Considerations about the interpretation of music and the music style.

And what is musical style? I think it can be explained as the impression reflected upon the music by the manners, customs, and modes of thought which were characteristic of the epoch when it was written. For, after all, people lived, loved and suffered every kind of emotion in former centuries just as we do now, only each period has had its diverse ways of expressing these things in the arts.

What, then, do we mean by the interpretation of music itself for the purpose of performance? Is it not the employing of all possible technical means to infuse the spirit of life into the inanimate musical form, and cause it to be kindled into a definite sound-picture for the mind of the listener? On the pianoforte this is done by means of accents, variations of tone-values (crescendo and diminuendo), variations of rhythm (accelerando and ritardando), variety of touch, and manipulation of the pedals. Accents enable the pianist to bring into prominence certain notes, or groups of notes, which might be comparable to cries, exclamations, interjections in the elocutionary art, or to sudden bursts of colour in painting.

These and other similes could be followed up through the whole scale of human emotions, for the well-trained hand of the pianist, being the pliant tool of his imagination, represents to him what the brush does to the painter, or the voice to the actor. And many of the same aesthetic laws govern all these in their work as far as is possible, when the difference of circumstance and material is taken into account.

To arrive at any real result in the study of the piano, it is essential to start very young, and to train both the ear and the hand from childhood. In the case of the beginner, the purely mechanical side of how to hold the hand and produce a supple articulation, is, of course, the main object, but together with this, I am of the opinion that elementary instruction should be given in harmony and the rudiments of music, that the pupil may begin to understand a little about the progressions of sounds and the sense of rhythm which is so necessary to musical development. Nowadays, there are many and various systems of teaching children these elements of music, in forms that will interest and entertain them while they learn almost unconsciously.

Beginning to learn to play piano music

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Many minor upsets in the way of small emergencies may occur at any time during a concert which also the artist must not allow to put him out. For instance, he may have a difficult or unsympathetic conductor, if it is an orchestral concert, or the orchestra may be poor and unreliable, and come in at the wrong places. It once happened to me that the wrong parts had been brought for the orchestra, and when I came in to play and sat down, prepared with the E Flat Concerto of Liszt, to my horror they gaily started the opening bars of the Saint-Saens’ Concerto in C minor! There was no time Read more

To begin with, competition is very great, and in the musical world there are many more artists, and many more concerts than formerly ; also though the best talent is still most rare and precious,yet the general level of achievement is no doubt a good deal higher than it used to be. The young student therefore must seriously consider the outlook in front of him before he decides to take up the arduous career of a pianist, and I need scarcely mention that his first business should be to try and ascertain whether he has a decided disposition for the instrument. Unless he possesses this, it is in the highest degree a waste of time for him to commence the study of it at all.Of course it is hard for the young, or even for friends around them to determine the exact measure of their capacity at the outset,for real talent is in itself a fusion of so many different qualities.

Musical disposition and fame

The gift or inborn disposition for music does not necessarily develop into true talent in the sense in which I understand it,namely, as a certain power containing within it elements which are able to bring forth great superiority of attainment in whatsoever branch of the human intelligence they actuate. It is strange that the faculty of easy musical expression alone is not enough to ensure success, though people have often been deluded into thinking so, and thereby much bitter disappointment and misery have been caused to unrecognized aspirants after, fame.

Musical instinct and talent

How many there are who give the impression of being astonishingly endowed with the musical instinct, and even possess what is known as perfect pitch, which appears to be an unerring discrimination of the ear between the various sounds of the scale. Such people certainly seem to have a wonderful natural facility in all things appertaining to music, yet they often do not arrive at any particular eminence in the profession. One is told that it is such a pity “So and So” has such a genius for music, but is so lazy he will not work, or so nervous he cannot do himself justice, or that some other drawback hinders him! -But the fact probably is, in cases like these, that the musical propensity is there no doubt,sometimes even in a high measure, but the necessary talent or power is not present with it, to enable it to attain a successful development.

What, then, should the student seek for in himself when he feels that he has the gift of music and wonders whether he possesses sufficient talent accompanying it to succeed professionally? Well,he must consider, amongst other things, if he is capable of many years of hard unremitting work at the development of the technical side of his art. He must also find in himself physical endurance,courage, coolness in emergency, command of nerves, determination, inexhaustible patience, self-confidence, and, above all, such a love of his art for its own sake as will carry him over every disappointment.

But allowing that he has the signs within him of all these needful qualities, or at least he thinks he has, and he decides to take up the study of the piano seriously, he has then to make up his mind about his first practical necessity, and this is undoubtedly to go and learn with the very best teacher he can procure. There is nothing that helps so much as to bereally well taught from the very beginning. So many artists have had to go through irksome and irritating labour in later life, and lost much valuable time in having to undo the effects of bad tuition in student days.

Who is the best piano teacher

It is therefore an enormous benefit to the beginner if whoever is responsible for his education insists on his being sent from the outset to a really good and experienced professor. At this early stage, also, I estimate it as most important that the student, though he should work regularly and conscientiously, should not study for too long at a time.Personally I have always found that two hours at a stretch of careful practice is quite enough at one sitting, and it is far better to do several periods of work in the day of shorter duration than to be at it for many hours together. The mind and ear only become confused after a protracted time of work by the constant blur of sound and then the practising degenerates into merely senseless repetitions without discrimination. Besides which the fatigue and strain put upon the nerves by such protracted study are very injurious to the young student’s health, and tend to impair his constitution before any of the wear and tear of his profession begin.