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 In the course of my experience as a teacher of the pianoforte, an experience 
 extending over many years, certain ideas have from time to time suggested 
 themselves to me which have proved useful—to myself, as enabling me to 
 express more clearly that which I desired my pupils to understand, and to my 
 pupils, as tending to facilitate their comprehension of the various difficulties 
 they have had to encounter, at the same time leading them to perceive the 
 most practical means of overcoming them, and thus accelerating their 
 
 general rate of progress. 
 
 These suggestions relate to both the mechanical and intellectual sides 
 of the study of pianoforte-playing, or, briefly, to Technique and Expression, 
 the chief matters implied by the first of these terms being the production of 
 
 various qualities of tone, the choice of suitable fingering, and the best 
 
 | methods of attacking certain difficulties; while the second, which may perhaps 
 
 be more aptly designated the means of expression, includes rhythm, phrasing, 
 
 variety and gradation of tone, the use of the pedals, e¢ cetera. 
 
 This book is the result of an endeavour to set down my ideas in a 
 systematic form, and I put it forth in the hope that it may prove of service to 
 some of my fellow-teachers, as likewise to any earnest student of the pianoforte 
 
 who may be led by his interest in the subject to read what I have written. 
 
 FRANKLIN TAYLOR. 
 
 62063 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2021 with funding from 
 University of Illinois Uroana-Champaign Alternates 
 
 _ https://archive.org/details/techniqueexpressOOtay! 
 
I. 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 THE popularity of the pianoforte as a means of cultivating the study of music 
 is undeniable, nor can it be said that this popularity is undeserved, and for 
 three reasons: it is complete in itself as a solo instrument; it is, up to a 
 certain point, easily learnt, at least in comparison with ‘stringed instruments ; 
 and it possesses an enormous repertory of music.’ But with all these advan- 
 tages it must be admitted that it is, from its very construction, more or less a 
 mechanical instrument, perhaps, with the exception of the organ, the most 
 purely mechanical of all. The fundamental idea is simplicity itself. There are 
 stretched strings, each capable of being: set’in vibration by a blow from a 
 hammer, which is attached to a key-lever. Accordingly, when the proper key 
 is depressed, the corresponding sound results, and, given a sufficient velocity 
 and accuracy of movement, to be acquired by practice, the most elaborate 
 music can be produced with unerring precision. From this point of view the 
 pianoforte is a perfect machine, but, if nothing more could be said in-its favour, 
 one might almost be pardoned if one were to question its claims to be con- 
 sidered a musical instrument at all. 
 
 Happily, owing to various causes, the quality, as well as the strength, of the 
 sound given forth by vibrating strings varies greatly, according to the kind of blow 
 struck—whether rapid or comparatively slow, whether forcible or gentle—and 
 the pianist whose fingers are in all respects under control, and who possesses 
 the necessary qualities of heart and brain to direct their movements, has at 
 command all, or nearly all, the means requisite for the perfect production of 
 music, and his playing at once enables the pianoforte to take rank with musical 
 instruments of the highest class, as one which the greatest composers have 
 ever delighted to use as an exponent of their thoughts. 
 
 Everything, then, depends upon the player, and we have now two 
 questions to consider: firstly, what is the nature of the manifold powers which 
 the good pianist must possess; and, secondly, how may the earnest student attain 
 to the possession of these powers. Obviously, the proper position of the musical 
 executant is that of intermediary between the composer and the listener—it is 
 his task to present the thoughts of the composer in such a form that the listener 
 may understand, enjoy, and be impressed by them. His relation to both must 
 resemble that of a reciter who recites a poem or other literary composition, and 
 we find similar requirements in both cases. For instance, the reciter must be 
 faithful to the text of his author—it would be absurd for him to take the 
 author's general ideas and clothe them in his own words—and the pianist must 
 
2 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 be equally faithful, for why should a composer of music be less respectfully 
 treated than the author of a literary composition? Again, the reciter must 
 deliver his lines with due emphasis and variety, that they may be intelligible to 
 the listener, and the same is demanded of the pianist. And lastly, the musical 
 executant, equally with the reciter, must have become so thoroughly possessed 
 of the inner sense and meaning of the composition to be delivered that it has 
 become in a measure his own, and that he is able to give it out as part of his 
 own thought and feeling, for then, and only then, will the listener be impressed 
 and convinced. 
 
 The demands made by the music upon the executant are thus seen to be 
 of three kinds—mechanical, intellectual, and emotional. The pianist may succeed 
 or fail in respect of any one of these requirements. Examples of those who are 
 strong in the first and perhaps the third of them, but fail in the second, are not 
 infrequent, and may be met with among the public players of to-day; those 
 whose strength lies in the first and second, rather than the third, are less 
 numerous, but the result in these cases is, on the whole, more satisfactory ; 
 while those whose chief failure is in respect of mechanism are probably the 
 most numerous of all, their efforts, however, being for the most part happily 
 confined to private circles. But it is only when all three of the requirements 
 above-named are satisfactorily fulfilled, and held under due government and 
 properly balanced, that we find the perfect pianist. 
 
 As a means towards preparing himself to approach perfection as nearly as 
 may be, it will be of great advantage to the student to endeavour to obtain as 
 clear a view as possible of the difficulties which he will have to encounter, that 
 nothing of importance may be neglected, and at the same time that he may not 
 be confused or disheartened by the number of obstacles in his path. This will 
 be best accomplished by trying to discover in how many ways music in the 
 abstract, irrespective of any particular method of production, may be rendered 
 rightly or wrongly. At first sight it might appear that possible faults are too 
 numerous to be readily classified, but this is in reality not so, as we shall see 
 on a closer examination. In the first place, the notes of a composition may be 
 rightly or wrongly rendered as regards pitch, therefore when A is written it will 
 not serve to play or sing B instead; secondly, the notes may be of right or 
 wrong values, hence a minim must not be substituted for a crotchet, or any- 
 thing else done of a like nature, to the injury of the rhythm; thirdly, the notes 
 may be rightly or wrongly connected or disconnected ; fourthly, the notes may 
 be given with relatively right or wrong degrees of force ; and fifthly, the rate of 
 speed of the whole composition may be suitable or unsuitable. The list is 
 sufficiently exhaustive—indeed, it is practically impossible to extend it, as far as 
 pianoforte-playing is concerned—and a thorough and systematic method of 
 study will undoubtedly depend on this fact being recognised. 
 
 The proper performance of a composition, then, is one in which the notes 
 are rendered correctly in respect of pitch, duration, connection or disconnection, 
 force, and speed. Of these the first three are matters of accuracy, and can be 
 taught and learned; they represent the mechanical and intellectual sides of 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 3 
 
 performance, and they must claim the attention of both teacher and pupil in the 
 first instance. The two remaining attributes, force and speed, are less definite 
 in their application, being susceptible of an almost infinite variation of degree, 
 and it is through his appreciation of their effect and influence upon the music 
 that the player’s individuality asserts itself, and that the emotional qualities of 
 his playing become developed. Hence the progress of the pupil in the earlier 
 stages of training must be expected to be, and indeed ought to be, almost 
 exclusively in the direction of acquiring improved mechanism, together with 
 habits of accuracy, and while it is necessary that his taste and judgment should 
 at the same time be formed and strengthened by directions and suggestions 
 from the riper experience of the teacher, yet it is only at a later period that any 
 manifestation of the higher qualities of performance can be looked for; indeed, 
 the greatest progress in this respect usually takes place after the actual 
 teaching has ceased, and when the player has learnt to feel his own unrestricted 
 strength. . 
 
 In accordance with the views just expressed, it will be the object of the 
 following chapters to discuss certain subjects in connection with pianoforte- 
 playing which are sure to present themselves to the mind of the thoughtful 
 student, and at the same time to endeavour to indicate the methods which the 
 writer believes, from his experience, to be best adapted to lead towards the 
 achievement of excellence. 
 
II. 
 TECHNIQUE. 
 
 Or late years the demands made by the concert-going public on the executive 
 powers of the pianist have undoubtedly increased to a very considerable extent, 
 as will be evident if we compare the programmes of pianoforte recitals of the 
 present day with those of comparatively few years ago. This is probably 
 owing to the advent of numerous pianists, whose chief object appears to be to 
 eclipse all predecessors in the matter of rapidity and force of execution, and it 
 may be conceded that, as a consequence, pure technique has received more 
 attention and admiration than it deserves. Nevertheless, considered not as an 
 end, but as a means to an end, it is impossible to estimate technique too highly, 
 and we may be almost disposed to agree with the saying attributed to Von 
 Biilow, that for a pianist ‘‘ three things are necessary—the first is technique, the 
 second is technique, and the third is technique !” 
 
 For if it may be said that music is a language, which seems reasonable, 
 since it is addressed to the sense of hearing, and follows its own rules of 
 grammar, then technique is the utterance of that language, and no player 
 whose technique is deficient can express properly his own musical feelings or 
 the ideas of the composer, just as no speaker can speak or recite impressively and 
 convincingly if he is forced to stumble over the pronunciation of every other word. 
 
 The opinion is not infrequently expressed, and by cultivated musicians, 
 that the study of technique prevents or interferes with the musical development. 
 But surely this idea is a mistaken one. Everything depends upon the student. 
 If his musical intelligence is dull, he may very likely lean to the side of 
 mechanical excellence, and his interest may be absorbed in its development; but 
 such a one would not be more musical if he possessed less technique. On the 
 other hand, the musically gifted student will welcome every advance in 
 mechanism as an addition to his means of expressing what he feels. 
 
 Moreover, it would appear that those who maintain that the study of 
 technique impedes artistic progress make the mistake of limiting the definition 
 of technique to one kind—namely, that adapted to the brilliant execution of 
 difficulties. But since the pianoforte is, by reason of its construction, one 
 of the most mechanical of all instruments, everything must in reality be 
 produced by mechanical means, and there must be a suitable technique for 
 every kind of speech of which it is capable. Thus there is the proper technique 
 for rapid passages, whether of single or double notes, for sonorous chords, for 
 light and delicate staccato, for a broad and singing melody, for an infinitely 
 delicate phrase like a whisper, for accompaniment to a melody, even for a 
 
TECHNIQUE. 5 
 
 single note, that the right quality of tone may be produced. All these varieties of 
 technique, each of which requires separate and special study, form, taken collec- 
 tively, what is known as touch, which is really the power of producing perfectly 
 all varieties of effect at will; and it may be observed that not one of those who 
 criticise technique and the study of technique has a word to say against touch. 
 
 Of the different kinds of technique enumerated above, the first to be 
 studied must necessarily be that which gives general power over the keyboard, 
 conduces to accuracy, and in its highest development leads to bravura—in other 
 words, the technique of passage-playing. For the cultivation of this technique 
 most existing studies are written, and a large number of preparatory exercises 
 are necessary before even these are attempted. Such exercises are to be found 
 in sufficient quantity in every pianoforte-school, and need not be enumerated 
 here, our present purpose being rather to examine the principles on which they 
 are written, and to consider how they should be practised. 
 
 From the simplest melody to the most elaborate concert-piece, all music, 
 so far as regards its grammatical construction, consists of scales and chords. 
 For example, the succession of notes A, B, forms a scale, or at least part of 
 a scale, and the notes A, C, a chord, and the chord is said to be broken if the 
 two notes are sounded singly, and unbroken if they are sounded together. 
 It follows that the technique of passage-playing must consist of the study 
 of scales and chords, in all keys, and with every possible variety of arrangement. 
 But besides this classification, it is necessary for practical purposes to distinguish 
 between two kinds of passages—namely, those in which the hand is kept ina 
 straight position, and those in which the thumb passes under the fingers, or 
 the fingers over the thumb. Scale-figures which do not extend beyond a 
 . compass of five notes, and also most of the broken-chord passages, belong to 
 the first of these divisions, and complete scales and arpeggios to the second. 
 
 In the practice of many pianoforte teachers, the pupil is made to begin 
 the study of the scales at a very early stage—indeed, soon after he has become 
 acquainted with the notes. This, in the opinion of the writer, is a mistake, and 
 a method decidedly prejudicial to the formation of a brilliant touch. It is 
 far better to defer the study of the complicated movements required by the 
 passing under of the thumb until independence of fingers and precision in 
 striking have been secured by the practice of five-finger exercises (such as are 
 to be found in all instruction-books), and the simpler forms of broken chords, 
 of which the following may serve as examples :— 
 
 
 
6 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 
 
 The practice of broken chords has another object in view besides the 
 training of the fingers—it is a material help towards cultivating the power of sight- 
 reading. The student who is accustomed to construct such passages for himself, 
 by taking any given chord and breaking it in the required order, instead of merely 
 practising them from a printed book, will have done much more than improve 
 his execution. He will have gained such an insight into the construction of 
 passages generally as will enable him, on meeting with even elaborate passages 
 in actual compositions, to analyse them at a glance, to perceive the unbroken 
 chords on which they are founded, and thus to realise and read them more 
 quickly and with far greater certainty than would be possible if he were obliged 
 to consider them as a succession of single notes, having no particular relation to 
 each other. This kind of analysis is shown in the two following examples, 
 which differ considerably in degree of complexity, but are alike in principle. 
 The square brackets above the notes point out the chords from which the 
 passage is derived, and, as a necessary consequence, the moments of change of 
 position. The same chords in their unbroken form are shown in the lower 
 staves, and it is only by means of readily recognising the chords in this form, 
 and then breaking them in the proper order, that such passages can be read 
 fluently at first sight :—* 
 
 Allegretto. 
 SCHUBERT, Op. go, No. 4. 
 
 
 
 * That the so-called chords in Ex. 3 are not real harmonies is immaterial; the hand 
 grasps each successive position just as readily and securely as it would an ordinary chord. 
 
TECHNIQUE. i 
 
 Allegro con brio. Cuorin, Op. 25, No. 11. 
 ne a ue 1 | | | | | Li] | | 
 + = —— fet #52 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 The particular touch for all such technical exercises as those under considera- 
 tion is essentially a touch of percussion. The fingers are lifted to a consider- 
 able height, and fall upon their keys rapidly, and without any great amount of 
 pressure, not only in order to strengthen the muscles and to ensure pre- 
 cision, but also because this kind of touch is the most brilliant, partly on 
 account of the effect which the greater rapidity of the blow has on the quality » 
 of the sound produced, and partly for another reason, which may be readily 
 understood from the following experiment. If a few of the keys are depressed 
 silently by the fingers of one hand, and are held down while the fingers of the 
 other hand are used upon their surface with the high and rapid action proper 
 for brilliant passages, a decided and considerable noise of tapping will be 
 heard. Now in all passages played with similar touch the same noise must of 
 course exist in addition to the musical sounds, even though not perceived 
 separately, and must be taken into account; for while it would be ruinous 
 to the performance of a legato melody, it is of very definite advantage to a 
 vigorous passage, to which it imparts brilliancy and distinctness, much as the 
 tap of a side-drum acts with regard to orchestral music. 
 
 When the practice of scales and complete arpeggios is undertaken, and the 
 thumb has to be passed under the fingers, the principal aims to be kept in 
 view are to avoid any disconnection or break of legato, and to preserve the 
 brilliancy. To facilitate the passing of the thumb, the hands are turned 
 slightly inwards, so that a line drawn down the length of the middle finger of 
 the right hand would incline a little more to the left, and a similar line on the 
 left hand a little more to the right, than would be proper in the normal position 
 of a five-finger exercise. The passing under of the thumb takes place 
 gradually, the thumb moving about an inch onward for each note struck, so 
 that it arrives above its own particular key a little before it is required to strike 
 it. When the thumb is underneath the hand its action is somewhat impeded, 
 
8 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 and the necessary lifting movement and percussion require special attention, 
 otherwise the brilliancy suffers. Of course, the scales, both diatonic and 
 chromatic, require practising with every possible variety of treatment; for 
 instance, with accent on every third, fourth, or sixth note, as such passages are 
 generally grouped in brilliant compositions; without accent, and pianissimo, as 
 in scales occurring in cadenzas ; with the two hands at varying distances from 
 each other, as a third, sixth, tenth, and double octave or fifteenth, as well asa 
 single octave; and in contrary motion. Minor scales are practised in both forms, 
 melodic and harmonic, and with the same varieties as the major, except that it 
 is of no practical advantage to practise the melodic form in contrary motion. 
 
 Staccato touch requires action of the wrist, either with or without action of 
 the fingers. In staccato passages of single notes, as in Mendelssohn’s Prelude 
 in B minor, Op. 35, No. 3, the chief movement is from the wrist, though a 
 certain amount of finger-movement is necessary to ensure accuracy, and to 
 prevent two or three fingers from striking at once. In staccato octaves and 
 chords, only wrist-movement is required, the fingers being held perfectly still, 
 in the proper position for striking. This keeping of the fingers motionless is 
 the chief difficulty in octave-playing, since the necessary extension of the hand 
 tightens and impedes the action of the wrist, and there is at first a strong 
 temptation to relieve the tightness by allowing the thumb and little finger to 
 contract whenever the hand is raised. Every student feels this temptation 
 when first beginning the practice of staccato octaves, but it must be carefully 
 watched and overcome, as otherwise the octaves will never be free from false 
 notes, occasioned by the fingers not being precisely over the keys théy are 
 required to strike. 
 
 Staccato passages of single notes are generally played from the wrist, as in 
 the Mendelssohn Prelude referred to above, but when they are too rapid for the 
 wrist to act properly, the staccato can be effected by the fingers alone, especially 
 in scale figures of limited compass. This kind of finger-staccato is described 
 by Hummel in his ‘‘ Pianoforte School” as consisting in ‘‘ hurrying the fingers 
 away from the keys, very lightly and in an inward direction.” The following 
 is an example :— 
 
 
 
 a He Op. 79. 
 Ex, 4. oe she eeee E E gef? 
 Larghetto. ns ae ote? i z “4: 
 =) reer rca toe! ae _ 
 4 ae a a = zi === 
 _# er el U se = 
 
 3 
 PP staccato. 
 
 The same inward drawing of the fingers is also of use in short figures of a 
 forcible character, where great articulateness and distinctness are required. In 
 such cases the effect intended is not staccato, each note being held for its full 
 value, and the finger snatched away underneath the hand precisely as the next 
 finger falls upon its key, so that at the final note the hand is almost completely 
 closed. Passages requiring the passage of the thumb cannot be played with 
 
TECHNIQUE. 9 
 
 this touch, which is, therefore, of very limited application, but very effective 
 when properly introduced. The next example is a good instance of its use :— 
 
 
 
 ; ei WEBER, Op. 24. 
 Ex. 5. Allegro. ia 2 cee me P sf 
 
 Another kind of staccato, in which the notes are not extremely short, but 
 have a certain weight and fulness of tone, is effected by raising the hand to a 
 horizontal position after striking each note, the wrist being kept at a distance 
 of about three inches from the surface of the keys. This touch, which may be 
 called ‘‘ half-wrist touch,” to distinguish it from “ full-wrist,” in which the hand 
 is thrown as far back as possible, is generally proper for a staccato bass, though 
 it may sometimes be used in the right hand also, as in the following example :— 
 
 Es..0. pareercice vivace, -e-* 2. 3: 2. BEETHOVEN, Op. 31, No. 3. 
 lL eA jug eee esem dle a — el el 
 a AE IK ok 1 PS a ee as | eon TR SE 
 (oh in ES aes le aac Fe | ee ee 105 F-02556 
 
 sf sf e ane e e e 3 
 Pp TT Pp 
 eee & Nu: -030- .-61° -9-°-0-2-8- .-s- 
 =e a a a a el a el oe 2 | 2 ——— ss —__—___mu} 
 A = a J CoG mo As i 
 ietgee arta 
 
 Unbroken chords of a light character and rapid repetition or succession 
 require the same technique as wrist octaves, but powerful chords or octaves 
 necessitate some action of the fore-arm, moving from the elbow, to give them 
 force. Very rarely, however, and only when a metallic and even hard tone 
 is required, should the arm move from the elbow only; in most cases the 
 movement must consist of a combined action of both elbow and wrist, that the 
 blow may be elastic, and not stiff. 
 
 In all staccato playing, the way in which the key is quitted is as important 
 as that in which it is struck. Staccato on the pianoforte is made possible by 
 the action of the dampers, which fall upon the strings directly the key is loosed, 
 and stop the vibration, and therefore the sound. But the speed of the falling 
 damper is governed by the speed of the rising key, and if the key were made 
 to rise gently and comparatively slowly, the gently falling damper would not 
 have sufficient force to check the vibrations instantly, and the cessation of the ~ 
 sound would be less abrupt than would be the case if the damper were allowed 
 to fall with its full force. Accordingly, if in staccato playing the fingers quit 
 the keys rapidly and vertically, the dampers will act with the full force of their 
 springs, and the sounds will cease with corresponding abruptness; while if 
 they are gently drawn from the keys towards the player, the keys will rise 
 more gradually, following as it were the retreating fingers, and the result will 
 be a softening and quieting of the staccato. A good effect may be produced in 
 
10 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1, by 
 employing the two kinds of treatment in succession, and the example may well 
 serve to illustrate the point under consideration :— 
 
 Allegro. BEETHOVEN, Op. 10, No, 1. 
 Ex.7. | Abrupt. _ Gradual. 
 
 
 
 Forcible chords vary in their effect no less than delicate ones, according 
 to the manner in which the keys are quitted, but here the mechanical action 
 is somewhat different. Such chords are played heavily, and the pressure would 
 prevent the sliding movement just described from being under control. Instead, 
 therefore, of drawing back the hand, the wrist rises immediately before the keys 
 are loosed, so that at the moment of quitting it is slightly higher than at the 
 moment of striking. The effect of this movement is to lessen the pressure, and 
 to allow the rising keys to follow the finger-tips closely, with the result of 
 rounding off the termination of the sound. As an example, such chords as 
 those at the commencement of Schubert’s Fantasia in C, Op. 15, should be 
 treated in this manner, the effect being far richer and less dry than if the 
 chords were made to end abruptly. The same method, in nearly every case, 
 is suitable for isolated chords, such as frequently occur at the close of a 
 composition. Chords which are intended to end abruptly, the hands springing 
 vertically from the keys, are generally marked secco. 
 
 For the playing of melody, the technique differs entirely from that which 
 has just been described—indeed, it may be considered as the exact opposite of 
 brilliant touch, both as to its method and its results. In melody-playing the 
 slight tapping noise of the finger-tip, spoken of above as an advantage, would 
 be decidedly injurious, and must be prevented. Accordingly, instead of falling 
 upon its key, the finger is allowed to touch the surface before the note is due, 
 and the sound is produced by pressure, more or less firm according to the 
 strength of tone required, and with as little percussion as possible. But if this 
 pressure be made with a stiffened finger, the result will be a hard and disagree- 
 able tone; to produce the most musical and singing quality it is necessary that 
 the finger, however firm the pressure, should be in an elastic condition, and it 
 is therefore important that every joint of the finger and hand, and even the 
 wrist, should be kept loose, and should yield slightly with each pressure of the 
 finger-tip. 
 
 This kind of touch is described by Thalberg (L’art du Chant appliqué au 
 Piano) as being executed with a ‘‘boneless hand,” though the expression seems 
 scarcely to convey the idea of the amount of force and pressure required. 
 
 The best method of cultivating this cantabile touch is to practise with a 
 slight forward rise of the wrist for each note played, the movement, which 
 should feel loose and easy, to be made at the moment of reaching the full depth 
 to which the key descends, and not earlier. This movement, the object of 
 
TECHNIQUE. 11 
 
 which is to loosen the joints, can be dispensed with, or, at least, considerably 
 lessened, when the correct habit has been acquired. Perhaps the cantabile 
 portions of most of Hummel’s compositions afford the best opportunities of 
 practising melody-touch, for two reasons: firstly, because they generally consist 
 of notes of various lengths, short as well as long, and it will be found more 
 difficult to make the necessary movement on short notes than on long ones, 
 and, secondly, because they frequently lie in the register of about an octave 
 above the treble stave, a part of the keyboard which in nearly all instruments is 
 the most difficult to make sing. 
 
 It is interesting to prove the effect of elasticity of touch on tone by a 
 simple experiment. Let a key, or a few keys in succession, be pressed down 
 (not struck from a distance), first with the end of a piece of wood, say a 
 penholder, and then with the end of a cylindrical piece of india-rubber, using 
 the same amount of pressure in each case. On listening attentively it will be 
 found that by far the best tone, both for quality and for sustaining power, is 
 produced by the india-rubber ; indeed, if the latter is sufficiently elastic it will 
 be impossible to produce a bad tone with it, however forcible the blow. 
 
 So true is it that quality of tone depends on elasticity, that each separate 
 finger produces a different quality of tone, according to the degree of elasticity 
 which it naturally possesses; and although each finger of a well-trained hand 
 should of course be able to imitate the others, so that the touch may be 
 perfectly equal, yet it is of advantage to recognise their natural tendencies, and, 
 where possible, to employ the particular finger best adapted to produce the 
 quality of tone required. For example, it is generally an advantage to play the 
 first note of a melody, especially if of a dolce character, with the fourth finger, 
 as being the most elastic (Ex 8a). The little finger, being so much shorter 
 than the others, has to be straightened in use, in order to equalize the power of 
 the five fingers, and this straightening tends to stiffen the finger and to deprive 
 ’ it of some of its elasticity. On this account it is not well adapted for sustained 
 melody, but in soft delicate phrases it possesses sufficient elasticity to be very 
 serviceable, and in such cases is frequently to be preferred to the stronger 
 fingers (Ex. 8b). The natural tone of the middle finger is firm and full, because 
 it carries the equally-balanced weight of the hand, and it is well adapted for 
 sonorous and sustained notes (Ex. 9). Also the thumb, provided the position 
 of the hand allows of the pressure being made with the soft and fleshy part, and 
 not with the edge of the thumb-nail, gives full and well-sustained tones, 
 and melodies are often given almost exclusively to the thumb, as in Ex. to. 
 The fore-finger, which is the strongest, is also the least elastic of the fingers, 
 and its use in melody is generally as limited as possible. 
 
 Cuorin, Op. g, No. 2. 
 CuoPin, No. 27, No. 2. Andee stots wake 
 Ex, 8. Lento sostenuto. i 2 
 (a) 4, id 
 
 
 
 feo 
 ) a es + 9a, 
 Pop ) a 
 
 
 
 (Vaan) oa = ¥ ’ 7" 
 
 
 
 ar 
 P dolce, mS 
 
e 
 
 12 TECHNIQUE MND EXPRESSION. r 
 Larghetto. 
 ten. ten, ten, WEBER, Op. 79. 
 Ex. g. ipo ae Rp se 
 
 _ eS RS a A EE a a EE a ee a Ea 
 () oa ee 
 J P. TEES Ear SEN eee somes ee wee | PR en es J 
 Ah Ve} pt eS ee ee eee 
 (WT), Da aa a a ae ET 90 & ES t BE ew esi 
 EJ [Ip 
 
 
 
 
 
 -@- -@- 
 L 3g = 
 ETRE D ar 
 Coe) as ea ae — 
 Se ps; oe e 
 
 
 
 Another attribute of good cantabile-playing, equally important with 
 quality of tone, is the production of legato. It is one of the chief weaknesses 
 of the pianoforte as a musical instrument, that owing to its mechanical 
 construction a perfect Jegato is an impossibility. The singer can vocalise a 
 succession of sounds on one vowel, without the slightest break in the continuity 
 of sound, but the pianist has to deal with separate strings and separate 
 hammers, and therefore each sound sings, as it were, a separate syllable, with 
 a more or less hard consonant at the beginning of it! To minimise the evil, 
 and so to approach as closely as possible to a perfect legato, it is important 
 to observe that a succession of notes of equal strength, however perfect the 
 mechanical connection may be, will never sound smooth. The recurring. 
 percussion, particularly if the notes are of equal length, seems to attract the 
 ear, and to destroy all sense of continuity. But if the same notes are played 
 with gradation of strength, either crescendo or diminuendo, the effect of legato 
 is at once felt, and the disturbing percussion is unnoticed. Everything then 
 
TECHNIQUE. 13 
 
 depends on variety and gradation of tone, and it is an excellent plan, in 
 studying an ordinary legato melody, to determine that no two consecutive notes 
 shall be of precisely the same strength. The amount of variety must, of 
 course, depend on the character of the phrase, but very slight differences are 
 sufficient for the purpose, and if an actual crescendo or diminuendo should 
 appear unsuitable, it is always possible to increase towards the middle and 
 diminish towards the end of the phrase, or vice versd, according to circumstances. 
 
 Perfect control over such delicate nuances implies perfect control over the 
 fingers—in other words, perfect technique, and can only be acquired by those 
 who possess a sufficiently sensitive ear, together with the necessary per- 
 severance in study. Attentive listeners will agree that command over all 
 _ gradations of tone between pianissimo and fortissimo, and perhaps especially 
 between pianissimo and piano, is a chief characteristic of all great players. It 
 is, indeed, far more than velocity or force, the sign and token of pianoforte 
 technique of the highest class. 
 
 Franklin Tayior.—Technique.—Novello. B 
 
Tite 
 FINGERING. 
 
 Amon the essentials which contribute to the formation of a good technique, 
 none can be of greater importance than a practical and systematic method of 
 fingering. Such a method may possibly be acquired, as a matter of habit, by 
 any student who, through long years of training, follows carefully the marks 
 by which the particular fingers are indicated, but more than this is required 
 if the player is to render himself capable of attacking technical difficulties of 
 a kind to which he is unaccustomed, such as he will be sure to meet with in the 
 works of the best and most original of modern composers. For this purpose 
 he must understand, not merely the rules of fingering, but the reasons which 
 have called those rules into existence, as well as the cases in which exceptions 
 become permissible, or even necessary. 
 
 The main object of fingering is the connection of tones. Were it 
 otherwise it would be quite possible to play all passages of single notes with 
 a single finger, and the extraordinary expertness and facility of players on 
 the dulcimer proves that such a mode of execution would be perfectly feasible, 
 
 given sufficient practice. On the pianoforte, however, passages so played 
 “would obviously be staccato, and since legato is, in its proper place, an 
 indispensable characteristic of musical performance, it follows that for two 
 consecutive notes two different fingers are required, and so on. 
 
 In the earliest lessons, written tor beginners, the compass is limited to five 
 notes, that the pupil may first become accustomed to the normal position of the 
 hand, in which each of five consecutive keys has its particular finger, and is 
 played by that and no other throughout. This normal position is the foundation 
 of all fingering; it is used wherever possible, even in the most complex 
 passages, and all deviations from its simple rule are occasioned by the necessity 
 for escaping from its narrow bounds and altering the position of the hand 
 without breaking the legato. There are various ways of changing the position, 
 of which the three most important are extension, contraction, and passing 
 of the thumb. By extension is understood the stretching of the hand beyond 
 the normal position of five consecutive notes of the diatonic scale ; contraction 
 draws the fingers closer together, so that the whole hand covers the interval 
 of a fourth, or less; and passing the thumb under one of the fingers brings 
 about a change into a fresh normal position, having for its starting-point the 
 note on which the thumb falls. 
 
 Owing to its greater flexibility in a lateral direction, the thumb should, if 
 possible, always be one of the two fingers engaged in changing position by either 
 
FINGERING. 15 
 
 extension or contraction. The following example, of which the first bar contains 
 good and the second bad fingering, will serve to illustrate this advantage. The 
 points to be observed are lettered for reference, and are as follows :— 
 
 A is an extension to the thumb. 
 
 B is an extension from the thumb. 
 
 C is a contraction to the thumb. 
 
 D is an extension to the fore-finger. 
 
 E is an extension from the fore-finger. 
 F is a contraction to the fore-finger. 
 G is an extension from the fore-finger. 
 
 The contraction between the fore-finger and little finger, shown at F, is probably 
 the worst that can be made, and should always be avoided :— 
 
 Ex. 11. Good. Say 4 Bac: 5 
 Pos) 4 
 
 
 
 acim 
 Aan GC [Diwed get A, 
 
 By means of alternate extensions and contractions, passages of very wide 
 extent may be covered without break of legato, for example :— 
 
 3 Pe 
 Allegro molto. fe: CHOPIN, Op. 22. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 fog ee SN a ee Fl 2 es ee ae 
 ay Ye | _— ag ey arts i ne a oy pO Poo 
 — ee baw Bt ag = 
 eer) 
 
 
 
 
 Very often a passage can be correctly rendered by means of either extension 
 or contraction. In such cases, contraction is generally to be preferred, 
 especially if the passage be rapid, for the reason that extension always tends 
 to tighten the hand, and thus renders velocity more difficult and fatiguing :— 
 
 By extension. . By contraction. . 
 
 
 
 The passing of the thumb is employed chiefly in scales and arpeggios. 
 In ascending scales for the right hand and descending scales for the left, the 
 thumb usually follows the middle and fourth fingers alternately, while in 
 the contrary directions these fingers pass over the thumb in like manner. 
 In arpeggios, the thumb is generally used once in each octave, and on the 
 same note. 
 
16 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 The more frequently the thumb passes, the greater is the difficulty of 
 playing at a high rate of speed. On this account the scale shown in Ex. 14 
 can be played more rapidly with the fingering marked than with the ordinary 
 scale fingering. The earlier composers appear to have been fully aware of this 
 difficulty, as they rarely, if ever, required a rapid scale to be played by one 
 hand. Instead of this, they were accustomed to divide the scale between the 
 two hands, using them alternately, with the object of avoiding the passing 
 of the thumb (Ex. 15), and the same method has been occasionally employed 
 by modern composers (Ex. 16):— 
 
 fen 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a, 
 Pex 2.) 9- ‘ears thee. 14 BEETHOVEN, Op. 58, Finale. 
 54 £ Per Re 
 ) A A EE ee Be de ee es 
 ———— Riis nRese 
 ‘(TY ae eee eee 
 = PE | PES Ie Ee Eo ee ee ads 2 ES 
 | EEGER er ow 
 rN. Pee RAS BOEOee: 
 La\ sae 6) Fw J GEE ERE RE ATE EERE TS Ey ee a ania 
 UES Sw 2 ESE (ns. AR a Pe ee ee SO Mae ie 
 ee Ah en PR BP es 
 eae es | Dep 
 
 
 
 The difficulty of passing the thumb in rapid tempo is, perhaps, most noticeable 
 in the chromatic scale, the fingering for which should always be chosen with _ 
 due regard to its speed and character. Thus the fingering in Ex. 17a, where 
 the thumb passes five times within the octave, is powerful but not rapid, 
 and is best adapted for brilliant and rhythmical scales, at a moderate rate of 
 speed; that given at b is lighter and more rapid, and is well suited for such 
 
FINGERING. LT 
 
 scales as occur in cadenzas, while the fingering shown at c is the most rapid 
 of all:— 
 
 
 
 This last method, the invention of which is attributed to Thalberg, has the 
 peculiarity that instead of repeating itself in each octave, the repetition takes 
 placein every alternate octave. On this account the fingering is, perhaps, more 
 difficult, but it is well worth the trouble of learning. 
 
 In certain cases it is possible to pass the thumb under (or sometimes over) 
 the little finger, by which means arpeggios of great extension can be made 
 feasible (Ex. 18). With this fingering the connection is necessarily more or 
 less imperfect, but with practice, and possibly by the help of the pedal, the 
 break can be made so slight as not to disturb the listener’s sense of legato. 
 Scale-passages, as well as arpeggios, may also be fingered in this manner, in 
 suitable cases (Ex. 19) :— 
 
 Ex. 18. Un poco alle BRAHMS, Op. 76, No. 1. 
 
 y eee sl ee ee ES baa 
 Wetter ee Se 
 Vil UE ad See 
 
 
 
 All rules of fingering apply to the left hand, as a matter of course, equally 
 with the right. But in comparing the fingering of the two hands it must be 
 observed that since one hand is an exact counterpart of the other, bu 
 reversed, so the fingering of one hand is suitable for the other, but in the 
 
18 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 opposite direction. In accordance with this principle, all passages in contrary 
 motion should, if possible, be fingered so that the same finger of each hand is 
 employed at the same moment, particularly when the black and white keys 
 happen to correspond in both hands, as in the following example :— 
 
 Ex. 20. 
 
 —_——-. 
 
 SE ee 
 
 But it is in choosing a fingering for double scales—that is, scales of thirds 
 or sixths—that this correspondence of the hands is most noticeable and impor- 
 tant. In scales of thirds the little finger is used once, and in scales of sixths 
 the middle finger once, in each octave, and the formation of a regular and 
 systematic method for such scales depends on fixing the proper place for the 
 little or middle finger respectively. 
 
 Of course, according to the principle just observed, the fingering of an 
 ascending right hand scale should be identical with that of a descending left 
 hand scale, and vice versd. Now, in endeavouring to apply this principle to 
 double scales, a curious coincidence comes to light ; we find that the two hands 
 agree as to position with regard to black and white keys, not in any one scale, 
 but in any two scales of which one contains the same number of sharps as the 
 other has flats. For example, the order of black and white keys in the scales 
 of A with three sharps and E flat with three flats is the same, and the fingering 
 of A with the right hand must therefore be correct for E flat with the left 
 hand, the movement being taken in opposite directions. This will be readily 
 understood on comparing the scales as given in the following example :— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Working out this fundamentai idea through all the major scales (the 
 minors require some deviations) we arrive at the following rules, which differ 
 considerably from the fingering given in most instruction-books, but which will 
 be found of the greatest service, both as facilitating the execution and as a 
 help towards committing the fingering to memory.* 
 
 
 
 * The fingering of Double Scales has been treated at length by the writer in his Primer 
 on the subject (Novello & Co.). 
 
FINGERING. 19 
 
 ScaLEs IN THIRDS. 
 R.H. sharp scales as far as five sharps have the little finger on the fifth degree. 
 L.H. sharp scales as far as six sharps have the little finger on the note A. 
 R.H. flat scales as far as six flats have the little finger on the note G. 
 L.H. flat scales as far as five flats have the little finger on the sixth degree. 
 
 SCALES IN SIXTHS. 
 R.H. sharp scales as far as five sharps have the middle finger on the sixth degree. 
 L.H. sharp scales as far as six sharps have the middle finger on the note G. 
 R.H. flat scales as far as six flats have the middle finger on the note A. 
 L.H. flat scales as far as five flats have the middle finger on the fifth degree. 
 
 In addition to the three principal ways of changing position referred to on 
 page 14, there are other expedients, each of great value in suitable cases, 
 though the opportunities for their employment are of less frequent occurrence. 
 For instance, one finger can be passed over or under another, instead of over 
 the thumb. In modern practice, this method is usually only employed for 
 passing from a white to a black key in ascending, or from a black to a white 
 key in descending, the finger which is underneath the other being used for the 
 white key. Perhaps the best example of its use is the fingering of the chro- 
 matic double scale given below. The movements of the ascending right hand 
 are available for the left hand in descending, and vice versd :— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 peo, CUA ae Gee eae ee a | Sie gin aes een eee 
 : hoe ae 
 A 1 Zrat 2 1 : 2 : 2) i Pho Wal i > Ce eee 1 2 1 2 
 i ———= _ pe! HEBER ‘ o i Tao Goeee Pe sence a 
 fst or rate) Sie -$ 14504 © 5b +85 +e Pa 
 Va) aT z 1S Sng ote Oe ice et sr 
 At @- 
 
 
 
 
 
 The little finger is best adapted for being passed over, or for passing under, 
 on account of its shortness, while the middle finger, being the longest, is almost 
 unavailable. Strangely enough, however, the earliest experimenters in the art 
 of fingering appear to have considered this very finger the most suitable for the 
 purpose, as in the scale-fingering shown in the following example, which is 
 from the ‘Orgel oder Instrument Tabulatur,”’ by Ammerbach (Leipzig, 
 
 1571) :— 
 
 
 
 Another method of changing position is by sliding a finger from a black 
 key to a white one (Ex. 24a), or, more rarely, from one white key to another 
 (Ex 24b), In making the latter movement the finger must slide obliquely from 
 
20 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 one key to the next, since if it were to move in a line parallel to the edge of the 
 keyboard the pressure against the side of the second key would check the 
 movement and break the legato :— 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op. 82, No. 7. 
 Ort ae aN 
 eee ee 
 ia) L. a -#. ope AE u ee 
 ——— ee 
 
 Sx. 24. 
 
 
 
 Although it is not possible to pass from a white to a black key by sliding, 
 the connection between the two can, nevertheless, be perfectly effected by 
 means of a certain use of the thumb, in the following manner: the white key is 
 played by the thumb, and the wrist is then depressed, the hand making at the 
 same time a slight forward movement, the effect of which is to bring the tip of 
 the thumb over the black key, while the white key is still held down by 
 pressure from the root of the thumb, near to the wrist; the black key can then 
 be played by simply raising the wrist to its usual position. This method is 
 occasionally of great value, and is well worth the trouble of acquiring. An 
 instance of its application is given in the next example, at N.B.:— 
 
 MENDELSSOHN, Op. 54, Var. 14. 
 
 
 
 There remains for consideration one more mode of changing position, of 
 the greatest use in the fingering of fugues and other polyphonic compositions— 
 namely, the substitution of one finger for another on the same key, without 
 repetition of the sound (Ex. 26). Such substitutions involve a contraction of 
 
FINGERING. 21 
 
 the hand, and the remarks already made on contractions generally (see page 15) 
 loa looaN TN 
 
 will apply here. Thus the changes 12, 13, 14, and even 15, are preferable to 
 
 Fo EN as 
 
 24, 25, OF 35:— 
 
 a SCHUMANN, Op. 124, No, 6. 
 
 
 
 As a tule, the change of finger should be effected instantaneously, that 
 there may be but one perceptible effort, and ihat the fingers may become free 
 for the succeeding notes, yet there are cases in which the movement of the 
 parts necessitates a delay in making the change (Ex. 27), and may occasionally 
 even require more than one change on the same note (Ex. 28) :— 
 
 Ex. 27. a - 4% prs Bacu, Fugue 4, Part 1. 
 ae 
 | 
 1 
 
 
 
 In fingered editions, legato octaves are frequently marked with a change of 
 finger on one of the two notes forming the octave, as in Ex. 29. No doubt 
 such a change improves the connection of the particular note to which it is 
 applied, but it is at the cost of destroying that of the other, the effect really 
 produced being that shown in Ex. 30. The remedy is worse than the evil, and 
 changes of this kind, which, by the way, are denounced by Von Biilow as ‘the 
 last resource of the helpless amateur,” should always be avoided :— 
 
 Ex, 29. BEETHOVEN, Op. 2, No. 3. 
 Allegro assat.~ _g_ _— ye i 
 @ 
 
 
 
22 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 
 
 Generally speaking, changes of finger, however valuable as a means of 
 providing fresh fingers wherewith to play notes which would otherwise be out 
 of reach, should be employed sparingly, as their too constant use tends to 
 produce a feeble and unrhythmical style of playing. 
 
 The object of all the rules of fingering hitherto discussed has been the 
 production of a good legato, but there are cases in which the intention in 
 choosing the fingering may be to prevent legato. If, for example, the phrasing 
 of a passage requires that certain notes should be very definitely separated, the 
 best fingering, other circumstances permitting, will be one by which they 
 cannot possibly be connected (Ex. 31). By the use of such fingering the 
 difficulty of the phrasing will be considerably lessened :— 
 
 
 
 Ex. 31 2 iw . 
 shay 2 4 3 : 
 Allegro molto. _g.~ Wey oa ee se 3 Sorat ane tals N27 
 == 2 - ae 4 av2 2 3 
 
 
 
 At the present day, all the important works of the great masters appear 
 in numerous editions very fully fingered by various editors, more or less 
 competent, and doubtless designed to assist the intelligent student, although 
 in the opinion of the writer the result is frequently rather in the direction of 
 puzzling him. The methods of fingering presented in these editions differ 
 considerably from each other, but on examination they will generally be found 
 to agree in three points, which may therefore be taken to represent the most 
 modern development of the theory of fingering. It will be worth while to’ 
 consider these three points, and to try to ascertain their practical value. They 
 are, firstly, the free use of the thumb on the black keys, secondly, the crossing 
 of the hands, and lastly, the employment of different fingers on repeated notes. 
 
 With regard to the first point, it has never been possible to dispense 
 entirely with the use of the thumb on black keys; even as far back as the time 
 of Emanuel Bach it was not unconditionally forbidden, though it was ordained 
 that it should be used only ‘‘in cases of necessity,” and modern music, such, 
 for instance, as Chopin’s Etude, Op. 10, No. 5, requires more than a mere 
 abrogation of an obsolete rule—it demands that the free use of the thumb in all 
 positions shall be sedulously studied. The practice of passages in which 
 the thumb is required on black keys should, however, by no means be 
 commenced too early. It is one of the most important principles of good 
 technique that whatsoever is difficult must be played in exactly the same 
 manner as that which is easy, if mastery over the difficulty is to be obtained, 
 and yet many anxious teachers, in the hope of enabling their pupils to use the 
 
FINGERING. 23 
 
 thumb freely on the black keys, require them to practise the scales of B flat or 
 E flat with the fingering of the scale of C, before they have properly overcome 
 the difficulties of scale-playing in keys which have a white key for key-note, the 
 inevitable result being an inelegant and clumsy execution. The only sound 
 method of working in such matters is to make sure, in the first instance, that 
 passages in simple positions are played with perfection of finger-movement, and 
 then to imitate that perfection in similar passages which are placed in positions 
 of greater difficulty. 
 
 Crossing the hands is, of course, perfectly in place when it is desired by 
 the composer, in which cases it often produces effects which could not be 
 obtained without great difficulty in any other way; but it is not possible to say 
 much in its favour when it is employed in a simple passage which might be 
 perfectly well played without it, and where the composer certainly did not 
 intend it to be used. Some modern editors appear to have an extraordinary 
 fondness for this kind of arrangement, but it is difficult to see what advantage 
 there can be in playing passages such as those given.in Ex. 32 in the manner 
 shown at b and d, instead of using the right hand alone, as the composer 
 intended (a, c). 
 
 (a) As written. 
 aa 
 
 Ex, 32. Pi ee BEETHOVEN, Op. 58. 
 
 : 
 Te 
 
 SS == 
 
 Peay — . = eo ee : 
 SS (eee ee aa 
 
 (5) Peters ee 
 
 ae 
 leret 
 
 jpooesamny, M.D. 
 ie) Sos 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 M.S. 
 (c) As written. 
 eae BEETHOVEN, Op. 58, Finale. 
 2, it 2. 
 - f ereeet Seale 5 2.1 
 y. z ye es = Cal a | kamen oe Se ee a RISENER oO boa | 
 q re ee ee rt Dimers a 
 be 
 Ll yy ST re — 1b ae 
 eee ee Oe ee Ae | 7 
 me st eee Oa eg Oe ae 
 
 
 
 
 
24 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 (d) Peters Edition. 
 M.D. 
 
 
 
 The case is different with regard to the third of the three points referred to 
 above—the change of finger on repeated notes. Here the principle is undeniably 
 sound, but as applied in modern editions it is frequently carried to excess, the 
 mere fact of a note being repeated, even after a considerable lapse of time, 
 being taken to imply a change of finger. This is not necessary, and may often 
 prove a disadvantage, as tending to give a different quality of tone to the 
 second of the repeated notes. What is really advisable may be stated in the 
 following two general rules—firstly, that in simple repetitions of single notes 
 there should be a change of finger if the accent fall on the second, but not if it 
 fall on the first note (Ex. 33); and secondly, that the finger should always be 
 changed if the second of the repeated notes appears in a different part to the 
 first. The operation of this last rule may be seen in Ex. 34, in which the 
 repeating E flat, and afterwards F, appears in the lower and upper of the two 
 parts alternately, with a change of finger for each repetition :— 
 
 Andante. CHOPIN, Op. 55, No. 1. 
 
 
 
 The same rule holds good in legato as well as staccato—indeed, it may be 
 considered even more important, since if the same finger were used for repeated 
 notes in legato, either the connection would be defective or else the endeavour 
 to prevent this fault would probably prevent the clear repetition of the note 
 
 (Ex. 35) :— 
 
FINGERING. 25 
 
 Allegro. BEETHOVEN, Op. 76. BEETHOVEN, Op. 79. 
 4 3 4 3 4: : 
 Ex. 35. $4 ral , Andante. 3 2 i 1 > 
 e 
 @ 
 
 
 
 Groups of three or more repeated notes are always to be played with 
 change of finger, and generally with the weakest note of the group falling to 
 the thumb, while the accent is given by either the middle or fourth finger :— 
 
 
 
 In the rendering of certain ornaments it often happens that a note is 
 followed by another of the same pitch, not indeed immediately, but after the 
 interposition of one very rapid note, the final note taking the accent. In 
 these cases the technique is not unlike that of repeated notes, and the final 
 note should be played with a fresh finger, just as though the intervening note 
 had not been present (Ex. 37) :— 
 
 Ex. 37. Written. 
 
 
 
 
 
 ay GR 
 Played. 
 ie ay al 43.0 Der. 
 . ED Meee: 
 => — 3 => 
 eat 
 
 Repetitions of notes in chords are frequently marked with a change ot 
 fingers, but do not really require it, as the wrist possesses sufficient elasticity to 
 ensure the clear repetition without the assistance of any action of the fingers. 
 In the opinion of the writer, the fingering given at a in the following example is 
 preferable to that shown at b, which is copied from the edition by Klindworth :-— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 : : SCHUMANN, 
 ( ) 1 1 Op. I7 ‘ z z 
 >: 1 J 
 Ex. 38 * : 
 ,, e ¥ 
 XL_N : See ee © ie 
 CS 2 = Piz a ee —e- a se 
 a 4 eae See ee ay. 
 - -o- oe- ° 
 wie v/a Ke oOo — ye 
 coy 5 SSS eS Sas ee ee a eee 
 i ie a eae eas eel Ee 
 eo ereie ovis BP Re | ‘=, - Saas capil ama 
 ——— Se eee 
 —- 
 5 4 
 2 3 
 1 1 
 ()——__—_ #4 ae 
 a ee 7 Puig ais =] =] | 
 A ee a B 
 i 23 Pace el ee Ce ee 2 
 C1 CLE od tp el ed SO a SRL CT NNN ca PY WL “a aur 
 = -@- \ 
 vie ~~ 
 
26 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 In pianoforte music, the particular fingering to be used is marked by means 
 of numerals, each finger being indicated by its proper number, but unfortunately 
 the English system of numbers differs from that in use in all other countries, a 
 difference which has been the cause of much unnecessary trouble to students. 
 How the discrepancy arose, or, having arisen, why it should have endured 
 so long, is not clear, but the English method would appear to possess the 
 greatest antiquity, as the earliest specimens of fingering of which we have 
 any knowledge were marked by the numbers, I, 2, 3, 4, for the fingers, the 
 thumb being indicated by O, instead of the more modern X. The other 
 method, in which the thumb is numbered 1, and the four fingers 2, 3, 4, and 5, 
 seems to have originated in Italy—at any rate, it is spoken of as the “ Italian 
 manner of fingering” in a work published in 1740, entitled ‘“‘ The Harpsichord 
 Illustrated and Improv’d”— and was most probably introduced thence into 
 Germany and France early in the eighteenth century, when it first made its 
 appearance in those countries. At the present day, when musical compositions 
 do not remain in the countries of their birth, but are heard and played over the 
 whole artistic world, the retention of the older method seems an anomaly, and it 
 is satisfactory to observe that almost all English composers and publishers are 
 now making use of the so-called Continental method, so that the ultimate 
 disappearance of the disturbing difference can only be a question of time. 
 
 ne eee eee rere 
 en | 
 
IV. 
 RHYTHM. 
 
 WE now come to the consideration of the intellectual side of pianoforte-playing, 
 as distinguished from the mechanical and the emotional. Mechanism must of 
 course always be present, that the notes may be correctly and readily produced, 
 but in addition to this it is necessary, if the music is to be intelligible to the 
 listener, that its rhythm should be made clear. Strictly defined, at least with 
 respect to the study of composition, rhythm means the division of the music 
 into periods and sections, thus bearing the same relation to music that metre 
 does to verse; but for practical purposes rhythm must be taken to mean the 
 art of so playing that the division of the music into bars, and the sub-division 
 of those bars, shall be intelligible. It should never be forgotten that the listener 
 has not the advantage possessed by the player of seeing the written music, but 
 must receive all his impressions through the sense of hearing only, and that 
 his power of understanding must therefore depend on his being able to perceive 
 the equal duration of the bars, and the regularly recurring accents at the 
 beginnings of the bars, or of portions of them. Consequently Time, or the 
 proportion of note-values, and Accent form the two essentials of rhythm which 
 require the attention of the student. 
 
 Beginners, especially those not gifted with a strong sense of rhythm, 
 usually experience very great difficulty in learning to play ‘‘in time,” but it 
 would appear that much of this difficulty is due to an unpractical method of 
 study. Time is the arithmetic of music, and the mistake made is in considering 
 it as a question of addition, whereas it is really one of division. Thus, in 
 analysing such a bar as Ex. 39, the pupil endeavours to realise that the first 
 note, a dotted quaver, has a certain duration, that the three following notes 
 are three times as quick, that the next note is held on over the third beat of 
 the bar, that in the last group the second note is twice as long as the others, 
 and that the whole added together make up one bar! A far simpler and more 
 practical view is to divide the bar at once into four beats of crotchet value, and 
 each beat into four parts, and then to realise that in the first beat only the first 
 and fourth of these sub-divisions are audible; in the second beat, the first, second, 
 and third ; in the third beat, the second, third, and fourth ; and in the fourth beat, 
 the first, second, and fourth :— 
 
 Ex. 30; 
 
28 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 The power of making such sub-divisions easily and correctly may be most 
 readily acquired by taking the first five notes of a scale—so that the attention 
 may not be distracted by considerations of fingering or order of notes—and 
 practising them, ascending and descending, with every variety of rhythm, such 
 
 as PP > J Pi = a é y Zh and so on. The result will be a series of 
 —— 
 
 passages similar to those shown in Ex. 4o, but it is not advisable that such 
 exercises should be written out in full; they should rather be constructed by 
 the pupil, the particular form of rhythm being given by the teacher :— 
 
 Ex. 40. 
 
 
 
 Among the various difficulties which have to be met, perhaps the most 
 troublesome is the combination of dissimilar kinds of division, such as that of 
 three equal notes with two or four, of five notes with two, and so on. The 
 proper treatment of these difficulties varies with the tempo; if slow, it is a 
 matter of arithmetic, if rapid, of independence of the hands and of the power of 
 hearing two discrepant movements at the same time. 
 
 The arithmetic of two notes against three is very simple, each of the two 
 notes must be equal to one and a half of the notes forming the group of three. 
 The place of the second of the two notes must therefore be midway between 
 the second and third of the three (Ex. 41). Similarly, the place of the second 
 of two notes in combination with a group of five must be midway between 
 Nos. 3 and 4 (Ex. 42), or with a group of seven, between Nos. 4 and 5 
 
 (Ex. 43) :— 
 
 Ex Ad. Cuopin, Op. 48, No. 2. 
 ATID GESTS: = 
 
 
 
RHYTHM. 29 
 
 Cuop1n, Op, 15, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 Ex. 43. SCHUMANN, Op.g. ‘“ Eusebius.” 
 {5 SR TT aaa LEE COTES OE LODE ee 0 gE TE RE eR 
 F 
 ae aera ee 7 Scenes Rea, Se MAS SN SA ae 
 an: a A eg Bear Aa sea! 
 © p-p 4-0 -#-9- jo? 5 a : aie 
 RAR ee <I oe NED ! i e { 
 oo y | 
 2 = ek Pe -2- 
 Loa\* (2 a Oe a” & — 
 (@ 
 
 Chin) Sea Sem Ja ed i 
 Sasa Pe ee SS 
 Sle Sa a ee ee ’ SS 
 
 The calculation required to determine the places in a combination of three 
 notes with four is rather more complex, since it will be necessary to divide the 
 whole group into twelve equal parts, in order to find the place of each note. 
 If this is done, the notes will be found to fall on the numbers 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 
 10, thus :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 73. 
 
 
 
 But this method of procedure is too’ cumbrous to be practically useful, 
 save in very slow tempo, and the best way of practising such passages, as 
 likewise all kinds of combinations in rapid tempo, is to play them with each 
 hand alternately for a considerable number of repetitions, always preserving 
 the tempo unaltered, until both hands have acquirea the habit of playing at the 
 correct rate of speed, after which the combination can be effected without 
 
 Franklin Taylor.—Technique.—Novello. C 
 
80 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 difficulty. The following example may serve to make clear the manner of 
 working :— 
 
 CuHopPIn, Op. 66, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 | Allegro. To be repeated many times. 
 
 When a group consisting of a dotted quaver and a semiquaver is com- 
 bined with a triplet of quavers, the proper rendering depends upon the tempo. 
 In slow time, the semiquaver takes its proper place after the third note of the 
 triplet (Ex. 46), but in rapid movement, and particularly in music of the time 
 of Bach and Handel, the semiquaver must be struck together with the third 
 note of the triplet (Ex. 47) :— 
 
 Largo. CHOPIN, Op. 58. 
 
 Allegro. 
 
 
 
 Before quitting the subject of combined rhythms, reference must be made to 
 a certain kind of false combination, frequently employed by Schumann, among 
 other composers, which is too important to pass unnoticed. Two examples are 
 
REDYORT M. 31 
 
 given below (Ex. 48), the effect intended by the first being that of two notes 
 against three, and by the second that of three notes against eight. It will 
 be observed that if any such example be played strictly as written, the proper 
 effect will be missed, because one note is made to supply the place of two, which 
 two, if they were both present, would not occur at the same moment. Thus 
 the third note of the first example, E, if played in its proper place as the second 
 of two quavers, will be too early to form the third note of a triplet; on the 
 other hand, if the grouping of three be strictly observed, the note E, as 
 third note of the triplet, will be too late, and will spoil the equal movement 
 of the melody. The only course, therefore, is to play the note in question 
 a trifle later than its true place as second of two notes, and at the same time a 
 trifle earlier than its place as third note of three. By these means the difference 
 is equalized and spread over the whole group, a distribution which requires 
 some judgment and considerable practice, but which is nevertheless perfectly 
 feasible and satisfactory. 
 
 Ex. 48. Allegro. SCHUMANN, Op..g2. 
 
 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op. gg, No, 2. 
 
 Molto Allegro. guage TUT RTPA ee 
 3 fee | 
 See SR a om ma SAC ET 
 
 
 
 
 
 ad tae 
 
 ostrtar Bea se Fa 
 See SSS = 
 
 
 
 The necessity for the second constituent of rhythm—Accent—has always 
 been recognised, in fact, from the very beginning of music as an art. In the 
 earliest music, which was exclusively vocal, this need was sufficiently supplied 
 by the emphasis given to certain syllables of the text, but with the develop- 
 ment of instrumental music, and its constantly increasing complexity, some 
 sign became necessary to indicate the placing of the accent, and accordingly 
 the music was divided into portions of equal duration by vertical lines called 
 bars (about the middle of the seventeenth century), and the strongest accent was 
 given to the first note in each portion or measure. This equal division, and the 
 consequent periodicity of accent, have remained unchanged ever since their 
 
82 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 introduction, and, indeed, form an indispensable element in all modern music, 
 in whatsoever variety of time it may be written, whether common or triple, 
 simple or compound. It will not be necessary in this place to describe all 
 these varieties at length, as it may be taken for granted that the reader is well 
 acquainted with them, but there are some few peculiarities of accent which are 
 to be met with by the student of pianoforte music, and which it will therefore 
 be well to consider briefly. 
 
 The first of these is syncopation, which is an anticipated accent, caused by 
 an unaccented note being prolonged so as to include in its value the next 
 following accented beat. In all such cases the accent, which cannot fall in its 
 ptoper place, by reason of the note which should receive it being sustained and 
 not struck, is given to the preceding note. Thus, in the following example, the 
 proper accent can be given in the bar marked B, but not in bars A and C, 
 because in these the first beat is tied from the preceding bars. Accordingly, 
 the accent is given to the first of the two tied notes in each case :— 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op. 12, No. 4. 
 
 
 
 Syncopation, although it displaces the accent, does not disturb the general 
 rhythm, which, unless the syncopation is constant and very prolonged, is 
 always recognisable under the displacement; but there are cases in which an 
 alteration of accent is designed to, and does, give the effect of a temporary 
 change of rhythm. Instances of this are given in the two next examples, in 
 the first of which the rhythm changes for the time being from triple time to 
 duple, with two beats in a bar (Ex. 50), while in the second the triple time is 
 preserved, but the length of the bar is doubled, becoming, as it were, a bar 
 of 3-2 instead of 3-4 (Ex. 51). The effect of this change is shown in the stave 
 underneath the example :— 
 
 Ex. 50. Tempo di ballo. ats SCHUMANN, SP. 21, No. 4. 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Joli etd Oi | 338 
 
 1 ee fe mi vivace. SCHUMANN, sent BN 
 ox) 
 
 
 
 Very often, in quick music, the bar as recognised and accepted by the listener 
 is not the same as that written by the composer, the true bar being in reality 
 composed of two or four of the written bars. This is always the case when the 
 notation of the music gives frequent instances of bars containing but a single 
 tied note, or of rests of the duration of a whole bar, since it is obvious that the 
 accent, by which alone the listener recognises the division into bars, cannot be 
 given to a rest or a tied note. Thus the melody quoted in Ex. 52, meaningless 
 if considered as a series of bars in 2-4 time, becomes perfectly reasonable and 
 intelligible if counted in bars of four beats, one beat to each of the written bars, 
 as in Ex. 53 :— 
 
 Ex. 52. SCHUMANN, Op, 21, No. 8 
 
 Con allegrezza. 
 
 
 
34 TECHNIQUE \AND EXPRESSION, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ex. 53. 
 1 == 
 fra 
 (sces hn See ea 
 og, ee 
 te-0 a : oo: 
 Sg Og a lo o> 
 wees Ce tn eee eee cas NS a hf we om pa @ 
 . = | > pe iz: : 
 Pee ee Po a —— comedy 
 f a 
 ty iy 
 ™ —— eee ear 
 ee a ia ern 24 ee 
 to = P| 4 oe SS 
 oOo 
 —_—_, . = 
 7 ee 
 (He — — fe ett eS ee 
 4 jaar Rane paecad GOORIN em Doaed aed oa band peas fame Rete cas ieee? aes ee SARE Eos ei = 
 | I | {| - = -@- -@-° 
 
 Sometimes large sections of a composition, and even whole compositions, 
 are constructed in this manner, and the counting of one for each bar expresses 
 the real rhythm of the music far more exactly than the counting of the separate 
 beats of one of the written bars. This is the case with the four Scherzi by 
 Chopin, the middle section of the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonatina, 
 Op. 79 (quoted on page 54), and in many other instances. It is important that 
 the student shoul@ recognise this peculiarity of construction, or rather of 
 notation, and should observe that an equal amount of force cannot with propriety 
 be given to the first note of each bar in such works, since only one in every 
 four bars represents a true first beat of a bar. 
 
 Just as several short bars in a quick movement may combine to form one 
 long one, so in slow movements may the converse take place, one long bar 
 being divided into two or more short ones. Practically, this always takes place 
 when, as frequently happens in the slow movements of the classical composers, 
 the music requires as strong an accent on the third beat of the bar as on the 
 first ; there are then in reality two first beats, and therefore two bars, in each 
 of the written bars. 
 
 There are certain advantages connected with the notation of rapid move- 
 ments in short bars, one being that it males the music more easy to read, 
 another that it enables the composer to produce an agreeable variety by 
 occasionally introducing the actual rhythm of the short bars. A pleasing 
 example of this variety may be found in the first movement of Beethoven’s 
 Sonata in D, Op. 28, the greater part of which has the effect of four beats in a 
 bar, each bar being a combination of four of the written bars, while the rhythm 
 of the codetta at the end of the first section is in accordance with the notation, 
 and consists of short bars of triple time. The notation of slow movements in 
 
RHYTHM. B5 
 
 long bars, on the other hand, does not present any particular advantage, and in 
 some cases may lead to awkwardness. The Second Fantasia in C minor by 
 Mozart presents a striking example of the notation of two short bars as one 
 long one. Here the second portion of the first subject, on its first appearance, 
 enters on the first beat of a bar (Ex. 54), but on its re-appearance later, after 
 the return to the first subject, it begins on the half-bar (Ex. 55), and this 
 interchange of first and third beats continues for nine bars, thus conclusively 
 proving that in the composer’s estimation the first and third beats are of equal 
 importance. If, however, the whole work had been written in the true bar as 
 heard by the listener—that is, in bars of half the length of those actually chosen— 
 a certain very inconvenient silence which occurs in the sixteenth bar (Ex. 56, 
 at N.B.) would not have been necessary, and the flow of the melody would 
 have been unbroken, as it is on its second appearance (Ex. 57). As it is, the 
 effect of the long break is so unsatisfactory that the omission of the silent 
 half-bar in performance is a very pardonable liberty :— 
 
 Mozart, Fantasia. 
 
 Ex ; ee -o -~s- ‘eile 
 Spont’ Adagio. ee ite + fee age ee 
 
 
 

 
 36 TECHNIQUE AND. EXPRESSION. 
 
 
 
 In brilliant passages, the accent often depends less on the bar than on the 
 changes of the harmony by which the passage is accompanied. Thus, the 
 first and second bars of the next example will require four accents in each, not, 
 of course, of any great force, but sufficient to give brilliancy to the passage, 
 the third and fourth bars one accent each (that of bar four falling on the half- 
 bar), to be followed by two accents in each of the succeeding bars, all in 
 accordance with the changes of harmony :— 
 
 Presto. — WEBER, Op. 24. 
 ' -@ 
 
 
 
 Even an unaccompanied passage will represent, more or less definitely, 
 certain changes of harmony, and the accents in such a passage must agree with the 
 harmonies which it suggests, and by which it might have been accompanied. 
 The following example is an instance of a change of harmony suggested by the 
 accent, although no actual chords are present. The passage should be played, 
 as recommended by Von Bilow in his “ Instructive Edition,” with an accent 
 
RHYTHM. 87 
 
 on the half-bar, in order to produce the effect of a change to a chord of A minor, 
 as shown in the lowest stave :— 
 
 Allegro con brio. 
 
 ~ 
 
 —— 
 
 eS asa ae 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 53. 
 Ex. 59. See, a P. 53 
 
 = 
 \ | > aq eer 
 
 
 
 
 
 In some cases, the particular accents desired by the composer are indicated 
 by the manner of grouping the notes (Ex. 60). In more than one instance, 
 Schumann has adopted the unusual division of eight semiquavers into four 
 groups, with a view to ensuring the proper distribution of the accent (Ex. 61a), 
 and in the particular example quoted below, he has further emphasised his 
 intention by the peculiar fingering which he has marked in certain bars 
 (Ex. 61d) :— 
 
 Allegro moderato. MULLER, Op. 29, No, I. 
 Dxn00.) «9° @ «| u +s ae, ay 
 ace che -P. ee -2..9-# 2.9. 2 2 -e- -9--2 0g. -0-2-09-, 
 cea? me — a “= aosimaeseats Se aT A SN aie marmasiones a We a o-a-\ 
 
 _£ iba 
 am fan eee ae Grate eee et Et — at j 
 A) a a 
 
 
 
 eee SCHUMANN, Op. 12, No. 5. 
 
 Ex. 61. (a) Mit Leidenschaft. (d) 
 
 
 
Wie 
 PHRASING, 
 
 In considering the various essentials of a satisfactory performance, as stated on 
 page 2, it was remarked that attention must be paid to the connection or 
 disconnection of the notes, and also to their relative degrees offorce. Phrasing, 
 which may fairly be defined as the difference between an interesting and 
 an uninteresting or even unintelligible rendering, depends upon the due 
 observance of these essential requirements. In the very fairly complete system 
 of notation in present use, there are many signs by which the composer 
 can express his wishes as to performance, and the proper rendering in respect of 
 these signs is merely a matter of accuracy; but in addition, good phrasing requires 
 a general comprehension of the character of the music, that its component 
 parts may be kept in due proportion, and that the effect of the whole sare 
 be complete and convincing. 
 
 Of the signs relating to connection and disconnection, the one most 
 frequently met with is a curved line drawn over a group of notes, commonly 
 called a slur, and indicating connection. As generally used, it is not an 
 indispensable sign, since all passages which are without any mark at all are 
 understood to be legato, and therefore the addition of the curved line merely 
 gives the phrase a more finished appearance. But in the works of certain 
 composers the slur is occasionally employed in a manner which suggests that it is 
 intended to possess a further significance, and to indicate a special variety of 
 touch. In such cases, the passages which have no mark are meant to be 
 played with great brilliancy, though of course without break of connection, 
 while the slurred passages are to be rendered with a closer, quieter touch, and 
 with very smooth effect. There can be no doubt that Beethoven intended this 
 variety in the Finale of the Sonata in A flat, Op. 26, the diversity of the 
 marking, as shown in the following example, being perfectly regular and 
 constant throughout the movement :— 
 
 Ex. 62, Allegro. BEETHOVEN, Op. 26 
 
 
 
PHRASING. 39 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ne @ Sinica 
 eee ome aes f 2. cies a -@ -o- 
 aaa ee meee ee cee eaears er seg ema ro 2 
 a — — — a Bl — —— aa ao at a 
 -@- 
 
 
 
 When the slur is applied to a group of two notes it receives a new 
 significance, and produces one of the most important of all phrasing effects. 
 The two notes are connected as a matter of course, but the first of the two is 
 played with emphasis, more or less strong according to the character of the 
 music, while the second is not only much weaker than the first, but also 
 much shorter, being made in most cases as short as possible (Ex. 63). This 
 curtailment of the second note, and its consequent disconnection from the 
 note following, is especially noticeable when the group is completed by a 
 staccato note or notes (Ex. 64). In such cases the second of the slurred 
 notes must be made both shorter and weaker than the staccato note which 
 
 follows it :— 
 
 Ex. 63. ee Haypn, Sonata. 
 
 
 
 All groups consisting of two slurred notes have their accent on the first, 
 provided they are written either as notes of equal length (Ex. 65a) or else as a 
 
40 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 longer note followed by a shorter (Ex. 65b), and this is the case even wher 
 their position contradicts the proper accent of the bar, as in Ex. 66 :— 
 
 Ex, 65. Allegro. BEETHOVEN, Op. 31, No. 2. 
 5 (a P 
 
 
 
 Assai vivace, BEETHOVEN, Op. 106. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Allegro vivace. — 
 
 But when the slurring takes place from a shorter note to a longer, as in 
 Ex. 67, the accent of the bar is not disturbed, and the second of the two slurred 
 notes is emphasised. In all cases the second note is shortened, in order to 
 separate the slurred group from whatsoever follows it, but a slight curtailment 
 is generally sufficient in slurs which end with the longer note :— 
 
 Ex. 67. Allegro. = SCHUMANN, Op, 32, No. 1. 
 
 
 
 
 
PHRASING. 4 
 
 The next example presents a series of slurs in which the accent has to be 
 given to the second of two slurred notes, in spite of the fact that they are 
 both written of equal value, thus appearing to form an exception to the rule. 
 It must, however, be observed that the prevailing rhythm of such phrases 
 differs from that of Ex. 66, in which the notes are not only of equal length, but 
 follow at equal intervals of time; in the present case the melody really consists 
 of short notes followed by long ones, slurred together, as will be seen on 
 comparing with the plain form shown at b in the example, and the longer notes 
 are written short merely to ensure a greater degree of curtailment than would 
 have belonged to them if they had been written of their full length, as crotchets. 
 Thus there is no real exception to the rule, the longer note of the rhythmical 
 movement taking the accent, as in Ex. 67, although played extremely short :— 
 
 
 
 It sometimes happens that a composer desires that the second of two 
 ordinary slurred notes shall be only slightly curtailed, so that there may be but 
 little break of connection between this and the next following note. In this 
 case the group is marked with an additional slur, covering the ordinary slur 
 and the next note, thus :— 
 
 Ex. 69. BEETHOVEN, Op. Iot. 
 = Ae 
 
 
 
 When a slur is applied to two notes which are separated by so large an 
 interval that actual connection is impossible, the effect of connection may be 
 perfectly suggested by slightly exaggerating the amount of difference in the 
 strength of the notes, playing the first with considerable pressure and the 
 second with extreme lightness. If the right proportion is arrived at the ear 
 may be completely deceived, and led to believe that the notes are actually 
 connected mechanically; this is, in fact, an excellent instance of the value of 
 variety of tone as a help to legato, already referred to on page 12. An example 
 of a slur of this kind will be found in the subject of the Finale of Beethoven's 
 Soran. Op. 2, No.2. 
 
42 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 The slurring of a group of three or more notes does not imply any 
 shortening of the final note, at least when the mark extends to and ends with 
 the last note of a bar, or of one of the aliquot parts of a bar. Notwithstanding 
 this rule, which almost every composer has followed in marking his works, 
 modern editors, in their desire for completeness, have adopted a method of 
 actually connecting the end of each slur with the beginning of the next, exactly 
 as the notes are connected in performance. This over-carefulness, although it 
 of course expresses nothing that is contrary to the proper phrasing, is much to 
 be deprecated, for the reason that it leads anxious students to depend too much 
 upon the marks, and too little on their own understanding of the character and 
 phrasing of the music, and even induces them, when playing from an edition in 
 which the composer’s marks are preserved unaltered, to make a break of legato 
 at the end of every slur, thus ruining the sense. It cannot therefore be too 
 clearly understood, that the old-established mode of marking legato, as shown 
 in Ex. 70, which was the accustomed manner of all the great composers, and 
 the more elaborate method employed by so many modern editors, as in Ex. 71, 
 mean exactly the same thing :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 28. 
 Ex: 70. iain 7 Py esa) = (EERE I OR a AO eas ie’ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 e 
 ey a ok 
 y 
 nds 5 é Pe ae 
 A 
 BAS 
 
 yg 
 
 
 
 Nevertheless, it is possible for a slur over a group of more than two notes 
 to indicate an interruption of continuity. This occurs when the slur ends on an 
 accented part of the bar (Ex. 72), or on the note immediately following (Ex. 73). 
 In these cases, and in these alone, must the last note of the group included in 
 the slur be made short :— 
 
 Presto. SCHUMANN, Op. 22. 
 eer 
 
 
 
 The disconnection of notes, an effect quite as important for good phrasing 
 as their connection, is indicated either by the use of the word ‘‘ staccato” or 
 
PHRASING. 43 
 
 by placing round dots or pointed dashes over the notes. But it must be 
 observed that although these indications show that the notes are to be separated 
 from each other, they do not determine the precise amount of separation, and 
 by no means imply that they are to be as short as possible, unless the word 
 staccatissimo is used. Originally, the dots and dashes were intended to signify 
 a difference in the kind of staccato to be employed, the dash being used for the 
 shortest possible notes, while the dots indicated a slightly more sustained 
 manner of performance. This distinction was understood and observed by all 
 the great teachers and composers of former times, and in particular by 
 Beethoven, as is clear from certain letters of his, and from his own original 
 markings, some interesting examples of which are given by Nottebohm in his 
 ‘“‘ Beethoveniana”’ (p. 117 ef seq.); but owing to the fact that modern editors of 
 classical works generally have ignored the difference originally intended, and 
 have either made use of one of the two signs throughout, or else of both 
 indiscriminately, the marking is no longer trustworthy, and the choice of a 
 suitable degree of staccato must depend on the judgment of the player, with 
 reference to the general character of the phrase. 
 
 The first consideration which affects the question is the tempo, staccato 
 notes in quick and lively passages being generally as short as possible (Ex. 
 74), while in slow movements they should be somewhat sustained, especially 
 in phrases of a cantabile character (Ex. 75), where they should resemble as 
 nearly as may be detached notes in vocal music, in which each note would be 
 sung to a separate syllable, and would have a certain duration of vowel sound :— 
 
 MENDELSSOHN, Op. 16, No. 2. 
 
 e Shae: Er ce e 2 oe. -@. . = -O-¢ lite ° ie ° te. 
 J Aes ert ee 
 Neg eceetetonaens = preload os 
 
 
 
 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 51, No. 1. 
 3 3 
 3 : 
 
 
 
 An absolutely short staccato is nevertheless not impossible in slow tempo, but 
 perhaps the only case in which it produces a good effect is in a phrase consisting 
 of isolated chords of a forcible character, as in the following example :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. III. 
 Maestoso. asae 
 
 
 
44 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 Differences in the written values of the notes must always be observed in 
 staccato playing, although the exact proportion of the note-values need not be 
 strictly adhered to. Thus, a phrase consisting of notes of different lengths, 
 and marked staccato, such as Ex. 77, must be played with the longer notes only 
 slightly curtailed, so as to preserve the characteristic variety, and not with all 
 the notes equally short :— 
 
 Ex. 77. Allegretto. BEETHOVEN, Op. 22. 
 
 
 
 On the pianoforte an excellent effect is sometimes obtained by a combination 
 of sustained and staccato notes. Beethoven had a decided liking for this effect, 
 and made frequent use of it, the most striking instance being, perhaps, the 
 subject of the Sonata in G, Op. 31, quoted in Ex. 78. In performance, the 
 object of the player is not to keep the two kinds of phrasing distinct from each | 
 other by way of contrast, but rather to combine them, and this is accomplished 
 by playing the staccato note sharply, and with sufficient force to cause it to 
 intersect the sustained sound, so to speak, and thus give it accent. Unless the 
 staccato note be sufficiently strong this cannot be done, and the phrase will . 
 sound exactly as it appears on paper, but when the proportion of strength is 
 properly adjusted the result nearly resembles that shown at b in the example, 
 save that the effect is neater and more refined .— 
 
 Ex. 78. Allegro vivace. BEETHOVEN, Op. 31, No. I. 
 rs, | 
 
 
 
PHRASING. 45 
 
 The same combination is also frequently met with in slow tempo, where 
 it is equally effective (Ex. 79), and it should be observed that although in 
 appearance it resembles a syncopation, it is not one in reality, as the accent, 
 which is supplied by the staccato note, is not anticipated, but falls on its proper 
 place in the bar :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 27, No. I. 
 
 
 
 In passages of a certain construction, the dot or dash is sometimes employed, 
 not for the purpose of shortening the notes, but as an indication that those 
 notes to which the sign is applied are to be strongly marked, and made to 
 stand out prominently from the rest. In such phrases the notes which are so 
 marked form the melody, and they are separated from each other by intermediate 
 notes which serve as accompaniment (Ex. 80). The peculiar use of the sign 
 is justified by the fact that the notes of the melody, being separated by those of 
 the accompaniment, are necessarily detached—t.e., staccato—so far as regards 
 their relation to each other, and the use of the dot or dash merely emphasises 
 this fact. The proper rendering of such phrases is given in the example :— 
 
 Ex. 80. So rasch wie méglich, SCHUMANN, Op. 22. 
 
 
 
 Intended effect. SE TR 
 
 PP PPP PEP A 
 
 AS ee a RO rae 
 S53 i = 
 
 o ° 
 
 
 
 Besides legato, in which each note is sustained for its exact value, there is 
 another manner of playing, known as legatissimo, which consists in sustaining 
 Franklin Taylor.—Technique—Novello. D 
 
46 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 certain notes which belong to the harmony for more than their written length. 
 This method, which was designed to produce greater richness of effect, was 
 strongly inculcated by Hummel, who gives in his Pianoforte School a large 
 number of exercises for its cultivation (Ex. 81), marking with an asterisk the 
 notes which are to be sustained :— 
 
 HuMMEL, “ Pianoforte School.” 
 aT * 
 
 . 5 3 ee | 2 
 0 xpos 1 *3 uk am Wipes } = 
 
 : > ee ad i 
 sGid 6 Leu "| le tT 2 @ Ei | 
 "8 f2 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Modern music, depending for its effect upon brilliancy rather than 
 sustained tone, seldom requires the Jlegatissimo touch; besides, modern 
 instruments possess a fuller and richer tone than those of the time of Hummel, 
 and can better afford to dispense with sustained notes in passages. Neverthe- 
 less, the question of its application is of great interest, particularly as affecting 
 the performance of Beethoven’s works.| Of all composers, Beethoven was 
 perhaps the most scrupulously attentive to detail, not only in his marking of all 
 the nuances, but especially with regard to the values of his notes, and on this 
 account conscientious teachers and players have always objected to the smallest 
 deviation from the text, as a wrong done to the intentions of the composer. 
 
 ~The principle is undeniably sound, yet there are certain passages in the 
 Sonatas which most players have felt would be more satisfactory in effect if 
 played legatissimo. ‘The question of the propriety of such a proceeding appears 
 at length to have been decided by the recent publication of certain Studies by 
 Cramer, selected and annotated by Beethoven for the use of his nephew. In 
 his notes to these studies, after saying that he considers them the best 
 preparation for the study of his own works, he gives directions for their proper 
 performance, and among other things he insists on the employment of the 
 legatissimo touch wherever its application is possible, his directions being 
 practically the same as those of Hummel. Thus, in No. 24 of the Studies, he 
 directs that the finger shall remain on the first note of the first triplet until the 
 last note of the second triplet is played (Ex. 82), so that the melody (which he 
 gives as in Ex. 83) may be made prominent. And referring to No. 5 (the 
 commencement of which is given in Ex. 84), he says: ‘‘ Even if it were 
 written thus (as in Ex. 85), the first note of each group must nevertheless be 
 held down,” and so on in numerous other instances :— 
 
 Ex 82. mo moto. CRAMER, No. 24. 
 
 
 
PHRASING. 17 
 
 
 
 Allegro moderato. CRAMER, No. 5. 
 
 Ex. 84. omen c= aa | 
 
 
 
 With these very clear indications before us of Beethoven’s views as to the 
 advantages of the legatissimo touch, it can scarcely be questioned that its 
 employment is not only permissible, but even obligatory, in those portions 
 of his Sonatas which seem to require it—for instance, in the subject of the 
 Finale of Op..26, in the second variation of the slow movement of Op. 57, and 
 in other similar cases. 
 
 The employment of the legatissimo touch is of constant occurrence in the 
 works of Bach, and it is obvious that the light, weak tone of the clavichord or 
 the harpsichord (for the pianoforte had scarcely come in use in his day) would 
 make it especially serviceable. Unlike Beethoven, however, Bach left nothing to 
 the understanding of the player, but incorporated the desired effect in the text, 
 by writing it out fully in notes of proper value. Thus the passage quoted 
 in Ex. 86 is nothing more than a legatissimo rendering of the more simple 
 form given in Ex. 87, and innumerable instances of the kind may be 
 found throughout Bach’s works, even in some of the fugues, where, of course, 
 a more strict method of part-writing generally prevails. (See also p. 67) :— 
 
 Ex. 86. N amc _ = Bacu, Toccata. 
 
 
 
 Among composers of later date, both Schumann and Chopin have made 
 frequent use of the legatissimo manner. In Schumann’s works such passages 
 
 ? 
 
48 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 are always written out in full, after Bach’s method, as in the following example, 
 in which the plain form is given underneath :— 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op. 17. 
 Ex. 88. psp a F ee rs 
 SY et 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chopin frequently did the same thing, as in the subject of the Mazurka 
 in B flat minor (Ex. 89), but passages may also be found in his works in 
 which, although they are written in notes of equal length, the legatissimo touch 
 is possible and suitable, and editors of recent editions have in many cases 
 suggested the effect by the addition of extra stems to certain of the notes, as 
 in Ex. go :— 
 
 Moderato. CuoPiN, Op. 24, No. 4. 
 ar | chia 
 
 
 
 ————<_=—— cana A aE RAD emp 
 fal armel vo fee | a econ =o eH 
 
 
 
 
 
 PI Allegro maestoso. 
 ; as ee a an 
 (a= ree Soe ee eel 
 1s en a aa wR GOTT 
 — 
 
 
 
 Ks Ta aaa 
 RSibw ASST 5IS4. ees EO V é 
 . ea Laas 8 ae 
 
 
 
 Having so far considered what may be called the mechanical side of 
 phrasing, as dealing with the means by which all its details and varieties may 
 
PHRASING. 4y 
 
 be accurately rendered, it now remains to speak of it in its more intellectual 
 aspect, in which it has reference to the performance of a musical composition 
 as a whole, and brings into operation the individual taste and judgment of the 
 player. The very fact, however, of these faculties being called into requisition 
 proves the impossibility of laying down any definite rules on the subject, and 
 the utmost that can be done is to examine general principles, acquaintance 
 with which is necessary in order that the student may be in a position to apply 
 his judgment to special cases. 
 
 To be intelligible, music, like language, must be divided into sentences, 
 some ending in such a manner as to produce a sense of finality, others, though 
 complete in themselves, merely leading to the sentences which follow them. 
 But whereas in written language the separation of the sentences is marked by 
 stops, as a guide to the eye in reading, the musical sentences, or phrases as they 
 are properly called, have no signs of punctuation, but owe their individuality 
 to the harmonic progressions with which they end. These progressions are 
 called cadences or closes, and are of three kinds—perfect, consisting of the 
 dominant harmony followed by that of the tonic; imperfect, the reversal of 
 the former progression, being the tonic harmony followed by the dominant ; 
 and interrupted, being the dominant harmony followed by some other chord 
 than that of the tonic, and therefore unexpected. There is also a variety of 
 the perfect cadence, called plagal (the ordinary form being known as authentic), 
 in which the final tonic harmony is preceded by that of the subdominant, instead 
 of the dominant; this cadence, however, occurs but seldom in modern music. 
 
 The perfect cadence has the effect of finality, and is analagous to the full 
 stop in language, the other two correspond rather to the comma or semicolon, 
 and produce a sense of incompleteness, which requires to be satisfied by 
 something yet to follow. These effects are sufficiently definite to be easily 
 recognised by the ear alone, even though the listener may have no knowledge, 
 from the grammatical side, of the harmonic progressions which cause them, but 
 they may be perverted or disguised by a negligent or eccentric performance, 
 and it must, therefore, be the care of every player who aims at presenting the 
 meaning of the composer in the clearest possible light, first to realise for 
 himself the separate phrases into which the music is naturally divided, and then 
 to render these phrases with such variety of emphasis and gradation of tone 
 that the division may be understood and accepted by the listener. 
 
 In compositions of simple form, the phrases are usually of equal length 
 throughout, each phrase containing four bars, and this may be considered the 
 normal length of a phrase, as being by far the most frequent in use. The 
 following are examples of the four-bar phrase :— 
 
 Modinic: MENDELSSOHN, Op. Ig, No. 2. 
 
 Ex. gI. ia oi ar aa a= ae aba Tee 
 = } _ , 
 
 
 
 Perfect Cadence. Imperfect Cadence. 
 
50 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 13. 
 
 Ist phrase 
 
 
 
 a 
 Perfect Cadence. 
 
 
 
 In analysing works of greater elaborateness, the length of the phrases 
 may be found to vary considerably, but it is always best to begin by measuring 
 them in quantities of four bars—first, because such varieties often prove to be 
 merely modifications of the four-bar phrase, brought about by means of either 
 extension or elision, and secondly, because true differences, if any, will show 
 themselves most readily by comparison with the normal measure. 
 
 Thus, phrases of two bars may arise either from the division of a four-bar 
 phrase into two halves, or from a manner of writing whereby a true four-bar 
 phrase is expressed within the limits of two bars. In the first case, two phrases 
 of two bars are usually followed by one of four, the prevailing effect being that 
 of the division of the whole composition into regular phrases of four bars, the 
 shorter phrases appearing at the two halves of a long one (Ex. 92). As additional 
 examples of this arrangement, which is of very frequent occurrence, Schumann’s 
 Davidsbiindler, Op. 6, No. 10, or Romance, Op. 28, No.2, may be referred, to:— 
 
 Allegro. BEETHOVEN, Op. Ior. 
 
 i a i ee MD 
 a oe 
 
 
 
 In the other case mentioned above, in which the four-bar phrase appears 
 within the compass of two bars, the two halves of the bar are of such similar 
 construction that the third beat might quite well serve as first beat—in other 
 words, each bar might be written as two bars, which would convert the present 
 two-bar phrase into a phrase of four (Ex. 93) :— 
 
 Andante. SCHUBERT, Op. 142, No. 3. 
 
 EL ea RR 
 fy Jae J BCS So Saeeee a ese 
 ES a eee i a ee eT ES 
 
 
 
PHRASING. 51 
 
 In much the same way, phrases of eight bars are to be considered as four- 
 bar phrases differently written, whenever, owing to melodic construction and 
 accent, two of the written bars appear to the listener as one only (Ex. 94). 
 Such discrepancies between the method of writing and the actual effect have 
 already been noticed on page 33 :— 
 
 Aeusserst lebhaft. pee ee pas, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i oN = 
 
 
 
 
 
 True phrases of two or eight bars—that is to say, phrases which do not 
 sound like four-bar phrases—are very rare, though they are met with occa- 
 sionally. The real two-bar phrase is naturally best in slow tempo. Examples 
 are given below :— 
 
 Ex. 95. Phrases of two bars, BEETHOVEN, Op. 37. 
 
 
 
 Phrase of eight bars. 
 Allegretto. 
 ay 
 
 pon, ire Beer eOyEn, Op. 31, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 
 Phrases of three bars are more often met with in combination with other 
 phrases than independently, though there are excellent examples of the true 
 three-bar phrase, as in Ex. 96. A compound phrase of eight bars may be made 
 up of a phrase of three bars followed by one of five (Ex. 97), or a two-bar 
 phrase followed by one of three bars may make up a five-bar phrase (Ex. 98), 
 while in one instance at least (the only one with which the writer is acquainted) 
 
52 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 a phrase of four bars and one of three go to make up the unusual phrase-length 
 of seven bars (Ex. 99) :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 2, No. 3. 
 
 Ex. 96. Adagio. 
 
 
 
PHRASING. 58 
 
 Assai vivace, BEETHOVEN, Op. 106, 
 
 
 
 A phrase of five bars may be formed by the addition of one bar to a 
 four-bar phrase, the added bar being a partial or complete repetition of the last 
 bar of the four-bar phrase (Ex. 100). But we also meet with the true five-bar 
 phrase, in which there is no such repetition, though not frequently (Ex. 101) :— 
 
 Ex. 100, ScHUBERT, Drei Klavierstiicke, No. 3. 
 
 
 
 The phrase of six bars is always a compound phrase, being made up 
 of three short phrases of two bars each (Ex. 102), or of two and four, or, more 
 frequently, of four and two bars (Ex. 103):— 
 
 Vivacissimamento. BEETHOVEN, Op. d1a. 
 
 
 
 
 Ex. 103. Andantino. 
 
 In one instance only, so far as the writer is aware, is the phrase short 
 enough to be contained within the limits of a single bar. This is in the Adagio 
 
54 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 of the Sonata by Beethoven, Op. 2, No. 3 (Ex. 104). The phrases are all com- 
 plete, ending with their respective cadences, and there is no second accent in 
 the bar to justify us in considering it as a phrase of two bars written in one. 
 Other cases there are in which a single bar appears to contain a complete 
 phrase, as in the Introduction to the Sonata in C minor, Op. 13, but in all these 
 instances the third beat of the bar is of equal importance with the first, or nearly 
 so, and the effect is really that of a two-bar phrase :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 2, No. 3. 
 Ex. 104. Adagio. | 
 an ae | 
 
 
 
 Besides facilitating the recognition of the varieties of phrase-lengths just 
 described, the advantage of measuring everything by the standard of four bars 
 shows itself very decidedly in certain cases, in which, without its assistance, 
 the phrasing might be entirely misunderstood. Example 105 is a case in point ; 
 at the first glance the change of harmony in the fourth bar might lead one to 
 imagine a phrase of three bars followed by one of five, but the application of 
 the four-bar standard proves at once that the true reading is that of successive 
 phrases of four bars each. The difference between the two readings is made 
 clear by writing the passage in unbroken chords, barred as in Ex. 106, a and 8, 
 the correct version being of course that shown at b :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. 79. 
 
 
 
 
 
PHRASING. 55 
 
 Phrases of this kind are by no means uncommon, a notable example being 
 the Finale of Beethoven’s Sonata in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2. 
 
 In the rendering of all phrases, whatsoever their length, the object of the 
 player must be to enable the listener to distinguish between the end of one 
 phrase and the beginning of the next, and so to recognise their independent 
 existence. The amount of difficulty experienced in achieving this depends 
 on the construction of the music, some phrases being already separated from the 
 next following by means of rests, as in Ex. 107, while others follow 
 consecutively without break, as in Ex. 108, in which latter case the separation 
 will depend on properly varying the force of tone. Certain general principles 
 may be observed, but any rules on the subject must be liable to frequent 
 exception :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. go. 
 
 Ex. 107. Nicht zu geschwind. | “~~ 
 
 
 
 
 
 Many phrases, perhaps most, begin with moderate strength, increase in 
 force towards the middle, and diminish to the end, which is always made weaker 
 than the beginning. This manner of phrasing is suitable in Examples tor, 102, 
 103, and in innumerable similar instances. 
 
 Descending phrases of any considerable extent begin more or less forcibly 
 and diminish throughout, as in Ex. 10g, and phrases which ascend continuously 
 may begin gently and increase even to the final note, as in Ex. 110:— 
 
 Moderato. 
 
 Bx. 190... .——.—_— ooo WEBER, Op. 70, 
 
 
 
 
 
 With the exception, then, of such phrases as the one last quoted, which are 
 not of frequent occurrence, the rule is that the close of a phrase is its weakest 
 part, and the observation of this rule is of great importance to the rendering of 
 such phrases as Ex. 105. For if this passage were misread, the third bar, as 
 ending a phrase, would be played weak, and the fourth bar stronger, whereas 
 
56 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 in the proper reading it is the fourth bar which is weakest, and the fifth, as the 
 beginning of a new phrase, which receives an accession of strength. 
 
 Phrases sometimes overlap each other, the end of one phrase being merged 
 in the beginning of the next (Ex. 111). In such cases the beginning of the 
 new phrase is somewhat abruptly strengthened, in order to cover, as it were, the 
 weakened close of the preceding :— | 
 
 MENDELSSOHN, Op. 40. 
 
 
 
 The phrasing of rapid passages depends to some extent on their construction. 
 Passages which are simply brilliant, such as those in Chopin’s Studies, Op. Io, 
 Nos. 4 and 8, and Op. 25, No. 12, as likewise most of Mendelssohn’s passages, 
 require but little variety beyond the necessary accent and general light and 
 shade, and the phrasing follows the harmonies by which they are accompanied, 
 or, if unaccompanied, serves to make clear the harmonies which they represent. 
 There are however passages, generally of moderate speed, which have a far 
 more melodic character, and may be considered as rapid melodies, or melodious 
 passages. Their construction is more complex than that of ordinary harmonic 
 passages such as those just referred to, and they contain numerous passing- 
 notes and auxiliary notes interspersed among their scales or broken chords. 
 Passages of this kind, which are of frequent occurrence in Chopin’s works, 
 require to be phrased in much the same manner as cantabile melodies, save 
 that the portions into which they have to be divided are much shorter than 
 real phrases, and are for the most part of very irregular length. It will not be 
 possible here to do more than suggest the course which should be pursued with 
 regard to such melodic passages, since the mode of procedure is less subject to 
 rule than any other kind of phrasing, and depends more on the individual taste 
 of the player. 
 
 If, then, we examine closely such a passage as Ex. 112, we find that it is 
 capable of being divided into small portions, each one having a certain musical 
 sense of its own, though necessarily of a fragmentary kind. In the example, 
 the suggested divisions are marked by vertical dotted lines. It does not follow 
 that these are the only possible divisions, but, at any rate, they present 
 intelligible fragments, which would not have been the case if the passage had 
 been divided, say, as in Ex. 113. Now, if the phrasing of each fragment is 
 studied separately, just as the long phrases of a cantabile melody are studied, 
 due attention being paid to its rise and fall, to the stronger commencements of 
 the fragments in most cases, and so on, the result will be more or less as roughly 
 
PHRASING. 57 
 
 indicated in Ex. 114, and when the fragments are afterwards combined into 
 one unbroken whole, the passage will be played far more interestingly and with 
 more life and variety than would have been possible, or even imaginable, if 
 merely the rhythmical accents of the bar had been observed :— 
 
 | 
 
 Dis! aa sas 
 ae 
 
 CHOPIN, Op. 53. 
 —_s 
 a 
 
 a 
 a La 
 F; yo 
 aS a FE 
 5 PAC ee Boe 
 
 One PD 
 ott 
 so PRM (8, Bet sll Cea, Dey | CRAG aS WY ess RI 
 se 
 — 
 
 A ale =  @- Oo V+ | 
 av ° 
 
 steer emai ele 
 a 
 
 Or 
 
 Le rama 
 e 
 
 "2 tae HL El NT eel 
 Tht Cs ae 
 
 Ls 
 id a oul 6 
 a! Phe ag 37 4 
 
 pos 
 
 eae 
 tad 
 — 
 
 Ex. 112. Maestcso. 
 “ pa 
 e208 
 
 +— 
 i 
 
 
 
Wil. 
 Pee Rio LONG 
 
 Tue term Expression, as usually applied to musical performance, appears to be 
 unnecessarily limited in significance. If we hear of an expressive movement or 
 phrase, the idea suggested to the mind is that of something slow and quiet, 
 perhaps graceful, perhaps serious in character, but never passionate or energetic. 
 But surely more than one or two kinds of emotion can be expressed in music, 
 and the term ‘‘ expressive” seems as appropriate to a composition such as the 
 first movement of Schumann’s Fantasia, Op. 17, as it is to a Song without 
 Words by Mendelssohn. In its fullest sense, expression may be taken to mean 
 the power of conveying to the listener the emotions which the music has 
 awakened in the performer, and the pianist who plays most expressively is he 
 who is most deeply impressed by the music he plays, always provided he has at 
 command the means of expressing his feelings adequately. Expression in 
 music may thus be likened to the art of the painter, whose aim it is to bring 
 before the eye of the beholder a landscape or a portrait as he sees it, and the 
 landscape need not necessarily be a simple pastoral scene, or the portrait wear 
 a happy and peaceful expression. 
 
 It is evident that the faculty of receiving impressions from a musical 
 composition, and of perceiving the emotional qualities which aresinherent in it, 
 cannot be taught or learned; it is intuitive, though capable of development 
 through study and experience. But the means of expressing such impressions 
 in audible sound are the same for all, from the most gifted pianist to the least, 
 and these means, forming what may be called the technique of expression, must 
 be the subject for present consideration. 
 
 Speaking generally, expression depends chiefly on variety of tone, whether 
 it be of notes in succession, as in phrases played crescendo or diminuendo, or of 
 notes in combination, as in a chord where one note is made prominent above 
 the rest. The amount of variety in the first case may vary considerably, 
 according to the effect desired, but whether the increase or decrease of force is 
 gradual, as is generally the case in long passages, or more abrupt, as in short 
 phrases which require the transition from soft to loud (or vice versd) to be 
 effected in the course of but few notes, the important point is that the change 
 shall be proportional, each note receiving exactly its due share of increase or 
 decrease. The effect of crescendo or diminuendo is graphically expressed by its 
 sign —————= _——=—, the lines of which recede from or approach each other in 
 perfect proportion, and the distortion of any crescendo passage in which pro- 
 portion is not kept would be quite as perceptible to the ear as that of an 
 
EXPRESSION. 59 
 
 irregular sign <“~— ~ would be to the eye. As a rule, passages which 
 ascend are played crescendo, and descending passages diminuendo, and there 
 can be no doubt that this is the proper treatment in the great majority of 
 cases (Ex. 115). Still, the rule is not invariable, and phrases may be found 
 which gain in distinction from being treated in the opposite manner, possibly 
 on account of the ordinary treatment being so usual as to pass almost 
 unnoticed. The fact may be proved by playing the phrases quoted in Ex. 116, 
 first with the variety indicated in the example, and afterwards in the opposite 
 and customary way :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op. Io, No. 1. 
 
 Ex. 31s. mAs 
 5 Prestissimo. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Another exceptional and beautiful effect of variety, and one much affected 
 by Beethoven, occurs when a crescendo phrase passes suddenly into a piano, 
 instead of culminating, as might be expected, in a forte or fortissimo (Ex. 117). 
 The full effect of the change is sometimes marred by an endeavour on the part 
 of the player to minimise the abruptness by weakening the final notes of the 
 crescendo; this is an error of judgment, such changes are always clearly 
 

 
 60 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 marked by the composer, and should be frankly accepted and fully carried out 
 by the player :— 
 
 Ex. 117. BEETHOVEN, Op. 28. 
 Andante, | 
 
 
 
 It is a weakness of the pianoforte as a musical instrument, that it is unable 
 to sustain a sound without diminution of strength, and it is necessary to take 
 this weakness into account in the playing of legato phrases in which long notes 
 occur interspersed with short ones. In such cases the long notes require to be 
 played with a certain degree of force, in order that they may have sufficient 
 sustaining power to enable them to connect properly with the next following 
 note. For instance, if the long notes in Ex. 118a were not played with more 
 firmness than is required by the short ones, they would probably diminish so 
 much as to become practically extinct by the time at which they have to 
 connect with the continuance of the passage, and there would be a danger ot 
 the general effect of the phrase appearing to the listener as at 0b in the 
 example :— 
 
 CHOPIN, Op. 62, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 It must not be inferred, however, that the phrasing would be in any way 
 injured by the necessity just spoken of. Composers who write for the 
 pianoforte do so with a full know’edge of its capabilities and restrictions, and 
 long sustained notes would be written only in places where the greater degree 
 of force would be an advantage, and not the contrary. It is only in pianoforte 
 arrangements of music intended for voices, or for other instruments, that the 
 rendering in question might possibly be adverse to the proper effect. 
 
 If we have just referred to one of the weaknesses of the pianoforte, we 
 may now proceed to consider one of its greatest advantages, perhaps its chief 
 advantage—namely, its capacity for producing more than one sound at a time. 
 
EXPRESSION. 61] 
 
 This it is which makes the pianoforte pre-eminently a solo instrument, which 
 enables it, unassisted, to render both melody and accompaniment, and even to 
 bring out with perfect accuracy and distinctness the movement of several parts 
 or voices at the same time, as in fugues and other works of polyphonic character. 
 Only the organ can compare with the pianoforte in these respects, and the 
 latter has at least one important advantage over its rival, for it can produce 
 two sounds of different strength at the same moment, and can, therefore, render 
 two parts at once, one of which shall be prominent and the other subordinate. 
 In pianoforte playing, the relation in point of strength of one part to the parts 
 above or below it is termed “ balance of tone,” and there is no subject of study 
 more important for the cultivation of an expressive style of playing; indeed, 
 the student’s attention can scarcely be directed to it too early. 
 
 The simplest conditions necessitating the observance of balance of tone 
 occur when the right hand plays a melody and the left hand the accompaniment. 
 As the right hand is naturally stronger than the left, there is no great difficulty 
 in making the melody sufficiently prominent, though care and judgment must 
 be exercised, that the amount of the difference between the two parts shall 
 be suitable to the character of the music. But the difficulty is increased when 
 it is a question of rendering three parts—melody, bass, and inner accompaniment. 
 In such a combination the melody must be strongest, the bass coming next in 
 order of strength, and the accompaniment must be the weakest part. Two of 
 the parts must necessarily be played by one hand, in the majority of cases 
 by the right hand (though the left hand may likewise be required to undertake 
 this duty), and it therefore becomes necessary to acquire the power of striking 
 two notes with one hand and at the same moment, the strength of one of 
 the notes being decidedly in excess. 
 
 It is not easy to describe in writing the exact way in which this is to 
 be accomplished. Of course, the strength of the tone depends upon the speed of 
 the blow and the amount of pressure combined, but if one of the two fingers 
 engaged were to move decidedly quicker than the other, it would be the first to 
 depress its key, and the two sounds would not be produced simultaneously, the 
 weaker sound would follow the other. There is no doubt, however, that 
 the finger which produces the stronger tone does move a very little quicker than 
 the other, but so little that it has just time to give the requisite amount of 
 pressure at the precise moment at which the weaker finger arrives at the depth 
 of its key without any pressure whatsoever. Such minute differences cannot 
 be calculated; it is a question of sense of touch, which can be cultivated 
 and developed in this direction to a surprising extent, given the necessary 
 perseverance and attention. 
 
 It may be of benefit to suggest here certain forms of exercise by which the 
 necessary control over the fingers may be acquired, it being observed that such 
 exercises may be multiplied and amplified to any extent, and always repay the 
 labour bestowed on them. In practising them it must be observed that it is 
 far easier to play two notes of dissimilar strength one after the other than both 
 together, and that there is consequently a temptation to spread the notes, in 
 
 Franklin Taylor.—Technique.—Novello, 3B 
 
62 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 the manner of arpeggio; this tendency must, of course, be carefully guarded 
 against. In the examples, the notes with open heads are to be made strong 
 and the black notes weak, and the open notes with quaver stems are to be 
 played of the value of quavers only :— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 tee a Paes -¢_@_e_G_ 6-6-2 
 : $6 $9 44-66 1-6-@6-@64-¢- 
 Te O-G-CO— 6-@— 6-6 —>||—_6-G-e—_ e-6-0- => 
 Oo , -@ ee eos 
 
 Since the whole sense and purport of music lies in tne melody, 
 the accompaniment being what its name implies, an attendant on the melody, 
 and therefore subordinate, it follows that the accompaniment ought always 
 to be weaker than the melody. In music for two different instruments, 
 such as pianoforte and violin, the listener is enabled to distinguish 
 between melody and accompaniment by the differing qualities of tone, 
 irrespective of their strength, but in pianoforte music, where only one tone- 
 quality is present, the distinction between the two can only be made clear by 
 means of difference in strength, which difference should therefore be very 
 considerable. This is especially necessary when the melody lies below the 
 accompaniment, and also when the notes of a melody are long, and each note 
 is accompanied by a large number of notes in rapid movement. When a 
 melody lies lower than the accompaniment (Ex. 120), it is in some danger of 
 being missed by the listener, because the ear is so accustomed to find the 
 melody in the highest part that it is apt to seek for it there always, and tc 
 imagine that the upper notes, or some of them, belong to it, unless the attention 
 is kept in the right place by the real melody being made to assert itself 
 sufficiently. When there are many notes of accompaniment between the 
 melody-notes, as in Ex. 121, there is still greater danger of the sense being 
 lost, as the listener’s attention is readily distracted by the rapid movement, and 
 follows it too closely, and so loses hold of the sequence of the melody. To 
 prevent this it is necessary that the note which follows immediately after any 
 note of the melody should be made very weak—in fact, only just audible. This 
 creates a slight break, not of mechanical connection, but of effect, which 
 enables the hearer to distinguish between melody and accompaniment, and to 
 foilow the succession of the former without difficulty, even though the 
 intervening passage (with the exception of the one weak note) may be positively 
 
EXPRESSION. 63 
 
 brilliant. In the examples, the notes which are to be specially waakened are 
 marked with an asterisk :— 
 
 Ex. 120. Einfach. 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op, 28, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ; x * THALBERG, Op. 33. 
 mk2t, o | | aay te | | | 
 5 S se iadad e. | de | | | toe odes 
 
 
 
 
 
 “WF 
 
 
 
 We have seen that there is sometimes a danger of accompaniment being 
 mistaken for melody, and there may also be a danger of melody being accepted 
 as accompaniment. This happens when a descending melodic progression 
 employs two or more of the notes of the chord by which it is accompanied, as 
 in Ex. 122. In all such cases the descending notes must be played firmly, 
 even increasing slightly as they descend, lest the listener should make the very 
 natural-mistake of considering the highest note alone as melody-note, and the 
 following notes as accompaniment :— 
 
 
 
 The importance of this method of treatment is very noticeable in 
 Schumann’s Novelette, No. 4, quoted below (Ex. 123). Here are bars of 
 similar construction, but different meaning, and the only way of conveying 
 this difference to the listener, and of proving to him that bars one and two 
 have a melody of three crotchets, while that of bar three consists of two notes 
 only, minim and crotchet, is to give sufficient tone to the lower notes of the 
 falling melody in bars one and two :— 
 
 
 
 Ex. 123. SCHUMANN, Op. 21, No. 4. 
 Sehr munter. (mae art eos 
 CES =F] 
 teete Lac Maan Pea 
 oma = 
 
 In double melody, in which the effect sought is that of a duet of voices, the 
 two parts may move in similar motion and with the same rhythm, in which case 
 
64 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 the expression, as regards increase or diminution of force, will be the same for 
 both (Ex. 124), or the movement may be in opposite directions, and so require 
 two contrary effects of gradation at the same moment (Ex. 125) :— 
 
 Ex, 124. Cuopin, Op. 34, No. 1. 
 
 
 
 Ex, 125. SCHUMANN, Op. 6, No. 4. 
 : a Bee SS = = a 
 
 
 
 It is in such phrases as that just described that the importance of perfect 
 control over balance of tone is made manifest. For it is not sufficient to realise 
 the expression of each part separately, although this should always be the first 
 step, but in addition to this, the relation of each note of the upper melody to 
 the note below it, in respect of strength of tone, must receive full consideration. 
 For instance, in the above example (Ex. 125), the A of the upper melody, at 
 the moment at which the lower melody joins it, must be decidedly stronger 
 than the G below it; at the next crotchet the upper part will have diminished 
 and the lower increased, so that both notes are of equal strength; at the end 
 of the bar the upper note must be yet weaker, and the lower one perhaps a 
 little stronger, to increase still more on the following crotchet, where the two 
 parts will bear to each other exactly the opposite relation to that with which 
 they began. We may attempt to make this complex relationship visible, of 
 course roughly and only approximately, by the varying size of the note-heads 
 in the following example :— 
 
 
 
 Similar difficulties with regard to balance of tone are met with when the 
 two parts move in strict imitation, as in a Canon. ‘There the same expression 
 is of course required for both parts, since the second is merely an imitation of 
 the first, but owing to the fact that the second part follows the first after a 
 certain interval of time, the same effect is never required in both parts at the 
 same moment, and an accurate adjustment of the relative strength of the two 
 parts is therefore necessary throughout, in order to preserve the correctness 
 
EXPRESSION. 68 
 
 of the imitation. Ex. 127 is a sample of this kind of writing, and possesses 
 the peculiarity that the accent occurs in the middle of the phrase, and that 
 _ therefore the descending portion of the phrase is crescendo and the ascending 
 diminuendo, contrary to the usual rule :— 
 
 MENDELSSOHN, Op. 35, No. 4. 
 
 
 
 In canon-playing, the leading part should always contain some decided and 
 characteristic effects, such as sforzando, occasional staccato, and so on, which 
 may be easily recognised by the listener when they recur in their proper place 
 in the second part. Such points of effect are generally marked by the 
 composer, as in the following example, but even in the absence of marks they 
 should be supplied by the player, as otherwise the general effect would be 
 lifeless and the imitation vague and uncertain, and the hearer might even fail 
 to perceive that he was listening to a canon at all :— 
 
 
 
 In the above examples, the two combined melodies are of equal importance 
 and require the same expression. But there are also combinations of a 
 principal melody with a subordinate one, although the latter is essentially a 
 melody, and not merely an accompaniment. Thus, in Ex. 129, the chief 
 melody lies in the left hand, while the right hand executes a perfect but 
 subordinate melody, together with an extremely delicate accompaniment. In 
 such cases, each melody must receive its own characteristic expression, the 
 prominence of the chief melody being preserved throughout, and the necessity 
 for this considerably increases the difficulty of balance of tone. But it isa 
 difficulty of listening critically rather than of execution, and it is therefore best 
 to commence the study of such passages by playing repeatedly each melody 
 separately, with every care as to expression, until the ear has become 
 
66 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 thoroughly acquainted with every variety of tone of which they are capable, 
 before putting them together :— 
 
 CuoPIn, Op. 25, No. 7. 
 
 
 
 
 
 A Rama 
 = 2 ere se SS 
 Hens ce ae | re | to i ot 
 A = — 
 a -@— 
 - arc] 
 ae aE ST 
 
 
 
 Similar treatment is required for what may be termed melodic accompani- 
 ment, when the part which accompanies a melody is melodic in construction, 
 instead of being purely harmonic (Ex. 130). This kind of accompaniment 
 resembles an obbligato part for some instrument accompanying the voice :— 
 
 Fx. 130. Agro com moto, 5 MENDELSSOHN, Op. 28. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Innumerable examples of melodic accompaniment are to be found in the 
 works of most pianoforte composers, but especially perhaps in those of Chopin, 
 whose simplest accompaniments are full of delicate suggestions of melody, 
 which must by no means be neglected by the player, even though they may 
 not be sufficiently defined to produce the effect of an obbligato accompaniment. 
 The following is a beautiful example of the melodious character of Chopin’s 
 simpler accompaniments :— 
 
 Lento (piu lento). Cuopin, Op. 28, No. 13. 
 | aS ee hs a c > 
 
 
 
EXPRESSION. 67 
 
 Balance of tone is of course essential to good part-playing—that is to say, 
 to the playing of music written in real parts. In the notation of music of this 
 description, any two parts written on the same stave will have their stems 
 turned in opposite directions, so that if the passage is in four parts there will be 
 two, with their stems turned respectively upwards and downwards, on each 
 stave (Ex. 132). Each of the parts is complete in itself as regards time, the bar 
 being made up with rests in the case of one part becoming silent for a time, and 
 the object of writing the stems in opposite directions is to enable the eye to 
 distinguish readily between any two parts which are placed on the same stave. 
 Of course, when there are more than four parts, the stems of at least two must 
 necessarily turn in the same direction (Ex. 133) :— 
 
 Ex. 132. commen’ Bacu, Fugue No. 23, Part 1. 
 
 ats ia Ag .— ee = Pie R. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Epo ges $8 EEE pees ieee roe 
 \ b 
 
 
 
 In part-playing, one of the parts is most commonly of greater thematic 
 importance than the others, and must be made prominent accordingly. Thus 
 in Ex. 132 above, the subject of the fugue enters in the tenor, at the end of the 
 first bar, and continues in that part to the end of the example; the notes of this 
 part must therefore be played with much fuller tone than those of the parts by 
 which it is accompanied. 
 
 The notation of legatisstmo, already described on page 47, bears a close 
 resemblance to that of part-writing, but the effect intended is totally different, 
 the object of part-writing (and part-playing) being to present a combination of 
 several melodies, while that of legatissimo is to suggest a single melody passing 
 through several parts. To distinguish between the two in reading, it is only 
 necessary to play each part separately. If it is a piece of real part-writing, 
 such as Ex. 132, each part will possess an intelligible and unbroken melody of 
 its own, while if the melody of each separate part is found to be fragmentary 
 and vague, it is a proof that the phrase is intended to be Jlegatissimo, 
 the intelligible melody arising from the combination of the parts. Ex. 134 is 
 an instance of this kind of writing. The three upper parts, taken separately, 
 appear as at B, C, and D, and are almost meaningless, while in combination 
 
68 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 they form the melody shown at E, which is, of course, the true melody of the 
 phrase :— 
 
 Bacu, Suite Anglaise, No. 6. 
 
 
 
 Naturally, the difference between part-playing and legatissimo playing must 
 correspond with the difference in the intended effect ; in legatissimo, all the 
 notes which compose the melody must be of equal, or nearly equal, strength 
 (allowing, of course, for expressive gradation of tone as may be required), while 
 in true part-playing the melody of one part will be predominant over that of 
 another, in proportion as it is thematically more important, that the independ- 
 ence and individuality of the parts may be preserved. 
 
 When two parts move together in unaccompanied unison, whether as a 
 melody (Ex. 135) or a passage (Ex. 136), a richer and more musical quality of 
 tone is secured by making the lower part a trifle stronger than the upper. The 
 same thing is observable in combining the various registers of the organ, where 
 the volume of tone produced by the stops of 8-feet pitch must always be in 
 excess of that of the 4-feet stops used in combination with them, as otherwise 
 the tone would be unpleasantly shrill :— 
 
 Ex, 135. 
 
 Moderato. mae Op. 42. 
 
 
 
 
 
EXPRESSION. 69 
 
 In the various illustrations of balance of tone which have been adduced so 
 far, a difference in strength of tone has always been implied, either between the 
 two hands or between two parts played by the same hand; there are, however, 
 occasions when it is important that the two hands should play with exactly 
 equal power, a condition which, though very simple, is perhaps not more easy 
 to realise than any of the differences described above. We find two principal 
 cases in which this necessity is perceived: one, when the parts played by the 
 two hands are similar in sense and character, and so require similar variety of 
 expression, not, as in canon-playing, following one another, but simultaneously 
 (Ex. 137); and the other, when a single part—generally an accompaniment— 
 is divided between the two hands employed alternately (Ex. 138a). In this 
 last case, the aim of the player must be to conceal the fact of the division from 
 the listener, and to give the impression of an unbroken passage, as shown 
 in Ex. 138), and for this purpose absolute equality of touch and tone is 
 essential :— : 
 
 i 237, 
 
 Allegro. BEETHOVEN, Op. 31, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 Ex. 138. (a) MENDELSSOHN, Op. 43. 
 Allegro giojoso. . 
 = 
 
 
 
 Besides variety of tone, expression is largely dependent on variation of tempo, 
 and in this respect sound judgment is necessary, in order to find the proper 
 medium between exaggeration and dulness. Simple increase or diminution of 
 speed, as indicated by the words accelerando or rallentando, is a variation the 
 due effect of which depends on the observance of a strict proportion in the 
 increase or diminution of the length of the notes, as with crescendo and 
 diminuendo (see page 58), but there is one point to be taken into consideration, 
 which does not affect gradation of tone—namely, the variety of the note-lengths 
 as written. Thus, in a passage consisting of notes of the same written length, 
 
70 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 and requiring to be played rallentando, the slackening of speed may proceed 
 regularly, each note being made longer than its predecessor in the same ratio 
 throughout, but where notes of various lengths are present, slackening should 
 be avoided at the moment of the change of notation. For instance, in the 
 second bar of Ex. 139, a change occurs from quavers to semiquavers. Now, if 
 the player’sinterpretation of the direction “‘ritardando” should lead him toincrease 
 the length of the semiquavers suddenly, or to any considerable extent, there 
 would be a danger that the listener might mistake them for quavers played in 
 strict time, and thus lose the sense of the ritardando. ‘To prevent any such 
 misunderstanding, the first two of the semiquavers must be made equal to the 
 quaver immediately preceding, after which the tempo may be again slackened 
 in the subsequent semiquavers, as the new rate of semiquaver-movement will 
 have been established, and the vitardando will again become intelligible. 
 Examples of this kind of rhythmical ritardando abound .in the works of 
 Schumann, the “ Kreisleriana” furnishing several instances besides the one 
 quoted below, of which perhaps the best occur in bars three and ten of No. 4:— 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op. 16, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 An exception to the above rule occurs when the composer alters the note- 
 lengths, not for the purpose of varying the rhythm, but in order to indicate a 
 considerable and forcible slackening of speed. The following is an example of 
 a passage of this kind; in performance, the proportion of crotchet to semi- 
 quavers is not to be observed strictly, but instead of this the speed of the 
 semiquavers is slackened towards the end of the passage, and the first crotchet 
 is made only a little longer than the last semiquaver, the remaining two 
 crotchets being then considerably lengthened. The result is a much more 
 sudden and powerful slackening of tempo than would have been implied if the 
 passage had been written in notes of equal length, with merely the direction 
 ritardando :— 
 
 Ex. 140, i BEETHOVEN, Op. 27, No. 1. 
 
 Ue ooh —____4_ ~ 4 
 Siamese. “ote ene -F pe 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EXPRESSION. fel 
 
 The employment of variation of tempo is by no means restricted to the places 
 where it is definitely indicated by the composer. Both increase and diminution 
 of speed are always available as aids to expression, and much may be gained 
 
 _ by their judicious introduction, but it must be borne in mind that they should 
 never be employed in an eccentric or capricious manner, their proper function 
 being to attract the attention of the listener to any particular phrase by 
 emphasising its legitimate expression. Thus the agitated effect of a crescendo 
 phrase is often enhanced by a slight increase of speed, as in Ex. 141, while a 
 slackening of tempo adds to the dying effect of a very soft close (Ex. 142). It 
 will also be observed that diminution of speed increases the effect of both 
 diminuendo and crescendo, and is therefore equally applicable to either. The 
 combination with diminuendo has already been noticed (Ex. 142), and Ex. 143 
 is a good instance of the increased breadth and dignity obtainable by combining 
 ritardando with cwescendo :— 
 
 CHopPiNn, Op. 20. 
 ay 
 
 Ex. 141. Molto pit lento. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Aime Onis, 
 
 
 
 
 
 se 
 
 a of =a 
 ieee Paes = 
 
 
 
 i aja #6 oe 
 Feiss 
 Se —— { Set 
 
 But perhaps the most obvious opportunity for the introduction of ritardando 
 occurs when a passage leads into a principal subject, either directly (Ex. 144) 
 
72 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 or with a pause immediately before the entrance of the subject (Ex. 145). The 
 effect of ritardando so employed is to throw the principal subject into relief, 
 and so impress it on the attention of the listener, and a similar advantage may 
 be obtained where a passage leads directly into the subject, by making a slight 
 silent pause, which must not be long enough to seriously disturb the rhythm, 
 between the last note of the passage and the first note of the subject, as shown 
 in Ex. 146. This serves instead of actual ritardando :— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ex. 144. Largo e mesto. BEETHOVEN, Op. 10, No. 3. 
 Be Le { ASE Na ee A ee eee ES 
 AO ——__ o_o, I aes = _| ' 
 = ———— a aa SS SS 
 fo le araiet yy 3. “5 -: 
 ip decres. vit. Ces i i a | 14 
 a Me eS a 
 Crees eee || 
 eee 
 — “yA ad 
 —< oy ats Dee ees ~ CuHopin, Op. 15, No. 2. 
 Ex, 145. = is - Tempo imo. 
 3 he. o@. | be. Ban 
 
 When it is desired to emphasise a single note in a phrase without giving it 
 additional strength, the effect may be gained by lingering slightly upon it, care 
 being taken that the slight pause made is not sufficiently long to distort the 
 rhythm. The following is an example of this kind of treatment, and is 
 particularly interesting from the fact that it is given by Schindler in his “ Life 
 of Beethoven,” exactly as quoted below, as his own recollection of the manner 
 in which Beethoven himself used to play the phrase in question :— 
 
 e 9 O e ¢ N e e 
 
 Ex. 147. elt BEETHOVEN, Op. 14 bk I 
 of o— 
 ——— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 There still remains to be noticed one more modification of tempo, which is 
 of the greatest service to expression when suitably introduced, but which 
 requires great caution and sound judgment in use, since it is more liable than 
 any other variation of speed to degenerate into affectation. This is the tempo 
 
EXPRESSION. 73 
 
 vubato (literally ‘‘robbed time’’), in which one part of a phrase is quickened, 
 and another slackened in proportion, so that the general march of the rhythm 
 
 is undisturbed, and the duration of the whole phrase remains the same as it 
 - would have been if played in strict time throughout. Such variations are too 
 delicate and subtle to be expressed in notation, and the effect must depend for 
 its success entirely on the discretion of the player, but it should be observed 
 that any independent accompaniment to a rubato phrase must always keep 
 strict time, and it is, therefore, quite possible that no note of a rubato melody 
 will fall exactly together with its corresponding note in the accompaniment, 
 except, perhaps, the first note in each bar. The following is a good example of 
 rubato melody with strict accompaniment :— 
 
 Ex. 148. CHOPIN, Op. 52. 
 
 rubato. — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 All such variations of tempo as have been described above are in their 
 proper place in modern music, from Weber onwards, and should be 
 employed very sparingly, if at all, in the works of the earlier composers, the 
 measured and strict character of whose music demands a like strictness of 
 time. Perhaps the only place in which a ritardando is permissible in the 
 compositions of Bach is at the close of a movement, where a broadening of 
 the tempo, followed by a pause on the final chord, has frequently a very good 
 effect. 
 
 Last, though by no means least in importance, of the various aids to 
 expression which present themselves for consideration, is the use of the pedals, 
 both of which exercise a great influence on the character of the pianoforte as 
 a musical instrument. In order to understand the nature of this influence, 
 and the way in which it affects the expression, it will be necessary to 
 ascertain exactly what takes place when either of the pedals is brought into 
 action. | 
 
 The function of the pedal on the right is to remove the dampers from 
 the strings, and so to allow any string which may be struck to continue 
 sounding until the momentum derived from the blow is exhausted and the 
 string has come to rest. If a string be struck without using the pedal, the 
 damper attached to the key falls upon it directly the finger is raised, and causes 
 the cessation of the sound. Thus the dampers provide the means for playing 
 staccato, the pedal the means for producing sustained sound. This pedal is 
 very generally called the ‘loud pedal,” but the name is inappropriate and 
 
74 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 misleading, since the increase of loudness, irrespective of the touch, merely 
 results from the combination of a larger number of different sounds than could 
 be grasped at once by the hands alone, while the use of the pedal, for its proper 
 purpose of sustaining, is quite as effective in pianissimo as in forte passages. 
 A more suitable designation, and one frequently used, is that of ‘damper 
 pedal.” ) 
 
 The great utility of the pedal lies in the fact that it practically gives 
 the player the advantage of a third hand, since a note can be struck, say in the 
 middle of the keyboard, and sustained while both hands are engaged at any 
 distance from it. But since all the notes sounded during the holding down 
 of the pedal are sustained alike, it follows that clearness of the harmonic 
 progressions can only be obtained by changing the pedal—that is, by releasing 
 and again depressing it—at each change of the harmony, as otherwise two 
 conflicting harmonies would be heard at the same time, and the result would 
 be a discordant confusion. Not that such confusion is always disagreeable in 
 effect; on the contrary, it 1s occasionally desired by the composer, and expressly 
 indicated, as in the last fifteen bars of the first movement of Mendelssohn’s 
 Fantasia in F sharp minor, Op. 28. 
 
 During the holding of the pedal, a true staccato is of course impossible, but 
 an excellent effect is sometimes obtained by the continued repetition of a staccato 
 chord while the pedal is sustained, as in the opening bars of Mendelssohn’s 
 Andante and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14. The effect is somewhat orchestral in 
 character, resembling detached chords on stringed instruments accompanied by 
 soft sustained harmonies on the wind. 
 
 The chief difficulty to be encountered in learning to use the pedal is 
 the necessity for depressing it immediately after striking the notes which it 
 is intended to sustain, instead of following the natural inclination to move hand 
 and foot together. The reason for this necessity will be best understood on 
 examining the following example. Here we have two chords, the second 
 of which has to be sustained by means of the pedal. On striking the 
 first chord, the dampers will be raised from the strings D, F sharp, 
 and A, and if the pedal be taken precisely with the striking of the second 
 chord the fall of these dampers will be arrested, and they will be prevented 
 from reaching their strings, whereby the sounds of F sharp and A will be 
 mingled with those of the chord of G, producing a confusion of harmony. But 
 if the pedal be taken a little later than the moment of striking the second 
 chord, all the dampers except those of the chord of G will have had time to fall 
 upon their strings and silence them, and the second chord will be sustained free 
 from all impurity. The ordinary indication by means of the abbreviation 
 Ped. followed by the * is not sufficiently accurate to represent exactly the 
 moment of pressing the pedal, and consequently various methods have 
 been devised from time to time to remedy this indefiniteness. Of these 
 the best is that invented by Hans Schmitt, of Vienna, in 1863; and described 
 in his exhaustive treatise on the subject, ‘Das Pedal des Claviers,” in which 
 the pressure and release of the pedal are precisely indicated by notes and rests 
 
EXPRESSION. 75 
 
 placed on a single line, drawn underneath the music staves, as shown in the 
 example :— 
 
 Ex. 149. 
 
 
 
 l EE 
 ee 0 0 
 
 | | 
 
 By the proper management of the pedal, a succession of chords, which 
 could not be connected by the fingers alone, may be played perfectly Jegato, and 
 this is an advantage of the first importance in the rendering of certain phrases. 
 For example, if the chords of Ex. 150 be played without pedal, a certain break 
 of continuity between them is unavoidable, and the same break will be 
 perceptible even though the pedal be used if it is released before the termination 
 of each chord, according to the notation given in line A. If, again, in order 
 to prevent this break, the pedal is used with each chord, but is allowed to 
 remain pressed down throughout the whole duration of the chord, as in line B, 
 the confusion already spoken of will result, owing to the dampers of one chord 
 having been prevented from falling upon their strings by the action of the 
 pedal applied to the next following. The true pedalling, therefore, of such a 
 phrase is that shown in line C, where the pedal is released precisely as each 
 chord is struck, and taken again immediately afterwards, by which means each 
 chord is sustained for its full length, and a perfect legato is obtained without 
 the slightest confusion :— 
 
 Ex. 150. BEETHOVEN, Op. 53. 
 Allegro con brio. 
 
 
 
 Ao + Sadia! Jd 4 | J in Rahal Je da 
 Me 
 
76 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 The vibrations of the heavy bass strings of the pianoforte are far more 
 energetic than those of the strings of higher pitch, and a slight momentary 
 touch of the damper on a sounding bass string, though it weakens the tone, is 
 by no means sufficient to silence it completely. This may be proved by first 
 depressing the pedal, and then striking a note fortissimo and staccato in the 
 lower part of the keyboard, say below the limits of the bass stave, when it will 
 be found possible to change the pedal some six or eight times without entirely 
 extinguishing the sound, provided the action of the foot be sufficiently rapid, 
 whereas a similarly treated note in the middle or upper registers would be 
 silenced after two, or at most three, changes of pedal. 
 
 This fact renders it possible to sustain a bass note during a succession of 
 changing harmonies which would not admit of the pedal being held down 
 throughout the whole phrase. If, for instance, Ex. 151 be pedalled according 
 to the notation given in the lower line, the low B flat with which it commences 
 may be made audible throughout, without injury to the clearness of the chords 
 in the upper parts, and occasions are very frequent in modern music when this 
 kind of treatment is of the greatest possible service :— 
 
 BRAHMS, Op. 24. 
 
 
 
 Ald neg eS gl El 
 
 In addition to its ordinary function of sustaining sounds, the pedal possesses 
 a remarkable power of enriching and improving their quality, a property which, 
 though certainly not contemplated in its invention, is of the greatest importance 
 to a musical and expressive performance. It is clear that this enrichment or 
 reinforcement of the tone, which is quite unmistakable, cannot proceed directly 
 from any action of the pedal apparatus itself, but must be the result of some 
 external cause which the pedal brings into operation, and this, as we shall 
 presently see, is the case. 
 
 By way of experiment, let the chord shown in bar A of the following 
 example be carefully and silently depressed by the left hand and held down, so 
 that the dampers of the notes C, E, and G are removed from their strings 
 without the hammers being permitted to strike. Now let the same chord 
 be forcibly and sharply struck with the right hand, an octave higher, as in bar 
 B, the left hand still remaining in its place, when it will be found that the notes 
 of the upper chords are softly sustained, the effect being somewhat as indicated 
 
EXPRESSION. 77 
 
 in bar C. Obviously, these sustained sounds cannot proceed from the strings 
 struck by the right hand, because these were immediately damped by the removal 
 of the hand from the keys; they must, therefore, be given out by those strings 
 which have been freed from their dampers by the left hand, and so put into 
 a condition fit for vibration, in proof of which, let the left hand be now 
 ‘removed, when the dampers fall and the sounds are at once extinguished :— 
 
 
 
 This experiment proves that a stretched string (or indeed any other body 
 capable of producing a musical sound) may be set in vibration without any 
 direct blow or shock, merely by the vibration of another string in its neighbour- 
 hood, provided that its own rate of vibration synchronises with that of the 
 exciting sound—in other words, that the exciting sound forms a consonant 
 interval with the sound to be excited. But it will be observed that the sounds 
 elicited from the strings which were freed from their dampers (bar A) are not 
 the sounds which would have resulted if these notes had been played; they are 
 an octave higher, and are in unison with the strings actually struck (bar B). 
 The reason of this is that a stretched string vibrates, not only as a whole, 
 from end to end, but also in sections, the lengths of which are aliquot 
 parts of the length of the whole string, and these vibrating sections 
 are separated by points of non-vibration, called nodes. The vibration 
 of the whole length gives the true note of the string, termed the funda- 
 mental note, and those of the segmental divisions produce the so-called 
 overtones or harmonics, to the presence of which the particular quality 
 of the sound is due. The vibration of a stretched string is, therefore, of a highly 
 complex character, and the resultant tone is not less so, being never simple, but 
 always composed of a fundamental sound, together with various harmonics, 
 which indeed can be perfectly distinguished by an attentive ear. Now whena 
 string is made to speak by sympathetic vibration, as in the experiment 
 described above, it does not vibrate as a whole, but divides itself into portions 
 of such length that their vibrations (which are thus the vibrations of overtones 
 and not of the fundamental tone) shall synchronise with those of the exciting 
 sound, and be in unison with it. In the example given, the strings to be 
 excited were an octave below the exciting causes, and the segments into which 
 the lower strings divided themselves were half the length of the whole strings, 
 thus agreeing with the known law that the half of a string gives a sound an 
 octave higher than that of the whole string. Ifthe undamped strings had been 
 an octave lower than those in bar A of the example, the result would have been 
 the same, except that the sustained sounds would be a little weaker, because 
 they would then have obediently divided themselves into quarters instead of 
 
 Franklin Taylor.—Technique.—Novello, F 
 
78 ' TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 halves, and since the fourth part of a string-length gives two octaves above its 
 fundamental tone, the vibrations would still synchronise with those of the 
 exciting sounds. 
 
 Undamped strings of higher pitch than the exciting sounds may also be 
 made to speak by sympathetic vibration, only in this case it will be the over- 
 tones of the exciting sounds which synchronise with the fundamental notes of 
 the higher strings, and it will therefore be these fundamental notes which are 
 called forth, as shown in the following example :— 
 
 
 
 Ex.153: 
 Undamped strings. Notes struck. Approximate effect. 
 =e ee S| 
 — =. Sop Pas 
 DL nf 
 
 This necessarily brief glance at a highly interesting subject, the fuller 
 treatment of which must be sought in works dealing with the science of 
 acoustics, will suffice to explain the reason of the richer and fuller tone obtained 
 by the use of the pedal. For it is clear that if a note, say middle C, be struck 
 while the pedal is held down, all the C’s of the keyboard, being freed from their 
 dampers, will speak in sympathy with it; those below the note actually played 
 lending their overtones and reinforcing it in the unison, while those above 
 contribute their fundamental notes, which, although too faint to be distinguished 
 as separate sounds, being, as they are, generated merely by the overtones of 
 the note struck, add, nevertheless, something to the general richness of tone. 
 It is on this account that the pedal is so frequently, indeed, almost continuously 
 used by good pianists in cases where there can be no question of sustaining 
 sound—for instance, in the performance of an unaccompanied melody, as in 
 Ex. 154. The effect of such phrases as this when played without pedal is so 
 dry and unsympathetic that its employment is quite indispensable :— 
 
 Ex. 154, BEETHOVEN, Op. 31, No. 2. 
 — 
 
 
 
 A yet further advantage may be derived from sympathetic vibration by the 
 use of the pedal, as follows. Ifa chord be played in the middle or lower part of 
 the keyboard, with a fair amount of pressure, so that the tone may be full and 
 singing, and the pedal be taken some little time after the chord is struck, the 
 strings which are in unison with this chord, being then released from their 
 dampers, will begin to sound, and will gradually reinforce and enrich the tone 
 of the chord already heard, so as to produce a slight increase of power, thus 
 going far to remove, at any rate partially, the reproach that the pianoforte is 
 
EXPRESSION. 79 
 
 incapable of producing a crescendo on a single sound. Properly used, the effect 
 has a decided charm, and is of especial value in syncopated phrases, as in 
 Ex. 155, which is, perhaps, one of the most effective instances of its use that 
 
 could be chosen :— 
 SCHUBERT, Op. 94, No. 4. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ex. 155. Moderato. ~— — 
 =e => —= 
 7 7} =| ee EY ee Bee 2s 1 
 \ (a isd fad ey eb Pisaae a | 
 WW, V4 Fea [a a $ ed OG ay ee eee 
 ~% e ~ . 5 Fata 
 
 Pp e e e ° e icant aman e e 
 
 ] 2 9. — @ 2. P -g@- -@- -—- — -2- -2- 
 we o—_s———_9 io— 
 
 — —— oe —o® 1 
 
 a i 
 
 
 
 —_Byy dn Rpg ef Bg Ratt 
 
 The use of the abbreviation Ped. as a sign for the employment of the 
 damper-pedal is of comparatively recent introduction, the earlier composers 
 having been accustomed to write the words “‘ senza sordini’”’—that is, ‘‘ without 
 dampers’’—to indicate the depression of the pedal, and ‘‘con sordini” for its 
 release. The last movement of Beethoven’s Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27, 
 No. 2, was so marked by the composer, the direction given being con sordini 
 for the arpeggio passages with which the movement begins, and senza sordini 
 for the two chords at the end of the Second bar. In modern editions, however, 
 the use of these expressions has been discontinued, and the usual sign employed 
 instead, and it is perhaps well that the change has been made, as there is always 
 some risk of the meaning of the word sordini being misunderstood, owing 
 to the fact that certain composers have used it (in the sense of mute) to indicate 
 the employment of the left-hand or soft pedal. 
 
 Modern composers frequently further abbreviate the sign for the damper- 
 pedal to the single letter P., and the innovation is an improvement, as it makes 
 it possible to indicate more clearly the precise moment at which the pedal 
 should be taken, and Liszt has introduced the custom, now generally followed, 
 of simply repeating the syllable Ped., without any other sign, where a rapid 
 change of pedal is required, reserving the use of the asterisk for places where 
 the pedal is to be definitely discontinued for a time, as in the following example 
 (the bass only is quoted) :— 
 
 Vivace. LiszT, WALDESRAUSCHEN. 
 
 Ex. 156. 
 
 
 
80 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 The object of the second pedal is, primarily, to weaken the tone, and there 
 are three ways in which this object may be attained, the mechanical action of 
 the pedal, generally known as the soft pedal (a more appropriate name for it 
 than the term “loud pedal” is for its companion), varying accordingly. 
 
 In the first method, the pressure of the pedal brings the hammers con- 
 siderably closer to the strings than their normal striking distance, and the blow 
 is thereby weakened and the tone softened. The quality of the tone is not 
 affected, and the result is in nowise different from a pianissimo tone produced 
 by the unaided finger. In the second, the reduction of power is effected by the 
 interposition of a strip of soft woollen material between the hammers and the 
 strings, so as to deaden the sound. With this arrangement the quality is 
 considerably, and sometimes disastrously affected, as in many instruments the 
 tone is so reduced as to become practically inaudible. Upright pianos are 
 generally provided with one or other of these contrivances, as their construction 
 does not lend itself to the employment of the third method, which is, neverthe- 
 less, the only one capable of giving truly artistic results. In this method, 
 which is invariably applied to the construction of grand pianos, the action of 
 the pedal moves the whole keyboard a small distance to one side, so that the 
 hammer strikes upon two strings only of the three with which each note 
 (except those in the lowest register) is provided. The result of this action is 
 two-fold; the power of tone is weakened by the reduction of the number of 
 strings struck, and, what is of far greater importance from a musical point of 
 view, the third string, being freed from its damper by the depression of the 
 key, vibrates in sympathy with those actually struck, and contributes a delicate 
 and silvery quality of sound which is quite as characteristic in its way as that 
 produced by the use of the mute on the violin. On account of this alteration 
 in the quality of the tone, the employment of the soft pedal for the mere 
 purpose of playing pzanissimo is to be deprecated, and although its use may 
 be convenient at times, there is never any real necessity for the player to avail 
 himself of its assistance, since a delicate and well-controlled touch should be 
 capable of reducing the tone almost to extinction without any particular 
 difficulty. The student should therefore cultivate the power of producing a 
 perfect pianissimo by the fingers alone, and the soft pedal should be employed 
 in those passages only, and they are fairly numerous, in which its peculiar 
 effect is an advantage. 
 
 Formerly, the soft pedal shifted the keyboard so cf that only one of 
 the three strings was struck, as is shown by the direction una corda, by 
 which its employment is indicated even at the present time, and in many 
 instruments there was a small stop or wedge at the end of the keyboard, by 
 means of which the player was able to control the movement, so as to play 
 upon either one or two strings at will, but the use of the single string has long 
 been discarded, probably because it was found to be too weak to resist the 
 blow of the hammer, and therefore did not remain well in tune. 
 
 Among other composers, Beethoven had a great liking for the special 
 quality of tone afforded by the use of the soft pedal, and sometimes employed 
 
EXPRESSION. 81 
 
 it throughout a complete movement, as, for example, in the Andante of the 
 Concerto in G, Op. 58. In some passages which he has marked una corda, 
 the effect intended is by no means pianissimo, as for instance in Ex. 157, which 
 contains chords meant to be played as loudly as the use of the soft pedal will 
 permit, a proof that he considered the particular tone-quality as an effect 
 quite apart from the volume of sound produced :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, Op, IIo, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 una corda. cress = - - - Cones 
 x, 157. 8 | , 
 ya os Sy ey oh Sy ot Earner Seri 
 SSE SaaS a ag ag ig ig ee 
 
 iy y reg 
 a al pairs pine it ws Bil lten 
 
 Beethoven also occasionally desired to pass gradually from one string to 
 three, as indicated by his directions ‘‘due e poi tre corde,’ and ‘“‘nach und 
 nach mehrere Saiten.” With the instruments of the present day, on which 
 una corda really means due corde, these directions cannot be exactly carried out, 
 but the desired effect may be sufficiently well realised by taking care to alter 
 the touch in the direction of pianissimo at the moment of releasing the soft 
 pedal, so that the strength of the first few notes played on three strings may 
 approximate to that of the last notes for which only two were employed, some- 
 what as in Ex. 158. By these means the transition will be rendered as gradual 
 as possible. The directions above the example are Beethoven’s, those between 
 the staves and underneath show the manner of performance :— 
 
 Allegro ma non troppo. 
 una corda, crescendo, : BEETHOVEN, Op. r10 
 BOT 10: 
 
 “~ : . 
 poi a poi tre corde. 
 Ex, 158. : N PrP | = 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ” . \ 4 -@-° -@-° 
 
 9 ae ee 
 — ————" tre corde. 
 una corda, f ; 
 
 Besides the two pedals in ordinary use, others have been invented from time 
 to time, and experimentally introduced, but only to be discarded as possessing 
 
82 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 no real artistic value. Among these were pedals for imitating the sounds of a 
 bell, a drum, and a bassoon. The effect of the last-named, called ‘‘ pedale di 
 fagotto,” was obtained by bringing a strip of stiff paper or parchment into slight 
 contact with the vibrating strings, and indications for its use may be found as 
 late as Hummel, who has it in a small Polonaise in F major, which he has 
 marked ‘‘ col registro di fagotto.” 
 
 In addition to those mentioned above, there is one extra pedal which is of 
 far greater importance, and which has been adopted by Steinway and other 
 makers of renown in the construction of their instruments. ‘This is a pedal for 
 the purpose of sustaining a single sound, generally in the bass, during a 
 succession of changing harmonies, without any of the confusion which is 
 inseparable from the use of the damper-pedal under like conditions. It is 
 questionable whether opportunities for the use of this third pedal, which is 
 placed between the other two, are of sufficiently frequent occurrence to make it 
 likely that it will be generally adopted, especially as it is a somewhat costly 
 addition to the instrument, but there can be no doubt that under certain 
 circumstances its use would be entirely beneficial. For instance, in Ex. 159, 
 in which the pedal is marked by the composer through two bars without break, 
 the low E flat might be sustained by means of the third pedal, and the damper- 
 pedal changed with each change of harmony, and the result would be a great 
 gain in point of clearness of harmonic progression, without any loss of richness 
 and fulness of effect :— 
 
 
 
 Ex. 159. Mit grosster Energie. SCHUMANN, Op. 26. 
 N ——— 
 
 
 
 oo Ped. ie: 
 nd fie nd DS SS 
 
 
 
 
 BY Ped. “or oO 
 
 
 
 In the absence of a third pedal, a similar advantage may sometimes be 
 obtained, at least to a certain extent, by a judicious manipulation of the keys. 
 Thus, if the confusion resulting from the use of the pedal as marked in Ex. 
 160a be objected to, it may be obviated, and the general effect of the phrase 
 much improved, in the manner following. As soon as the three repeating 
 chords have been played, the left hand gently depresses the two lowest C’s, 
 without allowing the hammers to strike, and the pedal is changed, that is to 
 say, is released and immediately taken again; by these means the sounds of 
 the upper chords will have been silenced, on account of the change of pedal, 
 but the dampers of the lowest notes having been prevented from falling on 
 their strings, these will continue to sound, and, being sustained by the renewed 
 pedal, will still form a bass to the next chord. The same procedure will apply 
 to subsequent chords, and the complete treatment of the phrase will be that 
 
EXPRESSION. 838 
 
 shown, as nearly as it is possible to express it in writing, in Ex. 160), in 
 which the keys which are to be silently depressed are indicated by the small 
 notes :-— 
 
 Ex. 160. SCHUMANN, Op. 20. 
 
 (a) 
 
 
 
VIL. 
 ORNAMENTS. 
 
 ORNAMENTS in pianoforte music, as expressed by signs or by small notes, have 
 been described, more or less completely, in all pianoforte-schools and instruction 
 books, but the directions given as to their rendering have been found so 
 confused and contradictory as to give rise to the impression, very prevalent at 
 one time, that such things were merely matters of taste, and that the manner 
 of executing them must be left to the discretion of the performer. Of late 
 years, however, attention has been directed to the historical side of the subject, 
 and it was highly desirable that this should be so, if only from the fact that 
 Bach accepted and constantly employed the ornaments in use in his day, and 
 that it is, therefore, impossible to play his music as he meant it, unless one 
 understands exactly what it was that he intended to express by the various 
 signs, Fortunately, we have unimpeachable information in a work by his son, 
 Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach, entitled ‘ Versuch tiber die wahre Art das Clavier 
 zu spielen” (‘* Essay on the true method of playing the Clavier’), in which no 
 fewer than nine chapters are occupied with examples and explanations of the 
 so-called Manieren, or ornaments, and even if Emanuel Bach’s practice did not 
 accord in every minute detail with that of his father, there can be no doubt, 
 from internal evidence, and from corroboration afforded by other contemporary 
 works, that it is to be accepted as an entirely reliable guide. 
 
 Interesting as the subject is, this is not the place in which to discuss 
 the history of ornaments, the earliest of which date from the beginning of the 
 seventeenth century, or to attempt a full description of them; moreover, such a 
 course has been rendered unnecessary by the recent publication of Edward 
 Dannreuther’s masterly and exhaustive treatise on the subject.* Viewed from 
 the practical side, however, there are certain matters relating to their execution 
 with which it is necessary that the student should be acquainted, and these we 
 may proceed to consider. 
 
 The first point to be noted, and perhaps the most important, is the rule 
 that all ornaments must be played within the duration of the note to which they 
 are applied. Just as a material and visible ornament, such as a carving or 
 painting, must be upon the surface which is decorated thereby, and cannot 
 be conceived apart from that surface, so must an audible ornament form a part 
 
 
 
 * “Musical Ornamentation,” by E. Dannreuther (Novello & Co.). Among other most 
 valuable matter, this book contains a literal translation of those portions of Emanuel Bach’s 
 “*Versuch’’ which refer to the rendering of ornaments. 
 
ORNAMENTS. 85 
 
 of the time-value of the note which it embellishes, and cannot precede or 
 follow it, duration of sound being the correlative of space in matter. 
 
 Ornaments, whether indicated by signs or by small notes, are always 
 extrinsic to the value of the bar, the time of which is complete without them, 
 and since the duration of no one bar may exceed that of any other, the note to 
 which an ornament is applied must lose just so much of its value as will 
 suffice for the execution of that ornament. The ornament may thus occupy 
 the whole value of the note, as in a prolonged trill, or a portion, and this 
 portion may be either at the commencement of the note, as in the appoggiatura, 
 acciaccatura, or turn written over the note (Ex. 161a, b, c), or at the end, as in 
 the turn after the note (Ex. 161d) :— 
 
 Hex r6t. Appoggiatura. Acciaccatura, 
 b 
 (a) \ e (0) Orn deen areca laa 
 — eae 
 —— = =| 
 Rendering. 
 
 
 
 In order, therefore, to render any ornament correctly, it is necessary to 
 ascertain to which particular note the ornament belongs, and then to rob this 
 note of a small portion of its written value, either at the commencement or 
 at the end, according to the description of ornament which is applied to it. 
 In most cases the ornament can be assigned to its proper note without difficulty, 
 especially when it is expressed by a sign placed over the note, but occasionally 
 some uncertainty may arise, which can only be removed by a closer study 
 of the character of the ornament. The sign of the shake or trill, ‘‘¢7,” 1s always 
 placed directly above or below the note to which it belongs, and the whole 
 value of the note, as a rule, is taken up by the execution of the ornament, which 
 consists of the regular alternation of the written note with the note next above 
 it. The Mordent, av, and Pralltriller or Schneller, »”, two ornaments constantly 
 met with in the works of Bach, and also, though with less frequency, in those 
 of Handel, consist of three rapid notes played at the commencement of the 
 note to which they belong, and having the accent on the last of the three. The 
 only difference between them is that in the Mordent the principal note 
 alternates with the note below, and in the Pralltriller with the note above. On 
 account of the similarity of the two ornaments, and in the absence of any 
 
86 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 English name for the Pralltriller, the latter is often called the inverted mordent, 
 a sufficiently convenient title. The respective signs by which these ornaments 
 are indicated are placed above the notes to which they apply, and in their 
 execution the commencing notes must never be allowed to anticipate the beat :— 
 
 Mordent. Pralltriller, 
 
 Ex, 162, 
 
 
 
 As to the correct rendering of the above ornaments, then, no doubt or 
 difficulty can arise, but the same can scarcely be said of such ornaments as are 
 expressed by small notes, the so-called grace-notes, because, under differing 
 circumstances, they may mean different things. For instance, the two small 
 notes of Ex. 163 may form an ornament called a Slide (in German, Schleifer), 
 in which case they will occupy the commencement of the large note by which 
 they are followed, or they may be After-notes (Ger., Nachschlige)—notes 
 which embellish the end of a long note—and will therefore require to be played 
 during a portion of the note which precedes them :— 
 
 Ex, 163. 
 
 To determine the proper execution in such cases it is necessary to examine 
 the context. Thus, in the second bar of Ex. 164a, the harmony is that of 
 F minor, and the first note of the ornament, and likewise the large note which 
 follows, are essential notes of the chord by which it is accompanied, while the 
 second of the two small notes, B flat, appears as a passing-note, under perfectly 
 regular conditions. There is, therefore, nothing to prevent the whole ornament 
 from being accompanied by the chord of F minor, and it is accordingly 
 recognised as a slide, and is played within the value of the crotchet. But the 
 ornament shown at b in the example, though similar in appearance, is differently 
 circumstanced, and requires other treatment. Here the harmony is that of 
 G minor, and the second of the two small notes, B flat, is an essential note, 
 instead of a passing-note, while the next following large note, A, is itself an 
 auxiliary note, or note foreign to the harmony, and, therefore, unfit to bear a 
 diatonic ornament. If, however, we refer the two grace notes to the preceding 
 
 instead of the subsequent note, we find their introduction fully justified and 
 explained, on the ground that the first of them, C, is an auxiliary note above 
 
ORNAMENTS. 87 
 
 B flat, and the second is the return to the essential note, which progression is 
 regular, indeed imperative, in the treatment of auxiliary notes under all 
 circumstances. The conclusion arrived at is that the small notes are after- 
 notes, and are played at the close of the preceding note :— 
 
 SCHUBERT, Op. 142, No. 3. 
 _—— 
 
 
 
 The same careful consideration is necessary when dealing with grace- 
 notes occurring singly. The single grace-note may be either a fore-note 
 (German, Vorschlag) or an after-note (Nachschlag), and it is not always easy to 
 assign to such a note its proper place in the bar. Sometimes it is possible for 
 the composer to indicate his intention unmistakably, as Schumann has done in 
 many instances (Ex. 165); other cases must be judged by the general conditions 
 under which they appear. The majority of single grace-notes are either 
 appoggiature or acciaccature, the rendering of which has already been shown 
 (Ex. 161). Others, of not very frequent occurrence, are true after-notes, as in 
 Ex. 166a, where they appear as passing-notes between the main notes of the 
 melody. Schumann has occasionally employed small notes in this sense, 
 preferring to write them thus in order to leave to the player more freedom 
 of interpretation as regards their duration than would have been possible had 
 they been written as notes of ordinary size, incorporated in the time of the bar 
 (Ex. 166d) :— 
 
 ScHUMANN, Op. 12, No. 3. 
 
 Langsam., on pete 
 a a. | : © a? < 
 
 
 
88 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op. 6, No. 5. 
 
 EX. 100; 7 Bacu, Aria. 
 
 
 
 Grace-notes at a distance belong to the same harmony as the main note 
 and are to be taken on the beat, the principal note being slightly delayed 
 (Ex. 167a). In the exceptional cases in which they are anticipatory, as in 
 Ex. 167b, they must be understood to represent a short note which has been 
 written small in order to indicate greater freedom of rhythm, as with 
 Schumann’s grace-note in Ex. 166) -— 
 
 SCHUBERT, Op. 94, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ORNAMENTS. 89 
 
 Very often, in modern music, the grace-note at a distance is not a 
 melodic ornament at all, but merely represents a chord of too wide an extent 
 to be taken with one hand (Ex. 168a), thus forming a kind of arpeggio. 
 In this sense Schumann sometimes employs a whole chord of grace-notes 
 (Ex. 168). In such cases the grace-notes always fall on the beat :— 
 
 BEETHOVEN, 
 
 Allegro vivace, - Op. 2, No. 2. 
 | 
 
 
 
 When a single grace-note is applied to a chord, it can only affect one note, 
 and the remaining notes are played together with the gtace-note, being undis- 
 turbed by it (Ex. 169a). But since the small note can refer to an inner or 
 lower part as well as the upper, it is often necessary to decide which of the 
 notes of the chord it is intended to embellish, as that note alone will be 
 curtailed and delayed (Ex. 169b) :— 
 
 SCHUBERT, Op. 94, No. 3. 
 Allegro moderato. Allegro moderato. SCHUBERT, Op. 78. 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
90 | TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 Single grace-notes occurring in the bass generally represent sustained bass 
 notes which have to be held by means of the pedal, in consequence of the left 
 hand being obliged to quit them immediately, to take up a position at a distance 
 (Ex. 170). Such notes are best played exactly on the beat, as the bass is more 
 solid, and affords better support to the upper parts, when it is not made to 
 anticipate its proper place in the time of the bar. But if the skip of the left 
 hand is made in order to double the melody of the right hand (Ex. 171a), or 
 to play an independent melody of its own (Ex. 171b), it will be necessary to © 
 play the small note slightly in advance of the beat, that the place of the inelody- 
 notes in the rhythm may be undisturbed :— 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op, 16, No. 3. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - -2- 
 ee he : ee (OP Pin het 
 eS = —————|| 
 Ped. * pot 
 SCHUMANN, Op. 16, No. 5. SCHUMANN, Op. 14, Var 4. 
 
 EP Ee 2 a a en ee 
 t 
 
 
 
ORNAMENTS. 91 
 
 Arpeggios, whether used as ornaments to the melody (Ex. 172) or as 
 accompaniment (Ex. 173), begin on the beat :— 
 
 Ex. 172. Andante sostenuto. poaeENS OP 37: No. 1. 
 Cc . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ae Se -o- -o- 
 —,- ~o- -o- 
 (ra\ 2 S, c=, SL Fas.” PSs.” Ge 
 URS TME D. 2 —+ eo wo | JIN 
 ~~ 5 V. Aw Pee ee eer, 
 SS Ae 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 SEES DEE EE ET J 
 
92 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 Adagio. SCHUMANN, Op. 9, No. 5. 
 [EIEIO LRTI Fa 
 
 
 
 Occasionally, arpeggios may have to be taken before the beat, instead of 
 beginning with it; in such cases, however, the arpeggio can scarcely be 
 reckoned an ornament in the usual sense of the word, but is rather a device 
 employed to express either a very full harmony, which, being out of reach 
 of the hands, has to be sustained by the pedal (Ex. 174a, b), or else a group 
 of notes really belonging to the time of the preceding beat, but written of small 
 size in order to suggest rapidity and lightness of execution (Ex. 175) :— 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op. 6, No. 
 Ex. 174. (a) So 
 
 7; 
 (b) SCHUMANN, Op. 12, No. 5. 
 
 
 
ORNAMENTS. 93 
 
 MENDELSSOHN, Op. 62, No. 6, 
 
 
 
 
 
 Concerning the execution of the trill it will be necessary to consider a 
 question which frequently presents itself—namely, ought the trill to commence 
 with the note written, or with the upper subsidiary note? The answer depends 
 partly on the conditions under which the trill appears, and partly on the period 
 to which the composition belongs in which it occurs. The modern custom 
 of beginning with the principal note dates from the time of Hummel, who, in 
 his Pianoforte School, written in 1827, refers to the fact that performers have 
 ‘hitherto followed the practice of the ancient masters, and begun it always 
 with the subsidiary note above,” and goes on to say that he has determined 
 ‘“‘to lay down the rule that, in general, every shake should begin with the note 
 itself, over which it stands, and not with the subsidiary note above, unless the 
 contrary be expressly indicated.” Accordingly, trills in the works of Bach, 
 Mozart, Haydn—in fact, in all compositions prior to Hummel—must be 
 understood to begin with the upper note, at least, as a rule, for there have 
 always been certain exceptions. And even if it be occasionally permissible, in 
 accordance with modern taste, to depart from the rule, and begin the trill with 
 the main note, there is, at least, one case in which the earlier method must be 
 strictly adhered to—namely, when the main note has been anticipated by 
 another note of the same pitch, in order to prevent the break of legato which 
 would be caused by the repetition of the note (Ex. 176a). The same rule must 
 be observed when the prefix to the trill is expressed by two small notes, the 
 
 Franklin Taylor.—Technique.—Novello. G 
 
94 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 second of which is an anticipation of the main note (Ex. 176), and for the 
 same reason :— 
 
 BACH, Suite Anglaise, No. 4. 
 Ee, 
 
 
 
 The exceptions referred to above occur when the trill appears ex abrupto— 
 that is, after a silence (Ex. 177a)—and also when it is applied to the second note 
 of some interval which forms an essential part of the melody, and which must 
 therefore be preserved unaltered (Ex. 177b). In such cases the trill begins 
 with the main note :— 
 
 Ex. 177. (a) ae Bacu, Fugue No. 13, Part II. 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 Sp -~- = hae Y | | 
 i -9- 
 Clap | ey 
 Rendering. 5 
 
 
 
ORNAMENTS. v5 
 
 In connection with Bach’s use of the trill it must be observed that he 
 generally indicated it by the sign sw or «+, and that he seldom employed the 
 sign exclusively used in modern music, ¢v. Since the sign «* was also used to 
 denote the Pralltriller (Ex. 162, p. 86), it is important to know which of the 
 two ornaments is intended in any particular instance. Sometimes either may 
 be used with propriety, at the discretion of the player, but in the two cases 
 shown in Ex. 178—namely, when the principal note is followed by two short 
 notes forming the ordinary closing notes or turn of the trill (a), and when the 
 principal note appears as the last note but one of a perfect cadence or close (b)— 
 the sign must always be understood to mean a trill :— 
 
 Bacu, Suite Anglaise, No. 1. 
 av 
 
 
 
 
 
 (b) aad Suite Anglaise, No. 4. 
 Say ee 
 
 
 
 Prolonged trills on tied notes require no closing note or turn, but end on 
 the main note a little before the end of the tie, as in the following example* :— 
 
 Ex. 179. é7 Bacu, Fugue 15, Part II. 
 
 a ee 
 
 
 
 ty 
 
 
 
96 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 Modern composers generally have accepted Hummel’s views as to the 
 execution of the trill, and begin it with the principal note, but among them all a 
 notable exception is found in Chopin. Although Chopin’s music differs widely 
 from that of Bach in its general character, there are yet many curious points of - 
 resemblance in his mode of expressing himself, especially as regards his use 
 and treatment of ornaments. His practice in this respect conforms entirely to 
 that of the earlier composers, a fact which is probably to be attributed to the 
 teaching he received in his youth from a certain German composer named 
 Elsner, who is said to have been a sound musician, and a devoted student of 
 Bach’s music. Thus, Chopin writes the prefix to the trill in two small notes, 
 the second of which is of the same pitch as the main note (Ex. 180a), clearly 
 showing that he intends the trill itself to begin with the accessory; and a 
 further proof of this intention is found in his notation of trills which are to 
 begin, exceptionally, with the principal note, in which cases he places immedi- 
 ately before the main note a small note of the same pitch, with which to start 
 the trill (Ex. 1800), a method again in strict conformity with a very early 
 custom :— 
 
 Cuorin, Op. 48, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 
 
 With players who are unaware of Chopin’s method of notation, incorrect 
 renderings such as those shown in the above example are of common occurrence, 
 
ORNAMENTS. 97 
 
 and in order to prevent misapprehensions of the kind, Klindworth, and other 
 editors who have followed him, have endeavoured to ensure correct performance 
 by placing an extra small note between the prefix and the principal note of the 
 trill (Ex. 181a), and, in the case of the trill beginning on the main note, by 
 tying the small note to the large one, at the same time indicating the proper 
 order of the notes by marking the fingering (Ex. 181). Such alterations are, 
 however, of doubtful value, although they may prevent mistakes for the time, 
 since they teach nothing as to the general treatment of ornaments in Chopin’s 
 works :— 
 
 
 
 Among other ancient ornaments used by Chopin, and used strictly in 
 accordance with Bach’s manner, will be noticed the Pralltriller (Ex. 182), the 
 Acciaccatura and Appoggiatura (the ‘“‘ short and long Vorschlag” of Emanuel 
 Bach), whether applied to the melody or to an inner note in a chord (Ex. 182, 
 183, and 184), the Schleifer (Ex. 185), and the Nachschlag or after-note, which 
 is used as was customary with the old masters, either to anticipate the next 
 following main note (Ex. 186), or between two notes of the same name (Ex. 187). 
 In very early times, the Nachschlag between two notes of equal pitch was 
 indicated as in Ex. 188 :— 
 
 Op. No. 4. 
 Ex. 182. Mesto. REPL 
 
 
 
98 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 Ex, 184. Op. 28, No. 8. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 XE a! ‘ = : 
 : ot 
 
 Set 
 
 ERTS o> RLS AL 2 aah DR ee H 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ORNAMENTS. 99 
 
 
 
 Ex, 188. Rendering. 
 
 ‘a 
 
 4 
 
 ©. __._@___}}__@ + *__# 
 MSS ISS SES | ae ee oe 
 (EDT Cae GE | Ee es 
 
 aa. 
 we ae we 
 
 Turns, both direct and inverted, and arpeggios are also of frequent 
 occurrence in Chopin’s works, but the conditions under which they are used 
 are ordinary and require no special illustration, with the exception of a certain 
 arpeggio which is preceded by a small grace-note, as in Ex. 189. In such 
 cases the arpeggio proper begins on the beat, and the grace-note is to be taken 
 as anticipatory :— 
 
 > Op.22. 
 Ex. 189 a GME GAT, 
 
 a 
 ‘ : : i 
 
 AW) 2 en ee ren ae" Ee] a 0 | Pee _—~" a “A ae i 
 (way, = GS 2S Ee “ee ~ * I Sond RR ET CE a a | i 
 QUATRE DSSS SS SES EE at SN RS) Re ET ME a Re a ee i 
 
 eee ee fe 
 
 rit. 
 
 
 
 -9- oe oe + 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pn ae ee 9} _______________,_______-4 oO | i Te el F 
 S54 mint” es eee a rT GELS CULT Ree a Pee H 
 =P -4ADE jae eee : i 
 
 oe E: 
 Rendering. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CE» Ea, 
 _A AZ ELOY Sees Seam rrr (roca 
 Eaaeey Ari) LAA SS ap SM Se Ee eae 
 7 
 
100 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 
 
 Op. 35: 
 of Ark eR a i 
 Saw (LMR Kod Ky RR ORS a 
 i pp Ee ae See ee 
 C2 
 = = -C- Ey = 
 OC FT Ee Ea (Ee ee 
 (Cisne aga (10 ee eel iE Lee es Pe eee ea = 
 . WU ae ed Es eee @ SS Ss =|| 
 V DUNS et a ed 
 ho re oA 
 Rendering. 
 SE 
 
 
 
 One more ancient form of ornament, appertaining to very early times, 
 remains yet to be mentioned, not for its own sake, for it has long become 
 obsolete, but because a certain survival or rather imitation of it is met with 
 in the works of Beethoven and Chopin. This is the Bebung, an effect belonging 
 to the clavichord, on which instrument it was possible to produce a certain 
 trembling or undulation of a sustained tone, together with slight fluctuation of 
 pitch, by rapidly increasing and relaxing the pressure of the finger on the key 
 without actually releasing it. This effect, which is naturally impossible 
 on the pianoforte, is occasionally imitated by Chopin in passages of repeated 
 notes played legato and diminuendo, with pedal, and possibly una corda 
 (Ex. 1g0a), and also by tied notes, the second of which is marked with a dot, 
 implying a detached note (Ex. 1g0b). In such cases the notes are not really 
 tied, but in a measure slurred, the second note being played much more lightly 
 than the first, and the two being connected as closely as possible :— 
 
 Ex. Igo. CHOPIN, Op. 24, No. 3. 
 
 
 
ORNAMENTS. 101 
 
 Beethoven’s use of the Bebung is even more characteristic and striking, 
 and, when its peculiar technique has been acquired, is productive of great 
 beauty of effect. His manner of indicating it is by méans of two 
 notes tied together, and marked with a change of fingering (Ex. 191). In 
 performance, the note is played with firm pressure by the first of the 
 two fingers marked, while the other is held directly above and close to 
 it; the finger which holds the key is then drawn rapidly away in an 
 inward direction, allowing the other to fall upon the key in its place, 
 with lighter touch, but sufficiently quickly and closely to cause a soft 
 repetition of the sound without permitting the falling damper to reach the 
 string, thus avoiding the SESE lales of the two notes by even the smallest 
 interval of silence :— 
 
 Ex, 191. 
 EEE: BEETHOVEN, Op. 69. 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Adagio. 4.3 BEETHOVEN, Op, 110. 
 , Se A TN 43 Bs 
 25 ES BS aay EY See = sae — 
 Fas St ee ee ee | 
 (Ty Ba, ——_ 1 eee ee ee Sea 10. a SS 
 A: 40 Eee SS ee ee ae Mel —_ a) —_ Bei = 3 at i 
 P cres. dim. 
 
 
 
 SP ie ee ro Sars Sereusseesa see tte 
 
 see approximate 
 g 3 (ap Ud sa je 4 3 4 3 qina 
 
 
 
 
 
 eae = BP PP pp) pp pp — pp 
 
 The Sonata in A flat, Op. 110, quoted in the preceding example, contains a 
 yet more extended instance of the employment of the Bebung, the difficulty of 
 
102 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 which has been greatly increased by the fact that the passage was unfortunately 
 written in an unintelligible form as regards its rhythm, and that the original 
 error has been reproduced in almost every edition. It may therefore be well 
 to give here Von Bilow’s emendation of the text, which perfectly expresses the 
 composer’s intention :— 
 
 
 
 
 
 Adagio. cantabile 
 Ex, 192. (48 2348148 Cn gets Se ee 
 1 @-2-9-9-2-2- 0" 9-2-9-0-3-99- 09-90 00- L a -@ -98-09-3- 
 3 2B Pg el — a SNE Ts UA iD ee neo t 
 7+ V Cra S— i ———_ei—-— aa — — Ls — — 9 0 ae ee Dap? |) 
 a 
 BUY, V ee oe 
 P una corda. tutte le corde, dim. una corda, 
 oo 
 ritardando, 
 
 
 
 Ped. sempre tenuto, 
 
WAU be 
 VEE Om sy Ol SSL wiby: 
 
 IMPERFECT and unsatisfactory performances arise from one of two causes, 
 inability to render the composer’s intentions, so far as they are ascertainable, 
 or the desire to ignore them and produce what is called an “ original reading.” 
 With the second of these causes we have nothing to do—such matters must be 
 left to the artistic conscience of the performer—but, taking for granted the 
 desire to render the conception of the composer as faithfully and loyally as 
 possible, much depends on the task being undertaken with a clear under- 
 standing of the various difficulties to be encountered, and on being able to 
 attack them in the manner most likely to ensure a successful result. The 
 inherent difficulties of the work to be studied are far less a cause of hindrance 
 than the student’s ignorance of the best means of conquering them, and from 
 this point of view the examination of such methods as experience has proved to 
 be reliable can scarcely fail to be of service. 
 
 DIFFICULTIES OF TECHNIQUE. 
 
 Since all rapid passages are founded upon either scales or chords, the 
 planist’s general powers of execution will depend on his having made a 
 sufficiently protracted and careful study of all the scales and broken chords as 
 technical exercises—that is to say, for their own sake, and apart from their occur- 
 rence in any composition which he may desire to play. Scales, in particular, 
 he should be in a position to render at once and faultlessly wherever they may 
 be required, and should never need to practise them in the course of the work 
 studied, especially as they are almost invariably introduced in simple and 
 unaltered form, and the ordinary scale-fingering, with such occasional modifica- 
 tions as have already been referred to (page 16), will always be available. In 
 chord-passages, however, which are formed by taking the notes of a chord singly 
 and separately instead of together, a certain amount of special study will be 
 necessary in order to recognise the various chords, which being separated 
 or broken, as it is termed, constitute the passage. The best method of learning 
 such passages is to discover first of all the chords on which the passage is 
 founded, and then to play them unbroken, even if they do not always appear as 
 correct harmonies, that the hand may become accustomed to the various 
 changes of position. Thus the passage given at A in Ex. 193 would, in the first 
 place, be practised as at B, and only when the succession of the chords had 
 become perfectly familiar would their separation into the notes of the original 
 
104 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 passage take place. This treatment gives a sense of security in the playing of 
 such passages which it would be scarcely possible to derive from always 
 practising them as single notes :— 
 
 Ex, 193. 4 -o- 4 MENDELSSOHN, Op. 14. 
 
 
 
 In modern music, broken chords are frequently met with which are too 
 wide in extent to be covered by a hand of ordinary size, but which must yet be 
 made to sound legato. The technique required for such passages is somewhat 
 difficult to describe in words, but it may nevertheless be well to make the 
 attempt. The principle involved is one to which allusion has already been made 
 (see pages 22, 23)—namely, that the movements and condition of the fingers 
 must be the same for difficult passages as for easy ones of similar form. In 
 accordance with this principle, the difficult connection of the third and fourth 
 notes in each group of Ex. 194 would be effected by raising the forefinger just 
 as definitely at the moment of striking the octave above, and by bringing down 
 the little finger just as vertically upon the higher note, as if the two fingers 
 were only separated by their normal interval of a fourth, the greater distance 
 required being covered by a rapid and perfectly horizontal movement of the 
 whole hand to the right, without in the least stretching the fingers apart 
 inconveniently :— 
 
 aoa ee caer: THALBERG, Op. 26, No. 3. 
 
 
 
 A very practical use may sometimes be made of this principle in the 
 practising of difficult extensions, by constructing a similar passage, in which the 
 same order of black and white keys is adhered to, but the extensions are avoided. 
 The practice of this parallel passage will accustom the fingers to fall promptly 
 and vertically on their respective keys, while the hand will become familiar with 
 the various changes of position, and it will be found much easier afterwards to 
 give proper attention to the lateral movements of the hand, by which the 
 
METHODS OF STUDY. 105 
 
 extensions have to be executed when the passage is practised in its original 
 form. A possible paraphrase of Ex. 194 would be as follows :— 
 
 
 
 In practising staccato octave passages, attention is necessary to two things— 
 namely, the action of the wrist and the steadiness and accuracy of the 
 movements of the thumb. Velocity and lightness in octave-playing depend 
 upon the rapid and elastic rise and fall of the hand from the wrist, but in order 
 to obtain security and to avoid false notes it is necessary that the player should 
 possess perfect control over the action of the thumb. The acquirement of this 
 control in any given passage may be greatly facilitated by practising it with 
 the thumb alone, the hand being meanwhile supported by the tip of the little 
 finger, which is pressed down silently upon any key within convenient reach. 
 The passage must be practised staccato and with great force, and the thumb 
 should rise to a distance of not less than three, or better four, inches from the 
 key after each blow struck. As the hand cannot well cover more than an 
 octave, long passages must be divided for practice into portions, each portion 
 being within the compass of a seventh. Thus, Ex. 196 would be practised 
 in two portions, as shown in Ex. 197, and the continuity of the whole passage 
 would be assured by including part of the second bar in the first portion, and 
 taking the same notes again as the commencement of the second portion :— 
 
 Presto. MENDELSSOHN, Op. 29. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Second Portion, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5—N 
 " = feet ee ee echoes cere eee = 
 (Ay? — pte te ye tests Pht tet a 4 yee ft @-oits 
 Silent, mmm | es prem poner! acoeert cere — | cemeaminemers 
 ot re 8 Saha Oe ones ae ee | ies Laredo: lps lel sk 
 
 The connection of legato octaves can often be assisted by occasionally 
 omitting a note belonging to the thumb of one hand and supplying the missing 
 
106 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 note with the other. The difficult connection of the fifth and sixth notes in 
 Ex. 1982, for instance, may be rendered perfectly easy if the phrase be arranged 
 as at b. In some cases, where the perfect connection of octaves is necessary, 
 the composer has himself dictated this method by the manner of his notation, 
 as in Ex. 199 :-— 
 
 Mozart, Fantasia. 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 But it is in part-playing that such an interchange of hands is of the greatest 
 value. In fugues and other polyphonic compositions, it frequently happens that 
 an inner part lies in such a position that it is impossible to play it with either 
 hand without breaking the connection of the notes. In such cases the part 
 must be divided between the two hands, each hand alternately taking a few 
 notes, according to convenience, that the legato may be preserved unbroken. 
 Ex. 2004, accordingly, if written as it must necessarily be played, will appear 
 as in Ex. 200b :— 
 
 
 
 Ex, 200. (a) 
 Andante maestoso. Mozart, Fuga. 
 = Ee Se ee 
 OO — == = 
 Perel a oe 
 alee ir | = een 
 AB ror o-) 
 = (a my y = px a sane | 
 LS? 
 a ee == ae eee eee op 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 METHODS OF STUDY. 107 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 4 4 3 3 2 5 GP 
  (4)3 1 ey ele a ae i be tae Tats 
 , See PSs ER ee ee = =, 
 ee 
 a fo. RSS Ee J ee ee ee Ee a ey 
 AZ SREY” CEA ET, ES Ee ee ; i 
 — -y -o- — -@- o-z- -Oy— = D- -y Oa 
 iad Le i if i ie Beh ro | daar 
 asso : | ary =e 
 ayia | Seay areata = ed nos eae ae ese pees @ aeser At 
 Wha ES MS eel eee ei) =i al 
 Gn a aaa ST anes RO erg ens Coecmamme 
 | 3 Soma ee 5 2 lee 21 Teas ml 
 45 Py ae: 3 4 
 Se 3 4 
 
 In the study of combinations of this kind, each hand should practise its own 
 share separately, with the utmost precision, every note and rest receiving its 
 exact value. By these means all confusion will be avoided, and if the preliminary 
 practice has been accurate and sufficiently prolonged it should be possible to play 
 the inner part perfectly Jegato from the first moment of putting the two hands 
 together. Ex. 201 shows the method of arranging Ex. 200 for separate hands :— 
 
 Ex. 201. 
 Right Hand alone. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Left Hand alone. — 
 = 4 “ a4 -& tM molle 
 = 1 o-% - ea ee ae ee ht 
 — = _—— AL Boearamer er prea | 
 =, 11 r HE aes! 1 
 | ce men a 
 
 In some few cases, passages which are practically unplayable as written 
 may be made quite feasible by a little re-arrangement. Perhaps one of the 
 best instances of this occurs in Schumann’s ** Humoreske,”’ where the octave 
 passage in the “Intermezzo,” of extreme difficulty as it stands, may be rendered 
 comparatively easy by being arranged as in the following example :— 
 
 Ex. 202. 5 SCHUMANN, Op, 20. 
 
108 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 But in making any such redistribution of parts, some caution and judgment is 
 necessary, especially when dealing with the works of those who were essentially 
 pianists, as well as composers, such as Liszt, Rubinstein, Thalberg, &c. The 
 knowledge of the keyboard and its capabilities possessed by these and other 
 pianist-composers was so complete that there is always danger in expressing 
 anything in their music in a different manner from that in which they have set 
 it down, lest some particular effect of balance of tone, which they may have 
 intended to obtain by means of the position of the hands indicated, might be 
 entirely lost. At any rate, in order that no mistake may be made through 
 inadvertence, it is well to ascertain exactly what they did intend, and if then 
 any re-arrangement is made it will be with full responsibility, and not thought- 
 lessly. Asa guide in this respect, it may be observed that the notation of an 
 inner part often passes from one stave to the other, for the obvious purpose of 
 avoiding the use of many leger-lines, and so facilitating the reading. But in 
 many instances leger-lines are used in excess of what would be absolutely 
 necessary—that is to say, a part which might readily have passed to the other 
 stave remains, nevertheless, on its own, with leger-lines sufficient to give it the 
 increased compass required. Since the mere writing down of notes with many 
 leger-lines must entail a certain additional expenditure of time and trouble, to 
 say nothing of the increased difficulty for the reader, it may be assumed that in 
 such cases the composer would not have employed them unless he had a definite 
 purpose in so doing, and this purpose can only be the indication of the particular 
 hand with which he desires that the notes should be played. The point is well 
 illustrated by two extracts from a Caprice by Rubinstein (Ex. 203); in the 
 first, lettered A in the Example, the upper parts are written on the lower 
 stave in order to spare leger-lines, and are, of course, played by the right hand; 
 in the second (at B) the high notes on the lower stave have excess of leger- 
 lines, which could have been avoided if the notes had been transferred to the 
 upper stave, and which consequently show that they belong to the left hand, 
 and are not to be re-arranged as at C, or in any similar manner :— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ex, 203. ; 
 A. Allegretto con moto. RUBINSTEIN, Op. 7. 
 
 y ’ 
 
 (near, Dae aoenn anne er 
 
 Naim Se 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
METHODS OF STUDY. 109 
 
 Cc —————_— | 
 CAS Se lS ELT! ES A A | 
 4 (i See ee r eee 
 i) —@ +} -4 SUES IA! FLEET 3 SS 
 
 ie : 2a ae a Je a SS See 9 
 O (a Ee A A 
 S— (22 ESS PEE ae Ped ae eae Seo ” Jz ae 
 
 lA A 
 
 Staccato passages of single notes, except in the comparatively rare cases 
 in which finger-staccato is used (see page 8), are played from the wrist, the 
 fingers having as little movement as possible—in fact, only just sufficient to clear 
 the keys and to prevent striking two notes at once. In studying such 
 passages, it is a good plan to place the thumb against the middle finger, about 
 half-an-inch back from the tip, and holding it thus with a moderately firm 
 pressure, to practise the passage with the middle finger alone. This encourages 
 the action of the wrist, and limits (indeed for the time being entirely prevents) 
 the movement of the fingers, and passages so practised may afterwards be 
 played with the ordinary fingering, with a certain elasticity which would 
 be far more difficult to acquire without the assistance of this method. 
 
 Passages in which the hands are crossed are often puzzling and difficult to 
 control, but the difficulty may be considerably lessened by inverting the 
 passage, and learning it in the first place with the hands in their normal 
 position. Thus, bars 21 to 24 of No. 43 of Cramer’s Studies would be practised 
 as in Ex. 204. So soon as the passage has been well learnt, and the fingers 
 have become accustomed to fall on the proper keys, the hands may be trans- 
 posed and the passage played in its original form without difficulty, while the 
 time required for learning it will have been materially reduced :— 
 
 Ex. 204. CRAMER, No, 43. 
 
 
 
 Security in playing passages containing skips of a tenth, or larger interval, 
 is often very difficult to acquire, and indeed, unless the passages are attacked in 
 the right way, is practically impossible. It is entirely a question of judging 
 distance, and everything depends on the hand, while practising, being kept 
 stretched to its full extent. For supposing the skips to be from thumb to little 
 finger, the most usual form for such passages for the right hand, and the hané 
 to be only slightly extended, it will not be possible to keep the distance 
 between thumb and little finger precisely the same each time that the skip is 
 made, and the result will be that the distance from the little finger to the key 
 to be struck will vary accordingly, and the passage will be rendered as difficult 
 
 Franklin Taylor.—Technique.—Novello. H 
 
110 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 and unsafe as though the upper note were continually changing its place. But 
 if the hand be always fully stretched, the distance from thumb to little finger, 
 and therefore from little finger to upper note, will remain unaltered, and the 
 passage may readily be practised until absolute certainty is achieved. 
 
 In springing to distant chords, it will be found that the extreme notes are 
 always easier to reach in safety than those which lie between, and on this 
 account it is a good plan to practise the leaps to the inner notes only, omitting 
 the highest and lowest, as at b in the following example :— 
 
 Ex, 205. Allegro, be. “2- ye SCHUBERT, Op. 15. 
 
 
 
 DIFFICULTIES OF RHYTHM, PHRASING AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 The combination of two dissimilar rhythms generally presents a certain 
 difficulty, and sometimes a very considerable one, to the student. The treat- 
 ment has already been in part described, at page 28, but in addition to what 
 has been said on the subject, it may here be observed that there are combina- 
 tions which are too complex to be calculated arithmetically, and at the same 
 time too slow in tempo for the alternative method already mentioned, that of 
 practising with each hand separately, to be of service without further assistance. 
 In such cases the following mode of procedure will be found useful. 
 
 Let it be assumed that the proper tempo for No. 11 of Schumann’s 
 “Etudes Symphoniques” (Ex. 206) is M. @ = 60—that is, that each crotchet 
 is to have the duration of one second of time. The student must begin by 
 playing the left-hand part alone for several bars, counting steadily and aloud 
 one for each half-bar, without naming the intermediate beats, as shown 
 underneath the example. The counting will thus be at the rate of M. d= 30, 
 or one count every two seconds. Next, he must count without playing, still 
 using the number one only, and preserving the same tempo of M. j=30. ‘The 
 next step will be to fill up the time between these numbers by adding the 
 numbers two, three, four, five, with perfect regularity, and always keeping 
 number one in its place. By these means he will have ascertained the exact 
 rate of speed for the right-hand group in the second half of the bar, which group 
 may then be practised in agreement with the counting last described, and, after 
 sufficient repetition, this rate of speed will have become so fixed in the memory 
 
METHODS OF STUDY. 111 
 
 that it will be found possible to play the two parts together, without interfering 
 with the even flow of the bass :— 
 
 Ex, 206. SCHUMANN, Op. 13. 
 
 
 
 One! One! 
 
 Passages containing a large and irregular number of notes against a few 
 notes of accompaniment should, in the first place, be apportioned among the 
 accompanying notes as equally as may be, in order that the fingering may be 
 learnt and the technique rendered secure, after which it will be a matter of 
 little difficulty to equalise the flow of the passage by slightly quickening those 
 portions which, on account of the mechanical division, were too slow, and 
 retarding those which were too quick. Thus Ex. 207, which contains a scale 
 of nineteen notes accompanied by four quavers, would at first be practised as 
 in Ex. 208, the scale being divided into four groups, one of four, and three of 
 five notes, and it should be observed that in making the division it is generally 
 best to place the group which contains the smallest number of notes at the 
 beginning of the passage :— 
 
 HuMMEL, Op. 89. 
 
 
 
112 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 Modern editors frequently make this kind of division visible, for the benefit 
 of the learner, but the method is not to be commended, as it gives to the 
 passage an appearance which is at variance with the intended effect, as will be 
 seen on comparing a with b in the next following example, and often leads to 
 an irregular and disjointed manner of performance :— 
 
 Cuopin, Op. 34, No. I. The same, Klindworth Edition. 
 
 Ex. 209. (a) Vivace. 
 ay 
 
 
 
 Students whose sense of proportion is not very keen will often experience 
 some difficulty in keeping strict time in rapid passages which consist of notes of 
 various lengths, as in Ex. 210a. In such cases it will be found an excellent plan 
 to select from the passage those notes which are separated by equal intervals of 
 time, adding perhaps afterwards, especially if there should be more than one 
 change in the note-values, those notes which fall on the halves of these 
 divisions, and to play these selected notes in correct tempo and with strongly 
 marked tone. The object of this is to accustom the ear to the sequence of 
 those notes which are at equal distances from each other, after which the 
 intermediate notes may-be readily filled in, without disturbing the position of 
 those to which the ear is already accustomed. Accordingly, Ex. 210 might at 
 first be practised as at b, and afterwards as at c, before attempting it in its 
 complete form :— 
 
 Bacu, Chromatic Fantasia. 
 
 
 
 When a melody is accompanied by a legato figure in the same hand, as in 
 Ex. 211, it is important that the prominence and proper connection of the 
 
METHODS OF STUDY. 118 
 
 notes forming the melody should be maintained. To effect this with certainty, 
 it is advisable in practising to shorten the final note of each group of the 
 accompaniment, thus leaving each melody-note unaccompanied for an instant 
 before passing to the next. This throws the weight of the hand on to the 
 melody, thereby improving the tone, and at the same time ensuring, or at least 
 facilitating, the connection, and after sufficient practice the contrast between 
 melody and accompaniment will have become so far a matter of habit that the 
 curtailment of the accompanying notes may be safely discontinued. This 
 method of working, shown in Ex. 212, should always be adopted, as without it 
 there is great danger of the effect produced being more or less as indicated in 
 Ex. 213 :— 
 
 Presto agitato. MENDELSSOHN, Op. 33, No. 1. 
 
 
 
 EX 211. | f 
 
 
 
 If the accompaniment be in unbroken chords, the same treatment should be 
 applied, each chord, or, if there are two or more chords toa single melody-note, 
 then the last of such chords, being shortened, and the melody-note sustained for 
 a moment after it has ceased (Ex. 214). Even if the melody itself be staccato 
 the accompanying chords must be shorter still, that the melody may be 
 sufficiently prominent and important (Ex. 215) :— 
 
 Ex. 214. SCHUBERT, Op. go, No. 4. 
 
 
 
114 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 MENDELSSOHN, Op. Ig, No. 6. 
 i ans 
 
 
 
 Practised thus— 
 IES. 4 ' 
 
 wake oC VnoAt tine ede ae —_S\ —_—_— 
 se le ee ee 
 ——p we 
 
 = =— =. 
 
 In modern pianoforte music the clear and consistent rendering of a melody is 
 by no means always so simple a matter as in the above examples. In frequent 
 cases there is a danger of the melody becoming obscured or distorted, either 
 from its being surrounded by a more or less elaborate accompaniment, as in 
 Ex. 216, or by being placed in a position which requires that it shall be 
 executed by the two hands, used alternately, as in Ex. 217 :— 
 
 Andante. THALBERG, Op. 42. 
 
 
 
 To obtain a satisfactory rendering of melodies so arranged, it is by no means 
 sufficient that the player should possess such a general knowledge of the theme 
 as may be acquired by merely reading the composition in its complete form; 
 
METHODS OF STUDY. 115 
 
 apart from this, he must have heard the melody, and his ear must have become 
 accustomed to it, in order that he may be able to listen for and recognise it 
 when playing the complete work. Accordingly, the melody must be freed 
 from its accompaniment, and from all considerations of technical difficulty, and 
 must be played repeatedly, with the right hand alone, at the correct tempo, and 
 with the most suitable expression possible. The melody of Ex. 217 would 
 therefore be practised in the first place as in Ex. 218. If this is done, the 
 student will have played the melody as well, in every respect, as he is capable 
 of playing it, and when he proceeds afterwards to divide it between the hands, 
 and to add the accompaniment, it will be his task to copy this manner of per- 
 formance in every particular, both as regards phrasing and variety of tone, 
 since any departure from it which might be occasioned by the complexity of 
 the arrangement would, obviously, be a change for the worse :— 
 
 Ex, 218. Con espress, , 
 SELF EO PL TF et 
 
 
 
 A somewhat similar method will be found of great service in the study 
 of most modern pianoforte music, especially when the arrangement is full and 
 complicated. In general, it may be said that all elaborate music is in reality 
 a variation of a simple theme, and the power of phrasing an intricate 
 composition in such a way as to be clear and convincing to the listener 
 depends on the player’s perception and recognition of the plainer form which 
 underlies it. In studying a theme with variations, the student first of all 
 makes acquaintance with the theme, and afterwards, on proceeding to study 
 the variations, endeavours to make them agree with the theme in phrasing and 
 general balance of effect, so as to ensure a proper relationship between them. 
 And it is clear that if he were to begin by studying some elaborate variation, 
 without having looked at the theme in the first place, there would be less 
 likelihood of his producing a satisfactory result, or, at any rate, greater difficulty 
 in so doing. But the player who undertakes the study of a complex and 
 intricate composition is in exactly the position of one who attempts to learn 
 the variation without having had access to the theme, and to obviate this 
 disadvantage it is necessary that he should extract the hidden theme, which, 
 though unwritten, nevertheless lies at the foundation of the complete work, 
 and by playing it, either as an unaccompanied melody or it may be with 
 simple harmonies, should acquire a full knowledge of its capabilities and 
 requirements with respect to variety of tone and general expression. He will 
 thus provide himself with a definite scheme of phrasing, to be afterwards 
 incorporated in his performance of the complete composition. 
 
 In illustration of this method of working, which, in the opinion of the 
 writer, no student can afford to disregard, it may be well to give a few 
 
116 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 examples, of greater or less complexity, together with the unwritten themes 
 by means of which their performance should be regulated. On account of 
 limits of space it will only be possible to give isolated phrases, but they will 
 probably be sufficient to indicate the mode of procedure. The unwritten 
 theme, when discovered, should always be arranged in as simple a form as 
 possible, all extraneous ornamentation being omitted, and in case the student 
 should not possess sufficient facility on the keyboard to accompany it readily 
 with its proper harmonies, as in the examples, it will suffice if the plain 
 unaccompanied melody be extracted and employed, as this is all that is really 
 necessary to form a basis for the study of the phrasing, though less satisfying 
 to the ear than the fuller arrangement. In one instance given, that of No. 8 of 
 Schumann’s ‘‘ Etudes Symphoniques,” it appears desirable to show the whole 
 of the underlying form, which the student should compare with the complete 
 variation as written by the composer :— 
 
 
 
 Moderato espress. CRAMER, Study No, 13. 
 pg So SS ee =e 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Allegro 
 7) ae —_ a —_ ae all = 
 (Gana a eee ee ee eee ee 
 oe oat 3 aa 3? s ee. eo ge set @e 52 3. at 
 pp . 
 Ag Sa 
 eS ee et 2 el mt ee =< at 
 La Tea Ol A ee a ee Saas | go —| i 
 5 Sire, ea canal SAG 2 Per r|__.€ P__'F g—_-¢ ASRS Bet FE ee ram es at ar 
 -08- -o- -o- -o- 
 
METHODS OF STUDY. 117 
 
 Unwritten Theme. 
 
 
 
 CHOPIN, Op. to, No. 7. 
 SEES rere oe eer consgrsee aera a, 
 
 Vivace. { =————| —_ = aes a 
 in, ve a a SS ae oe eal ar ee eno i 
 =n eo tae 1 ope Ha We Og oS OP oer ol 
 Ge+g; See So kale a at On x 
 ee -o- oY eo -a- 
 —__—_ = oa 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 v. P. oi # #¢ @ wee |  .ji¢ ————m i 
 se a — a JSS SS BS 2 SSeS ee Pn = 
 (G20 eo ee ee 
 
 a 
 f | | | | etc, 
 -@- -@- -8--o- -8--o-. -o- 
 TENN i. Sn JSS Ge GER el ee Bey 2B ace ee ee Cee ee ae H 
 7s, Le ae gE eee 
 — 5 4 &f_ (\—— 2 Sy FY SS ae pasesieneennbenn ——_———————}-—f —_— 
 =~ | | — e | — | 
 Lee 2 
 pantera —.——— 
 
TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION, 
 
 
 
 Unwritten Theme. 
 
 C2 
 = P= a Seen 
 EES FS Ce WE We ee pe 2 eae 
 BH Pree hE = 2S PS er ee ers aS ie, 
 Sa a 
 
 
 
 
 
 f= sarc : 
 FrEEC Sane ee Bar | 2. <s 
 CAC 2 a Se Se Se ee ee ee ] i 
 7s rt z a” @ e p } 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Presto con fuoco. 
 Pe. | te. ZI De. | es ie 
 rad Ne ere : =, a eee oe ee 
 === 
 
 
 
METHODS OF STUDY. 119 
 
 Presto a capriccio. Sr Pe ae 
 L. ae Pi | ScHuMANN, Op. 4, No. 2. 
 
 
 
 ea : wo a. 
 ae i Sa one ete SY EET 
 his oS pte Po | 0 fof oe area eer ee 
 P—h-# j- = o-|e-|—_ 02 o~|-0-—_ oe fot rise ee 
 SED) ey Nee ay SP | =A 7 ra aS Y~ KS 
 a a ee _—— etc 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 is or bd g ° —? 
 a’, 2 7; a | ES Ae le a ey ET Its ee a 
 ww. () he eT pi ee Ot Sens | ae, Oe OO MO lee Je. it) P je. t= [Le ge. | 
 (5 ow Sia i eee 2 ees a eS Le ee i ee © ee | 
 SY g eee Sd Fi aes i ee 
 
 
 
 
 
 > == — a etc, 
 
 “oa Ease mse 4 ~-A: 
 
 
 
 
 
 hls Boe Sua ry “Os ne Wee: <— 7 : 
 PAE Jala Lk Le EY EE bi CS (Ch BY TY i A C- PT Tl 
 (COE Fl 6 bt CC oe oY Fe 
 S060 OS 00 SS2,0 00 Oe NSS SSS ODEO EE FS] 
 peer Pars ae. BS ees dee BES EEA ee ED cE See Tee Pee 
 pe HABERBIER, Op, 53, No. 20. 
 7 Saal OD 
 
 
 
 eee eS — = 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ay i 4p ee a Jae AE H 
 ew LO aaa 
 5 1 | 4 i 
 V 1/3 NESE 0 p a ae I 
 b 
 Unwritten Theme. 
 
 oe 
 eee a eh = eee Sa a Rares SE iH 
 LC 7S 2 2 6 en eee RD aes Fe aS oD Feels Te ee I OE ee a ea O 
 
 ———___"-—— oo _—— 
 
 la eh Saar 
 CS a rd Ss 
 V 940), = STE &. i 
 
 
 
 SCHUMANN, Op. 13, Etude 8. 
 t itac| 
 
 
 
 Unwritten Theme, —— —S— >~ 
 
 Moderato. ee | 
 J 
 
 Feo Sey ed Ee 
 Ce pS ee LS Ee eee oe 1 aed ON Te 
 7 GaAs aeeee a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 co 1 Ped, os 
 
120 TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION. 
 
 
 
 fa eS 
 , Z Z 
 
 ro Parca: 
 
 ee, Ee 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 C—O 
 = 2 ee 
 
 Most of the particular difficulties appertaining to the study of pianoforte 
 music having now been alluded to, and suggestions, some of which the writer 
 trusts may prove helpful, having been given as to possible means of surmounting 
 them, it only remains to speak briefly of more general matters—that is to say, of 
 matters affecting performance asa whole. Not that it is possible to lay down 
 definite rules which shall govern expression and phrasing, or to say that any 
 particular phrase or theme can only be rendered properly in one way. In 
 dealing with such considerations the player’s own nature and individuality must 
 assert themselves, and the result will be admirable or otherwise in proportion 
 to the soundness of his judgment and the depth of his musical feeling, 
 Nevertheless, to the more or less inexperienced student a few words of direction, 
 and also of warning, may be not unwelcome. 
 
METHODS OF STUDY. 121 
 
 Variety of tone is the chief factor in musical expression, and must be 
 cultivated accordingly, but the amount as well as the kind of variety may vary 
 widely under different conditions. In deciding on the particular expression 
 required for the effective rendering of any given phrase, let not the judgment be 
 too hastily formed; not, indeed, until many experiments have been tried and 
 results compared. The task of discovering the most suitable expression of a phrase 
 is like looking for an article which is hidden in a room; one does not stand 
 motionless in the middle of the room, wondering where it can be concealed, one 
 rather searches diligently, even in unlikely places, until the hidden object is found. 
 In like manner, the proper expression may be best arrived at, not by silently 
 considering what had better be done, but by trying and comparing a large 
 variety of expressions, even though at times obviously inappropriate, until at 
 length some particular treatment strikes the ear as the only true and acceptable 
 one, and is adopted accordingly. 
 
 In the not unfrequent case of a doubt arising as to which of two opposed 
 kinds of expression is the more suitable—as, for instance, whether a phrase 
 should be played with increasing or diminishing force—it is well to play it in 
 both ways alternately, but with greatly exaggerated effect. If this is done, one 
 of the two forms of expression will strike the ear as eminently unsuitable, and 
 the other treatment will accordingly be chosen, and will then merely require 
 regulating as regards the amount of variety employed. 
 
 Passages which have to be played ritardando or accelerando should at first 
 be practised in strict time, by which means their rhythmical form will become 
 impressed on the understanding, and the subsequent modification of the tempo 
 will be intelligible and reasonable, instead of appearing as a meaningless 
 dragging or hurrying. 
 
 To be satisfactory, the amount of variety given to any particular phrase 
 must be in correct relation to the general character of the whole composition. 
 It would be quite possible to take an isolated phrase from any work, and to 
 give to it an expression which might appear perfectly agreeable and suitable, 
 but which would yet prove absolutely inappropriate, when considered in 
 relation to the context. The same observations apply to the variation of force 
 in single notes; a note to be played sforzando in a powerful and emphatic 
 passage must necessarily be very different from a similarly marked note 
 occurring in a phrase, the general character of which is subdued and gentle. 
 
 In conclusion, a word of warning may be spoken against the idea, too 
 prevalent among students, that the study of works of great technical difficulty 
 will render the conquest of minor difficulties more easy. This is by no means 
 necessarily, or even generally, the case. The power of vanquishing the greatest 
 difficulties depends entirely on each progressive step from the commencement 
 being made perfectly secure, and unless this has been done, retrogression and 
 final failure must be the result. In all things, let “thorough” be the watchword, 
 and let it be remembered that ‘‘he does much who does a little well.” 
 
AIK fi 
 
 Lew [i ays 
 
 a [9 Ler ee 
 
 ii a9 ing 
 
 ‘| ” 
 
 4 
 
 Ve 
 
 ao 
 
 J ° 
 
 ao i 
 
 ® 
 
 
 
ND IEEX 
 
 ACCELERANDO aes tee oe Sry 
 ACCENT ee ee = 4 at 
 , anticipation of 
 , displacement of 
 of brilliant passages 
 of slurred notes mee 
 ACCIACCATURA ies ote 
 ACCOMPANIMENT above melody ... 
 , divided “te 
 » melodic a= 
 , method of practising ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 AFTER-NOTES 
 
 APPOGGIATURA ae oor 
 
 ARPEGGIO ... rie th “tp ay 
 , Chopin’s use of eae 
 , fingering of aan eed ee 
 
 Bars, division of music into 
 ——., long, divided into short 
 , short, combined to form long 
 Beats, sub-division of... eae ne ye 
 BEBUNG 
 CADENCES 
 CANON 
 CHORD-PASSAGES 
 CONTRACTIONS 
 CRESCENDO 
 DIMINUENDO... 
 DueE CorDE ... 
 EXPRESSION ... ee a ae 
 , discovery of suitable <r 
 EXTENSIONS ... es 
 , technique of 
 
 
 
 FINGERING ae ioe 
 , in contrary motion... 3 
 , methods of marking re se 
 
 69, 121 
 
 ee 31 
 eee 32 
 cas 40 
 coe 36 
 een 39 
 85, 87, 97 
 eee 62 
 aes 69 
 66 
 
 113 
 
 86, 97 
 
 85, 87; 97 
 ane gi 
 wee 99 
 a 15 
 ie 31 
 sae 34. 
 soe 33 
 27 
 
 Aes 100 
 “ry 49 
 64 
 
 52 103 
 rant 
 
 58 
 
 58 
 
 ar 81 
 nae 58 
 Lat 
 
 14 
 
 i 104 
 co 14 
 oe 18 
 oes 26 
 
124 INDEX. 
 
 FINGERING, modern methods of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 of double scales... oo <8 
 ———_—— of ornaments eh Ae ore 
 ——-—— of repeated notes ... aa ane 
 of scales ... 
 FInGers, changing the aes Ace Ady: 
 ——_——,, sliding = Ar ee Sp 
 GRACE-NOTES re ote ‘ee Se 
 111) DasSee.. 
 Hanps, alternate use of 
 , crossing ee sor 
 oo , method of practising 
 , interchange of se: 
 HARMONICS ... aie are 
 ImiraTion, balance of tone in 
 LEGATISSIMO a 
 
 —__——_——., compared with part-playing 
 LEGATO ee 
 between distant tones 
 
 combined with staccato 
 
 ——--, difficult, method of practising 
 
 , varieties of ... 18% 
 
 —, variety of tone in oa ore 
 MELopy, descending, and Melody, doubl 
 
 , In imitation ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 , prominent 
 , subordinate ... 
 , technique of ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Metuops of study ... aoe 
 MORDENT eee a rye 
 NACHSCHLAG ... see Aa noe Res 
 OctTAVES, legato “f a8 
 , method of practising ... 
 , staccato ore ae 
 
 ORNAMENTS ... oe 
 
 in Chopin’s music .. 
 
 PART-PLAYING es 
 
 Parts, re-arrangement of 
 
 PassaGES, analysis of ... eo a ee 
 , harmonies suggested by 
 , melodious, phrasing of De ane 
 
 dae 22 
 
 ote XO, eee 
 
 * 25 
 
 eee 24. 
 
 15; 10,717 
 
 ae 20 
 
 eas 19 
 
 eee 86 
 
 Soe go 
 
 16, 23 
 
 oes 23 
 
 10g 
 
 106 
 
 +3 1 
 
 aot ace 64. 
 
 -- 45, 46, 47, 48, 67 
 
 : eee 67 
 
 12 
 
 4I 
 
 44 
 
 104 
 
 eee 38 
 
 esol, Bl OO 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
 61 
 
 65 
 
 140) 
 
 oa 103 
 
 ones 2a OS 
 
 oe 87 
 
 aoe a1 
 
 eee 105 
 eas 8 
 
 ‘ 84 
 
 96 
 
 61; 67,100 
 106, 107, 108 
 
 oes. OF aR 
 36 
 eee 56 
 
INDEX. 125 
 
 PEDAL —¥ nee: ade See ae ove sf 73 
 , change of, during sustained notes oY ade te: 76 
 crescendo ne vie ¥e ata nae ip 78 
 
 , damper ore aes F ey tr ae 73 
 legato =r den ae eas oer a 75 
 windication of... ee cae are ate ty. VEY oLs 
 , notation of  ... ae i see vee re 75 
 , third, in modern instruments ... ake des net 82 
 , una corda eee wae ats oe ids ae 80 
 PEDALS formerly in use ni tee oe nee ree 81 
 PHRASES, division of music into Hee wes AY ao 49 
 , intelligible rendering of ate ove “pf “te 55 
 PHRASING... ae 2b ser oes AP nee 38 
 — of passages... “ee iae oe aoe nee 56 
 , variety of tonein  ... a si “ef cee 
 PRALLTRILLER er mee nee Sy er 2505007 
 RALLENTANDO * sae py eee AF ee 69 
 —_——__——, rhythmical oe rn eee ise ce 70 
 RHYTHM eae oe Ape eee ane ee: of 27 
 , variety of ... “i ie oor ae at II2 
 RHYTHMS, combined ae oe We ei NAG Ke) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 , methods of practising ate oe ea t20 nL lO 
 RiTARDANDO ... ve, at: + ies oat ot vier 
 SCALES 1 oes ae eee ot. wae a 7 
 , chromatic ‘ie ese fy nee ers “6 17 
 , double ore wis eee aes wee Py 18 
 , fingering of ... es ass tae ues eMUDIL SG eLO 
 SCHLEIFER ... ane oe aae a a Pree ate sry: 
 SCHNELLER ... see aie oe ae ae ae 85 
 SKIPS ay ore vy ict Aue oes AS 10g 
 SLIDE aes eas Ste >= ace ane a 86 
 SLUR ee ay <r ose api ny “rt 38 
 ——., accent of ore AY. fp sea are Bote 39 
 SLuRRING of three or more notes “¢¢ eae “or ai 42 
 SoRDINI ay oF ee aes Ae ase a 79 
 StTaccaTo chords het a0 aes “fe tee ive g 
 combined with legato... eee ee ave wee 44 
 —_——_—, finger ae ay oes et Are a 8 
 melody a tea oe ars ar ove 45 
 
 , methods of indicating 4 aed ise re 42 
 
 , method of practising ... oe nae ten re 10g 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Franklin Taylor.—Technique.—Novello. I 
 
126 INDEX. 
 
 STACCATO octaves 
 , varieties of ... 
 
 , wrist ee cee 
 SYNCOPATION ok wee eee 
 TECHNIQUE ... oer ans ese 
 
 of chords... a bey 
 —_— of extensions 
 ——_-—— of melody nee 
 
 of octaves Ay Ses 
 
 ————\— of passages 
 , varieties of 
 TEmMpo, variation of 
 TEMPO RUBATO ¢ aes 
 Tuums on black keys ... 
 » passing the 
 » practice of, in octave- abut 
 TIME, peer in 
 Tone, balance of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 sep radation Oremiess ooo 
 ——, variety of 06 see 
 Toucu for brilliant passages 
 
 for chords 
 ——— formelody  ... ey. ans 
 ———, legato eee 
 » staccato eee eee 
 
 TRILL 
 
 ——, Bach’s sign for ... ; aes 
 beginning with subsidiary ne a: 
 
 
 
 ——, Chopin’s notation of oe a 
 TURN oe “ye ct ce 
 UNA CORDA ... aes 
 
 UNISON, passages in ... eee eee 
 UNWRITTEN THEMES ... bar oes 
 VIBRATION, sympathetic ese 
 VORSCHLAG ... ae ace nae 
 WRIST TOUCH eee ase aes 
 
 69, 71 
 72 
 eae) 
 
 Tet 5p hope 
 
 105 
 27 
 
 61, 62, 63, 64 
 
 IZ 
 
 58, 121 
 7 
 
 g, 10 
 Io 
 
 I2 
 
 8 
 
 85, 93 
 95 
 
 93 
 
 96 
 
 25, 85 
 80 
 
 68 
 II5 
 77 
 
 87, 97 
 8,9 
 
EN DIE Xe OR EXAM PIES: 
 
 Numbers in italics refer to works mentioned in the text, but not quoted. 
 
 Bacu. Art of Fugue... 
 Chromatic Fantasia 
 Fantasia, A minor 
 Fugue, No. 4, Book 1, C Fegan minor 
 , No. 23, Book 1, B major 
 , No. 13, Book 2, F sharp major 
 » No. 15, Book 2, G major 
 —— Invention, B minor iss 
 —— Suite Anglaise, No. 1, A major ... 
 NOt ema jOU ee. 
 PO som erninoresn: 
 —— Toccata, G minor 
 , F sharp minor 
 eratone G major 
 BEETHOVEN. Concerto, Op. 37, C minor 
 , Op. 58, G major 
 , Op. 73, E flat major 
 Rondo, Op. 51, No. 1, C major 
 Sonata, Op. 2, No. 2, A major 
 —-, Op. 2, No. 3, C major 
 Opav fat major 
 ————-, Op. 10, No. 1, C minor 
 —__—____——_.,, Op. 10, No. 3, D major 
 MODE SG ION o- 
 Op: 14, No.1, E major 
 , Op. 22, B flat major 
 , Op. 26, A flat major 
 
 
 
 oo 
 eee 
 
 
 
 NO Dee 7; NO. ty b.flat major 
 
 —_—_—_—_—_—_______—_, Op. 28, D major ... 
 —_—__—______—__, Op. 31, No. 1, G major 
 —___—____—____—__,, Op. 31, No. 2, D minor 
 
 , Op. 31, No. 3, E flat major 
 
 —__—_—_—___—__—_,, Op. 53, C major ... 
 ap AN es Gypy let seathelaje par 
 
 ie3 oF 95 
 
 “ig 94 
 oe See PAS om ee) 
 67 
 oI 
 67 
 94 
 95 
 
 ae 95 
 coe §=— 94, 95 
 68 
 
 eee oe 30 
 
 47 
 
 88 
 
 APP 51 
 TO oe. 
 * 29 
 43, 88 
 
 41, 89 
 
 21, 52, 54 
 22 ak Lo 
 10, 59 
 
 72 
 
 50 
 
 F 72 
 44) 559 59 
 38, 47, 55 
 49, 45, 70 
 34, 42, 60 
 
 44 
 40, 515 3 69, 78 
 9, 24, 41, 72 
 
 37) 75 
 
 47 
 
 fee, Op. 69 (Pianoforte.and Cello), A angen bi IOI 
 
128 
 
 INDEX OF EXAMPLES. 
 
 BEETHOVEN. Sonatina, Op. 79, G major 
 
 Sonata, Op. 814, E flat major 
 , Op. go,*E minor ... 
 ———-, Op. 1o1, A major 
 —-, Op. 106, B flat major 
 ———,, Op. rio, A flat major 
 -, Op. 111, C minor 
 
 —_———-——— Variations, Op. 35, E flat major 
 
 BRAHMS 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 CHOPIN. 
 
 
 
 , Op. 76, D major 
 
 . Ballade, Op. 118, No. 3, G minor 
 
 Capriccio, Op. 76, No. 1, F sharp minor 
 Intermezzo, Op. 117, No. 3, C sharp minor 
 Rhapsodie, Op. 119, No. 4, E flat major 
 
 Variations, Op. 24, B flat major Rie ove 
 Andante spianato, Op. 22, G major Ay 
 Ballade, Op. 23, G minor se ae eee 
 
 ,Op.47, 2 Hatimalotae: : 
 
 OD. 52, beminon 
 Fantasie Impromptu, Op. 66, C ater minor 
 Impromptu, Op. 29, A flat major 
 Mazurka, Op. 6, No. 1, F sharp minor... 
 
 » Op; 24; Nose. mae midjores 
 
 , Op. 24, No. 4, B flat minor ... 
 
 ————., Op. 30, No. 4, C sharp minor 
 
 p Op. 33; NO, bo iinor 
 Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2, E flat major 
 , Op. 9, No. 3; Banajor 
 , Op. 15, No. 2, F sharp major 
 (| Op 27NG. 2, ater Oieees 
 ——-, Op. 32, No. 2, A flat major ... 
 ——-,, Op. 37, No. 1, G minor 
 
 —_______——_—_-,, Op. 48, No. 2, F sharp minor 
 
 
 
 —, Op. 55, No. 1, F minor 
 —-, Op. 62, No. 2, E major 
 Polonaise, Op. 22, E flat major 
 7 Op. 53. iatinas on Ey 
 Prelude, Op. 28, No. 8, F sharp minor... 
 OP seo NGA Layee! ee major 
 Scherzi we os eee 
 Scherzo, Op. 20, B minor 
 Sonata, Op. 35, B flat minor ... 
 
 , Op. 58, B minor 
 Study, Op. 10, No. 4, C sharp minor 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25, 34, 54 
 17, 53 
 
 Sf) 
 
 41, 50 
 
 40, 53 
 
 Si, Torre? 
 43 
 
 65 
 
 25 
 
 52 
 
 29, 72 
 TZ 
 98 
 gl 
 28, 96 
 24 
 60 
 15, 99 
 57 
 98 
 66 
 
 7a 
 IO0O 
 30, 48 
 56 
 
Cuorin. Study, Op. 
 
 
 
 CRAMER. 
 
 GRIEG. Suite, Op. 40, G major té at 
 HABERBIER. Study, Op. 53, No. 20, G flat major 
 
 Haypn. Sonata, E flat major. At 
 
 HENSELT. Romance, Op. 33B, D minor ty eee 
 
 INDEX OF EXAMPLES. 
 
 10, No. 5, G flat major 
 
 , Op. 10, No. 7, C major 
 
 , Op. 10, No. 8, F major 
 
 , Op. 25, No. 7, C sharp minor 
 
 —, Op. 25, No. 11, A minor... We ose 
 
 MOD Hea Noel 2. Canunor 
 Valse, Op. 34, No. 1, A flat major 
 Study, No. 5, C major 
 , No. 13, A minor 
 , No. 24, D minor 
 , No. 43, C major 
 
 
 
 HumMEL. Concerto, Op. 89, B minor 
 
 Liszt. 
 
 
 
 Pianoforte School 
 Polonaise, F major . 
 
 Paganini-Caprice, Now 2 _E datn major 
 Waldesrauschen 
 
 MENDELSSOHN. Andante and Rondo erenccions font 14a: 
 
 Mozart. Fantasia, C minor 
 
 (Second), C minor. 
 - Fuga, C major At ove 
 MULLER. Caprice, Op. 29, No. 1, E minor 
 RUBINSTEIN. Caprice, Op. 7, A minor ... Ar = 
 SCHUBERT. Fantasia, Op. 15, C major ts Bo 
 -- Ope 7onGr maior — oy 
 
 
 
 
 
 Caprice, Op. 16, No. 2, E minor 
 POD 3 9s5N On fy Aeminorea: 
 Concerto, Op. 25, G minor 
 —, Op. 40, D minor 
 — Fantasia, Op. 28, F sharp minor 
 
 Lied ohne Worte, Op. 19, No. 2, A minor 
 
 mw Dalo: No; 6G. minor 
 , Op. 62, No. 6, A major 
 Prelude, Op. 35, No. 3, B minor i, 
 , Op. 35, No. 4, A flat major 
 Rondo, Op. 29, E flat major 
 Serenade, Op. 43 
 *‘ Variations Sérieuses,”’ aus sat 
 
 Impromptu, Op. go, No. 1, C minor 
 
 Fhe Op. go, No. 4; A flat eos eee 
 
 rOOs 
 64, 100, 
 
 Sco CUS 
 
 74, 
 
 129 
 
 22 
 I17 
 56 
 66 
 
 7 
 es, 
 Ti2 
 
 47 
 116 
 46 
 109 
 118 
 119 
 3S 
 114 
 TUT 
 
 82 
 16 
 79 
 104 
 43 
 113 
 68 
 56 
 
 66, 74 
 
 10, 
 
 6.751, 
 
 37 
 108 
 IIo 
 
 89 
 
 53 
 113 
 
130 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 SCHUBERT. Impromptu, Op. 142, No. 3, B flat major 50, 87 
 Klavierstiick, No. 3, C major : 53 
 
 ——_— Momens Musicals, Op. 94, No. 2, A flat maior 53, 88 
 , Op. 94, No. 3, F minor 87, 89 
 
 OP 04,5 NO. a,6G arene minor 79 
 
 Sonata, Op. 42, A minor pg 24, 68 
 SCHUMANN. ‘ Bunte Blatter,” Op. gg, No. 2, Ey minor 31 
 -— ‘“‘ Carnaval,” Op. 9, No. 5 (Eusebius) 29, 92 
 - Concert Allegro, at MEY oc 20 
 ————— Concerto, Op. 54.. 33 
 ~ — Concertstiick, Op. 92 y. 31 
 ————— ‘Davidsbindler,” Op. 6, No. 4, Be minor 64 
 —— Pa DiC, UNOn5 elsdalOL 88 
 
 ——— ; Op.6, Now7), Giminor 92 
 , Opn Gy Noy 10, minor rt, 50 
 
 ————— Etudes Symphoniques, Op. 13 » TIT 219 
 Fantasiestiicke, Op. 12 oa 37; 51,877 Ginoe 
 
 —————  Faschingsschwank, Op. 26, No. 4 (ater eee 82 
 —_—— “Grillen,” Op. 12, No.4 ... soe f 32 
 —-—  Humoresken, Op. 20 4a 83, 107 
 — ‘In der Nacht,” Op. 12, No. 5 37,02 
 Intermezzo, Op. 4, No. 2, E minor .. ee IIg 
 
 ‘“‘ Kreisleriana,’ Op. 16, No. 2, B flat major ... 70 
 
 —— Op. 16, No. 3, G minor go 
 Op. 16, No. 5, G minor go 
 
 —-—— Novelletten, Op. 21, No. 4, D major 32,03 
 —_———— Ope NOs : 33 
 Romance, Op. 28, No. 2, F sharp major 12, 50, 63 
 
 ocherzo, Op. 32) No. 3,6 datimajor 40 
 
 ——- Sonata, Op. 14, F minor 455 Se go 
 —__—_—____—__—_,, Op, 22, G minor 42, 45 
 ‘¢ ‘Traumeswitren, Op.ii2; Non7 %. 51 
 
 ———— “Vogel als Prophet,” Op. 82, No. 7 20 
 ———— “Warum?” Op. 12, No. 3 87, 9I 
 *¢ Wiegenliedchen,’ Op. 124, No, 5% ee 2i° 
 
 THALBERG. roa Op. 42, ‘‘ Don Giovanni” (tinue 114 
 5) 0D.133,.. Moises. Se is 63 
 
 — “J? Art ati Chant,” No. 11 ae 2% 
 
 Study, Op. 26, No. 3, C sharp eicnl ves 104 
 
 WEBER. Concertstiick, Op. 79 ; ar oak ; 8, 12 
 Sonata, Op. 24, C major Fr eee eae soo 9, 36 
 
 a , Op. 70, E minor oa oe ees oes 55 
 Variations, Op. 28, Theme by Méhul ... 94 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 INDEX OF EXAMPLES, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
pene ee RD a) ET Rate ata me Cae = 
 
 Sa ee eee ae et Seer a eee ¥ —_ - . - . eee 
 : ae Pp nicatapa ts . ~ ~ 1s ec ; , : dene ; <= srsegse rhe & Craik igs ican gt eal SA i Ne in em 
 ee ee —— — ee ; - : ol mete , 5 se ee nick aeeemagite Tike = ples men 
 = = Neha gape = ~ 
 a : 
 
 oon Sas ode earer. oe ra 7 + 
 
 nd stg eetiininar asia pig are aa eh a ae re — eel - ; — wr =" 
 
 - ah * —— ~~ ~ - ee —— a ; ai 3 _ a — * - - aoe nea Sa saat yreeig penton Sarat 4 te — ae REO pt ee : a —_ aiid, 
 = 7 . ~ = = —— : — =e ; ; : - ~ ‘< : ’ - . = $ weet jars a ae. eet ISM or a a ae esa EE ES seat tmn ne ee : 
 ‘ + eee ee ee ey acs hi ep gi rope Be - - =? : = : * . S one . atl eer ae oar Sn > Rae e—- cae es = : c o 
 aealeeieen oe = ~n=z = : . ; : : ‘ = ma ey ‘ ; i spe peo Raf IE pe Ra ee ED, gl Nate I el are A te cis IS Tein q oe ee 
 ee eee, ee ee xt . —— ee . a = 2 : “te nN wane oe ge tne — Re YE =. Se ee EP pe ngtion — Sei aep ae 
 
 a nae . "y* 2: “ 7 . a z : eee mr _a . 3 
 gg ne i ee ee aan a, oe ~ - . t a . eine 
 RR hae emery te oa eae ae - , 
 
 yee elt aA he on te 
 
 ee 
 SOs tery 
 — ee se 
 
 res " ~ 
 
 “ 5 . , = — ——— 
 ee ; —s = - : : noe . : : = ae . ;: E* 7 vom 2 : : A ee eee en —e tae 
 
 a S oan “ > : a . : . - : : 
 
 tei «i \ pS. See, ~— ——-, a ~~ 
 
 - Ys Coe ee 
 : a 
 
 
 
 SOT ties ae cent) resem, CO at ia An a le ae it nd ig 
 

 
 [es 
 SSS 
 — 
 ——— 
 ft 
 QO ssa 
 fe Spee 
 2 ee 
 J eS ees 
 2 
 0 —— 
 ———— 
 2_ 
 eee 
 . 
 LL 
 Se 
 a 
 —————e 
 QS eee 
 2 
 ES — 
 2 
 aes 
 SSS