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by Penelope Roskell, pianist and Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
If we reflect on the language that we use in our teaching, we will probably notice that many of the words we use imply a rather serious, one might even say tedious view of life: practise hard, exercises, repetition, accuracy, evenness, examinations – no wonder so many students find piano playing boring compared to the fun of playing with friends or computer games!
I think we all need to remind ourselves frequently of the possible alternative words: ease, beauty, flow, flourish, caress, communication, fun, delight, and, most importantly perhaps, playfulness. I personally don’t remember ever having heard that word in any piano lesson when I was a student!
If we see and hear a true virtuoso play, we are not aware of fear or wrong notes, or stiffness in the joints, or awkward, ungainly movements. We are taken up in the joy and delight of sheer playfulness of physicality on the piano. Now, of course some people tend to look down their noses on “mere virtuosos” as somehow lacking in seriousness, and it is true that in some cases their playfulness may also equate with a certain superficiality of character. But when that delightful virtuosity is combined with depth of feeling, a rigorous intellect and real artistry, then we witness the pinnacle of piano playing in all its fullness.
It is a recognised fact that children learn more quickly and enthusiastically through play, and I believe this also applies to teaching piano technique, both for children and for adults. If we watch a child spending time alone at the piano, they delight primarily in any activities that involve movement around the piano. This might be big jumps, glissandi, staccato, big banging chords – they don’t generally relish playing the sort of two note legato “tunes” we find in many beginners’ tutor books.
Imagine how it must feel for a very active six year old to be asked not only to sit still for half an hour, but also not to move his arms beyond the middle C five-finger position (thumbs on middle C, elbows in, wrists swivelled inwards, shoulders up)! This straight-jacketed feeling can be absorbed into their experience of piano playing from the earliest stages, and can become a very entrenched habit.
Kurtag in ‘Jatekok’ (which means “Games”) attempts to address this problem in a fascinating way – approaching each aspect of piano playing with a very broad gesture (such as clusters around the piano) which then becomes more refined into a piece with notes which need to be played accurately. Various other tutor books recognise the advantage of embracing the whole of the keyboard. The Little Keyboard Monster series, for example, contains some delightfully imaginative pieces using glissandi, leaps etc. from an early level.
The fear of playing wrong notes is very powerful, and can lead to tension throughout the muscular structure. At all levels, I think it is important to balance the need for accuracy with freedom of movement, sometimes to exhort the student: “don’t worry about wrong notes at the moment – feel the technique freely first, then refine it!” Paradoxically, if we aim first for beauty of sound, muscular freedom and emotional expression, almost invariably we play more right notes in the long run.
Although I do frequently teach my students Etudes (particularly, at advanced level, the Chopin and Debussy Etudes from which so much can be learnt), I often find that much valuable time can be wasted learning several pages of somewhat indifferent music for just one aspect of technique – time which could have been much better spent learning some great repertoire. I feel there is much benefit to be gained for each teacher to develop his own notebook of very short exercises which cover all the necessary movements require for specific techniques. These should be simple and short enough to be taught by imitation, rather than by note-learning. The resulting enjoyment is liberating.
I was recently teaching an adult pupil the ‘Prelude’ from Pour le Piano (Debussy). She had worked at it very thoroughly, but the result was somewhat heavy and wooden. So, we started to make up some exercises together (perhaps I can now call these “games”) which were partly based on passages in this piece.
These exercises are very difficult to describe, because the main feature of them is of fluid, swirling hand and arm movements which flow, interact and overlap each other (if you have ever seen a chef tossing pizza dough between his hand you will know the sort of movements I mean). The arm, wrist and hand are extremely soft and fluid and the fingers just “play” very lightly on the keys. Each exercise should be played as fast as possible – caution is not recommended. There is no credit to be gained from playing correct notes, but the beauty of sound is encouraged. In fact, all the exercises are played by imitation (not reading the notes) so that the tension of note-reading and the fear of playing wrong notes are eliminated.
Each piece can be the starting point for similar “games”, and game can be simplified or made more complex, depending on the level of the student. The pupils themselves can start to make up their own. One new technique can be introduced in each lesson in this very amiable way. The possibilities are endless – and fun!
© Penelope Roskell
(This article first appeared in the summer 2012 issue of ‘Piano Professional’, the journal of the European Piano Teachers’ Association.)
Penelope Roskell is equally renowned as a performer of international calibre and as an inspirational teacher and professor of piano at Trinity College of Music. Full biography here.
For information about courses, private tuition, books and DVDs please visit:
Sutton House
Sutton House in Hackney, east London, is truly a ‘hidden gem’. Built in 1535, the house, now owned by the National Trust, holds a fascinating juxtaposition of oak-panelled Tudor rooms, Jacobean wall paintings and Georgian and Victorian interiors.
Sutton House Music Society, of which my teacher, Penelope Roskell, is Artistic Director, has a busy and varied programme of chamber concerts, which take place in The Barn, a relaxed and intimate recital space. Upcoming concerts include ‘The Art of Encore’ with Philip Fowke, and a performance by members of the Fitzwilliam Quartet with Penelope Roskell in music by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Kodály.
Sutton House is a unique venue which deserves our support. Do go along to a concert if you can.
Further information, including tickets, here
There are still places available on Penelope Roskell’s Spring course (16th-18th March). Penelope is an inspiring and dedicated teacher, and the courses, which are open to all advanced pianists (Grade 8 – post-diploma), amateur, student or professional, offer a very supportive and stimulating learning environment.
Taking place over three days, the March course will focus on repertoire, technique, and yoga for pianists, and is ideal for pianists preparing for concerts, competitions, diplomas or auditions, or for anyone suffering from technical problems, physical tension, injuries or nerves. The course is run as a series of masterclasses with plenty of opportunities for discussion and exchange of ideas, and ends with an informal concert on the Sunday afternoon.
Limited to eight students per course for maximum participation – two scholarships available.
Penelope Roskell is an international concert pianist, and Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Please contact Penelope direct for further information or to book a place
Dates: Friday 16 March – Sunday 18 March 2012, 10am – 5pm
Course fee: £195 (ISM and EPTA members £185)
Venue
The Studio
66 Queen Elizabeth’s Walk
Stoke Newington
LONDON
N16 5UQ
Tel. 0208 802 6258
Email peneloperoskell@blueyonder.co.uk
My teacher, Penelope Roskell, is running a number of courses for pianists and piano teachers through the autumn and into next year. I have attended two of her weekend courses for advanced pianists and her one-day workshop for piano teachers, and can thoroughly recommend them. She is a patient, skilled and inspiring teacher, and the courses are very stimulating and supportive. For further information about any of these courses, please contact Penelope direct (details at end of post).
NEW ONE-DAY PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP – 19/20 November 2011
A relaxed, supportive opportunity for pianists Grade 7/8 and above to meet other pianists and work on own-choice repertoire. May be of particular interest to pianists who do not feel ready to attend an intensive, three-day course but are looking for advice and inspiration.
Fee £60 (half-day £35)
NEW FOLLOW UP WORKSHOP FOR PIANO TEACHERS – Sunday 22nd April 2012 10.30-4.30
Open to anyone who has already studied with Penelope in private lessons or workshops. The day will be devoted to discussing certain aspects of piano teaching in more depth, provisionally including fingering, pedalling and performance anxiety and all aspects of piano touch.
Fee £65 (ISM and EPTA members £60)
THREE-DAY ADVANCED PIANO COURSES – 16-18 Sept 2011, 16-18 March 2012, 21-23 September 2012
Intensive courses for advanced pianists (professional, students or amateur), including work on repertoire, technique and yoga for pianists and end-of-course concert.
Course fee £190 (ISM and EPTA members £180, students £120). One-day attendance is possible (fee £70)
There are places still available on the September course.
WORKSHOP FOR PIANO TEACHERS on Teaching Piano Technique – Sunday October 16th 2011, 10.30-4.30
Intensive one-day workshop for piano teachers discussing methods of teaching all aspects of piano technique. Course fee: £65 (ISM and EPTA members £60)
ADULT AMATEUR STOKE NEWINGTON PIANO GROUP
Monthly gatherings for adult amateurs and piano teachers wanting an opportunity to receive some inspirational input and share repertoire and ideas (provisionally on first Monday of the month, 7.30-9.30 term-time). Please contact Penelope for further details, dates etc.
All workshops, courses and group sessions take place at 66 Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, London N16 5UQ
Tel: 020 8802 6258
email: peneloperoskell@blueyonder.co.uk
More on piano courses here
There are places still available on my teacher’s advanced piano course in September (16th-18th). The course is held in her home in north London, and is open to all pianists of a high standard, from international performers to piano students, piano teachers and advanced amateurs. All participants have the option to play in an informal concert at the end of the course.
The course includes work on repertoire, technique, and teaching and study methods, and also incorporates yoga for pianists and healthy piano technique. The course is particularly helpful for pianists preparing for concerts, auditions, diplomas, or for anyone suffering from technical difficulties, physical tension, injuries or nerves.
The course runs from 10am to 5pm Friday to Sunday, with breaks for coffee, lunch and tea. Everyone has the opportunity to play at least once every day.
Penelope Roskell is an inspiring and patient teacher, and the course offers a very supportive and friendly working environment.
Venue: The Studio, 66 Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, Stoke Newington, London N16 5UQ Tel. 0208 802 6258
Fee: £180 (students £140). Two scholarships/bursaries are available.
Further information including an application form from: peneloperoskell@blueyonder.co.uk
I have blogged before about the importance of warm up exercises ahead of a practice session (Piano Pilates). Now, as many tired, overworked piano teachers look forward to the end of term, keeping the body fit and flexible seems even more important. I suffer from a chronic back problem, the result of teaching from left to right (because of my eyesight – yes, I really am cross-eyed!), which is only partially relieved by sitting in a swivel chair when I’m working. A termly session with my osteopath usually puts me right, and in the interim, I do regular Pilates to keep the pain in check.
At a course on teaching piano technique I attended recently, run by my teacher, a number of attendees asked for information on warm up exercises. I suspect they were expecting Penelope to suggest the traditional fare of scales, arpeggios and similar velocity studies. Instead, she said “For that, we need to go into the garden”. Standing in a friendly circle, we all waved our arms around, rolled our shoulders and indulged in deep thoracic breathing. The exercises are listed in my Piano Pilates article (see above) and I can thoroughly recommend them. Not only do they warm up the hands, arms and shoulders prior to playing, they also encourage mobility in the shoulders and back, both crucial parts of the anatomy which are too often overlooked. To these simple exercises, I would now add “brushing the hair on the wrong side” (sweep the side of your head with the opposite hand, as if brushing your hair, another shoulder mobility exercises). I have noticed a marked improvement in my pianistic aches and pains, and, crucially, virtually no pain in my right hand (which is prone to tenosynovitis), and, as a consequence, my playing is better and my practising more productive.
These exercises, all of them, or a selection, are also great preparation ahead of a performance or exam. The deep breathing is particularly good to focus mind and body away from anxiety: I got one of my adult students to do this before her exam on Saturday.
The British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) has helpful health advice for musicians, including preventing injury and dealing with performing anxiety. Free clinics are available for part-time and student musicians, plus a list of health practitioners around the UK who are affiliated to BAPAM. More information here. BAPAM helpsheet of simple warm up exercises.
Yoga for Musicians DVD by Penelope Roskell with Catherine Nelson (includes my teacher’s warm up exercises).
My piano teacher, Penelope Roskell, performed at Sutton House, in Hackney on Sunday evening, in a fascinating programme in which she juxtaposed the reason of Bach with the mercurial romance of Schumann. Read my review for Bachtrack.com here.
Penelope Roskell is an acclaimed concert pianist and Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, and is Artistic Director of Sutton House Music Society.
My piano teacher, Penelope Roskell, is peforming in two concerts at the delightful and intimate small venue Sutton House this month and next.
Sunday 15th May, 7pm
‘An English Summer Evening’ – Fitzwilliam String Quartet with Penelope Roskell
Artists in residence, the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, and Artistic Director of SHMS, Penelope Roskell, present a programme celebrating the work of those two quintessentially English composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar. Both the works being performed were written during war-time and are profound and intense music.
Ralph Vaughan Williams - String Quartet No. 2 (‘for Jean on her birthday’)
Sir Edward Elgar - Piano Quintet in A minor Op. 84
To reflect the English nature of the concert, there will be Pimms and Punch on sale from 6.30pm and during the interval. The bar will also be open after the concert to allow audience members to enjoy a drink with the performers.
Sunday 19th June, 7pm
‘Reason and Romance’
A solo concert by Penelope Roskell, juxtaposing the reason and intellect of J S Bach with the mercurial romance of Robert Schumann.
J S Bach - Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue
Robert Schumann – ‘Papillons’
J S Bach - French Suite No. 2 in C minor
J S Bach – Partita No. 5 in G
Robert Schumann - Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor
Sparkling wine will be on sale with complimentary strawberries and cream in the courtyard during the interval.
Sutton House, a National Trust House in Hackney, is a really lovely venue. I was very impressed the first time I visited, two year’s ago, both by the quality of the performances, and the commitment and support of the audience.
For more information and online booking go to www.shms.org.uk
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