For Czerny, who composed so many exercises, to write that a composition is an exercise itself was a bit surprising, as the author indicated it would be. This statement may give some insight into how he may have wished exercises to be used -- selecting appropriate ones as supplementary material rather than going through an entire book as a course of study. Concern with a student's ongoing interest in playing the instrument comes up again, as he encourages working on pieces that will be pleasing to the student, not too difficult, and presented with minimal emphasis on the structure at the outset. I think this could also extend to advising against waiting too long to explain harmony, form, etc., as an understanding of these elements can also enhance appreciation of the music.
Concluding Chapter 7, Czerny's summary of the differing styles of playing piano is a passage that still could be useful as a reminder of these approaches to technique and that they should be applied to corresponding compositions.
Logier's description of his Chiroplast in Chapter 8 was actually somewhat convincing and may have been helpful in the group classes that Spohr described. With so many students at one time, it would be very hard to give adequate attention to everyone's hand position. Nevertheless, I can't imagine having your hands shaped by a metal contraption could be very healthy. The student would eventually have to learn how to maintain a good position without the tool anyway. It seems like such devices might also emphasize the mechanical side of playing over the expressive in the minds of beginners.
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Agreed. Czerny was right about a few things, and maintaining student interest is one of them. I also believe that music theory should be introduced in baby steps... something that's easier to do when lessons are more frequent, as we're seeing more and more old pedagogies say.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of teaching form, as a way of increasing student interest. I remember when I was young, being taught the rudiments of sonata form, and then looking with interest at the pieces I was playing, to decipher how the form was used in them. It's like a puzzle, children like puzzles, patter recognition, figuring out how the game works in order to beat it, or knowing the musician's tricks.
ReplyDelete*Magician. . .same thing. . .
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