I often see pianists discussing practice techniques on Twitter or their blogs. I was thinking about the different ways people practice today while I was practicing, and decided to write a blog post about it.
I use different techniques depending on what I'm aiming for in practicing, and the type of music I'm playing:
Technical work
Due to AMEB exams, I have to do a lot of technical work. Although I hate scales and arpeggios, I've figured out a practice schedule that works well for me and which I use as a warm-up, along with any exercises set by my teacher.
I play scales hands together, three times (each with a different rhythm) and then normally. Then I'll go through the different versions - p and f, crescendo/diminuendo, staccato and contrary motion. I have to perfect each version of a scale (including all the rhythms) before I move on.
Arpeggios are similar - I practice each hand separately, playing them with different rhythms first, and then normally. Finally I put the two hands together. This process is almost as obsessive as metronome practice...
Metronome practice
This is the most obsessive and mechanical sort of practice I do. It's a technique I only use for Bach, Mozart, Haydn, the more strictly rythmic works of Ravel, and 20th century pieces. I almost never do metronome practice on Romantic pieces - I've tried it and it doesn't work for me at all.
Before I start the actual metronome work, I spend a couple of days (sometimes longer) learning the notes so I'm not sight-reading when it comes to practicing with the metronome, and also writing in fingerings. I have to be able to play the whole thing accurately at a slow tempo before I can actually get any further.
I then set the metronome to a slow speed (sometimes it's slower than half my intended performance speed, sometimes faster). Depending on the nature of the music, I might practice each hand separately first before practising with hands together (with contrapuntal music like Bach, it's essential that I get to practising with hands together ASAP.) I don't allow myself to move on to the next step on the metronome, or to move to a different hand, until I'm perfectly accurate. This process is repeated for each step up the metronome.
I usually manage between 1 and 3 steps up in speed per practice session, but that really depends on how much progress I'm making.
Metronome practice is one of those things I hate sometimes, but if I'm in the right mood, I actually really enjoy it, especially when I try playing the piece at full speed and it's improved so much.
Non-metronome practice
I use this technique with Romantic and Impressionist music, like Chopin, Mendelssohn and most Ravel. I start by just playing slowly and writing fingerings and notes in, a lot like the first stage of my metronome practice. If it's quite a technical piece, like the Chopin etudes, I usually do very slow, bar-by-bar practice to ensure I have all the notes under my fingers, and gradually speed up. But with pieces that have less of a solid structure (i.e. not just a heap of arpeggios and broken chords) I can usually manage to play the piece at full speed with very little slow practice, once I know the notes. Usually it's very specific, short passages that trip me up in these kind of pieces, so I might work specifically on certain passages to get them under my fingers.
Interpretative practice
I usually only do this sort of practice once I'm completely confident playing a piece at full speed, and often once I've learnt it from memory. This is the stage where I start working on how I want to interpret a piece. Often that involves overcoming new technical hurdles as well, so it can be quite involved.
On average I do 1 and a half to 2 hours of practice each day (well, I try to practice each day, but I don't always manage it!) I think the most practice I've ever done in one day is 4 or 5 hours straight. Sometimes I just get carried away and don't want to stop.
I'd be very interested to hear about other pianist's techniques for learning pieces...
Friday 9 March 2012
Wednesday 7 March 2012
Composer series: J.S. Bach
Growing up surrounded by people deeply involved in Baroque and Renaissance music, I've been aware of the reverence many musicians feel towards Bach for as long as I can remember. But it's only relatively recently that I have come to truly appreciate Bach myself.
All my life I've heard people saying things about Bach like 'His music encompasses the universe,' and 'The whole of life is summed up in his music,' and...well, you get the gist.
And I just couldn't relate. When I started to have piano lessons and began learning works by Bach, I began to hear even more of this sort of thing. And although I know it wasn't the case, at the time I felt like everyone expected me to understand Bach in the same way they did. I couldn't, so I had trouble interpreting his works, and ended up feeling that I didn't actually like Bach very much.
By the time I'd learnt a work, I would have come to absolutely loathe it just from having played it too much. So I would start playing the piece ten times faster than normal speed, just because I could, and because it alleviated the boredom. Eventually I would drop that piece altogether. When I played Bach at Eisteddffords, the adjudicators never approved of my interpretation, and I always felt a little bit silly getting up on stage and playing a 1-minute, relatively simple movement of a Partita while all the other competitors were playing Rachmaninoff and Debussy preludes and other, um, difficult music.
It wasn't very encouraging.
I can't really pinpoint when my 'Bach epiphany' occurred, but I think it was probably when I started learning the Capriccio from Partita 2 in the middle of 2011. I'd wanted to learn the Capriccio for a long time because it's a piece my piano teacher always plays (from memory) when he's trying out a keyboard instrument, and I liked it.
I found the Capriccio quite technically challenging at first, and I think it was the technicality that made me realise what it was I wanted to express when I played Bach. I have a collection of Glenn Gould's recordings which I started listening to more frequently around this time, and Gould's incredibly precise, mechanical playing was another thing that really changed the way I viewed Bach. (Gould is truly an inspiration - I now aspire to a similar sound myself, although I don't aim for my interpretation to be identical to his.)
So - to summarise how I've come to appreciate Bach: he brought the complexity of music to a high point which I don't think has ever been surpassed, and technicality and complexity is, to me, one of the most beautiful things in music. I've heard people say that Bach is 'mathematical' like it's a bad thing, but I love Bach for exactly that reason. (I might add though, that except in music, I hate maths...which is kind of odd now I think about it!)
At the moment, I'm in the middle of learning the first keyboard Partita, planning to learn the second, and at the end of this month I'll be in a performance of Bach's incredible, stunning, amazing, complex, beautiful, dramatic (I don't have enough adjectives!) St John Passion, singing as an alto in the Melbourne Bach Choir. I can't wait!
Finally, as promised when I started this series of posts, here are links to Youtube recordings of some of my favorite Bach works. I had trouble finding some of these pieces, and as a result I've had to leave out a few movements I would otherwise have included.
Sinfonia 1
Invention & Sinfonia 13
Sinfonia 15 (I love these outtakes...Gould is such a perfectionist. I would have linked to the final recording but couldn't find it)
Keyboard Partita 1 - Corrente (this recording is incomplete but I can't find another version.)
- Allemande
- Giga
Keyboard Partita 2 - Capriccio (this recording is also incomplete)
- Allemande
St John Passion - Opening chorus
St John Passion - some of my other favorite parts
St John Passion - more of my favorite parts (inc. the 'chromatic' choruses)
Christmas Oratorio - Fallt mit Danken
Christmas Oratorio - Ehre sei dir gott
PS: A while ago I read an amazing biography of Glenn Gould, which completely changed and, I think, enhanced my appreciation of him as a musician. You can find it here. Although this has nothing to do with Bach directly, I think it might be interesting to some pianists :)
All my life I've heard people saying things about Bach like 'His music encompasses the universe,' and 'The whole of life is summed up in his music,' and...well, you get the gist.
And I just couldn't relate. When I started to have piano lessons and began learning works by Bach, I began to hear even more of this sort of thing. And although I know it wasn't the case, at the time I felt like everyone expected me to understand Bach in the same way they did. I couldn't, so I had trouble interpreting his works, and ended up feeling that I didn't actually like Bach very much.
By the time I'd learnt a work, I would have come to absolutely loathe it just from having played it too much. So I would start playing the piece ten times faster than normal speed, just because I could, and because it alleviated the boredom. Eventually I would drop that piece altogether. When I played Bach at Eisteddffords, the adjudicators never approved of my interpretation, and I always felt a little bit silly getting up on stage and playing a 1-minute, relatively simple movement of a Partita while all the other competitors were playing Rachmaninoff and Debussy preludes and other, um, difficult music.
It wasn't very encouraging.
I can't really pinpoint when my 'Bach epiphany' occurred, but I think it was probably when I started learning the Capriccio from Partita 2 in the middle of 2011. I'd wanted to learn the Capriccio for a long time because it's a piece my piano teacher always plays (from memory) when he's trying out a keyboard instrument, and I liked it.
I found the Capriccio quite technically challenging at first, and I think it was the technicality that made me realise what it was I wanted to express when I played Bach. I have a collection of Glenn Gould's recordings which I started listening to more frequently around this time, and Gould's incredibly precise, mechanical playing was another thing that really changed the way I viewed Bach. (Gould is truly an inspiration - I now aspire to a similar sound myself, although I don't aim for my interpretation to be identical to his.)
So - to summarise how I've come to appreciate Bach: he brought the complexity of music to a high point which I don't think has ever been surpassed, and technicality and complexity is, to me, one of the most beautiful things in music. I've heard people say that Bach is 'mathematical' like it's a bad thing, but I love Bach for exactly that reason. (I might add though, that except in music, I hate maths...which is kind of odd now I think about it!)
At the moment, I'm in the middle of learning the first keyboard Partita, planning to learn the second, and at the end of this month I'll be in a performance of Bach's incredible, stunning, amazing, complex, beautiful, dramatic (I don't have enough adjectives!) St John Passion, singing as an alto in the Melbourne Bach Choir. I can't wait!
Finally, as promised when I started this series of posts, here are links to Youtube recordings of some of my favorite Bach works. I had trouble finding some of these pieces, and as a result I've had to leave out a few movements I would otherwise have included.
Sinfonia 1
Invention & Sinfonia 13
Sinfonia 15 (I love these outtakes...Gould is such a perfectionist. I would have linked to the final recording but couldn't find it)
Keyboard Partita 1 - Corrente (this recording is incomplete but I can't find another version.)
- Allemande
- Giga
Keyboard Partita 2 - Capriccio (this recording is also incomplete)
- Allemande
St John Passion - Opening chorus
St John Passion - some of my other favorite parts
St John Passion - more of my favorite parts (inc. the 'chromatic' choruses)
Christmas Oratorio - Fallt mit Danken
Christmas Oratorio - Ehre sei dir gott
PS: A while ago I read an amazing biography of Glenn Gould, which completely changed and, I think, enhanced my appreciation of him as a musician. You can find it here. Although this has nothing to do with Bach directly, I think it might be interesting to some pianists :)
Sunday 4 March 2012
Composer series: Ravel
If you've followed anything I've posted on the web about music you might know that my absolute all-time favorite composer is Maurice Ravel. This is the first in what will hopefully be a short series of posts about various classical composers.
The first time I was aware of hearing a piece of Ravel was during the Sydney International Piano Competition in 2008. I distinctly remember looking up what the piece was on the SIPCA website because it made such an impression on me. It was Une barque sur le ocean from Miroirs, played by a very good pianist whom I've since seen in recital, Hoang Pham.
After I'd heard it, Une barque sur le ocean haunted me for days on end. I remember having it stuck in my head one night and not being able to sleep because it was so beautiful.
I don't recall specifically looking into Ravel's music after this incident (I have no idea why I didn't, but there you go.) However, over the years I found that I would often hear a work of transcendental (to use a fancy but very apt word) beauty on the radio or somewhere else, and when I discovered what it was, it would turn out to be Ravel.
At this point I still tended to get Debussy and Ravel confused, so whenever I heard a piece which I identified as impressionist in style, I wasn't sure who the composer was. But the fact is, those 'transcendental' pieces, when I heard them, always turned out to be by Ravel. The more I got to know of Ravel's works, the more I realised how completely different his compositions were to those of his contemporary, and that Ravel touched something in me that Debussy couldn't. (I'm inclined to write a whole separate post on the comparison between these two composers, as I find it fascinating.)
Listening to Robert Casadesus's Complete piano works of Ravel ensured I became familiar with every piece of piano music Ravel ever wrote, and Youtube has helped me to discover the rest of his compositions. I have also read a biography of Ravel that is quite interesting because it is arranged chronologically into chapters documenting what he wrote during certain years (although I was annoyed that Tzigane, the incredible virtuosic work for violin, only got a very brief mention!) If you're interested in reading it, the biography is called Maurice Ravel: Variations on His Life and Work by Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt (Translated from the German by Samuel R. Rosenbaum.)
Finally, here are of some of my favorite pieces of Ravel, with links to recordings on Youtube (I didn't embed them because it was going to make this post too long.) In each case I chose my favorite interpretation of that specific work, and I've chosen to link to my favorite movement where I couldn't find a complete version of a suite (you should be able to find the rest of the movements in the related videos.) All of the piano works on this list I have at least tried to play...I kind of have this dream of recording the complete Ravel piano works one day - I don't know if it will ever happen.
Jeux D'eau
Miroirs
Sonatine
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Gaspard de la Nuit
Ma Mere L'Oye
Piano Trio (please watch all of the videos for this!)
Bolero
Trois Chansons
The first time I was aware of hearing a piece of Ravel was during the Sydney International Piano Competition in 2008. I distinctly remember looking up what the piece was on the SIPCA website because it made such an impression on me. It was Une barque sur le ocean from Miroirs, played by a very good pianist whom I've since seen in recital, Hoang Pham.
After I'd heard it, Une barque sur le ocean haunted me for days on end. I remember having it stuck in my head one night and not being able to sleep because it was so beautiful.
I don't recall specifically looking into Ravel's music after this incident (I have no idea why I didn't, but there you go.) However, over the years I found that I would often hear a work of transcendental (to use a fancy but very apt word) beauty on the radio or somewhere else, and when I discovered what it was, it would turn out to be Ravel.
At this point I still tended to get Debussy and Ravel confused, so whenever I heard a piece which I identified as impressionist in style, I wasn't sure who the composer was. But the fact is, those 'transcendental' pieces, when I heard them, always turned out to be by Ravel. The more I got to know of Ravel's works, the more I realised how completely different his compositions were to those of his contemporary, and that Ravel touched something in me that Debussy couldn't. (I'm inclined to write a whole separate post on the comparison between these two composers, as I find it fascinating.)
Listening to Robert Casadesus's Complete piano works of Ravel ensured I became familiar with every piece of piano music Ravel ever wrote, and Youtube has helped me to discover the rest of his compositions. I have also read a biography of Ravel that is quite interesting because it is arranged chronologically into chapters documenting what he wrote during certain years (although I was annoyed that Tzigane, the incredible virtuosic work for violin, only got a very brief mention!) If you're interested in reading it, the biography is called Maurice Ravel: Variations on His Life and Work by Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt (Translated from the German by Samuel R. Rosenbaum.)
Finally, here are of some of my favorite pieces of Ravel, with links to recordings on Youtube (I didn't embed them because it was going to make this post too long.) In each case I chose my favorite interpretation of that specific work, and I've chosen to link to my favorite movement where I couldn't find a complete version of a suite (you should be able to find the rest of the movements in the related videos.) All of the piano works on this list I have at least tried to play...I kind of have this dream of recording the complete Ravel piano works one day - I don't know if it will ever happen.
Jeux D'eau
Miroirs
Sonatine
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Gaspard de la Nuit
Ma Mere L'Oye
Piano Trio (please watch all of the videos for this!)
Bolero
Trois Chansons
A series of composers
I've been thinking that a good way to start blogging might be to write about some of my favorite composers, with links to recordings of some of their works, something about what pieces of theirs I play, how I discovered or 'got into' their music, and anything else interesting about them, like good biographies I've read etc.
So I'm going to start with my all-time favorite composers, Maurice Ravel and J.S. Bach, and see how it goes from there. Wish me luck with this little project! :)
So I'm going to start with my all-time favorite composers, Maurice Ravel and J.S. Bach, and see how it goes from there. Wish me luck with this little project! :)
My CD collection
As I really have no idea to start with blogging, but want to get posting as soon as possible, I thought I'd begin with something easy...a list of my favorite classical music CDs. I actually have a LOT more CDs than this (literally hundreds) but these are the ones that I listen to most frequently because they are the most relevant to the music I play or am interested in. I might add to this list as I discover more CDs I love.
By the way, I strongly reccomend any of the CDs on this list to anyone interested in classical music, especially the piano repertoire (which is mostly what they are). I've included links to where you can buy each of these discs.
Here goes!
Glenn Gould: Bach - The well-tempered Clavier II (2 discs)
Glenn Gould: Bach - Partitas 1, 2 & 3
Glenn Gould: Bach - Two and Three Part Inventions
As you can probably tell I am a big fan of Gould, at least when he plays Bach. I don't really feel the need to write something separate about each of these CDS. Suffice to say that Gould plays Bach the way I understand Bach. I hope to extrapolate on how I feel about Bach in a future blog post...after all, he is an incredibly important composer!
Beaux Arts Trio: Ravel & Chausson - Piano Trios
I first heard the Ravel Piano Trio in SIPCA 2008. I didn't know what it was then, although it struck me as being beautiful and completely unlike anything I'd ever heard. My mother dug this CD out of her collection and I have listened to it many times since. The Beaux Arts Trio are incredible musicians and play this trio better than anyone. The Chausson trio is also a beautiful piece of music and I think it complements the Ravel.
Robert Casadesus: Ravel - Complete Piano Works (2 discs)
I don't even know what to say about this CD. It's the music of my favorite composer in the whole world, played absolutely perfectly. I have listened to this too many times to count. Although I prefer other pianists playing certain piano works of Ravel (for instance, Pogorelich is the only pianist who I feel does Gaspard de la Nuit justice), I still always return to this CD when I'm learning a piece. It's the definitive Ravel piano works recording.
I feel I should mention that Gaby Casadesus, Robert's wife, makes an appearence on this CD, playing the piano duet works. She is also an incredible pianist.
Orchestre de Paris (conducted by Jean Martinon): Ravel - Orchestral Works
A couple of times I have heard Ravel's Bolero played on the radio, and the version they play has always been the only version I really liked. I decided to find out who was performing it. It was the Paris Orchestra conducted by Jean Martinon. When I found out there was a whole CD of the Paris Orchestra playing Ravel's orchestral works I immediately had to get it. Apart from the Bolero - which, no matter what your opinion may be, I think is beautiful - my favorite track on this CD is the orchestrated version of the Forlane from Le Tombeau de Couperin.
Quartetto Italiano: Ravel & Debussy - String Quartets
I quite randomly picked this CD up for $10 at JB Hi-Fi one day. I'd heard some of the Ravel string quartet in the film Mrs. Carey's Concert, and really wanted to hear the whole thing. This turned out to be a great CD and it was interesting to also hear the Debussy quartet. I'm always fascinated by how different Debussy is to Ravel (more on this in a future blog post?)
Nelson Freire: Debussy
I've had this CD for quite a while and used to love listening to it in the background during the day. I don't listen to much Debussy any more, but this is a stunning recording. Nelson Freire really understands Debussy and plays superbly. I would definitely reccomend this CD to anyone wanting a collection of Debussy's well known works (preludes, clair de lune, children's corner.)
Alexander Gavryluk & SSO: Prokofiev - Piano Concertos 1, 2 & 4
In case you don't know about him, Alexander Gavrylyuk is a brilliant young Ukrainian pianist. He's one of favorite pianists - his playing is just perfect. I've been to 2 of his recitals and bought this CD at one of them (I got an autograph!)
I first heard Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto played by Yefim Bronfman and fell in love with it then, so I was incredibly excited when I found out Gavrylyuk had recorded it.
Ingrid Haebler: Schubert - Piano works (boxed set)
I was given this by my piano teacher and it's just beautiful.
Vladimir Ashkenazy: Chopin - Complete solo piano works (boxed set)
Nobody can play Chopin like Ashkenazy. Actually, nobody can play like Ashkenazy. Enough said. I think I've probably played the Etudes discs from this boxed set more than any of the other 7 or so discs.
Vladimir Ashkenazy: Rachmaninov - Preludes
I heard a few tracks off this disc played on the ABC a while ago and immediately had to get it. I wasn't very familiar with the Rach Preludes, and I just fell in love with them when I heard this CD.
Martha Argerich: The Art of Martha Argerich (3 discs)
I picked this up at my local bookshop because I love Argerich's playing and didn't have any CDs of hers. This set includes a heap of concertos as well as solo works, and comes with a beautiful booklet full of photos of Martha and previous album covers. It's really special.
Bach Collegium of Japan: Bach - St John Passion
I'm currently learning this so it's getting listened to a lot. The soloists are beautiful, as are all the other performers...and the music.
By the way, I strongly reccomend any of the CDs on this list to anyone interested in classical music, especially the piano repertoire (which is mostly what they are). I've included links to where you can buy each of these discs.
Here goes!
Glenn Gould: Bach - The well-tempered Clavier II (2 discs)
Glenn Gould: Bach - Partitas 1, 2 & 3
Glenn Gould: Bach - Two and Three Part Inventions
As you can probably tell I am a big fan of Gould, at least when he plays Bach. I don't really feel the need to write something separate about each of these CDS. Suffice to say that Gould plays Bach the way I understand Bach. I hope to extrapolate on how I feel about Bach in a future blog post...after all, he is an incredibly important composer!
Beaux Arts Trio: Ravel & Chausson - Piano Trios
I first heard the Ravel Piano Trio in SIPCA 2008. I didn't know what it was then, although it struck me as being beautiful and completely unlike anything I'd ever heard. My mother dug this CD out of her collection and I have listened to it many times since. The Beaux Arts Trio are incredible musicians and play this trio better than anyone. The Chausson trio is also a beautiful piece of music and I think it complements the Ravel.
Robert Casadesus: Ravel - Complete Piano Works (2 discs)
I don't even know what to say about this CD. It's the music of my favorite composer in the whole world, played absolutely perfectly. I have listened to this too many times to count. Although I prefer other pianists playing certain piano works of Ravel (for instance, Pogorelich is the only pianist who I feel does Gaspard de la Nuit justice), I still always return to this CD when I'm learning a piece. It's the definitive Ravel piano works recording.
I feel I should mention that Gaby Casadesus, Robert's wife, makes an appearence on this CD, playing the piano duet works. She is also an incredible pianist.
Orchestre de Paris (conducted by Jean Martinon): Ravel - Orchestral Works
A couple of times I have heard Ravel's Bolero played on the radio, and the version they play has always been the only version I really liked. I decided to find out who was performing it. It was the Paris Orchestra conducted by Jean Martinon. When I found out there was a whole CD of the Paris Orchestra playing Ravel's orchestral works I immediately had to get it. Apart from the Bolero - which, no matter what your opinion may be, I think is beautiful - my favorite track on this CD is the orchestrated version of the Forlane from Le Tombeau de Couperin.
Quartetto Italiano: Ravel & Debussy - String Quartets
I quite randomly picked this CD up for $10 at JB Hi-Fi one day. I'd heard some of the Ravel string quartet in the film Mrs. Carey's Concert, and really wanted to hear the whole thing. This turned out to be a great CD and it was interesting to also hear the Debussy quartet. I'm always fascinated by how different Debussy is to Ravel (more on this in a future blog post?)
Nelson Freire: Debussy
I've had this CD for quite a while and used to love listening to it in the background during the day. I don't listen to much Debussy any more, but this is a stunning recording. Nelson Freire really understands Debussy and plays superbly. I would definitely reccomend this CD to anyone wanting a collection of Debussy's well known works (preludes, clair de lune, children's corner.)
Alexander Gavryluk & SSO: Prokofiev - Piano Concertos 1, 2 & 4
In case you don't know about him, Alexander Gavrylyuk is a brilliant young Ukrainian pianist. He's one of favorite pianists - his playing is just perfect. I've been to 2 of his recitals and bought this CD at one of them (I got an autograph!)
I first heard Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto played by Yefim Bronfman and fell in love with it then, so I was incredibly excited when I found out Gavrylyuk had recorded it.
Ingrid Haebler: Schubert - Piano works (boxed set)
I was given this by my piano teacher and it's just beautiful.
Vladimir Ashkenazy: Chopin - Complete solo piano works (boxed set)
Nobody can play Chopin like Ashkenazy. Actually, nobody can play like Ashkenazy. Enough said. I think I've probably played the Etudes discs from this boxed set more than any of the other 7 or so discs.
Vladimir Ashkenazy: Rachmaninov - Preludes
I heard a few tracks off this disc played on the ABC a while ago and immediately had to get it. I wasn't very familiar with the Rach Preludes, and I just fell in love with them when I heard this CD.
Martha Argerich: The Art of Martha Argerich (3 discs)
I picked this up at my local bookshop because I love Argerich's playing and didn't have any CDs of hers. This set includes a heap of concertos as well as solo works, and comes with a beautiful booklet full of photos of Martha and previous album covers. It's really special.
Bach Collegium of Japan: Bach - St John Passion
I'm currently learning this so it's getting listened to a lot. The soloists are beautiful, as are all the other performers...and the music.
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