Tone

 

Much has been said and written about tone quality. Most people would agree you want a beautiful tone at the piano. However, virtually no one can describe what makes a tone beautiful (or not beautiful), much less how to achieve it. As for what makes a tone beautiful, they would probably just say "you'll know it when you hear it" -- not very useful if you are a student of the piano. There are myriad ways that teachers of the piano will tell you how to achieve a beautiful tone, but, as with many other aspects of playing the piano, there is a lot of "hokum" out there, that is, ideas and beliefs that have been passed down from one teacher to the next, and so on, without having been actually investigated to see if those ideas can be substantiated.

Of course, a great deal of the tone quality will be determined by the instrument itself. Its workmanship, materials, overall condition and age will all be very large factors in the tone quality. However, a poor pianist will still not sound beautiful on a magnificent instrument, and a superb pianist can make a mediocre piano sound wonderful. Clearly, there is more to it than just the instrument itself.

On the violin, for example, your left hand is in direct contact with the string, which gives you some control over the sound. However, it is the bow drawing over the string which actually creates the sound, so you are still one step removed, so to speak, from the direct contact with the the string with the right hand, which draws the bow. (The hand on the string creates the vibrato, which is a major element of the sound.)

On the piano, however, neither hand is in direct contact with the strings. Your hands depress the key which triggers the hammer to strike the string. At first glance it might be hard to see how you can have much control at all as to how the hammer hits the string. It is fairly easy to recognize that if the hammer hits the string with more force the sound created will be louder, and softer if it is hit with less force. So the question is, besides dynamics (loud vs. soft), is there any other aspect of tone that we, as pianists, can control? 

Before I answer that, I'd like to tell you what one one my earlier teachers (who had been a famous pianist) told me about tone quality (which was told to him by his teacher, and so on down the line, back many generations). He said that to achieve a beautiful tone, you must depress the key all the way down to the key bed, meaning as far as it can go. It was assumed that going deep into the key translated to a "deep" sound. You can probably see one problem with this right away. How would you achieve the light effervescent sound required by much of Debussy and Ravel? That lighter-than-air, extremely delicate sound (such as in Jeux D'eau by Ravel, which is supposed to evoke the sound of a fountain), could not possibly be achieved by depressing the keys to the key bed. And yet, when well-played, you would certainly say the tone is beautiful.

The other problem with this theory is that the physics, or mechanics, of the piano don't support it. Press a key down slowly and you will feel a point of resistance; it is exactly at that point that the hammer is triggered. You can still depress the key a small amount past that point, but it doesn't do anything at all. So any depression of the key past the point where the hammer is triggered is pure waste. If you were wanting to play lightning fast, for example, you can't afford any waste.

Despite the obvious problems with this idea, it persists among teachers, and students continue to be given this misinformation.

Some people reading this might vehemently disagree with what I am about to say. But here it is: the only thing we pianists have to control the so-called tone are dynamics and timing.

Imagine a long line that you draw with a pen on paper. Now imagine that that line is actually comprised of thousands of tiny dots, or points. (Which it is, according to math!) If any dot on that line is too large, too small, or slightly out of place, you will notice it and the long arc of the line will be disturbed. 

Now imagine that the line is a long phrase in music, and the points are the notes. It is really the line you want to be aware of more than the individual points. This is  the paradox: although the notes make up the phrase, it is really the phrase that you find beautiful. One or two or three notes by themselves are not terribly interesting; you must have the phrase to have music. If, as you are playing a phrase of music, some of your notes are too loud or too soft they may be out of place and the phrase will be disturbed, or broken. When I say too loud or too soft, I mean relative to the notes around it.  Our ear picks up that something has "jumped out" of the line. In other words, the dynamics must be so well-controlled, whether the overall phrase is loud, soft, and moving between loud and soft, that nothing is out of place.

The other way a note (or notes) will be heard to be out of place is if they are out of rhythm, even if only by a fraction of a second. (It's amazing, but true, that our ears can hear this, especially if you are a trained musician.) I'm not speaking here of learning the rhythm incorrectly, but rather of a faulty technique which causes some notes to be a fraction "ahead" or "behind" of where they should fall on the line, again, relative to the notes around them. This is often the result of a technique based solely on fingers. The arm is necessary to create the long line of a phrase.  Whether the particular passage is fast, slow, speeding up or slowing down, timing must be exquisite if the music is to sound beautiful.

This is where masterful technique comes in to play -- creating phrase after phrase each of which has a "long line," with nothing jumping out to disrupt it. The phrase is like a wave which propels you forward in the music.

In summary, when you hear someone play and think they have created a beautiful tone, in fact what you are hearing is their beautiful phrasing. 

Practicing to Build Your Brain Power

 

Many of my adult students tell me that one of the reasons they want to play the piano is because they want to keep their brains young and ward off the dreaded dementia of old age. Most people seem to be aware that research clearly shows that certain activities help keep the brain "fit," and playing a musical instrument is high on that list. Playing the piano is said to be at the very top of the list. There are several reasons for this.

But this does not mean that any old way of playing the piano will do the trick. There are certain habits and skills that must be developed in order for the brain to get the most benefit. In this post I will cover the major ways to practice that will keep your brain young. Many of these topics have been covered in previous posts, but here I will highlight how they help the brain.

1. Play hands together as close to 100% of the time as you can. 

Using both hands simultaneously builds the corpus callosum, which is the area between the two hemispheres of the brain. Essentially it is a tightly packed network of connecting nerve fibers. Everyone has this area, but playing the piano causes more connections to be formed. I have read that when an autopsy is done and the brain examined, it can be determined immediately whether the person was a pianist, just by observing the highly developed corpus callosum. People may say "but it's so difficult to play hands together!" That is because the corpus callosum is not yet developed enough. That is why you must play hands together anyway -- so that you build the corpus callosum, which in turn will make it easier to play hands together. Even if you just play a simplified part in one hand -- just so long as one hand is not in your lap -- the corpus callosum will continue to grow.

If you are a more advanced player and want to take your brain skills to the next level, play with hands crossed. I don't mean a whole piece or a difficult piece at full speed. Just start by taking a short passage from the music you are playing and literally cross your hands, so the right hand plays the left hand's part and vice versa, and play as slowly as necessary to accomplish it. Then immediately go back to playing it normally and see if it doesn't feel amazingly easier! I can't explain the scientific reason (although there is some research on this), but I am 100% certain this helps build the brain's capabilities.

2. Develop the ear. 

Of course when we speak of the ear in music, we are talking about the auditory cortex in the brain. Again, the ear is being used and minimally developed even with the most basic playing. But if you want to really develop the ear, you have to challenge it (just like stressing muscles makes them stronger). This can be done by playing by ear and transposing. When I speak of transposing, I am referring to taking a piece of music and playing it in a different key. This can be done by eye (if using written music) or by ear, or a combination of both. Using the ear as much as possible is what will help build the ear. 

Another way to strengthen your ear is to sing! If you stop to think about it, you will recognize that the ear and vocal chords have a direct connection. You cannot see your vocal chords or direct them how to sing a given note; the brain just sends the signal and the vocal chords respond. Many people have trouble singing on key, but this is not a deficiency in their vocal chords -- it is a deficiency in the auditory cortex. So sing whenever possible and make every effort to sing on key. It helps to have a teacher to guide you through this if you find it difficult, but it can be done to some degree on your own. Make a habit of singing. (Hopefully it will also bring you joy!)

3. Memorize.

It is well known that one of the first things to go as most people age is their memory. If you want to keep your memory strong, you must use it! These days with all your phone numbers, birthdays, and much other information programmed into your phone or computer, there are far fewer opportunities to use your memory than there used to be. I recommend you try memorizing the phone numbers and birthdays of several people, just to make sure you can do it. Then expand to more quantity of information. It might seem like a hassle, but your brain will thank you for it.

Memorizing music is among the best ways to keep your memory strong. If you find it difficult to memorize, start with a very simple piece that you have learned and commit it to memory. Then keep going with progressively more complex music. There is a great deal to be said about how to memorize securely, too much for this post. Again, a really great teacher can help you. If you have learned the piece by ear, as opposed to from reading the written notes, then you automatically have it memorized. This proves that ear and memory are intimately connected. The more you build your ear the better your memory will be, and vice versa.

4. Recognize patterns.

Music is full of patterns. Repeating themes and motifs are what hold music together, so to speak. Without patterns it would just be rambling unrelated tones. Some patterns are obvious and some are more subtle. In any music you play, learn to identify the patterns. Pattern recognition is a part of many IQ and other cognitive tests, which shows it is an important skill for the brain. 

It is believed that playing an instrument such as the piano uses more parts of your brain simultaneously than any other activity. It uses the parts of the brain that control motor skills, auditory, visual (as in reading music), cognitive ability and emotions. (Don't forget about always playing with emotional involvement or you will miss out on that part!) So you can see why playing the piano is the ultimate brain-development hobby. No sport or other artistic endeavor can even come close.