Seven pillars of the piano technique

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5965/2525530406012021e0001

Keywords:

piano technique, corporal conscience, categories of healthy and efficient movements

Abstract

Piano technique has been widely discussed, and yet we are frequently confronted with outmoded beliefs concerning its dependence on factors such as natural talent, repetitive effort or hand size. The perpetuation of these antiquated notions can culminate in pain, injury, emotional problems, and even the definitive interruption of any artistic activity. This article aims to analyze and systematize approaches that strive for a healthy, rational and musical ways of thinking piano technique and categorize them into seven pillars: body posture, movement coordination, arm functions, including semi-circular and rotational  ovements, lateral displacement on the keyboard and note grouping for enhanced cognition and technical mastery. It is concluded that, despite of small disagreements between the authors, there is a convergence in the search of pianistic efficacy through  hysical well-being, translated into the development of body awareness and, consequently, in the quality and  ariety of sound. The categorization of the pillars, in turn, promotes easier access to the analyzed concepts and allows greater efficiency in their application.

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Author Biographies

Laura Boaventura Melo, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

Laura Boaventura, professora de piano e música de câmara da UFMG, graduou-se na classe da Professora Dra Celina Szrvinsk (UFMG), obteve o título mestre pelo Conservatório Rimsky Korsakov de São Petersburgo (Rússia) na classe de piano solo de Nadezha Esmond, música de câmara de Yulia Fedoseeva e acompanhamento de cantores de Irina Sharapova e de doutora em Música- Práticas interpretativas pela UFRGS sob a orientação da Professora Dra Cristina Capparelli. Sua pesquisa de doutorado investiga abordagens saudáveis, musicais e eficientes da técnica pianística.

Foi premiada em concursos nacionais e internacionais: Jovens solitas UFMG, Svet Rozhdestvenskoi Zvesdy (Finlândia), Grand Prix Vituoso Paris e Londres e Golden Classical Music Awards Competition ( EUA).

Tem se apresentado em vários países, tais como Argentina, Uruguai, México, Espanha, Suíça, Finlândia, Estados Unidos e Rússia, em importantes salas, dentre elas o Glazunov Hall de São Petersburgo e o Weil Hall do Carnegie Hall de New York.

 

Cristina Capparelli Gerling, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)

Cristina Capparelli GERLING distingue-se por conciliar as atividades de pianista, pedagoga e pesquisadora.  Professora na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul desde 1985, foi a primeira coordenadora do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Música iniciado em 1987, tendo se tornado professora titular em 1996. Com vários CDs de música brasileira e latino americana gravados, e com uma expressiva carreira artística, seus trabalhos investigativos voltam-se para a prática efetiva do instrumento, a projeção da expressividade na execução ao piano, bem como tópicos pontuais sobre a ansiedade do músico, memorização e bem estar na execução musical.  Além de premiados em concursos de instrumento, seus orientandos têm sido igualmente selecionados como docentes em escolas de renome no país e no exterior. Os resultados de suas pesquisas têm sido divulgados em revistas especializadas tais como Frontiers in Pschology- Performance Science da qual é editora convidada.

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Published

2021-06-17

How to Cite

MELO, Laura Boaventura; GERLING, Cristina Capparelli. Seven pillars of the piano technique. Orfeu, Florianópolis, v. 6, n. 1, 2021. DOI: 10.5965/2525530406012021e0001. Disponível em: https://periodicos.udesc.br/index.php/orfeu/article/view/18567. Acesso em: 22 dec. 2024.