Chapter 16

In general, the advocacy of relaxation is a good thing about Breithaupt's method. To a degree, his instructions on relaxing the arm, keeping fingers more or less curved, flexibility of the wrist, and arm rotation contribute to a more efficient, less tiring technique than the then wide spread high finger technique. The presentation of his method in a book is also important, as this allowed for wider dissemination and popularity of the principles. He was not the first to teach principles of relaxation, but is, perhaps, more responsible for making it better known.

The most basic fault of the method is the extent to which he carries relaxation. The degree of relaxation encouraged is not realistic, as Gerig frequently points out. In the exercise on p. 343 on playing and releasing keys, he writes that this must be done "without any contraction or muscular resistance..." However, movement of any kind requires muscle contraction. He also suggests eliminating "all mechanical finger-exercises" including scales, because the purposes of these exercises are achieved by using weight. (p. 355) It sounds appealing but impractical. Relaxing does not magically resolve technical problems; it takes practice to learn how to use it effectively--even for scales.

From the start I had trouble with his suggestions. In the exercise for realizing weight by supporting your arm with your hands and fingers on a table (p. 339) I was not able to fully transfer the weight of my arm to my hands without my elbow making contact with the table. With using only rotation to play a five-finger pattern (p. 349), it worked reasonably well at a very slow tempo but not at all at faster tempos, as Gerig also noted.

There are times, though, when he acknowledges that there can be a balance between arm weight and finger playing, particularly on pp. 355-356 when he calls his method a starting point--that one must learn relaxation before fixation rather than the other way around. I do not know if this is true, but it at least demonstrates that he knows that some tension is beneficial.

Although Breithaupt was influenced by Carreno, I think she, Levinskaya, and Godowsky were more on track. Carreno believed in "controlled relaxation" and Levinskaya's method from a previous chapter sought to combine high finger and weight, which must have been somewhat influenced by her visit to Breithaupt. And Godowsky believed in an eclectic approach. While it would have been nice if he had written a book on technique, his hesitancy is understandable considering the breadth of such an approach.