Improving Tonality, Musicality and Touch, how?

[takanari]

I'm currently playing Prelude and Fugue 15, Bach from WTC II and Schubert Drei Klavier Stucke no. 2.

For Prelude and Fugue...

I can't get used to making a light sound but pressing full note at the same time, I tend to make it sounds too loud.  Also how do you know when to make it sound quiet or louder?

Then for Schubert...my relative told me that my tone sound too hard, I should make a softer sound by pressing the full note. 

He also comments that I should play it more slur (I'm confused about playing slur, my teacher said that I should use the pedal to connect the sound while my relative tell me that I should use the slur to connect the sound.) 

There's another thing...my teacher told me not to use any slur in Prelude 15 WTC II but my relative says that it's alright to use slur...in it since he pass the ALCM with this Prelude and Fugue.

My teacher major in piano performance and she is a grade 8 of Trinity but my relaltive is Diploma ALCM but he isn't major in music.  So I don't know which one to trust.

Could someone give me some advice?

[soitainly]

 There is no easy anwer for this as musicality can take years of experience to develop. It's not that you can't be more musical by a concentrating on sounding better, it's that there are just so many possibilties to explore. I think the most important thing is to listen to LOTS of music. Listen to many different artists playing all different styles and instruments. At some point you will learn what you like your playing to sound like. You can listen to people for advice on what to sound like but as you have already found out, your teacher says one thing and your relative another, they each have their own taste and one isn't necessarly "right". By listening to more music and learning the opinions of respected teachers and listeners, then you will have a better musical vocabulary and will be able to make more informed choices.

 In your practice, learn how to play loud and soft, legato and staccato, all in varying degrees. There are infinite variations on this. That is one of the challenges of learning an instrument, it's not just playing the right notes at the right time. It's good that you are at least asking the question on tone, at some point, you will be thinking about it in every single line you play, I think it is the most important thing in music. As you mature as a musician, you will start to be able to make choices as to what sounds good in a certain phrase, that means you will start to develop your own personality. All that being said, different periods of music sometimes have established performance practices that can be a guide, your teacher should be able to help you here. Still, in the end, you are over your lifetime going to continually grow in your musical knowledge. What sounds good to you now may change significantly in ten years.

[omar_roy]

I can't get used to making a light sound but pressing full note at the same time, I tend to make it sounds too loud.

Lots of practice.  Lots of listening.

Producing a good pianissimo that actually has body to it is very, very, difficult.  The speed, weight, and consistency of your attack all influence your sound.  Don't change the speed of your attack as your finger presses down the key.  Maintain a smooth and constant pressure as the key goes down.  This requires great sensitivity, but if you work hard at it, you will achieve some very beautiful pianissimos when needed.

[invictious]

It also depends on the piano. Due to the differences in the way the action works, a grand piano has actually a greater range of dynamics compared to an upright. Thus, you can have quite a nice pp on a grand relatively easily, but it is much more difficult to have a nice pp on an upright without losing body.

[takanari]

Thank you!  I'm so grateful...I'll try as all of you say. 

Thanks for advice! 

(By the way, I use Weinbach Upright, while my relative use Petrof Upright.)

[becky8898]

Hi takani. Tough what your talking about, but heres what I have found. Nothing is a better teacher than listening to yourself on a really good good recording.  Im not talking about some crummy normal at home kind of recording setup.  I have shed more tears after listening to myself play like that, buy I have also made wonderful  progress because of it.  Best of luck .

Cheers, Becky

[mcdiddy1]

You should probably listen to your teacher, since that is what you pay your teacher for!

For tone- practice using dead arm weight, keeping the muscles in your arm and hand relaxed and support with the bones of your finger. The more you think of tone, the more you have to be aware of the bigger limbs of your body are doing because your upper body needs to support what ever tone you are trying to produce

musicality- you can improve that by listening to different interpretation and making decisions of what you like and do not like and applying that to your playing. Like the other said, nothing is better than learning to listen to yourself and compare how you really sound like to what you sound like in your head. Also become more aware of how you group notes and thinking about melodic direction. Play the harmony and use it as your guide towards where you release phrases, apply soft cadences, or increase tension

With the Bach you are playing, if slurs are indicated I do not see a problem with using them. They are pretty common in Baroque music, although maybe your teacher has inside knowledge on why you should not use slurs. You should ask for clarification. You have the right to know so then you can make your own decision the next time you see a piece like that whether to use that or not.