Listening to recordings, is it considered cheating??

[kghayesh]

When i am learning new pieces or even polishing some, should i listen to different recordings of them or this is like cheating?? Deep inside i think if i listened to recordings, i'd be like not having my own interpretation and immitating what the performer did in the recording.

Even, sometimes when i don't know how to play some passage, i keep trying and trying and then when i still can't figure it out, i take a hint from a recording of one of the giants (ashkenazy, gould, rubinstein....).

Is it right or it is indeed cheating ??

[jamie_liszt]

Hi

 I recently entered a piano competition, the adjudicator always said to everyone, listen to recordings, people said they do listen to recordings of horowitz, gould, lang lang, richter, and he just replied with "listen to more" get an idea of how its meant to sound.

 I think its good to listen to recordings of professionals playing, it gives you an idea of how it sounds, of course if you listen to a recording you dont copy them, you have to find your own interpretation, i played Heroic polonaise in the competition and i noticed, everyone that plays it has a different interpretation and speed, it took me along time to find my own!

So i think listening to recordings can't do any harm and is not cheating! listening to recordings often helps me get ideas of my own and helps me find me own way in playing the piece!

Good Luck

[abell88]

As someone has pointed out elsewhere, even if you tried to copy your favourite artist's interpretation, you probably wouldn't succeed (assuming your not at international concert artist status yourself.) It's good to listen to different pianists and try to figure out not only what they do that you like, but also why you don't like other things they do.

[cherub_rocker1979]

This is not cheating, Jazz musicians do this all the time, including myself.

[quantum]

I'd say that listening to recordings, especially different performers - both well known and unknown - is an important part of learning pieces.  Notice the interpretive decisions each performer makes and make note of moments in the music you like and dislike.  Such experiences in listening will help you develop you musicality better. 

There are also some things in music that just can't be taught from a book.  You have to listen to them to understand them. 

[celticqt]

Go ahead and listen.  My teacher hates it when I do, but I listen anyways and just don't tell him. 

Just because we listen doesn't mean that we are going to play exactly like the CD (which, as someone has already pointed out, is usually impossible), and it also gives us ideas on what to do and what not to do.  Schiff plays the scherzo I'm working on right now (or should be working on instead of goofing at the computer) really slowly, and it sounds awful (I think), so I play it faster.  Other performers may affect your interpretation, but we are the sum of all our parts and will never sound exactly like anyone else.

On a slightly related tangent . . . at uni there was another piano major in my class, she was a larger girl and she could get sooo much sound out of the piano.  I used to complain to my teacher -- why couldn't I do that?  He said if I wanted to sound like that I should gain 50 pounds.  I decided to keep my own smaller sound.   

[aryantes]

I learn by listening to recordings, not so much for the interpretation but I found it helps a lot with rhythm and really learning the notes.

If I listen to a piece over and over it gets stuck in my head and when I go to play it, it comes out more effortlessly and I have to think less about the timing.

Someone with more experience could relate the effortlessness to more room for dynamics and interpretation.

I think its really impossible to ignore everybody else's interpretations when you are playing. People play how they like it to sound and its not uncommon to like the same thing as someone else.

Even then, I don't know if it that would really be a good thing. The composer put passion into their pieces and there are some things that are meant to be or at least there is intent going in one direction I guess.

I think that listening is a good idea.

[g_s_223]

Nothing wrong with it, as long as you don't get "imprinted" with a single interpretation. Some pianists have made quite eccentric interpretations of pieces, e.g. Glenn Gould, and you wouldn't want to get stuck with thinking theirs was a good model. If you listen critically to several interpretations, then work on your own, you'll do OK.

[kelly_kelly]

I learn pieces significantly faster if I've listened to them, so I do. I try to make my interpretation unique, but I don't think it's cheating to do things that you liked.

[princessdecadence]

I always have to listen to recordings of the pieces I'm learning - mostly because of curiosity.  Although it's hard to separate a "unique interpretation" and not playing the piece as the composer meant it to sound (not the correct way)