Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Members Recordings - Pianist Corner Ok, here I go! Deep breath....Brahms 118/2

I've practiced a bit today, trying to lower everything closer to the keyboard but keeping my wrist moving slightly, even if it's just laterally, so I don't fix it. When I do that, though, I tend to get kind of mushy and drop notes. But then sometimes it totally works. The part that comes right after the two phrase opening, ultimately leading into the high A climax, felt more controlled and comfortable.

I feel like sometimes my hands are long-legged spiders that awkwardly pick their way among the keys, not quite knowing what to do with all those legs. Or a newborn colt suspended over four legs that he just can't seem to get all working together.

I'm sure you do, TS! And in *my* professional life, it is my job to sling paint onto surfaces as quickly and efficiently as I can without making a mess or wrecking people's things, and without thinking about it too hard either, because after all, house painting is not rocket science, and my customers are paying me by the hour. But still, there are things to know about painting, which is why it can actually be a profession, I guess.

That said, I just have to tell you a story that happened earlier this summer. I agreed to paint for a retired pediatric dentist. He's probably pushing 80, though very spry and agile and fit--the kind of man who runs every day. So, this was a big exterior job, and he asked if he could help paint. Of course, I said yes... I mean, it's *his* house! So, he thought maybe he could work on the storm windows and screen frames while I did the siding and trim. He showed me his paint brushes, which were all cheap crap. I mean, if you pay less than $18 for a brush, forget about it! So, I knew there would be some teaching involved...

The morning I drove my big white work van into the driveway to start the job, there he was in the yard, having just pulled some screen frames from the house, and he was wearing white painter's overalls! It was so cute, I could hardly stand it! So, we got the saw horses set up, then I showed him what a good brush looked like, and how it was constructed, and how that facilitated the holding and releasing of the paint. Then, I showed him how to load the brush with paint, by mashing the bottom of the brush against the bottom of a can that had no more than an inch of paint poured into it, and by mashing the brush against the bottom of the can, how it drove the paint up into the bristles. Then, I showed him how to control the edge by applying different pressure to the bristles and by using different angles of the brush against the surface. Then, I said, "Watch!," and swiped down one whole side of the screen frame in about three strokes, releasing paint onto the wood, and none onto the screen. "You try," I said. He took the brush and tentatively tapped the bottom of the can. Then, he went to apply the paint. His nose was practically in the screen as he gently and slowly and deliberately cut the paint along the frame, little by little. He said, "Wow! I can really tell the difference in the brush." I said, "Yeah! And you paint like a surgeon, too!" And we both laughed.

What am I trying to say? He brought his training to an endeavor that required a different way--and he brought his thinking, too!

At one point, we were working on painting the siding. He was doing the low stuff, but kept leaving thin spots that would show as the paint dried. Again with the brush! He had his favorite, it was crap, and it was not doing the job. So, I said, "Humor me. I want you to try this brush," and gave him one of mine (again). Then, I said, "Do you play chess?" He said, "Yes." I said, "You know how there are three parts to the game--the opening, the transition, and the end game?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Painting is like that. Three steps after you load the brush. First, the opening--get the paint on the surface," and I glopped a big ol' blob of paint on the siding. He kind of raised his eyebrows in surprise, and his eyes got really big. "Second, the transition--work the paint onto and into all the nooks and crannies, and use cross strokes and wobblies and up and downs and back and forths to get it into the grain and all of the divots." And I did that, very fast and very smoothly, trusting my brush and my practiced hand to hold and release the paint as I directed the bristles. "Now, the end game--the finish strokes--to even out the paint over the surface so it ends up nice and level--not too thick, not too thin--just right. And see those fresh brush marks in the paint? You have to trust the paint to do its job of laying down when you treat it right. Then, repeat all of that on the next stretch, working from the wet paint that you just leveled." He said, "I was trying to save paint." Again with the thinking!!! "But, we're PAINTING the house!," I said. And we both laughed.

So, when you say,



I propose, "Perhaps this is it." I mean, c'mon, TS. Explain to me 5:10 to 5:15. You cannot tell me you were thinking about playing there, because the way I hear it, you were simply playing/listening/emoting/connecting. Yes, there is intellectual investment there. That cannot be denied. But, I will not believe it if you tell me you were thinking about execution, there. You were simply executing, and your playing reached the profundity of the composition. That is called, "playing with a practiced hand." Notice how relaxed and smoothly you played there? Wise beyond your piano years...

Now, 0:31 to 0:34? 1:34 to 1:35? You can't tell me you *weren't* thinking about that. You *were* thinking about execution. All the way. You anticipated it, you made your mind think about what you wanted to do, and in the anticipation and thinking, you tensed up and lost your fluidity. Your hands (and foot) are not practiced there, just yet. (But they almost are! )

So, when you say,



I say, "It's called 'playing' for a reason." Furthermore and deepermore, I submit to you that in artistic pursuits, there *is* a time and a place to turn off your thinker and to be a simple doer. As one wise fictional character once said, "There is no try. There is only do." And, as another wise real-life character in my own life once said, "Take the long view."

That is the reason for Insight #3, which I think you may have dismissed to easily. It is coupled with Insight #4 (which is coupled with Insight #2), which largely takes place when you trust Insight #3.

Let it come.

I have no dismissed insight #3! Far from it. In fact, I often wonder just how long I have to wait until I can pick something back up without being plagued by whatever rut I was in the last time. After a while I seem to regain a bit of the "new learner" plasticity in a given piece.

That being said, when I put aside a piece is a decision that mostly rests with my teacher. I have only pulled rank on her twice, and I fully intend to go back to both pieces now that sufficient time has passed.

Anyway, thank you for your "paint the fence" zen moment. Oddly, I have the desire to go paint something now.

But speaking of my teacher, I sent her the video, obvs.

Her reply came this morning:

I listened to your recording. Will talk to you in person about it. But please don't be so hard on yourself. Performing art is aways evolving process, you know that. True artist always doubt himself in order to get better and more creative. But he must be careful to lose the sense of balance between striving and self distrust I'm thinking. My suggestion for now is, keep thinking of what this music means to you, you have the tools, make it more intimate. Let your technique work for you. Even with technical imperfections the genuine emotion is always beautiful. Love, Tanya

Here you go again -- telling us all how bad you are and posting a performance that shows very clearly how good you are. I've been playing this piece for 50 years and still don't have it quite right. If I had been able to play it in my first performance nearly as well as you have here, I'd have bought myself a beer. Except that I was too young then for beer. And Brahms.

You've said you'd like some feedback, so here we go.

On the whole, this is a fine rendition. It’s a very difficult work to perform well, and you’ve done an admirable job of plumbing its depths, both technically and musically. You show fine, focused attention to dynamics, voicing and everything else, so much so that you don’t really need the advice I’m about to give. But here it is anyway.

Tempo – The score is marked Andante teneramente – at a moderate walking tempo, with tenderness. Your baseline tempo is around 52, which seems to me like it drags a bit. As your comfort with the technical aspects increases, you might consider taking it up several notches, say, to somewhere in the neighborhood of 66. That feels more like a comfortable walking pace to me. Of course, as with everything else I’m about to say, your mileage may vary.

You’ve already realized that tasteful rubato is important here. My suggestion would be to do a bit more of it. Without that variation, the overall approach can feel somewhat metronomic. For example, at 1:07, you pick up the pace to around 58; I usually go for something in the range of 72. Roughly the same difference from my baseline as yours is, just a bit faster. The animato you apply at 2:07 seems just right. For the middle section starting at 2:37, more motion helps the flow of the melodic line. Finally, your transition into the chorale section (3:27) is wonderfully shaped, but the chorale itself is way slower than I like it. (I get piu lento, but this feels a bit troppo.) There’s nothing very interesting going on here; better to move right along to the good stuff.

Dynamics – Overall, you do a very nice job of shading the dynamics to fit the shape of the phrase. I think it would be still nicer if you worked on creating clearer contrasts between volume levels. Some examples: at 0:27, the score is marked pp. You start out at a softer level but slide back up to p fairly quickly. At 1:34, a bigger buildup to the high A and really landing on the A to give it a strong f sound would help. The next section shades into the “sunburst” moment you labeled (one of the most glorious phrases in all music, IMHO) and should gradually diminish so you arrive at a truly tender p when the sun comes out. Finally, the repetition of the closing phrase provides a great opportunity for vivid contrast. In the first appearance at 2:15, my preference is for a large crescendo with emphasis on the descending bass line from A down to B, so you end with a rich sonorous f on the B, (not what’s in the score, but what the hey), receding back to p at the end. When it reappears at 6:20, the opposite approach yields a lovely effect. One of my teachers describes this decrescendo from mp into near-silence as resembling a sailboat disappearing over the horizon.

Voicing – The repetition of themes and motifs invites different approaches to voicing as well. Like you, I love the subtlety of the inner voices here, but I hear them in different ways. In general, I think the piece benefits from a clear emphasis on the upper melodic line, to give it the singing quality that enhances the tenderness. Even with due attention to inner voices, I think it would be worth trying to create and sustain this effect. In the measures leading up to the sunburst (1:36 to 1:50), the bass line is the inversion of the main theme. In its first appearance, I use a big sound and emphasize the bass line, falling back to a soft sound and the soprano voice in the second one. Perhaps the most important place to make this happen is in the sunburst chords, where the alto figure G#-A-F# should be whispered to give the melody room to sing.

The middle section contains some of the nicest alto voicing. I think this stands out most clearly if one leans on the soprano voice the first time around with much less alto, then reverses the streams in the repetition. For the chorale, the upper voice should be heard clearly, but it can be blended nicely with the left hand tenor voice (F# down to C#), especially at the concluding ritard (ending at B), where it’s the only thing worth hearing.

Fingering – You mentioned that the wide left hand chord at the sunburst gives you trouble. Welcome to the club. Rolling that chord goofs up the pedaling and ruins the resolve into that beautiful D major chord. So I cheat by dropping the E at the top of the chord. There are two other Es in there, so it won’t be missed. Similarly, the F# chord in the middle of the chorale can be made solid by moving the A# to the right hand.

Pedal – This is an area where Andy’s advice to “let Brahms be Brahms” pays the biggest dividends. Early on, I pedaled in a way very similar to yours to get a clean, clear sound. Now, I relish the fog. In some places, the organic structure of the harmonies fairly demands this approach. Examples include 1:02 to 1:07, 1:10 to 1:19, etc. In many other places, the detached sound can be overcome and the legato line enhanced by simply delaying the pedal change so it occurs just after the harmonic shift rather than before it. Experiment and your sensitive ear will tell you what’s right for you.

A closing thought. Don’t worry about being too focused on the details. You’re exactly right that the big picture emerges only after you’ve sweated the small stuff. Monet and van Gogh worked one brush stroke at a time; so can we. And as exaggerated as your wrist lifts may seem to some, I suspect that’s just your teacher’s way of helping you overcome the tight, tense approach you’ve described. Once you’re over that hurdle (and with practice and performance, you’ll get there), you can find the middle ground on your own.

Forgive me for rattling on. Congratulations again on an admirable job with this masterwork. Keep those posts coming.

Beautifully done TwoSnowflakes! and it was a joy to hear you play after having had a few conversations here.

Most of what I'd say has already been said but I wanted to add something on the wrist/lifting issue that might make it easier to work on.

It is not about what to do with your wrist, but when to do it, on which notes. Your habit is to pop off a note by pushing down as you lift, like pushing off the floor when you jump. That creates an accent. It's a great idea when you want an accent. It's not a great idea in the middle of a long lyrical line.

Another way to lift is to raise the hand while just brushing the note, as if skimming the grass with your toes while the angels lift you by the shoulders. That's great for tapering the end of a phrase. Maybe not in the middle of a phrase, but I could imagine a good argument for it here and there.

Some of the important notes in the phrases could be hugged a little more by a slow drop of the wrist.

Arm movements need to be planned just like fingering. Finger 2 is neither good nor bad, it just needs to be used on some notes and not on others. Next time your teacher is working with you on arm movements, try not to think "this movement is good and that one is bad", but instead "this movement is right for this note and this sound, while that one is not right here."

Just realized, because you dance, you'll understand my favorite way of thinking about wrist movement it is plié for our sound, both connecting one thing to the next, and providing cushioning that we need for health/safety and relaxation.

You clearly have important things to say in your playing, and I wonder if you share my belief that a well developed technique is desirable because it enables us to say what we want to say more openly and clearly!

Thanks, all. You've given me a lot to think about. I'm going to see what I can do with it and then see if I can rerecord it with some better...finesse.

Heather, you've hit the nail on the head. For me, technique is not an end in itself but simply the means by which I can express what I want to express. Right now I feel like I'm talking around marbles in my mouth, and I would like to get to the point where I'm thinking less about the effort, and more that there's little between me and the music.

I will work on my wrist plies! I probably should consider DOING some plies before playing. It might center and relax me. My piano teacher had originally pursued ballet and piano, but thanks to the lovely soviet system of arts education, she was deemed not to have the right physique for ballet and pursued piano only from then on. But she's always stayed connected with it and now actually teaches ballet when she's not playing piano. She tends to use ballet concepts to help describe piano movements. Arpeggios can use an en dedans or en dehors rotational arm movement. Posture and general carriage of the spine and shoulders....holistic, grounded, efficient and connected movements... I've read somewhere that the borrowing of ballet port de bras is something somewhat common in Russian style piano training, but I can't remember where I read that now.

She's never mentioned the wrist having a similar function as a plie, but she's going to LOVE the idea, I can tell you that. She's a huge believer in the the fundamental importance of a deep elastic, energy-directing plie.

Of course, the overlap ends pretty quickly. I can tell you that I have gotten the correction, "What are you doing? The barre is not a keyboard. Drop your wrist." LOL!

*ahem*

Was it Harold Bauer, the violinist, who ascended to Olympian heights of pianism, self-taught...by intentionally translating the essence of dance to hands and fingers?
And presently, more arm-wavers are winning contests.
'Hope they're all wrong 'cuz I do a fabulous (unintentional) imitation of a cigar store Indian.