Well, it's nearly two weeks since my last post, and I'm still working on Invention #7, the one that I thought wouldn't be too tough to learn. Ha! Most of it is actually coming along just fine. The sticking point is, of course, that killer trill in the left hand. I haven't yet given in to the temptation to simplify it. I'm getting too much out of working on it, both physically and psychologically.
I've cut my practice time almost in half because of some physical issues in my left arm and elbow. I don't think they're caused by playing the piano, but I do feel them sometimes when I play, particularly if I tense up. I hope that shorter practice periods will help me to avoid aggravating the problems.
Since the end of January, I've increased the metronome speed by around 40%, a satisfying amount of progress, but every bit of that progress has been hard won. Now I'm working with a mixture of physical and cognitive challenges.
I'm ironing out the physical problems by sheer repetition. If I can play the trill at tempo X, I try it at tempo X+1. If that breaks down, I repeat tempo X until it becomes very easy, until I find myself maybe wanting to rush it. Then I try tempo X+1 again. It usually flies at that point, but maybe just barely. I have to practice it in and stabilize it.
The cognitive challenge at this speed is getting the accents to fall in the right places. The trill is a series of triplets. It has a sort of rolling feel to it. I find if I'm too stiff and rigid about bringing out the triplets, that is, about accenting the notes so that they're heard as triplets, it slows me down. I have to let go and just feel the rolling movement, and then it comes together.
I've brought out my feeble arsenal of practice tricks. I'm playing the left hand alone and with the right hand. I'm playing loudly and softly. I'm playing the trill in sections (e.g., every other beat) and all the way through. I'm going to the piano at odd moments throughout the day and practicing the trill briefly (frequent short practices with rest in between can be very helpful). Hmm... What other practice tricks could I employ? Specifically, what would help me get into the zone of feeling that rolling motion?
Left hand alone is not a trick, it's basic. "Your piano playing is as good as your worst hand." My students get tired of hearing that, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteDo you trill in triplets? That helps with the "rolling motion". Also, do you change fingers in the trill, so that it becomes something your hand does instead of a couple of fingers?
Do you learn the entire piece hands separately, so that each hand can play its part quite musically? With what you wrote in an earlier post about your LH, and seeing that you are learning Bach Inventions, you might consider learning each new invention with the left hand alone, until it sounds like beautiful music; and only then learning and adding the RH part. You'll be astonished how beautiful LH alone can sound once you give it the chance.
As a pianist & teacher I have to add this: discomfort in your arm/elbow is an indication that you are doing something non-optimal for your body. Stop! Make it much easier, and by that I mean adjust what you are doing until you can do it with ease. I define ease as simplicity in accomplishment joined with actual bliss in the body. When you achieve that, you won't be having discomfort, obviously!
In my brief reading of your blog what I'm not seeing is any mention of putting the music first. Technique in playing piano is only to support the creation of music. Are you truly listening to what you create as you practice? Is it beautiful? If not, why not? Like practicing "wrong" a zillion times & then moving on after one decent repetition, practicing without really hearing beautiful music teaches all the "wrong" habits. If you cannot play and actually listen to your playing, and hear it sounding lovely, and feel blissful in your body while you are doing and hearing -- then what's the point? What are you teaching yourself?
Finally (& then I'll get off my soapbox, I promise!) one of the best ways to solve future technical issues is to play music you know quite well every day. Only on music you know well can you refine your technique and (even more important) refine your musicality and ability to be subtly expressive, which I know you want to be (since I know you!). This is the mistake most often made by music teachers with their pupils -- we let them learn a piece and then move on to something new and forget about it. All that work for such a limited gain, as if music pieces were just things to be checked off a list.
Okay, Brian, maybe now you wish you hadn't pointed me to your blog! But I salute you for getting back into playing, and for learning all the Bach Inventions (you're inspiring me to re-learn them as part of my LH rehab once I get that far), and for blogging about it. Good luck! Ease & bliss & beautiful music to you!!
Thank you SO MUCH for all of your comments and insights, dear Kathleen. I've been hoping that a really well-trained and experienced pianist like you would see this blog and offer me some guidance. Your comments are the fulfillment of that desire!
DeleteIn the blog, I've focused mainly on the head down tough stuff, but yes, I play for pleasure and refinement, too. I'll do a post on that.
I've been of divided mind on practicing LH alone. I like to hear the wholeness and learn the wholeness right from the start. But I'm going to take your advice to heart right away, and switch to learning #9, the one currently on deck, with the LH alone first and see how that goes for me. Bach is perfect for learn LH alone because the LH is so much fun to play alone. Gee, I feel like going and practicing right away...
Yes, it's always about the music.
As far as the discomfort in the arm/elbow goes, that pre-dates my returning to piano practice and is due to something else entirely. In fact, the piano practice seems to be helping it because it gives it light exercise and helps to keep it loose. I'm getting treatment for it.
Again, a thousand thanks!