HS, slow and loudest as possible!

[Piazzo22]

I´ve seen that many books of technical excercises recommend practicing hands separate, slow, REALLY LOUD, with exagerated finger articulation.

I´m southamerican so the original texts are in spanish:

For example:

ORIGINAL:
"... se empezará a estudiar con una mano, luego con la otra..."
"... muy lentamente, con toda la fuerza posible y la completa exactitud de cada nota unida a la máxima articulación del dedo..."

ENGLISH:
"... must begin studying with one hand, then with the other"
"... very slowly, loudest as possible with complete accuracy in every note plus maximum finger articulation..."
Hans Von Bülow (Liszt´s direct disciple), from Cramer Studies.

Other language versions says de same?

Bülow himself recommends using a mute keyboard:
"... el teclado mudo, que el autor recomienda adoptar, será el mejor recurso en tales casos..."

[Legato]

I'd be interested in hearing a experienced instructor's take on this as well.

Rob

[anda]

the point being?

this method probably applies to some works (can't think right now to what), but having one method for practicing anything sounds hardly efficient...

[bernhard]

This is 18th century advice. Its purpose is to develop finger strength and independence. (Both aims impossible to achieve, since the strength cannot possibly come from the fingers - to start with there are no muscles in the fingers - and the third and fourth finger share a tendon, so independence is also impossible)

It is completely wrong.

Who knows why people keep repeating it.  

Also keep practising this way and you will end up with a nasty injury.

Go to this thread and read instead the books suggested there:

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=stud;action=display;num=1081227493


Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[Piazzo22]

Thanks Bernhard!

I thought it was for automatization purposes, not for strengthening.

I tried this method once with a 2 voice invention, and it came much much more easily when joining hands than if I was practicing much longer HS but without all that intensity. Like the hands where going by themselves without need of thinking in each hand´s movement.

It takes me much more repetitions to automatize each hand practicing normally than practicing FFF. Always really slow of course.