As Marik said in one of his posts "There are three main aspects of piano playing (including ability to play “fast”).
1) Music image.
2) Mental and physical reaction.
3) Physical comfort and relaxation."
I am trying to analyse the physical aspect of this matter.
Movements in piano practicing differ, sometimes considerably, from those in piano playing. In the first case we have to consider not only artistic purpose but physiological points as well.
My point here is to try to find the basic or elementary motions that a piano student should learn from the beginning.
The Mechanics of Piano Technique should tell us what kind of motions are applied to the following aspects of piano playing:
1- The beginning and ending of passages.
2- The production of isolated tones.
3- Legato arpeggio passages.
4- Scales and other legato single-note passages.
5- Staccato passages of single notes.
6- Staccato and legato chords.
7- Staccato and legato double notes.
8- Staccato and legato octaves.
I'll be happy if some of you comment on this matter in accordance with their piano experience or their piano schooling.
I will try and provide you with my viewpoint and hope I don't damag myself too much in the process.
Before that, though, I don't understand your statement, "Movements in piano practicing differ, sometimes considerably, from those in piano playing." I have personally found that in practice I am searching for the most economical way of doing everything, including movement, so that the movements i do practice - and I rarely isolate them - are exactly as they would be in performance. perhaps I misunderstand you!
In general, about your list I have reservations, because they seem so case-dependant. for instance, can anyone really say, this is the motion that you make when you end a passage? It rather depends on what follows the end, in my perception. But I recognize that you are searching for an economy of gesture here, but I think one can be rather more general in their economies.
Just a few thigns from the list:
2, 4, 5 - Seem more like issues of touch than issues of movement. The player has to have a good kinaesthetic grasp of piano action, and manipulate it to create different sounds, but this is done largely through the actual contact of finger and key than any particular motion.
3 - The motion that has to be understood here is the natural mvement of the elbow: clockwise or counterclockwise. Nothing else is needed, besides a good sense of touch, to play beautiful legato arpeggios in both hands.
6 - Perhaps here someone can teach different ways of playing chordal passages, as in, from the wrist, from the shoulder. Thinking of all those Liszt passages with consecutive thirds with 4-2 fingering, this is definitely played from the wrist, but other slower passages are more appropriate from the elbow or whatever.
7 - Personally, I spent ages trying to find the right "movement" to secure passages of double thirds or sixths. I finally came to the conclusion that there was no one movement possible that would allow me to play these passages universally. It is more about suppleness of hand, so that the appropriate fingers can move at the appropriate time, and freedom of the arm. I have often found that if the elbow is left to its natural movements, many things that are a problem before are instantly solved. There is sometimes a tendency to point the elbow inwards, which is devastating, or to play with an inactive elbow, which is at best not helpful. It has to have a full range of movement.
8 - Cortot suggested practicing staccato octaves by playing each one twice in a rapid 32nd-note figure, like an aftershock.
I hope this is informative for you!
Walter Ramsey
Topic: Basic Motions in Piano Playing