There are multiple references in this chapter to the politics of having a successful career as a musician. Although Chopin was known for compositions and performances that solely served the art, he was not naive when it came to ways of advancing his career. When considering study with Kalkbrenner, he acknowledged the influence the pianist would have on making him better known, and he notes that first becoming famous as a pianist would enhance later success as an opera composer. (p. 146) He also credits his association with "...the highest society -- among ambassadors, princes, and ministers..." with helping his reputation of possessing great talent. (p. 152) Perhaps it is possible to suggest that some of his short compositions were intended to appeal to females, the largest consumers of sheet music at the time. Although such pieces may not have resulted in favor by critics, they would have been a source of income and a means by which to become more widely known.
Because the method book that Chopin worked on is incomplete and seemingly unorganized, I am not sure if the first paragraph from the quote of the manuscript is the beginning. If it is, I find it interesting that familiarity with notation and "the mechanism of the piano" comes before playing. Modern method books promote playing from the outset, and when I give a student's first lesson, I feel pressure to get to the playing part as soon as possible for fear that they will lose interest or because I think the parents expect their child to be able to make music right away. However, taking into account the student's age, it might be more efficient to begin with learning notation completely; it would save a lot of 'relearning' required when progressing through reading by finger number, then letter names, then staff notation.
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I do not like to start teaching new students away from the staff. I would agree that reading by finger numbers, then note names, etc first is almost always unnecessary... I have had success with very young student's first lessons just by simply explaining "look at all these lines (showing the staff), let's add another one at the bottom and put a note on it! That's middle C!" After repeating something similar for D, I've found that the student can quickly read music for those two notes.
ReplyDeleteWhat is even more interesting is that someone famous for their technique and musicality teaches the C Major scale last, because it's the "most difficult". How many method books have carried on that tradition? Though I agree that B Major does fit the hand better, I wouldn't say C Major was "hard" in contrast. It would be interesting to discuss why the Chopin opinion has been completely disregarded by modern method books.
ReplyDeleteI would assume it is, again, in the interest of un-complicating what they see on the page; C major is easier to read than the others. However, I think that like the debate about whether to teach from the staff to begin with or not, children can catch on quicker than we might think, especially some of the older ones.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that Chopin had hopes of being a famous opera composer while the great majority of his output is solo piano music. Perhaps, had he lived longer, Chopin would have ventured to the world of opera and produced many famous works.
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