Piano Technique - Theory
2. Elongated fingers, bridge and crane or inaccuracy in pedagogy



2.1.1. One of my former students, currently studying in London, wrote this to me:
Actually, when I myself was student, no one gave me such advice, although I had excellent teachers. Not having what is called an innate technique, during my school years I faced the same technical problems as the majority of young pianists. That is why I have not only trained for many years, but have also studied many specialized books to find the origins of my mistakes. This has allowed me to obtain very precise and spectacular results that I will talk about here.
Concerning the “bridge”, I explain this to my students in different manners, but apparently it is the imagined comparison of “pushing” the piano that best appeals to their imagination (cf. the second to last paragraph in point 2.4.4 d below).
Okay, but we really do not know how to proceed: not only how to make a “bridge” with the hand, but also, above all, how to reconcile it with “hovering”, since these tips seem to mutually contradict each other. Neither of the authors of this advice - excellent by the way - clearly indicate how to do it, while both are obviously speaking about the same thing. Unfortunately Neuhaus’ concepts of “the bridge” and “the crane” are static images of the motor apparatus system, like some unique and inanimate shots from a film. On the contrary, the “hovering” of Liszt is more like a moving film, i.e. a dynamic action involving the bridge and crane. And, as one of my students can testify, sometimes a correct execution of the “bridge” can lead automatically to “hovering”.
2.1.3. For Neuhaus, the term “bridge” corresponds to the temporary locking of the motor apparatus that permits the pianist to transmit the weight (muscular weight - we will study that later) from the shoulder all the way to the bottom of the key. Other pedagogues call this “the correct contact of the finger with the key” (“of the hand with the finger”, “of the shoulder with the key”, etc.), as for my first teacher, her favorite expression was: “the entire hand must rest upon the finger.” All of these attempts to show the student the proper manner of playing are nonetheless too vague, too blurry, because they do not concretely indicated how to obtain this contact or this weight. I repeat once again what I have already said in the Introduction: he who knows this has no need of complementary information; on the other hand, he who does not know this needs more precise information. In any case:
2.2. Inertia: how NOT to play?


2.2.2. Statics of incorrect playing
2.2.3. Dynamics of incorrect playing
2.3. The motor for playing and the model of the “bridge”


a) Test n° 1 - preparation
b) Test n° 1 - how to do it
c) Test n° 1 - conclusions
2.4. Elongated fingers: how one must play

2.4.3. Straight fingers


● Liszt said simply that the surface of the distant part of the finger must rest almost entirely on the key.
● Playing with flat fingers was also a characteristic of certain great Russian pianists, like Anton Rubenstein and Felix Blumenfeld. This latter taught this playing technique to young Horowitz.
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a) Test n° 2 - preparation

b) Test n° 2 - execution
You can observe in the videos here the mechanical working of the head and torso of one of the greatest pianists of all times: Josef Hoffmann.
And now I shall divert a bit from the subject, but it is important that I speak about this. When watching the film “The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century” which contained this recording, I had the disagreeable surprise to hear Piotr Anderszewski speak of Hofmann’s alcoholism. Completely irrelevant, this allusion added nothing to the film; and the laughter that accompanied it was completely inadmissible to me. It was a pity that Anderszewski omitted to mention that Hofmann’s problem began with the death of his wife. I presume that he was unaware of this detail; nonetheless it would have been better to verify certain facts before speaking of them, especially in public.

c) Test n° 2 - explications
Move the cursor over picture n° 3b

d) Test n° 2 - scissors mechanism
Move the cursor over picture n° 3c
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Hover the cursor over the photo and notice the depth at which the keys are pressed. Click = video.
