Dynamics

[starstruck5]

So how do you actually practice dynamics?  It is I suppose possible to create a scale of dynamics -from ultra soft (ppp) to ultra loud -(ffff) and practice different combinations in scales and arpeggios???

Obviously a forte in Bach is never going to be the same as a forte in Rachmanioff -and also Barenboim mentions this quite a lot in his masterclasses - it is actually the relative distance between our softest softs and our loudest louds which is perceived by the listener and such an important element -even more important perhaps than playing the notes flawlessly -

I have been experimenting with a kind of three dimensional idea - in which I think of a piano tone as being very far away -or so loud it fills the whole universe and it is inside of you -and in fact the physical effort needed to play really loudly must be the opposite of playing so softly it is like a distant mountain -floating in mist -you can connect with it only through the merest whisper of being -and it is has gone so quickly -yet there still has to a real connection between the fingers and the keyboard or my note doesn't sound at all!  I think it has to to with speed of depression -but it is early days for me thinking about this technique -

My question though mainly -though is how do you make a piano tone have colour -dark or light -is there a book or article somewhere on this?

[iansinclair]

This one should generate some comment!  But keep in mind that what I say comes from a different perspective: all of my training is with music history and classical organ; I've come to piano late, because I love it.

That said, first Bach and other baroque/renaissance music.  With rather rare exceptions, this keyboard music was written for either harpsichord or organ; very little was written with the intention of being played on the clavichord (the only keyboard instrument they had which was capable of graded dynamics) (note that transcriptions of instrumental or choral music are another beast entirely).  A few of the organs of Bach's day could do graded dynamics, but very few.  Thus for this music, to be authentic, you must think in terms of stepped dynamics -- no gradual crescendos or decrescendos etc. -- if you are looking for "authentic" sound.   

Having said that, it is also necessary -- for any piano music -- that only control you have over the loudness of an individual note (leaving aside problems with the instrument for the moment) is how hard the hammer hits the strings.  Period.  I think it is very necessary for each of us to have a really usable working way to "visualise" the music we play, such as your image of far away -- but it is also necessary to realise that that image has to translate into a physical thing: with what force the hammer hits the string.

So... to practice dynamics, what one needs to do is to practice varying and controlling that force.  You can do this with scales; you can do it with arpeggios; you can do it with repetition on one note (and drive yourself batty); you can do it with any exercise you want; you can quite effectively do it with Bach.  What you are looking for is to get yourself to the point that every finger on both hands can produce exactly the same loudness, with the hand anywhere on the keyboard, and that you can control that loudness without thinking "harder, softer" anywhere within the range of your instrument.

Then... you can begin to apply your soul or whatever to the music, because you aren't thinking "I need to make this harder or softer, or louder or quieter" but instead you are thinking "I need to bring out this line, or subdue that line" and you will become a musician rather than a technician.

I mention instrument up there.  It is very important to not become frustrated with your instrument; you gotta run what you brung, as they say in the southern USA.  You will never get the dynamic range on a cheap spinet that you will on a Steinway model A or D.  You just can't do it.  You just have to work within the limits of what you have.  However if your instrument is uneven within itself -- some notes are much louder than others, when struck with the same force -- it's worth having your piano tuner/technician see what can be done to even it out.