Often, as pianists, we make our most significant musical strides in a relaxed, un-pressured home environment–experimenting with tonal variation, voicing, phrasing — allowing ourselves to be open to newfound discoveries.
The truth is we are all eternal students with a desire to explore sounds, silences, mood-settings, in ways that can spark our imaginations to new heights. To be immersed in this magical world of creativity without self-judgment, is the greatest gift we can give ourselves.
Teachers, (as inveterate pupils themselves), can inspire their students in these directions, while also deriving the same benefit in a mutual give and take process that feeds reciprocal growth.
To further my own awakenings, I frequently set aside time to delve deeply into pieces my pupils are studying, tracing my baby-step learning process, in a deep dive exploration of basic ingredients of tone production and expressive playing. Two videos come to mind that throw light on my immersion in two compositions from the Romantic era. These derive from Friedrich Burgmuller’s Op. 100, collection of Twenty-Five Easy and Progressive Pieces— “The Limpid Stream,” No. 7, and “Consolation,” No. 13.
Besides having seamless legato lines, their respective harmonic progressions invite waves of swells and resolutions, with cadences and modulations woven into an expressive tapestry. A player can enjoy an immersion in the rhythm of harmonies that form a rich underpinning of melodic lines, while imagining the theme of the each composition in a colorful, programmatic framing. He can grow to appreciate a singing pulse that forms an important element of rhythmic cohesion. These sensitivities grow over time.
The relentless triplets in “Limpid Stream” can drive an experimentation with rotations in such a way that these rhythmic figures flow horizontally with a melodic thread permeating them. The experimenter can sample different approaches to flesh out what he might want to hear–a type of “voicing” journey that requires shifts of arm weight to bring out tiers of tone. Are the wrists supple in these samplings? How do relaxed arms factor into the tone and voicing of phrases? The player takes note without harsh criticism of what he observes might be inhibiting unabashed tension-free energies. He adjusts what he needs to in an ego-less exploration and takes mental and physical notes along the learning route. It’s a layered process without deadlines.
“Consolation,” Op. 100, No. 13 presents the same opportunity to explore, experiment, and keep a personal mental diary of what contributes to the imaginative setting of the work. One can call it the fantasy portion of the learning process that pulls together an expressive vocabulary that feeds communication of the composer’s intent. In this Romantic era universe of music-making, the singing tone (vocal model) is pivotal to the experimentation. How can it be produced? What is the effect of breathing on well formed phrases? How are the notes grouped, as adjudged by phrase marks, slurs–what steps can be taken to avoid vertical, finger-tapped out lines that hinder the overall horizontal flow? How does harmony influence phrasing? What voices should be fleshed out and balanced in relation to others? It’s a relentless mirroring back of what seems to work, and what can be altered. This very personal dip into the music will feed into lessons, where teacher and pupil share weekly epiphanies with ways to raise consciousness through more experimentation. It’s never-ending!
(Video below is available.. Thumbnail is missing)
from Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten)
https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2022/08/08/experimenting-with-phrasing-and-choreography-in-expressive-music-making/
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