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Page 68
"The hand is formed on the keys in its five-finger position, with arched
knuckles."--Ethel Leginska.
"The hand is formed in an arched position, with curved fingers, and
solidified."--Carl Roeder.
"The hand, in normal playing position, must stand up in well arched
form, with fingers well rounded."--Thuel Burnham.
"I first establish an arched hand position, with firm fingers."--Edwin
Hughes.
"I teach arched hand position."--Alexander Lambert.
"One must first secure an arched hand, with steady first joints of the
fingers."--Eleanor Spencer.
"The first thing to do for a pupil is to see that the hand is in correct
position; the knuckles will be somewhat elevated and the fingers
properly rounded."--Bloomfield Zeisler.
"A pupil must first form the arch of the hand and secure firm finger
joints. I form the hand away from the piano, at a table."--Agnes Morgan.
Leschetizky teaches arched hand position, with rounded fingers, and all
who have come under his instruction advocate this form. It is the
accepted position for passage playing. A few pianists, notably Alfred
Cort�t and Tina Lerner, play their passage work with flat fingers, but
this, in Miss Lerner's case, is doubtless caused by the small size of
the hand.
It is clear from the above quotations, and from many other opinions
which could be cited, that the authorities agree the hand should be well
arched, the end of the finger coming in contact with the key;
furthermore there should be no weakness nor giving in at the nail
joint.
FINGER ACTION
The question of lifting the fingers seems to be one on which various
opinions are held. Some pianists, like Godowsky for instance, will tell
you they do not approve of raising the fingers--that the fingers must be
kept close to the keys. It is noticeable, however, that even those who
do not speak favorably of finger action, use it themselves when playing
passages requiring distinctness and clearness. Other players are rather
hazy on the subject, but these are generally persons who have not gone
through the routine of teaching.
The accepted idea of the best teachers is that at the beginning of piano
study positive finger movements must be acquired; finger action must be
so thoroughly grounded that it becomes second nature, a very part of the
player, something he can never forget nor get away from. So fixed should
it become that no subsequent laxity, caused by the attention being
wholly centered on interpretation can disturb correct position,
condition, or graceful, plastic movement.
"For passage work I insist on finger action; the fingers must be raised
and active to insure proper development. I think one certainly needs
higher action when practising technic and technical pieces than one
would use when playing the same pieces before an audience."--Clarence
Adler.
Alexander Lambert speaks to the point when he says: "I teach decided
finger action in the beginning. Some teachers may not teach finger
action because they say artists do not use it. But the artist, if
questioned, would tell you he had to acquire finger action in the
beginning. There are so many stages in piano playing. The beginner must
raise his fingers in order to acquire finger development and a clear
touch. In the middle stage he has secured enough finger control to play
the same passages with less action, yet still with sufficient clearness,
while in the more or less finished stages the passage may be played with
scarcely any perceptible motion, so thoroughly do the fingers respond to
every mental requirement."
It is this consummate mastery and control of condition and movement that
lead the superficial observer to imagine that the great artist gives no
thought to such things as position, condition and movements. Never was
there a greater mistake. The finest perfection of technic has been
acquired with painstaking care, with minute attention to exacting
detail. At some period of his career, the artist has had to come down to
foundation principles and work up. Opinions may differ as to the
eminence of Leschetizky as a teacher, but the fact remains that many of
the pianists now before the public have been with him at one time or
another. They all testify that the Viennese master will have nothing to
do with a player until he has gone through a course of rigorous
preparation spent solely in finger training, and can play a pair of
Czerny �tudes with perfect control and effect.
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