TY - BOOK AU - Matthay, Tobias TI - Musical interpretation: its laws and principles, and their application in teaching and performing U1 - 082 PY - 1913/// CY - , Boston, Mass. PB - The Boston Music Co. KW - MUSICA - INTERPRETACION N2 - SECTION I: INTRODUCTORY: SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING Preface Points selected for elucidation General attitude of the teacher The learner can only be helped to learn The first law of teaching The most usual fault of the teacher Both teacher and pupil must learn to think How to practice The danger of automaticity The danger of not really listening "Listening" defined Automatic practice useless, even for techniques We do not really see or hear unless we analyse As to ear-training, good and bad Definition of real practice Constant process of analysis proved necessary "Genius" implies natural concentration on one's work Practice implies study By learning concentration we can all approximate to the Genius level Not only concentration but imagination necessary The imaginative power must be trained The forms of analysis necessary in teaching The use of Example The artist as teacher The informative and the non-informative types of mind The teacher must be artistic Why unaided example will not suffice Example v. Explanation The necessity of Enthusiasm Bad and good teaching Cramming v. real teaching To render a pupil "musical" Bad and good conducting Teaching v. cramming again Make sure of your diagnosis before correcting a fault Concrete cases as examples Correction of inaccuracy as to Time-details Playing out of time implies lack of attention Uselessness of the Metronome as a Time-teacher Faults arising from bad touch habits How to correct a wrong tempo The causes of faults must always be made clear True education SECTION II: THE NATURE OF MUSICAL ATTENTION AND OF MUSICAL SHAPE Attention through key-resistance and time Meaning of "Time-spot" The Act of Thought, or Attention, itself implies a rhythmical act Similarity between playing out of time and playing out of tune "Grip" in performance As to Time-training As to the interpretation of the term "Rhythm" Correct ideas of Time and Shape in Music Progression and movement analogous in Music and Painting The origin of our sense of Pulse The progressional view of music v. the old segmental view The difference between the old segmental view of structure, and the progressional view of musical structure Some examples of the Progressional view of structure The incorrect notation of bar-lines As to Nomenclature of structural details Harmonic movement necessary The process of Memorizing also depends upon Progression Deliberate indefiniteness in composition How to apply one's memory Memory-failure The various kinds of musical memory The necessity of muscular memory and its dangers Silent practice To prevent slithering Inaccuracy in the sub-divisions of the pulses owing to non-perception of the Element of Progression Progression always towards climax of phrase in spite of decrescendo Passages broken between hands; correct thinking of them Broken passages, technical errors Wrong Bass notes and other notes Progression in its larger swings Warning against purely mechanical "scanning" To keep the whole in view is a question of memory "Thinking the Whole" expounded Perception of a new composition The cause of stammering unmusically SECTION III: THE ELEMENT OF RUBATO Tempo-continuity, why necessary Continuity also depends upon tonal and emotional planning-out True nature of Rubato usually quite misunderstood Rubato is no mystery, it is not "silent-sound" not "telepathy" Ritardandos and Acellerandos are not Rubato The true rationale of Rubato Time-curves constantly required Rubato in modern music Rubato in older music Fallacy re the old masters being unemotional In giving emotional life, Shape must not be lost sight of When to teach and learn Rubato The problem of music for children The two distinct fundamental forms of Rubato: [(I) The "leaning" Rubato Rubato supplies the strongest form of emphasis (II) The "push-on" Rubato The two forms may be combined] Ritardandos and Accellerandos marked in text, often found to be incorrectly noted Rubatos The exact position of the return to the pulse must be noted The cause of the Rubato also to be noted Rubato allows a phrase-climax to be shown in decrescendo Fallacy regarding position of phrase-climax Attack of phrase Various forms of Rubato illustrated: [(I) The more usual form, or "leaning" Rubato {Tone-amount varies with note-lengths in uneven passages In a slow movement, tone for the quicker notes is reduced from a high background In a quick movement the reverse process applies Further examples of "leaning" Rubato Rubato-inflections must always be carried out subtly Example of Rubato-analysis the first two bars of Chopin's ballade in A flat Example of Rubato showing trend of phrase in spite of diminuendo Example of Rubato showing cross-accent Again, the importance of "scanning" Rubato required to depict agitation Always shapeful, however veiled the shapes Definiteness, Decision, best expressed without Rubato inflections Illustrations of these Distinctions emotionally Mis-scanning of Chopin's Scherzos again} (II) The push-on or inverted Rubato {Examples of the combination of the two forms of Rubato Modern Rubato examples from Beethoven Rubato can show accent on a rest or tied note Rubato always in the nature of a curve, never a time-spike Always keep in view Musical Purpose, during Rubato-inflections}] SECTION IV: CONCERNING CERTAIN DETAILS IN THE APPLICATION OF TONE-INFLECTION AND THE BEARING OF TOUCH-TEACHING AND FINGERING, ETC., ON INTERPRETATION The importance of Rubato does not detract from the importance of Tone and Duration Contrasts Lack of tone-variety often not realised by the teacher Need of accurate listening and analysing again demonstrated Want of true pp is mostly the cause of deficiency in coloring After a long note, the continuation of the same phrase is often played too loudly Cut away the tone to render certain notes prominent The individualism and balance of the constituent notes of chords, octaves, etc An exercise for tonal individualisation Less force required to produce the higher notes than the lower notes of the Piano The tonal emphasising of melody notes should not lead to tasteless agoggic accents The bearing of the teaching of Touch, etc., upon the teaching of Interpretation Command over Interpretation implies command over technical resources Obedience to the laws of Touch and Technique must constantly be insisted upon Knowledge of the laws of Touch and Technique necessary even for the beginner Points as to Touch requiring constant reminder Musical and Technical Attention must never be allowed to flag while giving attention to the details of Muscular Education The bearing of Fingering on Interpretation, and the learning of its laws Fingering, also, must not be "crammed" Its proper teaching The Memorising of Fingering Scale fingerings, single and double notes SECTION V: AS TO PEDALLING AND THE ELEMENT OF DURATION Just as close attention required for the foot as for the finger Most pedalling a mass of blemishes Examples of bad pedalling Not enough to feel the breaks between the phrasings clearly, one must play them clearly Inadequacy of Pedal-discontinuity Accuracy in Duration-effects depends immediately upon accuracy in listening Value of Duration-contrasts insufficiently realised Gradations of Tone and Duration contrasted Pedal-durations more important than Finger-durations Pedal enhances actual prolongation of sounds "Syncopated" pedalling Why syncopated pedalling is required Legatissimo pedalling Echo-resonance of a Hall different from pedal continuity Examples of Legatissimo Pedalling Pedal must rise fully Pedal must remain up long enough Half-damping effects The "Sostenente" Pedal Half-pedalling applied to whole chords Cessation of sound as a form of emphasis Examples of this Imperative to listen accurately and constantly to Duration Various additional Pedalling examples Chopin's Pedalling Listen both to finger and to foot-doings Attention during Performance SECTION VI: THE PURPOSE OF ART-EXPRESSION AND ITS RELATION TO THE INFINITE The ever-present danger of forgetting the End over the Means The Purpose of Art is the expression of Feeling Art-moods which make for Good and which make for Evil Health and Mood The nature of Music, its relation to all-pervading Rhythm, and its relation to the ultimately Unknowable Summary: Report of Lecture on "The Principles of Teaching Interpretation" ADDITIONAL NOTES No. I. On half-pedalling and half-damping No. II. On the colouring of octaves and passing-notes No. III. Tone-colouring v. tone-inflection ER -