Singing while you play to add feeling

[jonesmclean]

I’m 70 years old and have been taking lessons and playing piano for five years. I tend to play a little stiffly, robotically, without a lot of emotion. I have difficulty translating the emotions or feelings of lyrics, or of the composer, to my piano playing.  How does one do that?  I was told by one person to sing the song while I’m playing it and that that would help.  I’ve tried and, honestly, lyrics usually just distract me from the music ( I have ADHD)!  I understand the need to use dynamics and articulation, but is there something more? And how does one develop that ability  to play with emotion?  I’m trying to understand how to play my piano with more than just what is written on the pages of the sheet music. Help?

[lostinidlewonder]

What about attaching a strong personal experience or emotion that fits with the music and recall that memory while playing, treating your playing as if it pays homage to that memory.

Singing a phrase of music is a great way to express what you think it should sound like more freely. On the piano you might not exactly produce what you want as easily so singing helps you align to that ideal sound. Also if you don't have a strong concept of the sound singing it might feel not as useful.

[lostinidlewonder]

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[brogers70]

Singing can be extremely helpful, and you do not have to sing while you are playing. So if you have a melodic phrase you are going to play, trying first singing the phrase, without the words if they distract you. Try to sing the phrase with as much shaping and feeling as you can. Then when you play the phrase on the piano, don't sing, but try to make the piano reproduce your singing sound as much as possible - whatever shaping, little crescendos or decrescendos, or rubato you put in the phrase while singing it, try to match while you play.  The piano can be a pretty clunky and mechanical instrument and you have to make a conscious effort to make it sound musical, as though it were singing.

[jonesmclean]

Thanks very much to lostinidlewonder and brogers70 for your responses.  I can see how thinking of an experience of my own can help me call up an emotion associated with that experience.  The real challenge, as I see it, is translating that emotion into my fingers, into my playing.  Brogers70 suggestion to "try to make the piano reproduce your singing sound as much as possible - whatever shaping, little crescendos or decrescendos, or rubato you put in the phrase while singing it, try to match while you play" ... that use of dynamics to match the desired feelings or emotions to my playing is a useful suggestion.

Last evening I listened to a song I'm learning, paid close attention to the lyrics and wrote out every emotion that seemed to me to be intended by the lyrics. I felt like Meg Ryan in the movie French Kiss where she says, "Happy, smile. Sad, frown. Use the corresponding face with the corresponding emotion." But I'm still not sure I can find the corresponding piano keystrokes with the corresponding emotion.

I may simply lack the skills and / or imagination at this point in my training to do that without it being written into the sheet music for me. My teacher wants me to "go beyond what's written on the page". That intangible is evading me.

[quantum]

Conveying emotion in music is not really about feeling or internalizing emotion as a performer.  It is more about communicating an idea through music, which in turn evokes emotion from the listener.  Emotion does not come from the musician, the music, or the physical technique used to implement the music, but rather is evoked from within the person experiencing the music. 

Singing can help in expressing musical ideas, such as conveying phrase and breath. 

Instead of thinking about how you play, think about what you want to say when you play.  What is your message?  What do you want to tell the listener?  Now use music, not words, to express that idea. 

[sandaun]

I bought a book a while ago on this subject, "Casals and the Art of Interpretation". It might be of use. And while I've yet to read the Piano book in the series, I've always found Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides series to be useful in getting a different perspective - the Piano one is by Louis Kentner.

[vandoren]

Try copying first. Find a recording of one of your pieces on youtube that connects with you, i.e., has a strong sense of feeling. Then try to play it just like the performer does. Go back and forth between the recording and your playing repeatedly, in small sections, and try to grab every detail from the performance. The goal is to be able to communicate the same sense of feeling in your performance that your model performer does in theirs.

In general, listen to music that has the feel you are looking for, so that you will have something clear to aim for.

[essence]

I wouldn't focus too much on 'emotion'. Music is often a very technical thing. The issue is phrasing (i.e. breathing), watching the phrase marks and being specific on melodic gaps, think of subtle tempo changes, think of dynamic changes.

Sing the melody and see what you voice is doing. Take, for example, an actual song. Faure Claire de Lune. Sing the opening wonderful piano introduction, see how your voice rises and falls, see where you take breaths. See how you sing the semiquavers, they are not metronomic. See how you physically move your body during the phrases.

Then try to do the same on the piano. You will struggle, but at least you know what you want.

Music is often simply about learning to listen.

Gerald Moore is great. Listen very carefully to every little nuance he makes.

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This one is very different, but similarly you can analyse.

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Compare with this, a good amateur. Balance between hands is dodgy, it isn't always smooth, none on the subtle changes by note. Rushes around 24 secs. Remember the topic of the poem. Languid.

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When you can analyse and understand why Moore is so great, you are on a good road.

I picked this not because it is a song, but because the piano melody could be sung.

[essence]

Gerald Moore's comments at 11:00 onwards are absolutely relevant here

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