Piano Teaching and Performance Principles

Fanny Waterman's On Piano Teaching and Performing offers invaluable insights into the multifaceted world of piano education and performance. This guide distills her principles, providing a comprehensive analysis for students seeking to master the craft, musicianship, and artistry essential for success in piano playing. It covers foundational techniques, interpretative skills, and crucial advice for preparing for recitals and competitions, making it a definitive resource for aspiring pianists.

Unveiling Piano Teaching and Performance Principles: An Overview

Dame Fanny Waterman, a legendary piano teacher, synthesized her 45 years of experience into On Piano Teaching and Performing. The book, first published in 1983 and revised in 2006, emphasizes three core aspects of musical training: craftsmanship, musicianship, and artistry. It serves not only as a practical guide but also as an inspiring read for all musicians, incorporating updated experiences and a new chapter on competitions, alongside Robert Schumann's enduring Rules and Maxims for Young Musicians.

The Foundational Lesson Format for Piano Students

Waterman stresses that every lesson, regardless of the student's level, should be a "musical injection." This approach ensures students leave refreshed and inspired. Key elements of her lesson format include:

• Young Beginners: Lessons are typically 30 minutes due to limited concentration. Progress is tracked with marks and incentives like blue or gold stars for high percentages, motivating consistent effort.
• Detailed Practice Plans: A notebook outlines daily practice, specific musical ideas, and pointers. Legible reports comment on concentration and absorption, with term summaries providing motivation.
• Recording Lessons: Using a tape recorder or mini-disc helps students identify and correct errors in notes, tempi, and dynamics, fostering critical self-assessment.
• Parental Involvement: Parents are encouraged to attend lessons to supervise home practice and enhance the child's progress and enjoyment.

Fanny Waterman's Ten Musical Commandments for Pianists

For young beginners, Waterman provides a list of "Ten Musical Commandments" to instill good habits from the start:

1. Keep your back straight and your fingers rounded.
2. Practise regularly every day.
3. Before playing unfamiliar music, clap the rhythm, counting beats aloud.
4. Choose fingering suited to your hand, write it in pencil, and avoid changing it.
5. Practise hands separately before hands together.
6. Practise slowly before playing at speed.
7. Correct mistakes immediately and play the passage correctly several times before moving on.
8. Play any piece with a strong pulse throughout before introducing rubato.
9. Follow all composer's markings, differentiating between six dynamic levels (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff).
10. Listen to every sound you make, striving for the most beautiful tone.

Advanced Piano Student Instruction

Older children typically have hour-long lessons covering technical work (e.g., Czerny studies), pieces in various styles, sight-reading, and aural tests. Pieces are studied in depth for performance, emphasizing body language and stage presence. Advanced students' lessons, lasting one to two hours, often involve performing a chosen piece from memory without interruption, learning to cover mistakes. Memorization is seen as a learnable skill, developed through tactile, photographic, and aural senses, and should evolve naturally from concentrated study.

Craftsmanship: The Foundation of Piano Technique

Technical and musical development are intertwined, starting with craftsmanship. It's about mastering the 'how-to' of piano playing, from scales to complex polyphonic music. Technique should never be divorced from musicianship and artistry.

Fingering, Tone Production, and Speed of Key Descent

• Custom Fingering: Students should develop 'made-to-measure' fingering, understanding that printed fingerings suit the editor's hand, not necessarily their own.
• Tone Production: Pianists must cultivate a refined 'sound in their ear' and learn to listen to the quality of every sound produced. This involves understanding how the speed of key descent controls both volume and tonal color. A very slow descent produces no sound, while quick, vigorous descent yields strong sonority. This can be likened to an artist's palette of colors, or a rubber ball dropped gently versus bounced with vigor.
• Finger Position: Well-rounded fingertips are essential for bright passage-work, while flatter fingers using the fleshy cushion produce a fuller tone. A flexible wrist is crucial, acting as a shock-absorber and transmitting arm weight effectively, avoiding a hard tone.

Navigating Passage-Work and Specific Techniques

• See-Saw Movement: Practicing two connected notes with even power, transferring weight, and keeping the arm relaxed, is vital for developing evenness.
• Thumb Exercises: Given the thumb's muscular power and freedom, specific exercises focus on its passage under the hand, with the elbow held against the body to prevent arm jutting.
• Breaking Up Scales: Rather than just mechanical scales, breaking them into fragments (note-by-note, beat-by-beat) helps in tackling problematic passages in pieces. Thinking of quick passages as slow melodies played fast, and singing them, aids focus.
• Trills: Trills require two separate notes, not a blur. Practicing the see-saw exercise, varying fingering and dynamics, and using a metronome helps maintain rhythm. The ends of trills must be carefully managed to avoid mush.
• Octave Technique: For strong, accurate octaves, practicing with the 5th finger alone and the thumb alone is recommended. Stretching exercises are crucial for pianists with small hands.
• Skips: Effective skips involve moving the entire arm quickly just above the keys, arriving at the next position before the note is due.

Making the Piano Sing: Overlapping, Balance, and Pedaling

To make a percussive instrument like the piano 'sing,' pianists can employ three main techniques:

1. Intentional Overlapping: Holding a note fractionally longer than its written value, overlapping with the next, creates a smooth, cantabile tone, similar to string vibrato.
2. Adjusting Balance: Differentiated timing and weight of key descent allow for balancing tones between hands or bringing out melodic lines within chords or contrapuntal textures. Playing a melody note a micro-second earlier with a slightly straightened finger can give it prominence.
3. Sustaining Pedal: Often called 'the soul of the piano,' the sustaining pedal enriches sound by adding vibrations and harmonics. Its use is subtle, requiring precise timing (syncopated pedaling being common) to prolong sounds without blurring, especially in lower registers. The Una Corda (soft pedal) provides a softer, veiled character and should not be a mere substitute for soft touch.

Musicianship: Deciphering the Composer's Intent

Becoming a fine musician involves becoming a "musical detective," spotting all the clues a composer provides. This includes interpreting the shorthand of musical notation and understanding the deeper meaning behind the notes.

Musical Integrity and Interpretation

• Composer's Clues: Titles, tempo indications, key signatures, dynamics, phrase marks, accents, and silences are vital clues. To ignore them is a "musical crime." Pianists must strive for "musical integrity" by memorizing every detail.
• Trustee of the Will: Musicians are beneficiaries and trustees of composers' legacies, responsible for re-creating masterpieces with integrity, imagination, and personality.
• Interpretation Challenges: Terms like adagio or più allegro are open to interpretation; "How much più is up to you." Dynamic levels also vary in quality across different keyboard registers, which can be likened to the three bears' voices or orchestral timbres.
• Piano as Orchestra: Pianists should imagine the piano as an orchestra, imitating instrumental sounds, or even vocal timbres, to enrich their playing.

Melody, Rhythm, and Architectural Unity

• Melody and Meaning: Melody is essentially song. Like a sentence, not every word is equally important; emphasis alters meaning. Pianists must be aware of note characteristics (highest/lowest, shortest/longest) and their position within the melodic span.
• Musical Punctuation: Just as a sentence needs punctuation to make sense, music requires properly punctuated phrasing. Over-use of full-stops (excessive breaks) should be avoided in favor of commas and semi-colons. Theoretical knowledge and aural training, alongside familiarity with singing and breathing (respiration), enhance phrasing.
• Music as a Journey in Time: Performances should have continuity, moving forward tonally and rhythmically like a journey, with no 'seams showing' between sections. A radical change in tempo between subjects in a sonata, for instance, should be avoided. The goal is "rhythmic unity as one architectural whole."
• Strict and Flexible Rhythm: A metronome can set speed and strengthen rhythm but can lead to mechanical playing. While a certain regularity of pulse is needed, "living rhythm" allows for subtle accelerandos and ritardandos, always with a reason and purpose.
• Dangers of 'Instant' Learning: Avoiding blind imitation of recordings and instead studying the score in minute detail is crucial. Composers like Beethoven demanded exact adherence to their written intentions.
• Rhythmic Patterns: Everyday rhythms (heartbeat, clock ticking) influence musical understanding. Precise learning of rhythmic patterns is fundamental, as inaccurate rhythm destroys expressive content. Longer notes generally require fuller tone due to the piano's natural sound decay. Hurrying in quick passages or dragging in slow ones must be countered with control and a sense of 'making haste slowly.'

The Pianist's Triple Role and Repertoire Choices

When playing, musicians fulfill three roles:

1. The Performer: Plays a few phrases.
2. The Listener: Listens and recalls sounds and silences.
3. The Critic: Assesses and analyzes the playing against expressive intentions.

The teacher plays a vital role in repertoire choice, especially for beginners (e.g., Handel, Bach, Mozart, Schumann, Bartók). Advanced students should study Baroque masterworks (Bach's Forty-Eight, Scarlatti Sonatas) for contrapuntal clarity and technical challenges. Classical repertoire (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven) requires intimate knowledge of many works. Simultaneously, studying great Romantic composers (Schubert, Chopin, Liszt) and 20th-century masters (Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Bartók) builds a balanced repertoire.

Artistry and Performance: Beyond Technique and Musicianship

Artistry is an innate, almost magical quality that cannot be taught but can be stimulated. It's what makes a performance compelling and transcends boundaries.

Engaging the Audience

• Making the Listener Listen: Artistry is the elusive quality that prevents an audience's mind from wandering. It requires conveying a performance as the sum total of what is played, making expressive intention absolutely clear.
• Stimulating Artistry: Aspiring performers should develop a wide appreciation of the arts, listen to live performances, study folk songs, engage in chamber music, accompany singers, and absorb the sights and sounds of everyday life (e.g., birdsong, waves, silence) to inform their playing. This "magic" makes a performance live, intensifying feelings and deepening understanding.

Practical Advice for Giving a Recital

Before the Date:

• Open a file for all engagement details.
• Inquire about hall size, acoustics, piano condition, fee, program length, and audience type.
• Choose a program that woos the audience, including charming pieces and encores.
• Send required information promptly (program, bio, photo).
• Time the entire program and individual pieces.
• Book sufficient rehearsal time in the hall.
• Organize a page-turner if needed.
• Plan travel carefully, allowing for delays and recovery.
• Check dress requirements.
• Prepare a checklist of items to take (concert file, handkerchiefs, nail file, spectacles, drinks, hand warmer).
• Get an early night before the performance.

On the Day:

• Be punctual for rehearsal and performance.
• Never keep anyone waiting or leave things to the last minute.
• Show courtesy to all helpers, especially the conductor.
• Never use drugs or alcohol for nerves.
• Do not alter usual pre-concert eating habits.
• Don't change the program except for compelling reasons.
• Rehearse all program items to familiarize yourself with the instrument and acoustics.
• Practice 'key' passages slowly in the Artist's Room to keep hands supple.
• Never leave valuables unattended.

On the Platform:

• Try to achieve rapport with the audience quickly (a natural smile helps).
• Walk on steadily, off swiftly; check for awkward access points.
• Check stool height and stability.
• Take your time; wait for silence before starting.
• Never stamp, bang pedals, fidget, snort, or pull faces.
• Conceal memory slips; 'vamp' until recovery; avoid stopping and apologizing.

After the Recital:

• Be diplomatic about disappointments with the piano or audience.
• Write a thank-you letter.
• Don't be depressed by bad reviews; they are just one opinion.
• Keep working and be optimistic.

Piano Competitions: Local, National, and International

Competitions are an inevitable part of a musician's journey, providing incentives and exposure, despite potential criticisms.

Local and National Competition Insights

• Benefits: Competitions offer incentives for polish, allow parents to hear other players' standards, and enhance teachers' reputations. Doing well (not just winning) is an encouraging experience.
• Syllabus Choice: Teachers should select classes with fine music to stimulate young pianists. Adjudicators' remarks are more important than marks.
• Preparation: Avoid sending multiple students for the same class to prevent jealousy. Students should understand the piece's title and character (e.g., a march vs. a lullaby). Pre-competition performances in front of friends and family build confidence.
• National Level: Standards are much higher. Craftsmanship, musicianship, and artistry become infinitely more critical. Repertoire is more demanding, often requiring a full recital of masterpieces.

Navigating International Piano Competitions

• First Hurdle: Admission by audition. Juries look for musical integrity (in-depth score comprehension) and artistry (rhythmic vitality, varied rubato, passion, fine sonority, the 'magic' or inspiration).
• Unpredictability: Jury decisions are snapshots in time. They cannot predict a winner's future ability to cope with personal fortunes/misfortunes, adverse criticism, nerves, reliance on teachers, quick absorption of new repertoire, or jetlag. Stamina is essential for success.
• Post-Competition Life: Winning an international competition opens many doors but also marks the beginning of real-life competition, where one is compared to all great pianists. Waterman argues that competitions are a necessary route into the professional market, offering an alternative to privilege or prohibitive self-funded recitals.
• Competition Formats: Examples like the Leeds International Piano Competition (three solo rounds: 30, 55, 75 minutes, then a concerto) or the Tchaikovsky Competition (two concerti) highlight the extreme demands on competitors.

Frequently Asked Questions about Piano Teaching and Performance

What are Fanny Waterman's three core aspects of musical training?

Fanny Waterman identifies three paramount aspects: craftsmanship (mastering technical skills), musicianship (understanding and interpreting the composer's intent), and artistry (the innate, magical quality that makes a performance compelling and cannot be taught but only stimulated).

How important is fingering according to Fanny Waterman?

Waterman stresses that fingering must be 'made to measure' for each student's hand, rather than blindly accepting printed fingerings. She encourages students to work with their teacher to find the most comfortable and acoustically effective fingering, written in pencil on the score.

What is 'musical integrity' in piano performance?

Musical integrity, as defined by Waterman, is the in-depth reading and comprehension of the score, including strict adherence to the composer's instructions, dynamic markings, and phrasing. It means being a 'musical detective' who uncovers and respects every clue the composer provides.

How does Fanny Waterman suggest making the piano 'sing'?

Waterman offers three primary techniques: intentionally overlapping notes in a melody for legato, carefully adjusting the balance of tone between different parts (melody, accompaniment, contrapuntal voices), and skillful use of the sustaining pedal to enrich and prolong sound without blurring. These techniques are often used simultaneously for optimal results.

Why does Fanny Waterman advocate for competitions despite their challenges?

Waterman believes competitions are a necessary and often beneficial part of a musician's journey, providing invaluable incentives, polishing performance skills, and offering a vital pathway into the professional music world. She sees them as a more accessible alternative to relying on privilege or prohibitively expensive self-funded recitals.