Capturing the magic of pianistic sound and touch: toward a synergy of ear and fingers in the creation of the artistic image

Abstract

“To learn how to hear, to educate the ear, to develop a student’s sense of voicing and timbre in nuanced hearing – this is the first task of a pedagogue-musician, a defining pillar of his work.” These words of the great Russian musician, Grigory Kogan, shine light on the inspiring path of what it means for a teacher to simultaneously develop student’s ears and fingers with the aim of building the artistic image of a composition. Of course, such instruction requires a holistic approach and, yet some approaches from the past were anything but that. Indeed, the 19th century saw a rise in mechanical finger training, which often resulted in injuries and stultified the ear. This article analyzes these and other past trends in piano teaching and performance and their influence on the training of fingers, ears--or both. In addition, it offers practical advice on how best to foster the simultaneous schooling of ears and fingers, with the goal of nurturing a complete musician.

Keywords

• artistic image
• ear training
• piano teaching
• piano pedagogy

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