Hello everyone.
I have been asked to write an essay on different piano techniques. However, although it is a word I have heard used many times, I've never really known what they mean.
To start me off, could anyone name a few tecniques for me, please?
Thankyou

Hi. Lots that you can write about. I would begin with a brief description of the instrument and how it functions. Then perhaps discuss the basics of sitting at the instrument; how far from the keys to position oneself, the position of the back, shoulders, upper and forearms and wrists. Then perhaps talk about finger positions and action, including octave playing, chord playing and rapid fingerwork etc. Explain how the pedals work, including the third one, and the positions for your legs and feet. Then you could talk about the way that the keys are depressed and about how to get the hammers to strike to produce a bright or a more mellow sound, and how to alter the dynamics of the thing. Talk about the different types of staccato, and the ways to produce a good legato too. You could explain how to play scales and arpeggios too, and write about crossing under of the thumbs and crossing over of fingers. Good luck with it. I am sure that there will be plenty of other ideas added by other forumites too.

Quick answer - will be back later - "Technique" to me means the physical way you go about doing the following (amongst many other things):

Playing cantabile in one hand
Playing a good alberti bass
Trills
Playing long, light hemi-demi-semiquaver runs

How do you hold your hand for these things? Where does the weight come from, as in the wrist of the shoulder? Etc, etc.

Each little thing is probably worthy of a thread in its own right, and it might also be worth looking through old threads for ideas.

Good luck!

Hi

Interesting question. "Different piano techniques." I don't know what they mean, either.

If you google "piano technique" you'll find the entries give similar advice about posture, hand shape &c. In summary one might say that there is a correct technique and it is the one that makes playing the piano as effortless as possible.

So what does the questioner mean by *different* piano techniques?

Perhaps they mean differences driven by the nature of the music. So, for example, baroque music composed on earlier, more fragile pianos could be said to require a different touch than romantic music composed on much sturdier instruments.

Perhaps they mean differences driven by the tuning (or temperament) of the piano.

Perhaps they don't mean technique at all but really mean style; i.e., classical v. jazz or score v. improvisation.

If it were me, I'd rather go back and seek clarification than write an essay on the wrong subject.

b

Thanks for your thoughts. I have to say what techniques are required to teach the grade 6 pieces. I have never taught a grade six person and find it hard to say what is required without having a person there. However, your explaination of what is meant by technique has helped. Thanks

"what techniques are needed to teach ..." presumably they mean the pupil - but it could be construed as what techniques the teacher needs !

If it's the first, you might go through the pieces in the grade 6 book, and make a list of all the differing kinds of articulation and touch you regard as necessary and appropriate to the pieces, for starters.

If a pupil is studying pieces of grade six standard then it is assumed that a certain degree of expertise has been gathered already. If you do as Maggiemay suggests and look through the grade six pieces you may find some new techniques are needed, but probably will find that, apart from more complex pedalling and types of touch, that it will be a question of interpretation rather than practical skills.

Can I be Mr Nosey? Are you doing this on a course or for an exam or something?

Is it the CT or the teaching Dip? Sorry im being nosey too!

Matthew

We're still guessing what the questioner wants; teaching techniques? playing techniques? different playing techniques? across a three piece exam programme? across the whole range of the grade 6 syllabus?

Confused

b

I think he means playing techniques. I have just started with this teacher in preperation for Dip ABRSM teaching. He's asking me loads of questions about how I would teach certain bits. I could probably do this for the lower grades but have been "thrown in at the deep end"

I'm realiseing how much of what I say to my pupils is just repeating what I've been told myself, but never had it explained WHY. For example arm circles.. he says he's never taught one of those in his life! Why would anyone want to do one of those? I didn't have a clue what to say.

It's really good for me to have to think about it, but I don't know how I can write an essay. I was going to do what Maggie said, go through and look for required techniques, but thought I'd better find out what tecniques are first.

I suppose I will need to have thought about every single piece in the syllabus from this perspective? Can anyone tell me how much of the Viva is taken up with these sort of question please?

Thankyou