 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
  |
Learn To Play The Piano With Expression - Part 2In part 1 of this two part article, we discussed that the correct use of the hands when playing the piano keyboard can produce a beautiful sound. But before any accurate observations can be made of what the hand is doing, it is necessary that the eye should know what to look for, as it can see only that which it brings the power of seeing. "No man can learn what he has not the preparation for learning." The why and wherefore of every pianist's tone is, to a great extent, explained by his management of the hands. And in order to know how and what to observe, and how to reason from observation, it is necessary to remember that the work done by the hands while playing on the piano, is an application of one mechanism to another. Therefore the hand itself and what is known as the "Action" of the piano, must both be separately studied before any conclusions can be arrived at, as to what may be expected of them when acting together. It will perhaps be asked, Can the uniform employment of one method be kept from developing mannerism? Will it not hamper or check the outcome of the player's own conception of a composer's work? May each player adopt it, and at the same time freely express what he himself feels about the music? As an answering counter-question, let it be asked; ought one to expect to play as well on an incorrect system of using the hands and piano as on a correct one? Is there not a law of freedom in art? Is the painter fettered in the use of his sense of colour by being obliged to learn to draw? Ought an author to feel himself cramped from having to preserve grammatical sequence in his sentences? Does correctly expressed language hinder the flow of original ideas, or prevent them from being understood? Can a speaker who has little freedom in the language in which he is speaking, make himself as forcibly descriptive as if he had a perfect command of it? Can one work well with tools of the use of which he is partially ignorant? It will from this be seen that the power to express anything lies in having under complete control the vehicle of expression, or in other words, the tools to be used. This control, however perfect it may become, will not be enough to provide the piano player with musical feeling to be expressed. Musical feeling, and its correct expression, will remain two distinctly separate and important possessions of the piano player, constant improvement of both must always be continued to avoid becoming one-sided. An intellectual understanding of mechanical principles will avail him little if he is not a musician in soul and alive to perceive sympathetically the innumerable shades of tone and varieties of tempo which go to make up a fine performance of any work. The power of being able to play in a beautiful expressive way that is immediately artistic must lie within the player, and can to only a small extent be taught; and if his own feelings do not to some degree suggest what ought to be done, no teaching will be able to supply the deficiency. But while this inner musical feeling must be the resource to be drawn upon by the piano player, the means of drawing on this resource must be provided if it is to be of any positive value to him. Of what good is a store of provisions if the access to them is cut off? The student may perhaps be highly gifted with both musical feeling, and also with a perfectly accurate way of expressing the same. But on the other hand, and much more probably, he may be one whose mechanical intuition is weak, who hears beautiful tone gladly, but is unable to discover for himself how to make his fingers produce a like tone, who has little faculty for noticing small though decisive outward signs in the playing of great artists, who is troubled with a nervous temperament which seems to do little else than cramp his playing-powers, and who is perhaps trying to persuade himself that the method on which he was taught must surely be the best one. As this work discusses the question of How to express, and not what to express, it must be kept in mind that the mechanical side of piano-playing will claim most of our attention. But as it will throughout be argued that a true style can arise only out of a true use of knowing the conditions of the mechanism employed, it will therefore be considered not outside of the question if constant reference be made to the end of all piano-playing, namely, beauty of tone, to which end it must be carried before it can express emotion and become worthy of any place as art. Other articles by this author »
About Mike Shaw
Mike Shaw is an organist and keyboard player and owns music websites http://www.mikesmusicroom.co.uk and http://www.keyboardsheetmusic.co.uk Related
And here is another random article you might be interested in... Seven Principles for BusinessDocument the definitions for your business, organization, or your role in the organization. If you can document it, you can share it. With defined and aligned goals and purpose, individuals within an organization are empowered for personal success. The following seven principles may seem simple and obvious, as they should. However, would your definitions be aligned with everyone else in your organization or your customers? 1. Value Business exists because it serves a purpose. That seems a little obvious doesn't it? The purpose is to serve customers, because your customers are the source of your revenue. It does not matter if you are manufacturing, producing, supplying, providing a service or support role. Every organization, position, job and career exists to meet the needs of it's customers or clients. Your value is the product or service that you provide to your customers. Define your value, "what you do". 2. Customers With a very clear understanding of "what you do", it should be very easy to name your customers. These are the people that you do it for, the people and organizations who have endorsed your products or services by electing to invest in them by a purchase, agreement or contract. Your current customers are your shareholders, because they have already invested in your product or services. It is very important to understand how your current customers perceive your value. Name your customers and try to recognize how they measure your value. 3. Differentiation Every business operates in a competitive landscape. All customers and organizations have a limited budget and must carefully select the goods and services that best meet their needs. Products and services may be chosen by style, quality, reliability, proximity, familiarity or relationship. Cars, restaurants, clothing, beauty salons, contractors and vendors are excellent examples of competitive landscapes. Once you truly understand your current customers and the reasons that they invested in your value, then you should be able to identify your competitive advantage. List your competitive advantages and how your customers differentiate your products or services today. 4. Strategy Understanding your current customers and product differentiation is important to maintain the current business. However, the environment and culture in which your current business exists is subject to change. It is necessary to monitor changes in the environment, competition and customer demands. Forecast anticipated opportunities and design shared strategic goals that are communicated within the organization. It is very important that existing roles and new program development are aligned with the shared strategic goals, even as the day-to-day tactical plans are modified for the current environment. Goals should support existing customers as well as the desired target customers. Define three strategic goals that support the current business and the desired future target competitive advantage. 5. Organization Business organization is based on structure. This includes the structure of the resources, manpower and materials. A structured organization relies on processes for consistent and organized performance, expediting response and improving efficiency. Modular organizations allow for flexibility and adaptability to changing environments, requests or customer needs. Create a map of the current organization and define the primary resources necessary to achieve your strategic goals. 6. Profit It is expected that the business exists with the intent to be profitable. However, many individuals within organizations do not fully appreciate the significant impact of their personal roles and decisions in relation to company profit. Speed and efficiency can impact profitability. Discounts, terms, purchases and deductions have significant impact on profitability. Time to market, time to service, number or resources and excess material goods can impact profitability. Define the individual roles, responsibilities and decision making authority in terms of profitability. Do not only focus on the impact of spending, but also on the impact of customer loyalty and generating revenue. Every action has a reaction. Calculate the positive and negative financial reaction to individual actions. 7. Control In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Maintaining measurable controls of processes, resources and programs empowers accurate and decisive decision making processes. Control requires measurement. Measurement can be based on numbers, dollars, dates, percentages or similar METRICS. Controls can not be based on feelings, perceptions or concepts. Measure, monitor and chart your controls to determine if your current value meets existing customer requirements and is aligned with strategic goals. If you can accurately correlate profit and performance with customer competitive advantage, and align the existing organization with company value, then you have designed a robust personal blueprint for success. If you can do this on paper, not just in your mind, then you can share this blueprint and empower the organization. ______________________________________________________ Words of Wisdom "The long-running successful organizations don't follow the
paths of the moment or the latest trends. Their success is rooted
in plain old solid and sustained execution of the fundamentals of
business." "Sound strategy starts with having the right goal. And I argue
that the only goal that can support a sound strategy is superior
profitability. If you don't start with that goal and seek it pretty
directly, you will quickly be led to actions that will undermine
strategy. If your goal is anything but profitability - if it's to
be big, or grow fast, or to become a technology leader - you'll hit
problems." "Individual efforts can be completely successful when diverse
courses align toward common strategic goals. However, uncommon
courses that have no correlation to shared goals result in diverse
creations that are at once celebrated for brilliant ingenuity and
then promptly ignored due to a lack of relevance." ______________________________________________________ You may distribute this article freely, print it, sell it, or include it as part of a package as long as it is intact, unchanged and delivered in the original format with acknowledgement to http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com Other articles by this author »
About John Mehrmann
John Mehrmann is a freelance author, industry expert and President of Executive Blueprints Inc, an organization dedicated to developing human capital and personal growth. Related
|
