Touch And Sense Of Colour

[zhiliang]

Dear all,

One has always hear comments like the importance of colours and touch in one's playing, or comments about orchestral colours. I believe this sound production is certainly a big part of technique too.

But there is basically few instructions on how to achieve for example a change in colour and i believe many of us do need some "practical" instructions on how to achieve that rather than the common "there is a need for a change of colour for this passage" or "this should sing".

Many of you who have attended masterclasses, or from your private teachers, or even those who have spent hours striving to get the "perfect" sound for that "particular moment", hope that you can shed some light on this topic or share some of the important teachings on this topic of touch, colours and sound production.

I have read the book "Notes From The Pianist's Bench" by Boris Berman and felt that the first chapter on "Sound And Touch" is really useful to me....

[xvimbi]

Some info on how tone quality (color) can be modulated can be found in these threads:

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=inst;action=display;num=1087847160;start=0

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=stud;action=display;num=1092862307;start=0

[zhiliang]

Thanks for those 2 links.... Its a good start....

The second link, which i have read, the "brushing" touch, does it refers to a circular movement downwards into the keyboard? Just like how Boris Berman describled as " a follow through into the keyboard so much so that it does not become a direct downwards movement into the keybed, and in some ways like 'grabbing' the sound from the keyboard and bringing it out?

I have experimented with this caressing or brushing touch and it has helped in producing a different sense of colour and there are so many different combinations and variations of this "out" movement.

Is the process of  playing certain passages with the hands unusually high and the fingers striking down from a higher position another way of producing yet another kind of sound?

[zhiliang]

Hmmm... does anyone know about orchestral colours? Besides having in one's mind how the sound should sound like, what would you think of if you want to produce the timbre of say the cello? How would your finger strokes be like?

And to go a step further, how about the pedalling and the connecting of notes? Any thoughts?

[Rob47]

Whenever I try to represent orchestral colour I just hear what I'm playing as say a cello having the melody (like the opening of Liszt's Valle D'Obermann, ) and play with a legato connected sound, as if my fingers are the bowing of a cello.....I'd say the way you articulate certain passages can convey specific orchestral sounds as long as it is controlled.

I'm reading that and I'm not sure how much sense that makes...but here's another idea.  Earlier today I was listneing to the Overture to William Tell, and reading a long with the Liszt piano transcription (it is EXACT).  Maybe get a copy of the score and read along while listening to the orchestra play it.  Try certain sections out...the slow opening is an alright sight read, and because you have just listened to it you know exactly which instruments are represented in the writing.  There's a trickier part a little later on that's really impressive in its orchestral representation where the english horn is playing the melody with i think, some sort of bass instruments playing chords underneat, and a nice little flute passage on top of this.  Practice maybe just a section of it.  And work on imitating each as the instrument it represents.  

Try to hear it in your head, and maybe it will come across in the playing?  hope this helps/


your friend

Rob

[zhiliang]

Thank you, that sounds like a very good way to start... So much of it has got to do with your imagination of the sounds the various instruments produce and by alternating touch to change.

I believe its also good to be consistent in the articulation and touch for maybe say one voice and keep it constant until another voice comes in.