Memorizing
"I should like to add a few words with regard to committing pieces to memory. There are three ways. 1, By sight; that is, seeing the notes in your mind's eye; 2, memorizing by 'ear,' the way which comes to one most naturally; 3, memorizing by the fingers, that is training the fingers to do their duty no matter what happens. Before performing in public the student should have memorized the composition in all of these ways. Only thus can he be absolutely sure of himself. If one way fails him the other method comes to his rescue.
"After careful attention has been given to the various points of which I have spoken and the details of the composition satisfactorily worked out the student should practice with a view to learning the piece as a whole. Nothing is so distressing to the musician as a piece which does not seem to have coherence and unity. It should be regarded aurally as the artist regards his work visually. The painter stands off at some distance to look at his work in order to see whether all parts of his painting harmonize. The pianist must do much the same thing. He must listen to his work time and time again and if it does not seem to 'hang together' he must unify all the parts until he can give a real interpretation instead of a collection of disjointed sections. This demands grasp, insight and talent, three qualifications without which the pianist cannot hope for large success."
Questions in Style, Interpretation, Expression
and Technic of Pianoforte Playing
SERIES XVIII
ernest schelling
| 1. | What should be the preliminary study of a new composition? |
| 2. | How should the mechanical difficulties of the piece be studied? |
| 3. | How may one find the bearing of one movement upon another? |
| 4. | State the importance of deciding upon the appropriate touch. |
| 5. | How may the right tempo be established? |
| 6. | What did Chopin call the left hand? |
| 7. | What is it in playing that sways the audience? |
| 8. | How should the fingering of a new piece be studied? |
| 9. | Why is a more difficult fingering sometimes preferable? |
| 10. | Give a practical plan for memorizing. |