A reply to the "technique" thread

[l. ron hubbard]

I know that I am not supposed to just start a new topic, but I think this one will ease the stagnation of that one.

Machines do NOT have the greatest technique. They simply cannot have any technique whatsoever. Sure they may play the fastest, but what is speed without the rest of music?

The ultimate goal of technique is to bring about new results, and a machine just simply doesn't have the capacity to do so. Sure, speed has its allure, but what good is music that goes too fast?

L. Ron

[pianowolfi]

I know that I am not supposed to just start a new topic, but I think this one will ease the stagnation of that one.

Machines do NOT have the greatest technique. They simply cannot have any technique whatsoever. Sure they may play the fastest, but what is speed without the rest of music?

The ultimate goal of technique is to bring about new results, and a machine just simply doesn't have the capacity to do so. Sure, speed has its allure, but what good is music that goes too fast?

L. Ron

Dear L. Ron Hubbard

could you please elaborate a bit more on the difference between the technique of an Operating Piano Thetan and the common concept of piano technique?

Sincerely

Piano S. Wolfi

[l. ron hubbard]

Dear L. Ron Hubbard

could you please elaborate a bit more on the difference between the technique of an Operating Piano Thetan and the common concept of piano technique?

Sincerely

Piano S. Wolfi

I like your sense of humour Pianowolfi! However, lets not stay off topic if all of us should ever become CLEAR.

[Petter]

Is that you Java?

[l. ron hubbard]

Is that you Java?

I am sorry I do not know who you are referring to.

[pianowolfi]

I like your sense of humour Pianowolfi! However, lets not stay off topic if all of us should ever become CLEAR.

Perish the thought! The state of Piano Clear has always been my guideline since I joined The Worldwide Operating Piano Thetan Society (WOPTS).

However, a short time ago I had a short encounter with an Operating Piano Thetan. Unfortunately there was not enough time to discuss every aspect of this really revolutionary concept of Operating Piano Technique. So I would of course be more than grateful to learn more about this really interesting new concept.  

Sincerely

Piano S. Wolfi

[l. ron hubbard]

Perish the thought! The state of Piano Clear has always been my guideline since I joined The Worldwide Operating Piano Thetan Society (WOPTS).

However, a short time ago I had a short encounter with an Operating Piano Thetan. Unfortunately there was not enough time to discuss every aspect of this really revolutionary concept of Operating Piano Technique. So I would of course be more than grateful to learn more about this really interesting new concept.  

Sincerely

Piano S. Wolfi

The website shown in my signature should direct you to the material available. In the interest of topic, we clearly have to suppress this discussion. Lets instead talk of piano technique.

L. Ron

[pianowolfi]

The website shown in my signature should direct you to the material available. In the interest of topic, we clearly have to suppress this discussion. Lets instead talk of piano technique.

L. Ron

Lol. there was no more "y"

Isn't that the goal? To have no more why? 

[m]

Lets instead talk of piano technique.

Yeah, what about it?

Best, M

[goldentone]

Piano S. Wolfi, may I have your autograph?

[l. ron hubbard]

Yeah, what about it?

Best, M

I just have a comment about the fallacious statements presented in the other thread dealing with machines. Machines are simply tools that are only capable of certain functions. As of now, they do not come close to attaining anything that constitutes real piano playing. Speed and accuracy aren't the only factors determining technique.

[drpiano]

I don't follow these technique threads too carefully, but sometimes find some amusement in them. It seems to me that so much of the debate is a result of differing definitions of 'technique.' I for one include all of the physical aspects of piano playing in my definition of technique- speed and accuracy are encompassed in it of course, but so too are many, many other things. If everyone else in the world agreed that piano technique should really only be in reference to speed and accuracy, would that change anything for me? I would just say that my definition of good piano playing included all of the physical aspects, which encompasses 'technique' but also many, many other things.....
For me, the particular words used are immaterial, but I would be interested to know if others find more importance in the specific terms. Is there an advantage or disadvantage to technique meaning more than just speed and accuracy?

[richard black]

Speed and accuracy aren't the only factors determining technique.

Absolutely agree with that. For instance, what is the technical background to a 'big sound'? We all would like to have one, but how is it achieved? And how might one measure it?

[omar_roy]

I didn't see this thread, so i'll just quote my response.

Technique in the simplest sense, as per my hybrid definition garnered by reading the works of Josef Hoffman and Charles Rosen, is the ability to negotiate passages of music precisely and with absolute control.  I would also like to add, that as Charles Rosen aptly states (I am not quoting, but relating from memory a generalization of the text), the way we strike the keys has no impact on the quality of sound.  We like to think that a certain motion of the arms or swinging of the elbows produces a different sound, but it simply does not.  A piano key is a button.  You push it at a certain velocity, and hold it for a certain length, and the sound that emanates from the machine (because the piano is really a mechanical object aside from being an instrument) is relative to that velocity and length.  Whether you smack the key with a hammer or with your finger, if the velocity is the same, the sound will be the same.  You push a button, something happens.  It doesn't matter whether the button is pushed with your finger, a stick, or a mallet.  The impact on sound by pressing the keys differently is garnered by a visual interpretation of what the sound would be like if it really did have an impact on tone quality.  If you see the pianist really sink into the keys, you can see that he wants a heavy sound, and that is what makes it sound heavy.  The visual perception, not any real difference in sound.

Therefore technique is not the playing of music but the facilitation of a passage and must be considered an independent factor.  In this sense, can a human be more efficient than a machine?  No, a human does not possess the same level of precision that a programmed machine does.  Speed and clarity are not the only factors, but volume, and note length as well, and even tempo.  In this, a human will never be able to match a programmed machine.  Thus, as proposed by the topic's author, a PROGRAMMED machine does possess the superior technique, independent of art.

Think you can keep perfect tempo with evenness of tone and length? Think again.  You may think you can, but your ear does not catch everything.  Go hook up a quality Midi Keyboard to a computer, and start up GarageBand or a similar MIDI editing program, and play a scale or arpeggio, anything you please.  Then look at the MIDI sequence.  You'll be surprised.  Pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised, however, is the question.

However, we cannot lose sight of the purpose of building a formidable piano technique.  Yes, it is nice to be able to play clean, fast, even scales and arpeggios, etc.  But aside from that and being able to play very difficult music, is not the purpose of developing that technique to make it easier for us to convey our musical ideas?  Many people could do great justice to monumental piano works yet they simply do not have the physical capability to do so.  Their emotions and their intellect run beyond the capabilities of their hands.

Having that perfect technique, that precise digital control, is more about making it easier to convey our musical thoughts than it is to be able to play things at "x" speed.

Yes, technique and artful playing are independent in theory, but in practice, they are very much intertwined as technique can limit or aid in the latter.