Playing piano/forte

[alecbart]

Hi i just had a general question- when im learning repertoire i can really hammer it in when i disregard dynamics. Unfortanuately this tends to lead my pieces to be all forte. Im constantly trying to play piano- but in my effort to do so i lose the confidence in my fingers to execute the right notes. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is there any advice anyone might have on this issue?
Thanks
-Alec

[neardn]

Practice slowly in pianissimo.  It not only forces you to focus on tone, but also the piece. It might be that your fingers are not used to playing certain passages as well as they should be. It doesn't have anything to do with confidence.

Just don't get into the habit of always trying to play softly, it will ruin everything.

[jgallag]

Yes, I've had that problem. Unfortunately, pulling back in all cases doesn't quite work, at least for me. The big problem I see with this is the error is with how you play the piano (duh!), or, to be more specific, technique. What you need to do is look at technique, the specific movements you are using to play the piano. I'd bet, if all your stuff is coming out forte, you also have tension problems and you probably push into the keys (I may be wrong, that was the case with me, though). Remember this: Volume depends on key speed, not how much effort you put into it. So, the key goes down slowly, we get a soft tone, the key goes down fast, we get a loud tone. I would say to use less direct motions, for example pulling motions, that slide your finger along the key and allow you to control a slower descent into the key (I don't recommend this motion in all place, just slow-medium speed playing where the dynamic is soft. Don't use for forte.).

[richard black]

What's the point of playing everything loud? I can see the point of sometimes doing very quiet practice - it makes it easier on the neighbours for a start - but all loud isn't going to get anyone anywhere. You'll be far better off if you practice everything from the very first read-through as a proper piece of music.

[jgallag]

What's the point of playing everything loud? I can see the point of sometimes doing very quiet practice - it makes it easier on the neighbours for a start - but all loud isn't going to get anyone anywhere. You'll be far better off if you practice everything from the very first read-through as a proper piece of music.

First of all, if you're not going to make a contribution, please don't post. As for your question, playing louder encourages hand memory, as the increased pressure that many students who play "loud" put on the keys gives more physical stimulus to the memory. When he lightens up his playing, he loses that physical stimulus that he has relied on before and his brain's primary form of memory is lost. So, the feedback system then encourages this, as when the pianist begins to play pianissimo memory is suddenly lost. This also helps further bad technique, as I'm sure you can understand. So the solution would be twofold, as far as I can see: (1) expand the technical palette to include motions that provide soft dynamics with control, and (2) work to reinforce hand memory with other types of memory, such as keyboard (a visual memory of what the piano looks like and how the hands look when they play), visual (this I use to refer to a memory of what the score looks like), and auditory. Some like a theoretical memory, too, but I find this only helps when making performance decisions, not actually memorizing the piece.

In the end though, hand memory is likely the first memory that is formed and the most basic memory. It's a memory of the physical actions, what it feels like to play the piano. The harder you press, the more stimulus you get, the better your hand memory. The trick is to progress beyond it. However, hand memory can save you in a bind. In a performance, when you start to lose your place, it is more reliable to speed up and increase the volume then to pull back dynamics and tempo. Doing the latter encourages flubs while doing the former encourages the subconscious memory to take over.