Weekend Repertoire:Bowed Piano Technique

October 9, 2010 Jennifer Boster

If you are not familiar with bowed piano or prepared piano techniques, you have got to watch this video. In fact, you have got to watch it even if you are familiar with these crazy techniques 🙂 I think it is so fascinating to hear all of the sounds that the piano can produce if it is just played a little….differently than normal. 😉

This is Dr. Scott Holden (my college piano professor) performing Entrada, a bowed piano piece by Stephen Scott, with a 10-student ensemble. It is well worth the 7 and a half minutes viewing time, and if you are like me you will be completely mesmerized by this cool piece. You can read more about this neat performance here.

Weekend Repertoire: Minuet in G

October 1, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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In an effort to start some discussion about specific repertoire and ways to teach it, I have started Weekend Repertoire here on The Teaching Studio!

Today’s piece: Minuet in G from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Anna Magdalena Notebook.
Level: Early-ish Intermediate 🙂 (how’s that for technical?)
Teaches: phrasing, five-finger patterns, changes in hand position, cross-over fingerings, binary form, balance between right and left hand
Listen: Click here to listen to this piece (scroll down and select the first Menuet in G Major on the list). Also, this great orchestral version really captures the simple beauty and elegance of this piece – I’m thinking Jane Austen era ballroom…

Yes, I know, this little piece is super familiar. Everybody and their dog plays it and knows it. But it really is a great little piece with so much to learn by playing it. I have often found that even when teaching the most simple pieces, sometimes students simply just learn the correct notes and call it good. They learn the notes alright, but have they achieved a truly musical performance? There are so many simple, easy ways to add color and musicality to a piece that will really help the music come alive for a student. Even when playing Baroque music 🙂

My teacher in high school had all these big, beautiful, ornate paintings hanging in her living room. Kind of like these:

I can still hear her voice, “Look at these people – they’re not about to go out and play football!! They are elegant. Refined. Graceful.“

And how true that is – this piece should never be overly loud or passionate or abrupt or romantic. It should be graceful and elegant. In fact, considering the keyboard instruments available at the time this piece was written sheds some light on its interpretation – according to my trusty old History of Keyboard Literature, the clavichord had a “soulful tone,” and was ideal for achieving “sweet, delicate sentiments,” while the harpsichord had a “sweet, pristine tone” and it required careful phrasing and the use of nonlegato touch.

So how can we teach our students to play this piece with elegance and refinement? Help them to achieve nice, legato phrasing in the right hand (I like to draw little arrows where they should do a slight lift of the wrist to end a phrase); a beautiful, singing melody line that does not rush (hands-alone practice in small sections! and the metronome is a great little pal and may help a LOT); and a softer accompaniment with nicely-phrased eighth note runs.

And a Pride and Prejudice dress wouldn’t hurt, you know, just to get the right mood 🙂

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Weekend Repertoire: Clouds

September 17, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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Weekend Repertoire: Discovering Clouds from Four Roman Sketches, by Charles Griffes, 1915

I don’t know about you, but I am all about pieces that paint a picture or tell a story. If I can convey a beautiful scene or tell a great story, or just really relate to a piece of music, that is when I feel I can really play it well. (A good thought to remember when helping students relate to and interpret their pieces!) I once played a cool piece by Abel Decaux from a set entitled Clair de Lune (and don’t let the name fool you – it is as different than Debussy’s famous piece as they come!). The piece was called La Mer, or The Sea – and because of its crazy chromatic harmonies and dark feel, a friend told me that it reminded him of the ocean in Italy at night – and BAM, there was my picture to paint!

I first became familiar with the piece Clouds by Charles Griffes while working on a crazy enormous listening assignment for my piano literature class in college. I popped in the CD, and as the first beautiful chords rang out, I looked out my window just as the sun was rising and saw this:

(By the way, this photo definitely does not do the true view justice, as I just had a little point and shoot camera at the time – but still, you get the idea… right?)

This piece with its gorgeous yet interesting chromatic harmonies completely described the view I was seeing, as the clouds covering the sky turned pink and purple with the sunrise. Pretty cool. Although I have not learned this piece in-depth, whenever I play through it this scene immediately comes to mind and is the inspiration behind the music for me.

I have loved this piece ever since hearing it that day. It definitely is quite impressionistic (which I love), but he also put a very original twist on it with his crazy, somewhat oriental, harmonies. In Hinson’s Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire, Hinson says this about Griffes: “Love of oriental subjects and a preoccupation with impressionistic techniques were the major influences on Griffes’ music.” You can definitely hear those influences in this piece.

A little about Charles Griffes – he was an American composer, born in New York in 1884, and died in 1920. His major piano works include a sonata (1912) and Four Roman Sketches (1915), from which the piece Clouds comes. Although he is a somewhat obscure composer, his works are definitely worth a listen!

This is pretty much the only recording of this piece I could find on YouTube or anywhere else, except for one other that I thought was just way too fast. Enjoy!

Do you have any similar experiences with pieces? Do you like to picture a scene in your mind when playing? How do you teach your students to “paint a picture” through their playing?

Weekend Repertoire: New Feature!

September 17, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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I have noticed that many readers and visitors to this blog have shown an interest in finding new repertoire to teach their students, particularly at the intermediate level. So it got me thinking. I have decided to start a new feature where we will feature a piece of repertoire and discuss its background, what level of student it is appropriate for, and what concepts and techniques it is great for teaching; and we will share a few tips on how to teach it! I am really excited about this, and hope to have a post on this topic every other week or so. And on the off-weeks…..

I love discovering “new” (well, new to me at least!) piano literature – listening to it, reading about it, playing it. Many of the pieces I have learned in the past (or have started to learn, or have on my “repertoire wish list” to learn in the future) are pieces I have heard others perform. I once attended a Leon Fleisher recital, where he played a beautiful transcription (by Egon Petri) of Bach’s Sheep May Safely Graze that moved me so much that I just HAD to learn it. I opened my senior recital with that piece.

The point is, I love discovering new pieces! It is inspiring and motivating, and makes me excited to continue my learning and continue to develop my piano talents. So I have decided to start a new feature on The Teaching Studio to help us all become familiar with great pieces from piano literature, learn a little about composers and music history, and hear some great music.

So each weekend we will feature a piece of repertoire – either for your inspiration and enjoyment, or to give you ideas on what to teach your students. I am so excited!

Have a great weekend!