“The first thing to be done for a pupil is to see that the hand is in correct position.  I explain that the wrist should be about on a level with the second joint of the middle finger, when the fingers are properly rounded.  The knuckles will then be somewhat elevated; in fact they will naturally take care of themselves, other points of the hand being correct.  Two things are of supreme importance:  namely, firm finger joints and loose wrists; these must be insisted on from the very beginning.  I sometimes use firm wrists in my own playing, if I wish to make a certain effect; but I can safely affirm, I think, that no one has ever seen me play with weak, bending fingers.

WHAT TECHNIC INCLUDES

“Piano technic includes so much; everything goes into it—­arithmetic, grammar, diction, language study, poetry, history, and painting!  In the first stages there are rules to be learned, just as in any other study.  In school we had to learn the rules of grammar and mathematics.  Just such rules are applicable to musical performance.  I must know the rules of versification in order to scan poetic stanzas; so I must know the laws of rhythm and meter to be able to punctuate musical phrases and periods.  Pupils who have long passed the stage of division and fractions do not seem able to determine the time-values of the various notes and groups of notes used in music; they do not know what must be done with triplets, dotted notes, and so on.  So you see ‘just technic’ includes a multitude of things; it is a very wide subject.

EACH PUPIL A DIFFERENT PROBLEM

“Each pupil presents a different problem as to physical formation of hand and body, intelligence and talent.  Those who are the most talented do not always prove the most satisfactory students.  They grasp the composer’s ideas quickly enough, it is true, so that sometimes in a few days, they can take up a difficult composition and clash it off with such showy effect as to blind the eyes of the superficial listener; but these students are not willing to work out the fine points of the piece and polish it artistically.  Neither are they willing to get right down, to the bed rock of technic and work at that seriously and thoroughly.  If this course is suggested they grow restive, think they are being held back, and some times prefer to study with a more superficial teacher.  The consequence is they never really amount to anything; whereas if these same players possessed perseverance along with their talent they could become great artists.  I would rather have an intelligent, earnest, serious pupil, who is obedient and willing to work, than a very gifted pupil.  The two seldom go together.  When you find both in one person, a marvelous musician is the result, if assisted by the right sort of training.

HARMONY STUDY