How to Build Technique

[reesabp]

Hi all,

I am a high school student who has just finished my Level 10 RCM syllabus.  I was wondering you could give some ideas on how I could really work on building my piano technique.  Are exercises helpful, and if so, which ones should I be doing?  Also, is practicing scales in thirds and sixths useful, and if so, any other tips on scale practice?  Lastly, what are any other suggestions that I can get to really build my technique?

Thank you all for your time.
-R

[lelle]

It depends on how you practise them. Mindlessly drilling scales without knowing how to do it properly will probably not give much result.

[ming304]

I'd say play those exercises by czerny 

[cometear]

Exercises are only good for one thing. Injury. You will get nowhere with those silly exercises except excruciating pain and trips to the doctors (who have no idea what to do). If you want to build a technique, you had best look at the body as one with the instrument. They are equal in power and "strength." If you feel you are "weaker" than the instrument, than you have the incorrect mindset. If you want to prosper, and you have time and patience, than study a system such as the Taubman Approach. Please check their website at https://golandskyinstitute.org/. I wish you good luck. Do not make the wrong decision.

[Bob]

I use a routine made of each different aspect of piano playing I could come up.  Keeps things in shape, pushes things slowly over time.  No injuries.

[brogers70]

Do you have a teacher who teaches technique? If so, any exercises the teacher likes will help a lot. I used to think Czerny was a total, tasteless waste of time, until I got a teacher who likes to teach technique via Czerny. Now I find something helpful in every bit of Czerny I do. As long as you have a teacher showing you the right motions you're not very likely to injure yourself doing exercises.

[pianoplunker]

Hi all,

I am a high school student who has just finished my Level 10 RCM syllabus.  I was wondering you could give some ideas on how I could really work on building my piano technique.  Are exercises helpful, and if so, which ones should I be doing?  Also, is practicing scales in thirds and sixths useful, and if so, any other tips on scale practice?  Lastly, what are any other suggestions that I can get to really build my technique?

Thank you all for your time.
-R

Not sure, what a level 10 RCM syllabus consists of but it probably is not a beginner level.  How would practicing scales help you with your repertoire ?  or perfomance ?  If you are a beginner trying to learn the layout of the keyboard, and music structures, then learning scales is what you need.  But if you are already playing advanced then you probably would be better to look at body/arm/hand positions and fingerings within your repertoire.   Close your eyes and practice with a metronome - that is a great excersize no matter what level.

[j_menz]

Close your eyes and practice with a metronome - that is a great excersize no matter what level.

Good exercise, and fun too. Though I find I can aim it better with my eyes open.

[cometear]

Good exercise, and fun too. Though I find I can aim it better with my eyes open.

The whole point of doing it is so you can have accuracy.

[j_menz]

The whole point of doing it is so you can have accuracy.

The whole point of doing it is so you can get it through an open window without leaving your stool.

[piano6888]

Some people that I know from the past have recommended Hanon, which I think is good for overall strengthening of all fingers, but I would say the most helpful for keeping in shape and being able to get through passages in particular pieces would be the five finger pentachord exercises (with both hands) starting at middle C (right hand) and one octave lower C (left hand).  Then you can keep transposing it to different keys, like D, E, F, G, A, B, then the minor keys (lowered 3rds) and rinse and repeat

[lateromantic]

Good exercise, and fun too. Though I find I can aim it better with my eyes open.

Yes, depending on how it is shaped, aiming it just right can be a real issue.  Also, you might as well give up any hope of attaining a true legato with it.   

[pianoplunker]

Good exercise, and fun too. Though I find I can aim it better with my eyes open.

If you are aiming with true relaxed form, then it should have a nice tight spiral as it leaves the palm of your hand. The motion should be one smooth motion . The shoulder is always supporting the arm which supports the wrist. The wrist must be supple and there must be no extra movements.  Let gravity be your friend. 

[whiteboyfunk]

Don't listen to that gibberish about exercises only producing injury. This is not true if your exercises are executed properly. I certainly second looking over some Czerny and diving deep into scale and arpeggio work. Don't forget that good music theory stuff. However - if you've done all of this already and think you're competent where you stand, I can only suggest pursuing the opinion of a respected teacher or player. Once actually observing how you play, should they be able to give you some great pointers. Good luck.

[steinway43]

Truthfully, the best builder of technique is working on difficult literature until it's second nature. 

[louispodesta]

steinway43:  I totally agree.  What has not been brought out here is that part of any solid technique is the ability to "get around" the piano at a high rate of speed.

Utilizing the Russian method of playing scales at a high metronome marking will not give you the leaps and jumps speed that actual repertoire will give you.  I force myself to memorize and partially bring up to speed at least a page of the Rach 2nd concerto every other day.

I do so because when I go back to other repertoire that I had difficulty with the problem is gone.  Once you get your brain and your fingers to play actual passages at a high rate of speed, the brain adjusts accordingly.

[thalbergmad]

Don't listen to that gibberish about exercises only producing injury. This is not true if your exercises are executed properly.

Well said. What the anti exercise brigade often seem to forget is that you can injure yourself playing Mozart if you don't do it properly.

Injury is not exclusive to exercises.

Thal

[ted]

I have different answer from most, as usual. I owe what technique I have, at sixty-five, (and it hasn't deteriorated yet, quite the contrary) to the regular use of my Virgil Practice Clavier since I was twenty-one. I have been an amateur all my life and musical time is precious. Once at the piano I want to create music, not perform exercises. It is a mystery to me why somebody has not made a cheap, modern version of this wonderful device. They are very unfashionable in piano pedagogy these days, with all sorts of nonsense said about them. Arrau was the only exception, he used one every day. However, for building technique quickly and maintaining it, I know they work because I have done it, and in the end personal experience is more important that what "experts" say.

With common sense they are not injurious. I use mine at around six or seven ounces, for ten minutes morning and night.

[ajspiano]

..I owe my technique to a large array of books, as well as a good amount of banging my head a against a wall of tough material (by that I mean using my brain more significantly than my hands)... and the on going series of light bulb moments that arise from such study.

it also provides me with what is possibly the only advantage of being largely self taught.. as a teacher I know what all the mistakes look and feel like, rather than just knowing what you should do.

[j_menz]

by that I mean using my brain more significantly than my hands

I am increasingly of the view that beyond a certain point the problems we have are ones of conception and intent rather than any lack of actual manual ability.

[ajspiano]

I am increasingly of the view that beyond a certain point the problems we have are ones of conception and intent rather than any lack of actual manual ability.

Yes this is very true..  9 times out of 10 there is no real need to physically improve for me anymore.. there's usually just some mental processing block and it takes a good degree of nutting out why I can't play something, then once the correct process is established it falls into place immediately.

This is why while the technical/physical improvement idealogy has some merit, doing it in isolation from a musical example it more like literally banging your head against a wall. Its a case of identifying and properly feeling/thinking a musical intent, at which point the physical movements fall into place..  rather than identifying a physical movement, practicing it and having the music fall into place..   assuming you do already have a reasonably functional technique.

[steinway43]

steinway43:  I totally agree.  What has not been brought out here is that part of any solid technique is the ability to "get around" the piano at a high rate of speed.

Utilizing the Russian method of playing scales at a high metronome marking will not give you the leaps and jumps speed that actual repertoire will give you.  I force myself to memorize and partially bring up to speed at least a page of the Rach 2nd concerto every other day.

I do so because when I go back to other repertoire that I had difficulty with the problem is gone.  Once you get your brain and your fingers to play actual passages at a high rate of speed, the brain adjusts accordingly.

Yes, the scales are a good place to start but that's all they are, a START. Once you get into the literature you will learn that the scales, as such, are a tiny percentage of what your fingers (and your mind, while we're at it) will have to contend with. You want to work on some technique? Learn Mozart's Sonata in D K.576, Schumann's Abegg Variations and Rachmaninoff's Etude Tableaux in E Flat Minor from Opus 33. That'll get your fingers going.

And Louis you've really hit on something that I figured out when I was young. If what you're working on seems difficult, find something far MORE difficult and work on that for a while. You'll have an easier time with the first piece afterward.

I have three more tips to pass on for technique.

One that works especially well for me is all in the mind and the key word is focus. Everyone talks about muscle memory but relying on that in the strictest sense is deadly to me if the mind isn't trained to keep track of each and every note while playing, no matter how many or how fast. I believe this is the source of failure for some people. Yes you CAN learn to do that and in my opinion you HAVE to. If my mind's not fully engaged then practice is just wasted time.

Someone said Liszt's technical exercises are supposed to be done in order because they have a neurological basis of progression. I seem to remember a professor telling me that as well. But the whole art of playing the piano could be said to be that. Think about it. You're training your brain, not just your hands, and the nerves which control your muscles, all to function together. It's like programming a system.

So, to be specific, when I put my hands on the keys, I visualize them performing the passage I'm about to play, I see it happening in my head just prior to doing it. Every time my mind is engaged this way it works very well. If I'm tired, if my mind is wandering some, or I'm just not focused enough, then the same passage can become difficult when it doesn't have to be. It takes a high level of discipline to stick to this, but you can train your mind to keep track of anything and everything if you start small and build gradually, as with anything. Do this enough with any piece, I don't care what it is, and you can have amazing control and ease of facility with it.

Another technique builder would be to work on sight reading and gradually improve that skill.

And it also helps to listen to a good, clear recording (clear meaning someone who doesn't drown the notes with pedal) while following the score and imagining yourself playing it. I understand there are studies showing this has a similar effect to actually practicing. And it's been my personal experience that, without exception, when I do this just before playing the playing is better than in those instances when I didn't listen first.

[dima_76557]

And Louis you've really hit on something that I figured out when I was young. If what you're working on seems difficult, find something far MORE difficult and work on that for a while. You'll have an easier time with the first piece afterward.

There is a risk, though, of creating more and more unnecessary tension with this approach until one is ready for the physiotherapist. First, one should SIMPLIFY (work out simple building blocks of the "difficult" passage separately up to exaggerated tempo, then the "difficult" piece as written, and only then make it more "difficult" or play something more "difficult" to let the target piece grow.

If my mind's not fully engaged then practice is just wasted time.

True. In that sense, you may want to try the single best way of engaging your mind to develop piano technique: "symmetrical inversion" as described by p2u_ here:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=49306.msg537028#msg537028

And it also helps to listen to a good, clear recording (clear meaning someone who doesn't drown the notes with pedal) while following the score and imagining yourself playing it.

True, to a certain extent, if one could slow down the recording to a manageable tempo in accordance with one's own technical development. I don't think it will help too much with Chopin's thirds etude played by Lhevinne, for example. On the contrary: listening to such feats too often may cause just more frustration.

In this respect, I'd like to mention that listening to oneself while trying to master (too) difficult pieces may cause negative aural feedback, and consequently blockage of the playing apparatus. In that sense, Ted's advice (reply #17) is probably the best you can get: practise on a silent keyboard. It's incredible how one develops one's listening skills by doing this, because instead of listening passively to some result one cannot change anyway, one is forced to listen with the inner ear, which is far more effective.
P.S.: IMHO, Ted is also easily one of the best pianists on this forum.

[ajspiano]

And it also helps to listen to a good, clear recording (clear meaning someone who doesn't drown the notes with pedal) while following the score and imagining yourself playing it.

..

I was going to say practice on a silent keyboard, though I see dima already said it now..

..

symmetric inversion certainly makes you think - assuming that paul is talking about the same thing I would term symmetric inversion (without my reading pauls post right now)

My other favourite ones these days are improvised counterpoint - and most specifically, canon. Improvised canon takes a PHENOMENAL level of concentration..  (either that or I'm just really terrible)

[j_menz]

My other favourite ones these days are improvised counterpoint - and most specifically, canon. Improvised canon takes a PHENOMENAL level of concentration..  (either that or I'm just really terrible)

Next step.... starts with F........ 

[ajspiano]

Next step.... starts with F........ 

Totally..

not at all anything like play new motif once, memorise it..  play it again in other part while harmonising it with something that is actually melodic.. memorise that harmony.. repeat..  also, consider structure of whole piece try to maintain some level of interest for the listener instead of creating meandering rubbish.

[j_menz]

Totally..

not at all anything like play new motif once, memorise it..  play it again in other part while harmonising it with something that is actually melodic.. memorise that harmony.. repeat..  also, consider structure of whole piece try to maintain some level of interest for the listener instead of creating meandering rubbish.

One theory on the origin of fugues is that they were actually an improvisational technique/aid. Once you do the theme, there is always a set of logical steps or options available to keep a piece moving along, rather than being left with blank page syndrome.

[ajspiano]

One theory on the origin of fugues is that they were actually an improvisational technique/aid. Once you do the theme, there is always a set of logical steps or options available to keep a piece moving along, rather than being left with blank page syndrome.

Seems pretty reasonable a theory - I think fugue is hard as an improv concept, but I think canon is harder. Pretty sure derek though this aswell (don't know if you followed the baroque improv thread at all?).

Fugue is a bit less constricted in that you can basically harmonise and play around with a single motif..  where as canon requires you to memorise a lot more as you go a long and keep a bit better track of past lines while coming up with future lines.

[j_menz]

Seems pretty reasonable a theory - I think fugue is hard as an improv concept, but I think canon is harder. Pretty sure derek though this aswell (don't know if you followed the baroque improv thread at all?).

Fugue is a bit less constricted in that you can basically harmonise and play around with a single motif..  where as canon requires you to memorise a lot more as you go a long and keep a bit better track of past lines while coming up with future lines.

My understanding is that a canon is basically a simplified fugue. Fewer options, agreed, but not sure there is less to memorise as you go.  Haven't tried improvising either form, so that's a purely theoretical assessment which may not bear out in practice.

[ajspiano]

My understanding is that a canon is basically a simplified fugue. Fewer options, agreed, but not sure there is less to memorise as you go.  Haven't tried improvising either form, so that's a purely theoretical assessment which may not bear out in practice.

derek talked a bit about significant differences between improvised fugue and composed fugue so far as how closely the rules are followed, so you know.. it can be kind of like a improvisation masquerading as a fugue.. 

It could of course easily just be that the area where I most lack skill is in the ability to keep track that way..   My model is invention 2. The concept of improvising that totally blows my mind. Strikes me as significantly more challenging that a fugue..

but then again, that could be because I can see a clear path of learning that would lead to achieving the fugue.. I don't see that with the canon, its too intimidating

[j_menz]

derek talked a bit about significant differences between improvised fugue and composed fugue so far as how closely the rules are followed, so you know.. it can be kind of like a improvisation masquerading as a fugue.. 

It could of course easily just be that the area where I most lack skill is in the ability to keep track that way..   My model is invention 2. The concept of improvising that totally blows my mind. Strikes me as significantly more challenging that a fugue..

but then again, that could be because I can see a clear path of learning that would lead to achieving the fugue.. I don't see that with the canon, its too intimidating

BWV 773? It seems a lot simpler than most fugues I know.

What sorts of Canon are you aiming at BTW? A canon in 2, for example, seems relatively straightforward but there are way more complex ones.

[ajspiano]

BWV 773? It seems a lot simpler than most fugues I know.

I forget the BWV numbers too easily, the C minor 2 part invention.

The thing is that there are effectively quite a number of relatively lengthy motifs that would have to be memorised on the spot.. one after another without hesitation.. and the whole set of them needs to remain in memory so that they can be recalled later for a modulation (for example).

As opposed to a fugue, which can in a simple form, be constructed of variants on a single motif. For me thats mentally less taxing at the moment, because I'm far more practiced at varying an idea immediately, than I am at memorising an idea.

For me, when I do something that is fugue like..  with every variation of the motif it gets stronger..  as opposed to in canon, where the further in I get the more clogged my brain gets and the weaker the overall performance becomes.

What sorts of Canon are you aiming at BTW? A canon in 2, for example, seems relatively straightforward but there are way more complex ones.

I'll stick with 2 parts till i'm competent.