat forward towards the fall-board, 
 and it will soon be clear that the above fingering is, with the 
 hand perfectly at rest, the easiest. In the Sonata in A major, 
 Op. 101, in the passage 
 
 23451 
 
 etc. 
 
 , -i m w 
 
 -*- 
 
 the author fingers as above indicated, and many of his 
 pupils, who found this at first impracticable, and to whom 
 he had then given liberty to find a better fingering, finally 
 recognized his as the safest and easiest. Likewise in Men- 
 delssohn's Song without Words, No. 11, which may also be 
 regarded as an excellent exercise for the left hand, the 
 author finds that his peculiar fingering at the end of the 
 first division :
 
 20 HOW *TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 is the surest for obtaining a good legato from his pupils, 
 when they hold the upper arm near to the body. In many 
 a Fugue and Partita of Bach he has found fingerings, 
 by means of his method, which greatly facilitate difficult 
 passages; also in the G major Nocturne and the At? major 
 Ballade of Chopin ; and after a trial of all other fingerings he 
 feels he can say without presumption that his may be classed 
 among the safest and least difficult. It often happens, too, 
 that a fingering which at first seemed the most awkward, 
 after it had been practised and then compared with others, 
 seemingly less awkward and difficult, turns out to be the 
 safest after all, as involving the least risk of missing, playing 
 wrong notes, etc., precisely because it keeps the position of 
 the hand unchanged. Of course, original fingering is the 
 last stage of the present method, and possible to him only 
 who by frequent practice and use of the method has made 
 it his own, and is perfectly certain of holding his arms 
 in the proper position. 
 
 But the road to this certainty _s comparatively short and, 
 though difficult, with some attention is infallible ; and the 
 author takes the liberty again to precisely indicate this road, 
 which leads to the desired goal without superseding any 
 other method, unless it be an intrinsically wrong one. 
 Gymnastic exercise, when cultivated with due moderation, 
 has never yet spoiled a man's bodily carriage when good, 
 though it has improved it when bad.
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 21 
 
 Every one who wishes to follow the method here laid 
 down, should for 8 or 10 days practise very slowly the pre- 
 ceding separate finger-exercises, scales, broken chords and 
 octaves, in the proper order, at first not longer than from 
 2 to 5 minutes at most, four or five times daily. The chief 
 point is, that the upper and forearm get accustomed to their 
 position, and that the keys be boldly struck by the fleshy 
 finger-tip. After 8 or 10 days these exercises may be prac- 
 tised longer, or which is much more profitable oftener, 
 say 6 to 8 times daily, always from 4 to 6 minutes at a 
 time. For the rest, the pupil may practise his pieces, just as 
 before, according to his teacher's method ; but the author 
 would venture to suggest that the pupil, when slowly prac- 
 tising a passage, not when executing it in the proper tempo, 
 should keep the upper arm, if not exactly against, yet as 
 near to the body as possible. The development of strength 
 necessarily resulting from this, re-acts most beneficially on 
 the independence of the fingers. After two weeks of such 
 preparation by means of the simple exercises, the pupil 
 should pass on to the " Tausig-Ehrlich Daily Studies ; " 
 these must absolutely be played according to the method, 
 ;vith the upper arm in its close position, the elbows firmly 
 planted in front of the body, and in very slow tempo, which 
 may be somewhat accelerated only after long practice. Each 
 tone must be struck full with raised finger. These " Daily 
 Studies" should not especially in the beginning be 
 practised longer than 5, then 8, and at the longest 10 minutes 
 successively, otherwise they fatigue, relax, and strain the 
 hand too much ; they may, however, and should, be taken 
 up often through the day, just as the gymnast takes in his
 
 22 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 hand the dumb-bells to exercise and strengthen the muscles 
 of his arms and wrists, taking good care not to exceed at 
 one time a strictly prescribed limit. The author's opinion 
 is, that the longest practice should last 10, 15 or 20 minutes ; 
 it can, however, be taken up according to the player's 
 usage and strength three, four, or even five times a day. 
 This, however, by no means implies that at each resumption 
 of practice the self -same exercise should always be taken up ; 
 it must be evident to all that expenditure of strength on a 
 variety of objects is less fatiguing than when concentrated 
 on one single point. 
 
 From the moment that the " Tausig-Ehrlich Daily Studies " 
 are attacked, it is also recommended that the pupil with 
 permission of his teacher practise the difficult passages of 
 the pieces which he is studying ten or twelve times very 
 slowly and with a vigorous touch, with the upper arm close 
 to the body and the elbows before the body, and then again 
 attempt them, each time with the arm free; he will soon be 
 convinced that he has gained greater certainty, repose and 
 power in the execution. Of course, patience and persever- 
 ance are necessary, for the fatigue is at first not trifling, and 
 many a player will for some days complain of stiff fingers, 
 just as the gymnast after the first exercises feels an un- 
 pleasant stretching and drawing in all his limbs ; but in 
 both cases the beneficial results will soon be evident, and 
 enjoyment will increase with the progress made. This 
 progress will, of course, show itself sooner in some than in 
 others, for there is undoubtedly a special talent for the 
 purely mechanical and technical as well as for the intel- 
 lectual. No one will deny that Tausig's infallible technique
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIAXO. 23 
 
 was the result not merely of constant practice, but, for the 
 most part, of peculiar talents ; these talents were, it is true, 
 developed to the utmost by untiring diligence, but it is 
 equally true that another pianist could never, even with 
 twelve hours' daily practice, attain to this technique without 
 being gifted, like Tausig, with a special talent in this direc- 
 tion, without uniting to perfect mechanism a feeling for 
 clearness and rhythmics. But even purely mechanical excel- 
 lence, which might seem the result of practice, is often due 
 to special talent. Willmer's trill, Dreyschock's octave-pas- 
 sages and pearly runs, the indefatigable endurance and 
 power of the recent phenomenon, Herr Zarembski the 
 author expressly names three piano-virtuosi with whose 
 musical method he is far from sympathizing \vere and are 
 special achievements, due to 'a particular gift, which should, 
 however, not be overrated. 
 
 The author can testify from experience that even such 
 pupils as had but little talent for technique, after patiently 
 practising for some time according to the method here ex- 
 plained, all at once showed comparatively sudden progress ; 
 while, on the other hand, those whose organization (structure 
 of the fingers and wrist) facilitated the mastery over techni- 
 cal difficulties, acquired in a short time a much more vigorous 
 touch and greater certainty in passages of every kind. 
 
 The author confidently recommends his method to the 
 favorable consideration of teachers, and to amateurs for self- 
 instruction, with the following observations, which will cer- 
 tainly win the approval of all intelligent persons. 
 
 In our time the mechanical part of piano-playing, i.e., mere 
 isolated passage-work, having nothing in common with Touch,
 
 24 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 Rhythmics, variety of Tone-color, that is, with the technical 
 part properly so called, has had an enormous development. 
 To say nothing of the modern virtuoso-composers the 
 Herzes and Kalkbrenners, and others, who in their " Fan- 
 taisies " (without fancy) make great demands on the player, 
 or of the as yet unequalled master of the piano, Franz Liszt, 
 who, in his Concert-pieces and Studies, requires the " tran- 
 scendental," - even Beethoven in his last Sonatas, then Schu- 
 mann and Chopin, and now Brahms, Kiel, Kirchner, and 
 others, present in their works the most difficult combinations 
 of runs, trills, double-notes, chord-successions in rapid tempo 
 and octave-passages, the mastery of which is the more 
 laborious from the fact that the effect depends, not only on 
 the technique, but equally on the delivery, the spiritual vivi- 
 fication of the passages. Now, it is not necessary to demon- 
 strate by prolix argumentation that by far the greater number 
 of young pianists make the greatest account of the technique 
 and devote most time to it. Hereby attention is withdrawn 
 from the spiritual conception and the delivery. On the 
 other hand, to be sure, it also happens that many a pupil 
 devotes his attention chiefly to the latter, and neglects the 
 technique, which thus remains faulty. It is very seldom the 
 case that the mechanical part, the technique, and the deliv- 
 ery, are maintained by the pupil in equilibrium, and it may 
 be asserted that this case is chiefly the result of extraordinary 
 talent, implying that the pupil has a quick perception and a 
 lively imagination, and hence can afford to devote, without 
 detriment to the delivery, a great deal of time to the techni- 
 cal part. The author sets out from the conviction that an 
 equilibrium between the purely mechanical exercises and
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIAITO. 25 
 
 those studies which develop technique and delivery the 
 musical element is best established by assigning to the 
 mechanical part little, but that difficult, and to the musical 
 part, on the contrary^ much. The mechanical exercises, he 
 thinks, should be so adapted as to require great exertion and 
 with but moderate practice develop strength in every direction ; 
 while, on the other hand, so much the more time and attention 
 should be given to those exercises which promote a thorough 
 knowledge of rhythmics, which perfect the touch, kindle and 
 musically refine the imagination, cultivate the sense of form, 
 quicken the perception, facilitate the recognition of the vari- 
 ous tone-forms, and educate the mind to a correct apprecia- 
 tion of the master-works of musical art. Hence, as soon as 
 the pupil has reached the middle stage, and for instance 
 is ready to take up the 1st Book of "Cramer's Studies," the 
 method should be, nfew difficult technical studies (the pupil's 
 strength and abilities determining how often and how long 
 they are to be practised), and many pieces, not difficult ones, 
 but such as must and can be played well. 
 
 Let no one say, it is dangerous to begin difficult technical 
 
 studies so early, to weary the pupil and disgust him with the 
 
 piano and with music generally ; that it is necessary rather 
 
 to begin by awakening in him a sincere love for piano-playing 
 
 the rest will come of itself, etc., etc. 
 
 He who pursues art seriously, whether as an amateur or 
 professionally, will not shun any difficulty that leads more 
 rapidly to the goal. And the teacher must on his part 
 understand how to foster in the young pupil a love for 
 music, even when giving him many a hard lesson. With 
 regard to the necessity of beginning early with difficult ex-
 
 26 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 ercises, the author would refer to the drill of the Prussian 
 recruits, and to an example from ancient history. Observ- 
 ing how the Prussian recruits learn to march, how they must 
 first raise the leg, with strongly bent knee, very high, and 
 hold it some time in this position, how they then with a jerk 
 stretch out the leg and foot perfectly stiff, hold them so a 
 moment, and then tread on the ground, thus dividing each 
 step into three parts, whereas in ordinary life the practice is 
 merely to raise the foot a little above the ground and then 
 set it down, observing all this, one might at first judge 
 this method to be more whimsical than useful ; indeed many 
 a superficial observer might consider such an exercise as only 
 worrying the poor man for nothing, for " in actual marching 
 he never uses this kind of step." But this very exercise gives 
 the Prussian soldier steadiness and endurance in marching; 
 precisely because he has been required, practising slowly, to 
 exert to such a degree the power of all the muscles of the 
 leg, he is able later, in more rapid movement, to overcome 
 with so much greater ease the difficulties of a long and 
 fatiguing march. So, too, did many a Roman soldier, before 
 going into battle, bind metallic soles under his sandals, in 
 order that the march, when begun, might seem rather a relief. 
 In the same way, when the pianist applies in his slow practice 
 the most difficult method, requiring the exertion and concen- 
 tration of his strength, he will strengthen, in a high degree, 
 the muscles of his fingers, and in playing overcome all diffi- 
 culties with greater certainty and ease. For indolent or 
 weakly students of music this method is, of course, not 
 adapted ; perseverance and a certain amount of strength are 
 now-a-days necessary to every one who desires to carry piano-
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 27 
 
 playing beyond mediocrity. Nevertheless, that perseverance 
 and earnest striving accomplish more than strength alone, 
 has been proved by the great artists Billow and Tausig, who 
 with slight bodily frame and small hands have done such 
 wonderful things. 
 
 For becoming thoroughly conversant with this method in a 
 short time with the most favorable results, the " Tausig-Ehr- 
 lich Daily Studies ?> are indispensable, as offering the great- 
 est number of entirely original mechanical exercises of every 
 kind, and containing, so to speak, a complete course of piano- 
 gymnastics. In view of the universal and unlimited appro- 
 bation of these exercises by the most eminent and competent 
 authorities representing the various schools, the author ven- 
 tures to assert, that they form the most useful basis of that 
 system which by difficult exercises of short duration leads to 
 a rapid and general development of technique, and allows so 
 much the more time and attention to be devoted to strictly 
 musical, artistic culture. In order that these exercises may 
 be practised exactly in the spirit of Tausig and according to 
 the intentions of the author of this little book, who has 
 worked out and arranged the exercises from sketches and 
 made some not altogether unimportant additions, there follow 
 precise directions for each separate number. 
 
 The author at the same time takes the liberty to suggest, 
 out of his own experience, to teachers who make use of the 
 " Daily Exercises " for their pupils, that they should not 
 strictly follow the order prescribed, but have their pupils 
 practise at the same time a variety of exercises having dif- 
 ferent aims. The order of arrangement is for the sake of 
 system ; study must be regulated according to individual
 
 28 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 capacity. For some pupils, especially the advanced, exercises 
 on stretches, or in broken chords, especially the double- 
 note and wrist-exercises in Book II., are advisable immedi- 
 ately after the first three lessons. Here the teacher must, 
 of course, decide what is most proper. Students who are far 
 advanced, will best judge for themselves what they require.
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR PRACTISING THE "TAUSIG=EHRLICH 
 DAILY STUDIES." 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 THE author recommends that Exercise No. 9 be taken up 
 first of all, each separate tone being struck not only twice, 
 as written, but 8 or 10 times. Observe well that each 
 finger should be raised as high as possible, and then fall on 
 the key with full force, and with the fleshy tip. The wrist 
 must be held motionless, almost rigid, upper arm and elbow 
 close to the body. After this, Exercise No. 1 should be 
 taken up, and thereafter the rest in regular order. 
 
 No. 1. To be played with great distinctness, so that 
 each tone be heard separated from the other. 
 
 No. 2. Play in f time, raising the fingers high ; let the 
 5th finger in ascending, and the thumb in descending, always 
 remain down till the next tone is struck. Thus : 
 
 In the left hand, of course, the thumb remains down in as- 
 cending, the 5th finger in descending. 
 
 No. 3. To be played in exactly the same way as No. 2. 
 
 No. 4. Likewise |. The last three notes of each group 
 
 crescendo, 
 
 I | J J j j , and similarly in descending. 
 ;j_ *^ *-{?< .J. 
 
 Perfect distinctness is an essential condition. 
 
 29
 
 30 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 No. 5. Slow and loud ; the first note for the 2d finger 
 must be struck powerfully, and not shortened. 
 
 No. 6. The last three notes of each group somewhat 
 crescendo. 
 
 No. 7. Slow, loud, the quarter-notes strongly accented ; 
 the whole force must proceed from the fingers, the hand to 
 be kept perfectly quiet and not to add the slightest pressure. 
 
 No. 8. Raise the fingers high without the aid of the wrist, 
 and let them fall hammer-fashion. The exercise is, after 
 frequent slow practice, also to be played in quicker tempo, 
 when the wrist will come a little into play. 
 
 No. 9. Already spoken of. 
 
 Nos. 10 and 11. The groups perfectly uniform, the first 
 note not to be shortened, but rather to be played with a very 
 slight accent. 
 
 No. 12. Perfectly uniform ; here no note is to be made 
 prominent above another. 
 
 No. 13. In both hands hold the first note (#, right hand, 
 c, left hand) as a half-note. Also play the exercise in con- 
 trary motion, the right hand taking the notes of the left hand, 
 and vice versa. 
 
 No. 14. The 4th, 3d, and 2d fingers should, being kept 
 perfectly rigid and half-bent, glide one after the other, thus 
 holding the key as firmly as possible ; let the fingers fall 
 powerfully on the fleshy tip ; keep the arms perfectly quiet. 
 
 No. 15. This exercise is to be played fast, yet with the 
 greatest distinctness on the part of the 4th and oth fingers.
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 31 
 
 1433 
 
 etc. 
 
 No. 16. The main point of these exercises consists in the 
 stretch from the 2d to the 3d finger. Do not, therefore, 
 spring from one tone to another, but play legato, slowly, leav- 
 ing the 2d finger down till the 3d has struck. 
 
 To attain perfect uniformity of both hands in this exercise, 
 play it in the left hand thus : 
 
 No. 17. To be played slow, with heavy stroke on each 
 tone. Beware of letting the tones run into each other ; each 
 one must be heard distinctly, perfect in itself. The left hand 
 plays two octaves loiver, that the two thumbs may not collide. 
 No. 18. An essential condition here, as also in 
 Nos. 19, 20, and 21, is, that the finger which holds the 
 quarter-note should be raised, nota the fourth sixteenth-note, 
 but after it. Hence a slow tempo must be observed, in
 
 32 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 which it is much more difficult to perform the exercise well, 
 than in quick tempo, in which the holding-on till after the 
 fourth sixteenth would be impracticable. 
 
 No. 22. This exercise is likewise to be played slowly, 
 each separate note to be powerfully struck ; the half-notes 
 must be strictly held. 
 
 The author feels bound to observe here, that the exercises 
 should invariably be played in all the keys, in order to produce 
 really satisfactory results. 
 
 It is only by being forced to move with certainty in all 
 directions that the fingers obtain that elasticity and muscular 
 power which the mechanical part of modern piano-playing 
 demands. But, as it would consume much time and cause 
 fatigue to practise eveiy exercise in all the keys, consecu- 
 tively, they should be played the first time in 4 keys, c, c$, d, 
 eb, the second time in e, /, /$, g, the third in at?, a, bb, b. 
 When the pupil has gone once through all the keys, he can 
 select those which he has found most difficult. Transposition 
 may at first be found troublesome ; but now-a-days every one 
 who studies music as a profession must transpose. Amateurs 
 who practise these exercises, may avoid the drudgery of 
 transposing by having them written out in the different keys 
 by a copyist. At any rate, it is indispensable, we repeat, to 
 practise in all the keys, and the lamented Tausig regarded 
 this as the chief basis of his system. His idea was, it is true, 
 to begin with the most difficult keys, but the author deems 
 it better for the sake of unity to start from C major. 
 
 No. 23. This exercise is most generally quite wrongly 
 conceived and practised. All pupils play it with an accent 
 of the hand, even, if possible, with a push of the arm. This
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 
 
 33 
 
 is all wrong. The author cannot better indicate the correct 
 execution than by advising the pupil first to play the exer- 
 cise very slowly as follows, 
 
 ^f=^ -n 1 
 
 =3^=3^3= 
 
 
 
 etc. 
 
 with the accent, that is, on the first note ; only the fingers 
 may move and by their own strength strike the keys ; the 
 palm of the hand should be perfectly quiet, and must not give 
 emphasis to the fingers. When the above preparatory exer- 
 cise has been practised for some time with great exactness 
 and very slowly, the pupil may play the first note the 
 appoggiatura always faster and faster with a sharp accent, 
 being very watchful that the hand does not fall. This is best 
 prevented by holding the elbows as close to the body in 
 front as possible. As many pupils, despite our repeated 
 caution not to let the hand sink after the finger-stroke, never- 
 theless move the arm and hand, I have introduced the follow- 
 ing variant, which, though difficult, leads most surely to 
 complete independence and repose of the fingers :
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 I 
 
 . t - |-- fe i 
 
 r -u ^~ * -Jf-Y E^-biu e=i=|=- J 
 
 Fbai a~" ' 1 I I R)arl a~ i FH I _r I a~l 
 
 JZ*z -fci 1 1, , iiiT 17 * ' * ' ' i ~ * ' a ^ ! ' 
 
 M. F-^ ^J ^ ^0 , . 
 
 etc. 
 
 =F=P- ' -F->-f-f_P= T 
 
 etc. 
 
 
 No. 24. This exercise, which the author of this work in- 
 vented ten years ago for his own use, and through which 
 Tausig was primarily induced to confide to him a share in
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 35 
 
 the work, and afterwards its entire elaboration, is very diffi- 
 cult, and many a stretch is impracticable for small hands if 
 the half-note be held strictly. This exercise is also fatigu- 
 ing, and should at first be played perhaps in only two major 
 and two minor keys, always alternating from one to the 
 other. The main point is the perfectly even execution of 
 the thirty-second notes, which must be played loud and very 
 legato. The exercise is to be taken only in moderate tempo. 
 No. 25. - All these exercises formed from scales are to be 
 practised as indicated in the Introduction ; i.e., when the 
 thumb passes under or is passed over, the key previously 
 struck is to be held by the respective finger. The exercises 
 may also be extended by variants, such as 
 
 * etc. 
 
 The fingering here, especially at the transition to dfr, is some- 
 what awkward. 
 
 No. 26. In this exercise the chief object of attention 
 should be that the tones struck by the 2d and 4th fingers be 
 played perfectly legato and quietly. Any tempo may be 
 applied here. 
 
 No. 27 This exercise is one of those which are to be 
 
 practised only in moderate tempo; the quickest would be 
 j = 100. For the chief point is the perfect distinctness of 
 the individual notes simultaneously with a perfect legato. 
 Here, too, the hand must be kept perfectly quiet, which at 
 first is difficult, especially in passing the thumb under the 
 2d finger in the minor keys.
 
 36 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 No. 28 For practising this exercise with the greatest 
 profit, it is advisable to hold in both hands the notes for the 
 thumb and 5th finger as quarter-notes. 
 
 The left hand plays two octaves lower. 
 
 No. 29 A crescendo at 
 
 so that the tones struck by the 2d and 4th fingers may sound 
 loud and distinct. The exercise should be practised chiefly 
 in those keys in which the 2d and 4th fingers have to strike 
 black keys. 
 
 No. 30 To be played loud, the 5th finger well bent. Any 
 tempo is suitable. 
 
 No. 31. Rather slow. The elbows must lie close, so that 
 in passing the fingers over or under the hand may retain its 
 position unchanged. Even though the body should follow the 
 motions of the fingers, the arms must remain firm in position. 
 This very useful exercise may, without fatigue, be carried 
 through all the keys at one time. 
 
 No. 32 The main point here is the strengthening of the 
 
 3d and 4th fingers. Practise in three major and three minor 
 keys at a time (major and minor alternately) ; the exercise 
 is somewhat fatiguing. 
 
 No. 33 The first exercise,
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 
 
 37 
 
 not fast, loud, the octaves not detached but very smoothly 
 connected. The following variant will be found very useful, 
 for the left hand especially : 
 
 The second exercise 
 
 is to be played as fast as possible, but very distinctly and 
 very loud. 
 
 No. 34. - - Legatissimo, loud, not fast. 
 
 No. 35. In tolerably slow tempo, with perfectly quiet 
 hand ; the right and the left hand hold firmly the notes 
 struck by the thumb and followed by the skip of a seventh, 
 with a view to perfect legato. The left hand plays the exer- 
 cise two octaves lower. Here is a somewhat difficult but 
 very useful variant: 
 
 No. 36 This exercise is to be played in precisely the 
 
 same manner as No. 35 ; here too the thumb firmly holds the 
 tone followed by the skip (here that of a sixth). The arms
 
 38 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 close to the body. The left hand two octaves lower. For 
 the left hand in the first measure take the fingering 3 5 
 instead of 4 5 
 
 and so on throughout in descending. 
 
 No. 37. - This exercise may be taken in any tempo not in- 
 compatible with the most perfect repose, certainty and even- 
 ness of stroke, and legatissimo playing. Not being very 
 fatiguing, it may be carried through all the keys at one time. 
 
 No. 38. To be taken at first very slow, and even after 
 frequent practice not faster than = 100. Always loud and 
 legatissimo. An essential condition is a perfectly uniform 
 legato at the places where the fingering is given. To be 
 practised in all keys (always four at a time ; see p. 32, No. 
 22), as often as possible, because the motion of the fingers 
 hereby excited will be of great assistance in executing 
 broken chords. 
 
 No. 39. This exercise also is to be played legatissimo ; 
 
 in ascending, the 3d finger is to be held down, 
 
 in descending, the 5th finger 
 
 This exercise is most profitable in tonalities in which the 
 3d and 5th fingers must often strike black keys. 
 
 Nos. 40 and 41 are exercises with the hands in contrary 
 motion ; hence the direction that each hand should first prac-
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 39 
 
 tise its own part separately. The pupil must then aim at 
 the most perfect distinctness and uniformity, in a rapid tempo. 
 The exercise is to be practised forte, as well as piano. 
 
 After these exercises, let the pupil attempt to play the 
 first of Cramer's Studies, in Part I, with his hands crossed, 
 the left hand taking the right-hand part, and vice versa : 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 No. 1. The exercise can be played in any tempo ; in the 
 left hand two octaves lower. 
 
 No. 2. The chief condition here is that the hand, at the 
 passing-over and under of the finger immediately after of 
 before an octave, shall remain in the same position ; hence, 
 the exercise should be played at first very slowly. Players 
 with small hands are advised to hold the hand rather high, 
 so as to facilitate the passing-over and under. 
 
 No. 3. This exercise is one of the most difficult and 
 fatiguing, and at the same time most useful. It is, of course, 
 to be attacked by those players only to whom the other 
 exercises are already tolerably easy, or who, without having
 
 40 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 studied special preparatory exercises, have a powerfully built 
 hand and strong fingers. As indicated in the Book itself, the 
 exercise is to be taken adagio, and with the fingers lifted high. 
 It is to be practised in those tonalities especially in which 
 black keys often occur. For small hands the 1st exercise 
 (on the second brace), marked " Another fingering," is per- 
 haps quite impracticable if the quarter-notes are to be strictly 
 sustained. With this fingering, however, 
 
 32121 
 
 the exercise may be played without special difficulty. The 
 other difficulties are much less important. The exercise be- 
 longs, as has been said, among the best, but it must (like 
 many a gymnastic exercise) be practised quietly and with 
 great moderation, till the fingers are so strengthened that they 
 can carry it through six keys without fatigue. 
 
 No. 4. This exercise also Tausig constructed it for his 
 own use - is difficult and fatiguing, but unsurpassable for 
 strengthening the fingers and rendering them independent. 
 The chief points aimed at are uniformity of stroke and a 
 perfectly smooth connection between the 2d finger and the 
 thumb. It is another of those exercises which are to be 
 played at first in only three keys, for avoiding excessive 
 fatigue. 
 
 U" 0i 5. Here may be applied all that was said concerning 
 No. 23, in Book I ; the 4th finger must attack with a rather
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 41 
 
 strong accent, bent, and with the fleshy tip ; the chord is to 
 be struck with the power of the fingers only, with no aid 
 from the hand. 
 
 No. 6. This exercise is to be played in various ways. 
 First, with two ties, thus : 
 
 second, connecting only the 4th sixteenth with the following 
 one, the others being played staccato : 
 
 -0- -- -9 
 
 and third, thus : 
 
 In this staccato the wrist comes into play. 
 
 No. 7. This difficult but excellent exercise, which bears 
 eloquent testimony to the genial Brahms' earnestness and 
 thoroughness in whatever he sets about to do, is to be prac- 
 tised with the 3d, 4th and 5th fingers of both hands sharply 
 curved, the thumb remaining, on the contrary, always per- 
 fectly extended. In this way alone can the exercise be mas- 
 tered. It may be taken in any tempo ; distinctness is of
 
 42 
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 course indispensable. Only a practised and strong player 
 will be able to carry it through more than three or four keys. 
 No. 8. - Play legatissimo, loud, and separate the single 
 tones one from the other. The surest means of avoiding all 
 uneveaness is, at first to keep the thumbs of both hands 
 always down : 
 
 and in the variant the 5th finger in the right hand, the 4th in 
 the left : 
 
 i 
 
 -- - - 
 
 -. -- 1 -- V- 
 
 No. 9. This exercise is perhaps still more useful for 
 strengthening the weaker fingers than the preceding one. It 
 must be practised first by each hand separately, with the 
 arms perfectly close to the body, and as in No. 8 keep- 
 ing down the thumb in the right hand, the 4th finger in the 
 left. Play with powerful stroke. A most excellent exercise 
 is, to practise the variant,
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 43 
 
 in the following manner in both hands and in all the keys, 
 
 i 
 
 playing the tones given to 5 1 as a Trill, which may be pro- 
 longed at option. 
 
 In this some very difficult positions will occur, as, for ex- 
 ample, at the transition from at> to a, 
 
 1515 
 
 here the hand is to be kept perfectly quiet no easy matter 
 even, for practised players. The author can give this exer- 
 cise which is entirely original with Tausig as also the 
 Trill-variant above indicated, the strongest recommendation, 
 founded on experience. 
 
 EXERCISES FORMED FROM BROKEN CHORDS. 
 
 Before proceeding to the directions for each separate exer- 
 cise, the author deems it necessary to repeat with emphasis 
 that precisely these exercises are all to be played with the 
 awkward close position of the arms, and that it is better that 
 the body should follow the movement of the hands, than that 
 the arms should be freed from their awkward position. Only 
 after long practice can the teacher permit more freedom, or 
 the pupil take upon himself to use it.
 
 44 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIA^ Y O. 
 
 No. 10. The pupil should lay his hands extended and 
 with the fingers bent over the keys to be struck, before be- 
 ginning. Each tone must then be struck, slow and loud, with 
 a slight accent on the double-notes. 
 
 No. 11. The same way of playing. The accent on the 
 Third must, however, be stronger than in the preceding ex- 
 ercise. The player should take special care that the Thirds 
 always sound perfectly even, full and strong, avoiding the 
 arpeggiating way of playing 
 
 into which so many pupils unconsciously fall. 
 
 No. 12. Here, where the 3d and 4th fingers have the 
 Thirds, or Seconds, as the case may be, the directions for 
 Nos. 10 and 11 must be applied with still greater emphasis. 
 Only when the double-notes are struck perfectly full and even, 
 is the aim of the exercise reached. 
 
 No. 13. The same manner of playing. Here, however, 
 special attention should be given to the 4th and 5th fingers, 
 that they remain curved and always strike powerfully with 
 the fleshy tip. 
 
 No. 14. Here each group should be sharply detached ; 
 the Sixteenths are to be played with perfect evenness, the 
 first one of a group by no means to be shortened. 
 
 Nos. 15 and 16 are exercises which require the fingers to 
 exert all their muscular strength. For the fingers only must 
 strike, and that with full force, the hand and the wrist not 
 being allowed to add any emphasis to the stroke. For avoid- 
 ing any such emphasis, the pupil will do best to hold firmly 
 the first two tones, thus :
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 
 
 45 
 
 and 
 
 _^=L 
 
 The left hand will here play two octaves lower. Difficult as 
 these exercises are at first, they will in a short time show 
 themselves to be proportionately excellent and beneficial. 
 The player who practises them slowly, with moderation, and 
 in the manner prescribed, will feel by the end of a week 
 how greatly and rapidly they promote the independence of 
 the fingers and also the power of stroke. 
 
 No. 17. An almost easy exercise, when played in quick 
 tempo, in which the touch is facilitated by the swing of the 
 hand ; but difficult and fatiguing when played slowly, so that 
 the fingers must each time strike with full force, unsupported 
 by the swing of the hand ; to be practised, therefore, slowly 
 and in moderation until the pupil can play it for a long time 
 without feeling the least fatigue. 
 
 TRILLrSTUDIES. 
 
 Nos. 18a, 18b. It is to be remarked chiefly that the trills 
 in these two exercises may be extended much further than 
 indicated ; i.e., they may be repeated 20 or 30 times : 
 
 the player has only to take care, that the hand, in changing
 
 46 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 
 
 to the next position, remains perfectly quiet. The duration and 
 rapidity of the trill must depend on the pupil's strength and 
 usual practice. 
 
 No. 19. Here a repetition of the trill (in the Sixteenths} 
 would not be expedient ; the exercise is to be practised pre- 
 cisely as it stands. The chords are to be played with a per- 
 fectly quiet stroke of the fingers, without any aid from the 
 hand. A faster tempo than a moderate allegro will be hardly 
 practicable even for a well-trained pianist. 
 
 No. 20. A perfect legato, especially in the lower tones 
 (eighths) ; no finger should be raised before the other strikes 
 its note. The following would be the exercise for the left 
 hand corresponding to that for the right : 
 
 This exercise may also be very profitably practised in the 
 following manner, prolonging the trills, 
 
 f-^--^^ -^ * 
 
 An excellent variant is also this
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 47 
 
 No. 21. This exercise is less for practice in trills than for 
 that of double-notes; it is difficult, and must be practised 
 very slowly. Here also are two variants applicable with 
 great profit. Extension of the trill : 
 
 In both cases the quarter-notes should be held strictly. 
 
 No. 22. The directions for Nos. 20 and 21 apply also to 
 this exercise. As an exercise for double-notes it is to be 
 played with the fingers lifted rather high. 
 
 EXERCISES ix DOUBLE-NOTES. 
 
 The author advises the earnest student to practise, before 
 attacking these exercises, some preparatory exercises in 
 Thirds and Double-notes. Tausig added to his edition of 
 dementi's " Gradus ad Parnassum " a series of scales in 
 Thirds, with special fingering. Another most excellent 
 exercise, too little known, was published many years ago by 
 Czerny ; it forms a complete piece in itself, leading, in con- 
 tinuous passages of Thirds, through all the major and minor 
 keys, and often exhibiting very original combinations. The
 
 48 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 author can conscientiously advise all teachers and students 
 to become acquainted with both the exercises just najned, 
 certain that they will find so much the less difficulty in the 
 Tausig-Ehrlich exercises now to be discussed. 
 
 No. 23 This exercise must be practised at first very 
 
 slowly, with a powerful stroke ; the whole note must be 
 sustained till after the last 16th (this of course only in slow 
 tempo ; in quick tempo the note cannot be held so long). 
 It is very profitable to so extend the trill that each measure 
 may contain 8 quarter-notes. 
 
 No. 24 This exercise cannot be practised too 'slowly at 
 
 first. For its chief aim is the connecting as closely as pos- 
 sible the two Thirds : 
 
 smoothly together. The player must endeavor to bring over 
 the 3d and 5th fingers to the keys in such manner that 
 they may glide rather than jump. This requires a consider- 
 able exertion of strength on the part of the fingers, especially 
 if the arm remains firm in position. It is, therefore, per- 
 fectly clear that the exercise is most profitable when played 
 very slowly, powerfully and as legato as possible. It is 
 easier in quick tempo, because in the passage given above the 
 fingers glide more easily. The variant on the same page, in 
 which the Thirds in the right hand ascend, and those in the
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 49 
 
 bass descend, offers some difficulties on account of the 
 stretches, but is perhaps less awkward; here, too, a slow 
 tempo is advisable. 
 
 No. 25 This exercise in Sixths is difficult for very small 
 
 hands only ; but in a slow tempo it is generally conquered 
 before very long. Somewhat more difficult is the second 
 part with the descending figure ; this requires slow tempo 
 and precise, even attack where the fingers cross. The upper 
 arm must always be held close to the body. 
 
 No. 26 Only slowly and forcibly ; to be played in hardly 
 
 more than 4 keys. 
 
 No. 27 This exercise may be played in any tempo, pro- 
 vided it sounds distinct. It is advisable to take it through 
 in both piano and forte. The chief care here must be for a 
 very exact and uniform connection of the tones. 
 
 No. 28 A genuine finger-breaker a la Tausig, especially 
 
 for small hands ! But also one of the most original inven- 
 tions of the great executive artist, who in technical com- 
 binations has evinced so much cleverness ; there exists per- 
 haps no second exercise aiming, like this No. 28, with such 
 directness and certainty at developing the stretch between 
 the 2d and 3d fingers. In execution the hand must be 
 stretched and the fingers firmly bent. Players with small 
 hands will hardly be able to avoid sometimes holding the 
 2d and 3d fingers stretched out high and rigid ; the augrn. 
 
 Fourth c a or . will always be difficult for short fingers. 
 
 Nevertheless, this exercise is so efficacious and beneficial, 
 that it cannot be sufficiently recommended. Only let the 
 player practise it with moderation and leisurely, carefully 
 avoiding all excessive fatigue.
 
 50 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 Nos. 29 and 30 Each of these exercises consists of sev- 
 eral parts, each part to be gone through by itself. The first 
 part in No. 29 contains the chromatic scales as a basis for 
 double-notes ; in No. 30 the chromatic scale lies in the 
 higher part of the double-notes. The other parts are each 
 another combination of double-notes in chromatic progres- 
 sion ; here the tempo cannot well be prescribed. It is hardly 
 necessary to say, that in playing each double-note the 
 greatest distinctness combined with a perfect legato is abso- 
 lutely essential. 
 
 The whole series of exercises in double-notes is to be 
 recommended only to advanced pupils who have passed 
 beyond the middle stage, or to such as have long and power- 
 ful fingers ; these will be able, even should their technical 
 skill be not yet markedly developed, to go through most of 
 these exercises in double-notes without risk of incurring 
 excessive fatigue. 
 
 W RIST-EXERCISES. 
 
 Although mention has already been made (p. 15) of the 
 proper manner of beginning and going through the wrist- 
 exercises, the author deems it expedient to return to the 
 subject with some additional remarks. That in all octave- 
 passages the black keys are generally to be struck with the 
 4th finger, will be best realized by the player in executing 
 the chromatic scale in octaves, without following the author's 
 method, therefore with the arms unrestrained, being only con- 
 cerned to keep the hand so quiet that it does not slide
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 51 
 
 forward and backward, but remains in the same position. 
 Here he will at once discover that the 4th finger automat- 
 ically so to speak falls on the black keys ; these are 
 shorter than the white ones, and to reach them, the finger 
 must be more extended. The 5th finger is often unable to 
 reach from a white key to a black one unless the hand 
 pushes it forward, while the 4th finger naturally lies perfectly 
 free near the black key ; it has only to strike it, without the 
 least stretching being necessary. The author can give the 
 fullest assurance that Liszt and Thalberg (his teacher) as a 
 rule played octaves in no other way, and only in certain 
 special leaps here and there used the 5th finger, along with 
 the 4th, on black keys. It has happened of late that 
 virtuosi and teachers make frequent use of the 5th finger on 
 black keys. The author ventures to disapprove of this 
 usage, and to maintain that it can be justified by excep- 
 tional circumstances only. That the " Daily Studies " con- 
 tain no actual Octave-exercises, is explained in the preface 
 to that work by the fact that Theodor Kullak's " Method of 
 Octaves " has exhausted the subject, so that nothing new 
 remains to be said on this head. 
 
 The author therefore refers students to that work, at the 
 same time offering the suggestion that the wrist-exercises on 
 
 _J I l_ 
 
 the single tones rfjrF"** a n be repeated 10, 20, 
 
 or 30 times, or oftener, as they are among the most strength- 
 ening. Moreover, the chromatic scale in the compass of an 
 octave, with the hands in contrary motion,
 
 52 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 practised with the arms and elbows close to the body, is an 
 excellent preparation for the most difficult passages which 
 require the action of the wrist, such as now come under 
 consideration. 
 
 No. 31. The wrist-exercises of this collection are subject 
 to no particular tempo the player may, when he has mas- 
 tered the difficulties and made sure of uniform wrist-motion, 
 choose the tempo for himself. The beginning should, how- 
 ever, even with trained players, be taken quite slow, for the 
 perfectly uniform raising and lowering of the hand is the 
 first indispensable condition, and is attainable and kept un- 
 der sure control at first only by slow playing, with arms and 
 elbows close to the body. The player has but to attend to 
 the one point, that the elbow lie in front as steady as possible 
 everything else will come of itself, including. the stroke 
 with the fleshy finger-tip. 
 
 No. 32 This exercise (devised by the author of this work 
 
 for his own use) should be played loud, and with perfect 
 evenness. The pupil should give the preference to tonalities 
 having many black keys. In playing the exercise legato, be 
 very careful not to clip off the 1st pair of sixteenths from the 
 second pair, thus : 
 
 the 2d sixteeenth should be fully sus-
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIAXO. 53 
 
 tained : at the two sixths E5Ezz^=i?iz the hand should 
 
 be pushed along, as it were, without being raised. 
 
 The following repetition may be employed as a variant: 
 
 No. 33. In this exercise perfect evenness of stroke in 
 both hands is the chief condition. To attain this, the hands 
 should remain always spread out over the keys, so that be- 
 tween the last chord of the left hand and the first of the 
 right, and contrariwise, no break be felt, and the chords 
 sound as if played by one hand. 
 
 No. 34. A very difficult exercise, but one which gives 
 to the wrist and the fingers certainty and force in the most 
 difficult positions, especially in striking black keys. It may, 
 without special fatigue, be carried through all the keys (at 
 least through 6 or 8) at a time, by large hands: it will be 
 better for small hands, which find the stretches difficult, to 
 play it through only 2 or 3 keys at a time, choosing, how- 
 ever, new keys each time it is resumed. 
 
 No. 35. An exercise of complex difficulty. To be prac- 
 tised slowly with a powerful stroke, the fingers always falling 
 hammer-fashion. 
 
 No. 36. The elbows must absolutely lie close to the body 
 without moving from it; since the forearm in leaping must 
 alu'ays move to and fro, the only possibility of a sure control 
 over the correct and uniform raising and lowering of the 
 wrist is in the steadiness of the elbows in their position.
 
 54 
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 No. 37. In this exercise there can certainly be no question 
 as to the method ; the point is, to play it well and distinctly, 
 whatever position be chosen. Here let the player find out 
 for himself how to get through. If he has, by diligent, cor- 
 rect practice of the foregoing exercises, strengthened his 
 fingers and developed a supple and steady wrist, this exer- 
 cise will present no great difficulties; no one will find it 
 easy ! 
 
 STRETCHES AND SKIPS. 
 
 Instead of theorizing how the pupil may best acquire the 
 proper execution of Stretches and Skips, the author ventures 
 to make a practical proposition at once. Let the following 
 figure be played : 
 
 at first very slowly, with the fingers fully stretched out; the 
 hand must not raise itself, or jump, but must, as it were, be 
 drawn ; take the tempo gradually faster and faster ; the wrist 
 must be kept quite easy,, so that the drawing motion of the 
 hand to the right and the left may take place without any 
 difficulty. After these preparatory exercises have been gone 
 through with for 8 or 10 days, the pupil may proceed to the 
 exercises in the " Dailv Studies."
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 55 
 
 No. 38 Always stretch, not jump. Here is a variant 
 
 of greater difficulty : 
 
 No. 39. Same rule as just bef ore, same variant. 
 
 No. 40. Similarly. 
 
 No, 41. It is impossible to play this exercise with the 
 upper arm quite close to the body. But the pupil who 
 attacks this exercise must have already practised the others 
 so well as to make it easy for him to hold the elbows at least 
 pretty near to the body, and not turned outward so as to 
 form an angle, as it were, ~==z ^==~, as is the habit of 
 some players. 
 
 Nos. 42 to 47. All these exercises are to be played in 
 the manner indicated for the preparatory exercises. That 
 the left hand has great difficulties to overcome, the author is 
 perfectly aware. But he offers the following observations. 
 In the first place, these most difficult exercises occur at the 
 end of Book II ; the place that they occupy sufficiently in- 
 dicates that the editor takes for granted they are to be played 
 only after the preceding ones have all been pretty well mas- 
 tered. And in the second place : If the pupil is so far 
 advanced, this exercise in the left hand will no longer appear 
 so excessively difficult, and will seem but the last stage of 
 technical finish. No. 47 requires a very light hand and at 
 the same time a powerful stroke.
 
 56 HOW TO PEACTISE OX THE PIANO. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 This book contains no strictly systematic exercises. It 
 offers, however, much that is new, and many original com- 
 binations, especially in the part following the Preludes, which 
 is the work of Tausig alone. A few words may be not un- 
 acceptable to the student as to the technical purpose aimed 
 at in these Preludes. Tausig's idea was, that after having 
 gone through the purely mechanical exercises the pupil 
 should take up some small and difficult pieces, in which one 
 and the same passage should be played in different positions, 
 and with all the various shadings of tone-color, thus com- 
 bining with mechanical difficulty every variety of touch and 
 of delivery. His sketches of the fifth and the seventh Pre- 
 ludes show several variants, after his manner of constantly 
 speculating and philosophizing concerning technics and 
 rhythmics, resolving each single passage into its parts, then 
 from heterogeneous passages combining something entirely 
 new. He intended that the Preludes should in this way be 
 very comprehensive, but his untimely death prevented the 
 completion of the undertaking. The editor can, therefore, 
 only give some hints as to the ten Preludes which are pub- 
 lished. 
 
 Prelude I. Give to the 1st and 4th sixteenth in every beat 
 a full and strong accent, yet each time with a different de- 
 gree of power, so that the higher notes of the double-notes 
 form a melodic phrase. Especially this :
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 
 
 57 
 
 _^_ _- - - _ -^ _ , _ ____. Jf_ 
 
 should lie well accentuated : the last four measures as for- 
 ciblv and brilliantly as possible. In the second measure, at 
 
 the fingering 1 '2 mav be applied. 
 
 Prelude II. It is the aim in this little piece to carry a 
 melody through constantly ascending and descending chords, 
 so that it may be heard penetrating through them. The 
 player should, therefore, endeavor so to accentuate the upper- 
 most tone of each chord, that the melody 
 
 may be clearly heard. The whole Prelude is to be played 
 in this way; each chord contains in its uppermost note a 
 part of the melody. 
 
 Prelude III. Easy as this piece may at first appear, a good 
 and distinct performance of it is very difficult. The finger- 
 ing is often very awkward, and yet cannot be bettered. The 
 editor considers this little piece as altogether masterly, and 
 characteristic of Tausisfs faculty of combination. 
 
 O v 
 
 Prelude IV. This Prelude may be taken in the quickest 
 tempo ; the accent is always on the double-notes. The hand 
 is of course to be kept quiet, otherwise the piece could not 
 be played.
 
 58 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 Prelude V. The double-notes are to be played in both 
 hands always-==: ==- ; in the 4th measure a strong cre- 
 scendo. 
 
 Prelude VI. The chords must here be struck off with the 
 greatest delicacy and in harp-fashion ; at the ff the 4th and 
 the 5th fingers must strike with marked emphasis. 
 
 Prelude VII. To be played very delicately and melodiously, 
 
 especially FjOyl J i,and the similar 
 
 figure in the 4th measure ; from the 5th measure on, cre- 
 scendo up to forte : the last 3 measures in accelerated tempo. 
 
 Prelude VIII. To be played like the roll of a drum, and 
 so that the playing of one hand cannot be distinguished from 
 that of the other. 
 
 Prelude IX. The difficulty here introduced is the fruit of 
 considerable thought. The chief point is, that the fingers 
 which have the double-notes should be shoved along, not 
 lifted: this requires a great exertion of strength. The 
 " Andante sostenuto " applies, strictly speaking, only to the 
 first study of the piece. If this Prelude can also be played 
 well in rapid tempo, so much the better. 
 
 Prelude X. The melody lies in the 2d sixteenth of every 
 beat ; it must, therefore, be somewhat accentuated, yet with- 
 out being held beyond its value. To play this Prelude with 
 perfect technical correctness, and at the same time with ele- 
 gance and melodiousness, is by no means an easy task. 
 
 As to the exercises which follow these Preludes, the editor 
 does not deem it necessary to expatiate on them, as on the 
 exercises in Book II. He who can play this Book III must
 
 HOW TO PRACTISE OX THE PIANO. 59 
 
 necessarily be so advanced as not to need any special com- 
 mentary. The editor will only call attention to what may 
 interest even the most practised player, namely, the various 
 wai/s of playing one and the same exercise. For instance, No. 
 2 has three variants ; first, the sixteenths are played legato, 
 the accompanying eighths staccato : then the latter legato, the 
 former staccato : the 3d variant is the perfect legato of all 
 the notes. 
 
 No. 3a was a favorite figure of Tausig's; he made much 
 account of it, and deemed it very useful. 
 
 No. 4 was most likely suggested by Chopin's 1st Etude, 
 Op. 1 0. Tausig, who had very small hands, invented for him- 
 self the most difficult stretches, in order to make good, in a 
 measure, by practice, the defects he had inherited from 
 nature, otherwise so bountiful to him. 
 
 No. 6 will certainly interest every pianist as a witness to 
 Tausig's untiring study, and his industry in forming all pos- 
 sible combinations. 
 
 No. 7 is an exercise for testing the rapid withdrawal of one 
 thumb from a key, and the elastic and distinct stroke of the 
 other immediately after upon the same key. The editor 
 ventures the suggestion that the end may perhaps be more 
 immediately attained by conceiving the exercise in the 
 following manner: 
 
 No. 7a is another exercise devised by Tausig for testing 
 himself, like Nos. 12 and 17b.
 
 60 HOW TO PRACTISE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 Nos. 9 and 10 afford excellent practice in changing fingers 
 on the same keys. 
 
 No. 13 to be played both staccato and legato. 
 
 No. 16, in the same way. 
 
 No. 18. Whoever has heard Tausig play Chopin's e-minor 
 concerto, and remembers how he played the closing measures 
 of the Finale, not with both hands in bound triplets but in 
 alternating octaves in the quickest tempo, and how this 
 stormy passage always sounded so distinct that each single 
 note could be plainly heard, will recognize in No. 18 the 
 preparatory study for those closing measures of the Chopin 
 Finale. Tausig acted on the principle that the player can 
 best master a difficult passage, not by attacking it at once, 
 but by first taking up other exercises containing the same class 
 of difficulty, but in all possible positions and keys. In this 
 way, purely mechanical proficiency will have attained such a 
 pitch, that the player may, when practising the difficult pas- 
 sage in question, at the same time add all the necessary 
 minutiae of the delivery. In this way, doubtless, did Tausig 
 study those last measures of Chopin's concerto. And with 
 this reminiscence of the great and nobly ambitious artist, 
 whom death tore from art and from his friends, the editoi 
 brings this little work to a close.
 
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