Chapter 16

It is obvious that Gerig does not think very highly of Breithaupt’s method, probably because of its drastic exaggeration of arm involvement and relaxation… but I think his method is useful, not in spite of the exaggerations - but because of them. Breithaupt “goes as far to the left as the stiff finger school went to the right,” which I think was a natural (and essential) historical progression. Had Breithaupt not been so influential pedagogically, I think it would have taken much longer for pianists to take full advantage of arm weight and relaxation. After he went to such extremities, other pianists could more quickly realize the practicality and necessity of a compromise between the previous “finger” schools, and Breithaupt’s seemingly “anti-finger school.”

I like a lot of ideas in Breithaupt’s method. He is concerned with avoiding straining the hand in daily activities, and conditioned himself to be very relaxed at all times. As with anything else, this may be taken to an unhealthy extreme, but even simply recognizing unnecessary amounts of tension in holding a pencil, for example, can be quite helpful and applicable to piano – it has definitely helped my own playing.

I do not like how he would often keep the piano lid closed. I think this suffocates the sound… In any case, pianists should practice playing correct dynamics in the most natural acoustic setting; the ear should dictate the volume level, and not the piano lid.

It was interesting to try a few of Breithaupt’s exercises in the chapter. In general, I definitely lost some dynamic and rhythmic evenness when playing with so much arm involvement and so little finger movement. Of course, that is only after trying the method once, so I’m sure with some practice it would become better. The exercises that focus attention to a single finger bearing the weight of the arm are useful, and I think still applicable today. The least these could accomplish is heightened awareness of the shoulder, arm, wrist, and hand. This is important because we must know how everything interacts in order to play with “economy of motion” as Godowsky describes, or as Breithaupt put it, to “waste no energy.”