Viewing teaching as a financial necessity seems to have persisted to this day and is a viewpoint that I don't relate to. Although success as a teacher may not be admired as much as success as a performer or composer, it is a profession in which someone can continuously learn, improve, and influence music-making. Perhaps Hummel's great success as a teacher and his treatise indicate that teaching was more than a source of income for him.
Within the reprinted portions of Hummel's Course of Instruction, there were many good pieces of advice even for the present day teacher, such as listening to good musicians, whether or not they are pianists, and studying the character of a piece. Good fingering was important to Hummel, as he included hundreds of exercises related to this point and largely avoided playing the thumb on a black key (p. 75). However, he also suggests a hand position that more easily allows use of the thumb on black keys (p. 73). I am curious to know the situations in which he would have suggested playing a black key with a thumb. Further, I am curious to know what he would think about playing today's arrangements of popular music for piano, seeing as he advised "avoiding only flimsy extracts from Operas, ballets, overtures, dances, &c: because they are not suited to the Piano-forte, form neither the hands nor fingers...and interrupt the progress of a serious and rational study of music" (p. 74). This statement may have some truth to it, but the role of the piano in society has certainly changed since his time.
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I was also curious about the positioning of the hand. I tried to position my hand is he mentioned and it seemed completely awkward. Maybe I just misunderstood, but I don't think turning the hand to the outside would be good for technique, and actually could be harmful...
ReplyDeleteI assumed he was talking more about a natural turning, perhaps to facilitate reaching for outer notes with minimal exertion. It does make me wonder, though, how extreme that position was.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know his thoughts on arrangements of popular tunes, especially given his specialty in teaching. Perhaps if he saw the different roles the piano has assumed, he would be more open to teaching "fun" music?
Yes, the value of teacher is usually igored by the public. People know Mozart, Beethoven, but how many people know Hummel. I believe that his contribution to the piano pedagogy is also distinguish.
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