Piano Playing Part 21

PITCH AND KINDRED MATTERS

[Sidenote: _The International Pitch_]

What is meant by "pitch" as regards piano tuning? People say that a certain piano is pitched lower than another. Would E on one piano actually sound like F on another?

Yes, it would if the pianos were not pitched alike. It is only recently that an international pitch has been established which was adopted everywhere except in England. In the international pitch the A in the second s.p.a.ce of the treble staff makes 435 vibrations a second.

[Sidenote: _The "International" Piano Pitch_]

Which piano pitch is preferable, "concert" or "international"?

By all means the "international," because it will fit your piano to be used in conjunction with any other instrument, no matter whence it may come. Besides, the international pitch was decided upon as far back as 1859, in Paris, by a government commission, numbering among its members such men as Auber, Halevy, Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Ambroise Thomas, and many physicists and army generals. You can easily infer from this that, in determining that the A in the second s.p.a.ce of the treble staff should have 435 vibrations a second, all phases of music--vocal, instrumental, string, bra.s.s, wood, wind--have been duly considered.

[Sidenote: _The Well-Tempered Piano Scale_]

Is there really a difference of three-eighths of a tone between A-sharp and B-flat on the piano?

There is no difference on the piano. But acoustically there is a difference, over which, however, I would waste no time, since the evenly-tempered scale has been generally adopted, and every composition from Bach's time to the present day has been thought and written in it.

[Sidenote: _The "Colour" of Various Keys_]

Is it not a mistaken idea that any one particular key is more or less rich or melodious than another?

The effect of a tonality upon our hearing lies not in its signature (as even Beethoven seemed to believe) but in the vibration proportions. It is, therefore, irrelevant whether we play a piece upon a high-pitched piano in C, or upon a low-pitched piano in D flat. There are certain keys preferable to others for certain colours, but I fear that the preference is based not upon acoustic qualities but rather upon a fitness for the hand or voice. We apply the word "colour" as much to tone as the painters apply "tone" to colour, but I hardly think that anybody would speak of C major as representing black, or F major green.

THE STUDENT'S AGE

[Sidenote: _Starting a Child's Musical Training_]

At what age should a child begin the study of instrumental music? If my daughter (six years old) is to study the violin should she first spend a few years with the piano, or _vice versa_?

The usual age for a child to begin the study of music is between six and seven years. A pianist hardly needs to learn another instrument to become a well-rounded musician, but violinists, as well as the players of all other instruments, and also vocalists, will be much hampered in their general musical development if they fail to acquire what may be called a speaking acquaintance with the piano.

[Sidenote: _Age of the Student is Immaterial_]

I am not longer in my first youth, cannot take more than one hour's lesson a week, and cannot practise more than three hours a day. Would you still advise me to begin the study of the piano?

Provided there is gift and intelligence, the will, and the opportunity to study, age need not stand in your way. If your three hours of study are properly used, and your hour's lesson a week is with a good teacher, you should not become discouraged.

[Sidenote: _Twenty-five Not Too Late to Begin_]

Do you think that mastery of the piano is unlikely or impossible when the beginner is twenty-five years of age?

It is neither unlikely nor impossible. Your age will to some degree handicap you, because from purely physical causes the elasticity of the fingers and wrists could be developed much more quickly if you were ten years younger. If, however, you are endowed with strong musical gifts in the abstract you will achieve results superior to those attained by younger people with less talent. In overcoming the difficulties due to a late beginning you will find great inward satisfaction, and your attainments are bound to be a source of joy to you.

TEACHERS, LESSONS AND METHODS

[Sidenote: _The Importance of the Right Teacher_]

I have a son who is very desirous of learning to play the piano. I have been advised that an ordinarily good teacher is good enough to begin with. Others tell me a beginner should get the best teacher possible.

Which would you advise? I live in a small town.

The seriousness of your question is aggravated by the statement that you live in a small town, and that there is possibly no teacher of ability to be found in your town. And yet it is only such a one that I can recommend for your son. For nothing is more dangerous for the development of a talent than a bad foundation. Many people have tried all their lives to rid themselves of the bad habits acquired from an ignorant teacher in the rudimentary stages of their studies, and have failed. I should advise you to try your best to send your boy to some near-by city where there is an excellent teacher.

[Sidenote: _Nothing But the Best Will Do_]

Wishing to begin the study of the piano now, in my twenty-fourth year, just for the sake of my great love for music, and knowing not even the notes, is it necessary to go to an expensive teacher at once or would a cheaper teacher do for the beginning?

If music is to be merely a pastime, and you content yourself with a minimum of knowledge, the cheaper teacher will do; but if you aspire to become musical in a better sense, why, by all means, apply to a teacher of the better cla.s.s. The maxim: "For the beginning this or that is good enough," is one of the most harmful fallacies. What would you think of an architect who says: "For the foundation loam is good enough; we put a sandstone house over it, any way." Remember also, that the road a cheaper teacher has led you to take must usually be retraced when your aspirations rise toward the better in music.

[Sidenote: _Music Schools and Private Teachers_]

Shall I take my lessons in a music school or from a private teacher?

Music schools are very good for acquiring a general musical education.

For the higher study of an executive specialty (piano, violin, the voice, etc.) I should naturally prefer private instruction from a specialist, because he can give more attention to each individual pupil than is possible under the wholesale system followed, not by all, but by the majority of music schools. What I should advise would be a combination: General matters--harmony, counterpoint, forms, history, and aesthetics--in a music school; and private lessons for your specialty from a teacher who has an established name as an executive artist. The best music schools have such a man at their head, and in these you find the best combination.

[Sidenote: _Individual Teacher, or Conservatory?_]

After taking lessons for five years and a half from a good teacher, would you advise a continuance with the individual teacher or attendance at a college of music or conservatory?

For a general musical education I always recommend a good music school or conservatory. For the study of the piano I think it best to take private lessons from an artist who is experienced both as an executant and as a teacher. Some music schools have such men on their staff, if not, indeed, at their head.

[Sidenote: _Where Outside Criticism Is Desirable_]

Having had twenty months' lessons and having now mastered Etudes by Berens, opus 61, by h.e.l.ler, opus 47, and Smith's Octave Studies, do you think I am justified in continuing my lessons?

a.s.suming that you have really "mastered" the works you mention I can only encourage you to continue your lessons; I would, however, advise you to obtain an experienced pianist's criticism in order to a.s.sure yourself that your idea of "mastering" is right.

[Sidenote: _The s.e.x of the Piano Teacher_]

Is there any preference as to s.e.x in the question of choosing a piano teacher; in other words, is a woman teacher preferable for any reason for a girl and a man teacher for a man?

Your question does not admit of generalization from a purely musical point of view. It must be--on this premise--decided by the quality, not by the s.e.x, of the teacher. A good feminine teacher is better than a bad masculine one, and _vice versa_. The question of s.e.x does not enter into the matter. Of course, the greater number of eminent teachers are found on the masculine side.

[Sidenote: _Too Much "Method"_]

My recently engaged teacher says that the word "method" jars on her nerves. Kindly advise me whether a method is not the best thing for a novice, and, if so, which one?

Your teacher, while possibly a little over-sensitive, is not wrong.

America is the most method-ridden country in the world. Most of the methods in vogue contain some good points--about a grain of truth to a ton of mere ballast. Your teacher's utterance makes me think that you were lucky in finding her, and that you have excellent reason to trust in her guidance.

[Sidenote: _What the Leschetizky Method Is_]

How does the Leschetizky method rank with other methods, and in what respect does it differ from them?