Often in polyphonic music one needs to emphasize a voice "in the middle" (currently practicing Bach-Busoni's beautiful "Nun freut Euch lieber Christen gmein", BWV 734). This is mostly done by playing it a bit louder than the rest. For example, if my left hand plays a bass line, except for its thumb, which plays the main melody, I try to hit the keys a bit harder with the thumb than with the rest.My problem is, if I do so, my thumb also hits a bit earlier than the finger involved in the bass line -- I guess because I move it faster, so that the note sounds louder. But if I need to go down with fingers at different speed, how can I avoid this problem of not making the notes sound simultaneously? Do I need to start moving the fingers at slightly different times? If I think about it, it sounds very complicated to me. Are you doing this subconciously, or can you suggest any practice tips to play -- in one hand -- different notes simultaneously at different levels of loudness? I'd be happy about any kind of feedback!
I, too, cannot imagine that you can control these parameters consciously, and that this has to come from feeling/imagination
If I wouldn't do this (controlling the sound volume consciously) I wouldn't do it at all.It is fruitless to wait for unconsious enlightenment. Great, if it comes over you - but since then... take control!!!
In thinking so, I seem to start going down a bit earlier with the "softer" key, and a bit "later" with the one that should sound louder. In the end, they hit simultaneously.
Eureka! You got it exactly! I was just going to say the same thing, but you got it on your own. I've thought about this situation quite a lot and came to the same conclusion. In PPP, especially, the downward velocity is greatly reduced so it means that you need to start the lateral positioning and descent ahead of the beat, so that the actual strike will not be late. Visa versa with fortes.
I for instance, usnig myself as an example, can feel different amounts of weight being used, and can control them;
By vice versa, do you mean that with forte, you need to "start the lateral positioning and descent" behind the beat?Walter Ramsey
When one hand needs to play 2 different volumes at the same time like a thumb etching out somethings while the upper part plays more quietly, we should sense our entire hand being weighed down by the thumb, it is almost as if mass floods into and around and down into the thumb and around the pad in our palm. Likewise if the little finger needs to be etched out we sense added weight into the upper part of the hand, the centre of gravity shifts. When you balance a ruler on your finger then put weights on one side the centre of gravity shifts. This is exactly the same for the hand we can move this fluid centre around the hand to be able to etch out particular fingers practically effortlessly by moving our hand over the centres of gravity and letting that pull our hand to partucular notes with more force than others.Straigtening the finger you want to draw out is an excellent way as well. What it does is make us feel that the entire finger is bring drawn down with more force due to gravity towards the note, there should be very little extra effort to produce this, there is no individual finger movement to control this, simply straightening the finger and letting it drop controlled, no extra pressing from the individual finger but the entire hand which is effected by the gravity on the individual finger. The fact that the finger is straightened when it strikes but the hand wants to curl the fingers slightly because that is what the natural postiion is, increases the force behind the note as well. That slight pulling force is pulling back towards you from the pad of the finger tip when it strikes the note. It is almost as if the finger wants to curl up and take the note with it, it is almost as if the note is glued onto the finger with some sticking force.
Would you say this is a weight issue, rather then an issue of trying to control the "speed of attack" if such a thing exists, of each individual finger?