Consistent, even, quiet playing while staying relaxed

[mosis]

One of the main points Chang stresses in his book is that you should practice any technical part of a piece relaxed and as quiet as possible. He says that you should be playing so quiet to the point that you're missing notes.

 "When you can play at any speed for however long and quietly, you know you have mastered the passage."

I am unsuccessful when trying to accomplish this. How do you play passages fast and quietly? How do you play wide arpeggios (like the accompaniments to Chopin's nocturnes) quietly and evenly? How do you play a running-sixteenths in Bach's music quietly and free of tension? (My hand tenses up more in Bach's Prelude no 2 from WTCII more than in Rachmaninoff's C# minor prelude!)

I am not so bad with chords, provided they're not too fast, but single notes and passage, or being selective with the dynamics of certain notes (Pathetique second movement, Rach prelude agitato section, et cetera) poses a great problem for me.

I can't play quietly!

[gkatele]

Very interesting comment about not relaxing in the WTC prelude in c-minor. As a returning adult (30 years without playing) I'm bringing back some of my older pieces, and the Rach C# minor is one of those items. I used to tense up like crazy playing that.

Now that I'm learning again, we've gone to the WTC prelude you mentioned. I found that the first sign of my tension was a tightness in my left leg and calf. Then my back would tighten, and then my arms/forearms. If I CONCENTRATED on relaxing my leg, everything else would loosen up as well.

All of a sudden, running scales, triplets, and that devilish last 1/4 of the WTC prelude would start to come.

So, not being a teacher, but a learner...let me offer what works for me. Think about what's getting tight (other than your hands/arms), concentrate on loosening it up. I think the rest may come!


Good luck


George

[richard w]

I can't play quietly!

Rubbish! Play it more slowly - one note a second if you have to. Can you play quietly now? Gradually increase the speed but avoid getting louder. You are not going to learn this control in one practise session, but persist and in time you will be rewarded.

One of the main points Chang stresses in his book is that you should practice any technical part of a piece relaxed and as quiet as possible. He says that you should be playing so quiet to the point that you're missing notes.

"When you can play at any speed for however long and quietly, you know you have mastered the passage."

I am unsuccessful when trying to accomplish this. How do you play passages fast and quietly? How do you play wide arpeggios (like the accompaniments to Chopin's nocturnes) quietly and evenly? How do you play a running-sixteenths in Bach's music quietly and free of tension? (My hand tenses up more in Bach's Prelude no 2 from WTCII more than in Rachmaninoff's C# minor prelude!)

Chang also stresses a number of other things, like practising first in small segments, and incorporating slow practise into your work exactly to achieve relaxation. Make sure you are doing these as well. Regarding Bach, check that your thumb is doing what it is supposed to. If you are trying to connect with Thumb Under at speed you will never achieve your goal. Read what Chang says on Thumb Over (if you haven't already). Also, look at your finger shape. Make sure your fingers are not too curved as this will add to your tension. Relax your hand completely and inspect the shape of your fingers. Try to play using this shape. Often if you speed up there is a tendency to curl the fingers up - avoid doing this. Keep the last joint of your fingers (nearest the nail) loose.  If you can't play without tension then take the music slower, and use higher speeds to 'explore' what you can achieve, preferably in small segments at first.


Richard.

[mosis]

Thank you both. The thumb wasn't causing any stress at all, but I have become aware of my tension and the reasons for my inability to play quietly, and it's helped already! I'm accustomed to "holding up my hands" and letting the fingers go "from the top," and I tried just "resting" my hand on the keyboard and playing with as little movement as possible, and I had no trouble getting the same speed, but it was soft and I wasn't incredibly tense.

Thanks much!