tfage 80 " FEBRUARY 1920 THE ETUDE Practiced thus, this etude will give power to the fingers, and develop the stretching muscles of the hand. The student must guard against practicing too long, and I advise him not to use too much power. The arms, the wrists should be allowed to be free and supple while the fingers press firmly on the keys. All the parts of the right hand require to be practiced with the left. Etude Op. 10, No. 2 This is one of the most difficult of all the etudes in the pianistic repertoire. It requires not only the su-preme technic of the first etude, but also all the orig-nality, and it requires to be played with the greatest lightness, the most absolute suppleness and with an even and consummate pianissimo. If one is master of his fingers he may produce the effect of a delicate mur-mur, of a reverie in this little chef d'oeuvre. If one can play this etude well at M.144 to the quarter note, as indicated by Chopin, it may be played at the higher speed of 160 to the quarter note. Here is an interesting exercise for all the keys: The rhythmic practice of chromatics alone will be very useful for,obtaining great digital facility. The practice of double chromatics using one fingering for groups of three, will aid in developing the glissando necessary for this etude. - This may be extended to three notes: 3 4 5 etc. I advise, also, the practice of fragments of four measures at a time with different nuances—FF, F, Mp, P, PP. The accompanying notes played with great force, and then as lightly and distinctly as the fingers can play it. Etude 3 One of Chopin's pupils, Gutman, relates that his illustrious master often said in his presence that never had he found a more beautiful melody than this etude; and one day, while he was playing it, that Chopin sighed deeply and ejaculated, "Oh. my country!". The double notes which abound in the middle part must first be studied absolutely thoroughly to make one mas-ter of all these difficulties. Only thus may one inter-pret this magnificent work, without too greatly sacrific-ing the Rubato. Hans von Billow said of the Rubato: "One cannot apprehend from a half-baked pianist what is the Rubato of Chopin any more than one can learn from a chair what is the philosophy of Kant." Bars 32, 33 and 36, 37 should be played very rap-idly, holding back the time slightly in the last three double croches of bars 33 and 37. Bar 38-42 and 46-52 are to be played very fast. Bars 43 and 45 should be played slowly. The pedal plays an immensely impor-tant part in this etude. It must be used to shape the phrasing, to vitalize the melodic "line," and must be changed often, and with easy, sure movement, avoid-' ing the "bumping" that is the mark of the tyro in pedal technic. Practice first, emphasizing strongly the top notes— not the bottom ones—then the same with the next fingering. Shall Parents Teach Their Own Children Music? By Ben Venuto WHEN this question is propounded an array of illlus-trious examples springs into mind—the matchless Wolf -gang Amadeus Mozart, whose first and only teacher was his father, Leopold Mozart—Madame Clara Schu-mann, so admirably educated by her father, Friedrich Wieck—and not a few whole families of musicians with whom (as with the Bach family) the traditions of mu-sical art have been handed down direct from father to son (or daughter) for many generations. Or passing from the sublime to the commonplace—the present writer is only one of many teachers who can testify that some of their best-prepared and most satisfactory pupils are those who were first taught by their parents. In spite of this frank admission and these illustri-ous examples, we are firmly convinced that in most cases the parent is not the best teacher for the young music student. If the father or mother is a profes-sional musician the child's lessons are apt to be post-poned or omitted at frequent times to accommodate other engagements: this irregularity is in itself a great drawback. On the other hand, where the parent is a good musician but not an experienced teacher, there is a certainty of the same pedagogic errors in method which any other untrained teacher is sure to commit. I am not speaking now of any ignorance of purely musical facts, but of that good judgment in "grad-ing/' in length of lessons assigned, in choice of mate-rial, and of other details which can come only through long experience as a teacher, coupled with a natural talent for teaching. Where, owing to some misman-agement in these respects, the child's progress is un-satisfactory, there is apt to arise a mutual impatience and ill-feeling such as should never exist in the rela-tions between parent and child. The Chinese sage Mencius, born B. C. 371, hit the nail on the head in his remarks on this subject. Al-though what he had in mind was general education, or, possibly, instruction in manners and morals, yet his ideas apply so perfectly to musical education as well that it seems worth while to quote them almost entire: "Kung-sun Chow said: Why is it that the superior man does not himself teach his son?' "Mencius replied: 'The circumstances of the case for-bid its being done. The teacher must inculcate what is correct. When he inculcates what is correct and his lessons are not practiced he follows them up with being angry. When he follgws them up with being angry then, contrary to what should be, he is off ended with his son. * * * When father and son come to be offended with each other the case is evil. The ancients exchanged sons, and one taught the son of another/" Please observe that Mencius suggests an excellent solution of the difficulty: exchange lessons with some other teacher who has children. If no such opportu-nity offers put your child under the instruction of one of your own advanced pupils who shows an aptitude and a desire to teach. Incidentally, it will furnish her with a most splendid recommendation and be a help to her far beyond the small sum that you may pay for the child's tuition. Notice, we are using the feminine pro-noun in this last sentence: children should begin music at a very early age, where possible, and women are, without doubt, the best to deal with very youthful minds. At a later age—say from twelve years up— the male teacher begins to have a slight advantage in the matter of commanding respect and enforcing at-tention. The main point, however, is to have a really competent teacher, regardless of sex, who is some-what less familiarly associated with the child than are his own parents. Multiple Rhythm By Hazel Victoria Goodwin THE archaics discovered that one of the most charm-ing effects in music is the sustaining of two or more simultaneous melodies. We, a step further, realize the loveliness of effect in sustaining thus not only unlike melodies, but unlike rhythms. While this effect is not difficult for orchestra or chorus, it is a feat for the pianist, especially in the rhythmic combination of two, six and three. The rhythm of six always resolves itself, we remem-ber, into either a rhythm of three or a rhythm of two. When there is this simultaneous two, six and three rhythm—as follows: Two in the uppermost part, six in the middle and three in the lowest (and this occurs in well-known instances; cf. Chopin's Waltz, Opus 42 or Schumann's "Soaring"), the middle part, being am-biguous, generally mimics the bass more effectively than the soprano. This is because the soprano (other things being equal) is always the most conspicuous part, and stands evenly against competitors in the lower voices. Thus, in the case under discussion, when the alto accents a note out of every two, one will ob-serve that the piece is infinitely more compelling than when it accents one out of every three. To carry a rhythm of 34 in an alto such as this, one would, of course, slightly accent C, E-fiat, E, C, E-flat, D-flat, etc., and leave unaccented D, D-flat, F, etc. D-flat, however, partakes of the soprano mel-ody as a sustained melody note that must be kept afloat over successive alto notes and a bass chord. How to stress it in the soprano and leave it un-stressed in the alto is the question. It is an un-stressed note of the alto. And to make it appear un-stressed (though in reality it is stressed) it is neces-sary to create around it the illusion of non-stress. This can be done by leaving unstressed the other even eight-notes of the second part—that is, the D and the F—stressing C, E-flat and E. This results in the first being stressed; the second, unstressed; the third, stressed; the fourth, stressed and held; the fifth, stressed, and the sixth, unstressed. Consciousness is a unit and can focus itself upon but one thing at any one time. The pianist can no more keep his mind in full swing with a rhythm of two while he is appreciating a rhythm of three, than can two similar cubes of wood be simultaneously placed in the space occupied by one. However, the pianist can teach his fingers, with close attention, to carry rhythms later without his attention, no matter how contrary to the one in which his attention happens to be engrossed.
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