Bob ponders literature vs. technique (again)

[Bob]

A technical routine can develop your physical skills and can pack a lot into a little amount of time.  You can cover "complete" piano technique by whatever you consider "complete."

However, it's not literature and don't actually practice real music.

The technical routine can keep developing your technique without an enormous amount of effort though.  You can put things on autopilotic, like jogging, and you will get results.  Consistent practicing over time pays off big.

It would seem a balance of literature with technique is necessary.  If you play a piece that will push a few areas of technique, then you could do a few technical exercises to make up for the techiques that is not in that piece.  For example, you play a lyrical piece that contains no octaves.  You balance it by doing some octave exercises.

This approach is viewing everything in terms of technique though.  But your technical abilities will not grow unless you're using them.

[pianonut]

compares bob's technique with her own.  thinks bob's is better.  starts practicing octaves frantically to make up for lost practice time.  begins to daydream about snail thread while practicing octaves.  thinks about the snail race, and how sometimes the tortoise wins over the hare.  i mean, what if, what if... what if a person developed past another person by simply putting in three 24 hour practice days.  deftly alternating technique, repertoire, and sitting in one of those chairs that gives you a back massage?

[lostinidlewonder]

If you play a piece that will push a few areas of technique, then you could do a few technical exercises to make up for the techiques that is not in that piece. For example, you play a lyrical piece that contains no octaves. You balance it by doing some octave exercises.

It seems like you are practicing what isn't in the piece trying to "balance" technical aspects of the piano. But if you target that the piece does not have octaves it may also not have other things too, so how do we target which one?

I find playing technical excersises is useless unless it has an application. That is you apply it to technical problems you find in pieces you are studying.

[Bob]

Eventually I imagine I will use those techniques.

I can't argue with this thought...
If you do a little each day, you will get stronger.  Over time, your body adjusts and are very much stronger and more capable.  You can't get this type of change without the daily work, whether it's in a pice or just an exercise by itself.  It takes years to develop.  And for for me, I haven't been consisently successful getting this type of result by working on literature.  Technical exercises are more easily controlled for producing better technique.

[musicsdarkangel]

I think practicing challenging technical excersizes is beneficial as all hell.


Liszt excersizes = my god right now.

I don't care what anyone says, I feel them helping me, and not only do they provide a great warmup, but they build my technique.

Of course, I also practice music.

I know someone who wants to take a year off just to play Liszt technical excersizes.  I told him that he wouldn't want to do that.

I guess we'll see what happens to him, it'll be interesting.

[Bob]

Ok, I have a piece down fairly well under my fingers. 

I notice I am starting to "reduce" the piece to notes and rhythms.   I'm thinking I can put things in later, because...

Even though I have it down somewhat, I can't play it up to speed.

Performance tempo is about Q=160.  I can handle 100 and 120 seems to be pushing it.

A side note:  I notice my whole body tenses up while I'm pushing the tempo. 


What do I do to get this piece up to speed?
 I'm thinking it's just a matter of lack of technique.  If I can't really play at 160 to begin with, this piece probably isn't going to change that much.  The most I can expect is for slighty improvement after I learn the notes and start pushing the tempo.


The piece would be reduced to an etude.  I would be pushing my abilities using a piece of literature.  Or, I could leave the tempo lower than performance tempo and add everything in so it's more musical -- not perfect, but more musical than using a piece as a vechile for technique.  If a performance is in the future, things would be made to fit that, that is I would leave the tempo along and add more expression.  After the performance is over, I would be done with the piece, but I would never have really finished it.

If I were able to play similar material at 160 to begin with, I wouldn't have this problem.  I could focus solely on technique I suppose and eventually overcome the speed issue.  I could take 3-4 actual pieces and work them up musically as best I can and overcome it that way too I think.