Studio News
January,
2007
--
Performance
Opportunities Guidelines to
Expression Keys to
Expression Clementi
Happy New Year to all! I hope
everyone has had a refreshing and enjoyable break. It is great to have some students back already. I look forward to seeing everyone else soon.
This issue of Studio News looks at elements of expression in music and
introduces a very important composer of early piano music, Italian born Muzio
Clementi.
Clementi
contributed to the creation of the piano instrument and to methods of practice.
He was an entrepreneur, editor, composer, performer and teacher.
^
Performance
Opportunities, 2007
Student
Recitals: I am planning to hold an informal get-together for students, and
any family members who wish to attend, once every term.
The first for young students might be held on Sunday 25th
March, although dates are yet to be determined and I am open to suggestions for
preferences. There will also be a
major, formal occasion (similar to the one held last November) later in term 4,
with presentations and a party.
AMEB
Piano Exams: Piano exams, held between 21 April to 9 June and again later in
the year at Penrith and the City, start from Preliminary Grade and progress to
Diploma levels. Entry fees begin at $56.
For these exams, students study several pieces, technical work (scales),
aural work and some general knowledge. The
exams give students an opportunity to receive certificates that formally
recognise their level of accomplishment in piano playing.
AMEB
Written Exams: Theory, Musicianship and MusicCraft exams are held in May and
August. Theory and Musicianship
exams cost from $55. MusicCraft is
free this August. Like the
practical exams, students have the opportunity to receive certification for
their knowledge.
Eisteddfods:
A number of regional Eisteddfods are held
throughout the year with age groups starting at 6 and under and including a
first time entry class for older students.
Most entries are $5 to $10. Eisteddfods
offer yet another type of performance experience and culture.
Approximate dates for the different regions are: Parramatta District, 19th
May to 3rd June (entries due by 2nd March); Galston
District, end of October; and Penrith District, July / August.
^
Guidelines
to Musical Expression
Expression makes music meaningful in the same way as changes in the way we talk
give meaning to our words. When we
talk, we add expression to our voices - rises and falls of volume and breathing
breaks, as well as changes in pitch. We
can give very different messages to our listeners using the same words. If we
talk with a monotone (no variation), people struggle to follow what we are
saying – and quickly give up trying. With music, different uses of expression
tell different stories, carrying different moods or feelings to our audience.
Similarly, composers’ works have different characteristics, almost like the
accents and dialects of speech. Just
like we can recognise a friend’s voice on the phone, we can recognise a
composer’s style by how they use clarity, intensity and phrasing of notes –
the things each typically ‘says’ – and each pianist needs to come to
‘know the voice’ of each composer. A
musical pianist imitates the composer’s voice, combining this with his or her
own.
Although there is variety in the voice of composers, there are some common rules
(like rules of grammar) that are used to code these voices – rules that we use
to read the music score and guide the expression in our piano playing.
Some of these rules are explained below.
Dynamic
Markings: (including ppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff, rf, sfz) give
instructions about how loud or soft to play a section of music – e.g. p uses
less speed when pressing the keys, thereby producing a softer sound.
Dynamic markings are the most obvious signs of expression.
Melodic Shaping: Melodies are a chain of notes that sound pleasing when
sung or played one after the other. Melodies
move up and down between notes, creating a contour of highs and lows.
Often, as notes become higher in pitch, the volume also increases and as
notes move lower, the volume decreases. It
is good to explore matching the shape with the volume to see if this adds
character to the music. The highest
note in a phrase is often the climax. Playing
the highest note slightly louder can bring it out even more.
Accents:
Accents (a small arrow sign at the head of a note >) and stress marks ( _
) show that a note is to be played slightly louder than those on either side.
Crescendo
and Decrescendo: Written as cresc. or decresc.
or as crocodile jaws, these signs mean to gradually decrease (decresc.)
or increase (cresc.) the volume of a section.
Rhythmic
Form: For most genres of music (excluding some jazz
and folk dances), the first note of each bar is slightly stronger / louder than
the other notes in the bar.
Long Slurs: Rainbow-shaped
marks, that cover a long chain of notes, indicate sounds that belong together
– like a sentence. The notes
underneath long slurs are played smoothly, with a slight lifting of the hand off
the keys at the end of the slur. Long
slurs often cover notes that form the melody.
Short
Slurs: Small rainbow-shaped marks, that cover two or
three different notes, indicate a heavier drop of the hand onto the first note
and a rolling of the hand up and off the last note.
Harmonies:
The harmony is the group of notes that support the melody, creating a sense of
mood. Harmonies have ‘voices’,
just like melodies. The strong
notes of harmonies are easier to find by playing accompaniment notes as block
chords and listening very carefully. The
strong harmony notes need to be shaped in the same way as the melody.
Ornaments:
There are
many different
types of
ornaments. They
are sometimes written as small notes
beside other notes, or with small, wavy signs above notes – depending on the
extra notes to be added. Ornaments
add expression by directing attention to the following notes and increasing the
layers of sound.
Repetition:
When a series of notes is immediately repeated, the second time is either like
an echo (played more quietly) or the reinforcement of an idea (played a little
louder).
Period
and Style:
Because of culture and the features of the keyboard instrument over time, each
period of music has different characteristics of expression, adding to the
distinctive voices of the composers. Earlier
instruments had lighter sounds. Depth
of sound was produced by the layering of notes and by ornamentation.
Later instruments were capable of more variation and thicker tones.
Composers wrote according to the capabilities of the available
instruments and it is the modern pianist’s task to imitate these qualities.
^
Keys
to Expression - In Practice
Because of the mechanical construction of the piano, there are three basic ways
to produce expressive shadings. (The
4 different pedal types also change the character of sound, but this is another
subject.)
^
Muzio
Clementi
Muzio Clementi, born in
Rome on 24th January 1752, was a pioneer of the modern piano.
Clementi was the oldest of seven children.
He began learning about music when he was little, and started keyboard
lessons (organ) when he was 7. He
learnt so quickly that he began playing publicly at 9 years of age – as a
church organist. Clementi began composing soon after beginning lessons and was
recognised as a talented composer at 14.
When Clementi was 14, a wealthy Englishman (Sir Peter Beckford) took him to
England, providing for his education in exchange for his services as a performer
in Beckford’s house. Clementi
learnt to play harpsichord and was introduced to the new instrument, the piano
– at that time, because of the Industrial Revolution, the piano was changing
very as quickly, like the computer is these days.
In 1770, at 18 years of age, Clementi gave the first public piano performance
ever – beginning one of the most successful concert performance careers in
history. By 1780, many people
thought Clementi was the best pianist in the world and he was asked to compete
against Wolfgang Mozart at Vienna. The
Austrian Emperor, Joseph II, decided that Clementi and Mozart were equally good
at playing and improvising.
Clementi later stopped performing to focus on teaching, composing and building
pianos. One of Clementi’s
students was John Field - the inventor of a Romantic form, called the Nocturne,
and a major influence on Chopin. He
had other famous students.
Clementi wrote pieces for studying piano playing and developing technical
skills. His pieces are still very
important for modern pianists – intermediate students study his Sonatinas and
advanced students study his Sonatas. His
100+ lesson pieces are in several volumes, called Gradus ad Parnassum.
His music combines clear, technical precision with interesting melodies
– rather like Ludwig van Beethoven.
Clementi is thought of as the father of modern piano playing and part creator of
the instrument. As a very good businessman, and a lover of everything related
to the new and popular piano, Clementi was very active in establishing its
access
ibility.
Clementi was the first composer to write for the piano and the first
piano virtuoso performer.
Clementi
also ran a business as a music publisher. His
work was so much admired by Beethoven, that Clementi was given all rights to
editing and publishing Beethoven’s music.
Clementi might have made some major changes to Beethoven’s compositions
before they were printed. Beethoven’s
pieces almost certainly also contain the ‘voice’ of Clementi.
Clementi died in 1832, a very wealthy and famous man.
Clementi also established the London Philharmonic Society.
Annah-Valerie
Hyrst (teacher)
Individual
Dynamics
Rouse
Hill, NSW
Muzio Clementi, born in
Rome on 24th January 1752, was a pioneer of the modern piano.
ibility.
Clementi was the first composer to write for the piano and the first
piano virtuoso performer. 
