Piano Technique - Theory
9. The Whipping Movement
When you learn to use
the “whipping movement” correctly,
you’ll be astonished
how easy is to play the piano!
the “whipping movement” correctly,
you’ll be astonished
how easy is to play the piano!
The whipping movement is a member of the family of projected movements.
Cz.Sielużycki (►Bibliography)
also compares this to the riding crop*.
The whip “cracks” at the moment its tip exceeds the speed of sound. Obviously a pianist's fingers never attain such speed. Nonetheless by using very complex movements, resembling the crack of whip, the pianist can create a particularly useful “booster” mechanism which transforms an initially, very limited effort into a considerably stronger strike, because “an active movement of the forearm from a distance of only 2 cm already gives a force equal to fortissimo (Gát) and is comparable to a passive movement of the hand from a height of 20-25 cm. (Leimer, Neuhaus)”.**
_________________________
*Czesław Sielużycki - “The pianist’s hand” p. 173, Polish Music Edition, Cracow, 1982
**Op. cit. p. 142
*Czesław Sielużycki - “The pianist’s hand” p. 173, Polish Music Edition, Cracow, 1982
**Op. cit. p. 142
The three techniques - whipping movement,
rotation of the arm and shaking of the arm -
can be used in various combinations,
even all the three simultaneously.
rotation of the arm and shaking of the arm -
can be used in various combinations,
even all the three simultaneously.
In the video below,
I play nine excerpts requiring the use of the whip movement. This technique is widely used by professional pianists in a way that it is hardly visible or even unnoticeable. Here I present it at a slow tempo and
deliberately exaggerate
the movements of the hands and arms.
Direct links
to each example:
MUSSORGSKY - “Pictures at an Exhibition”
Here are four videos with the whip movement performed in full tempo:
9. The Whipping Movement