Chapters 6-8

Chapter 6

I love Beethoven. I love the music. I love how he was grumpy much of the time. I love how he was a tortured soul that expressed deep meaning through music. He is truly one of the greatest composers of all time and the first real pianist that brought us out of the "finger school." It was fun to read about how he freakishly played his compositions. He would most definitely used the modern piano if it was available in his time. His piano often had broken strings and looked quite beat up but I think that just shows his passion for music. I don't know if you've ever broken a string, but it's a pretty freaky event. As far as his teaching, I thought it was interesting how he didn't much care if the student missed notes, but if musical expression was ignored, he stopped the student straight away. It makes me feel better that I can miss a few notes in Beethoven, but I'll still try to hit them all. Obviously he used more pedal than was noted, but I think this just makes it more important to observe pedal markings that he did put in to get the real idea he had in mind.

Chapter 7

Czerny had some interesting things to say as far as pedagogy. All though none of them were epiphanic they gave a good picture. I thought it was quite interesting that he had Liszt study Clementi, not Mozart (perhaps Clementi won after all...). I didn't quite agree with his style of teaching where students played until their hands hurt. Playing the piano should never be harmful and if you are practicing to that point of exhaustion everyday, you must re-evaluate your practicing. Maybe he really was doing some sort of "survival of the fittest" where only the strongest survive. I though it was very important that the teacher must understand the student. I think this really is the hardest thing about teaching piano. Understanding your student well enough to explain what you want them to do, and choosing pieces that will challenge them but not put them off to music. Although with time this comes much easier. I also liked the people thought he didn't like children so he composed a bunch of etudes!

Chapter 8 was interesting to hear some of the other important piano methods. I never knew that Dussek was the first to turn the piano to the side. I loved the fact that Gerig mentions that he was handsome (that's obviously why he did it). And now for something completely ridiculous: The Chiroplast. What a bizarre contraption. I'm not really sure how beneficial those things were. I think resting your arm can be harmful as you move your wrist too much or strain your fingers. Obviously, they didn't do too much for your technique or we would still use them today. I kept picturing some torture device in the back of my mind... The other pedagogues were interesting. I'm glad Fetis decided that it was alright to use the thumb on the black key if necessary. I wasn't completely sold on mastering every style of each pedagogue because I think there's a lot of carry over between technique. And we don't really play some of those guys anymore...