Technique Edited y Morton Manus Cover Design y Ted Engelart Interior Design y Tom Gerou Illustrations y Jimmy Holder Music Engraving y Linda Lusk Copyright 0 y Alred Music All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA. ISBN-0: 0-790-707-X ISBN-: 97-0-790-707-7 No part o this ook shall e reproduced, arranged, adapted, recorded, pulicly perormed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted y any means without written permission rom the pulisher. In order to comply with copyright laws, please apply or such written permission and/or license y contacting the pulisher at alred.com/permissions. Contents A Note to Teachers.... Technique Tools Review... Technique Tool (Slur Gestures).... Artistic Etude (Form and Expression)... Playing Diminished Triads... Building Scale Velocity in B Minor.... 9 Masterwork Etude... 0 Building Scale Velocity in E Maor... Hands-Together Workshop... The Primary Chords in E Maor... Hands-Together Workshop.... Masterwork Etude.... Building Scale Velocity in C Minor... Hands-Together Workshop.... 7 The Primary Chords in C Minor... 7 Two-Octave Minor Arpeggios Beginning on White Keys... Technique Tool (Voicing the Melody)... 0 Masterwork Etude.... Artistic Etude (Changing Meters)... Technique Tool (Building Scale Velocity in Flat Keys)... The Primary Chords in A, D, and G Maor.... Artistic Etude (The Sot Pedal Una Corda).... Diatonic Triads and Inversions.... Technique Tool (Trills)... 0 Masterwork Etude.... Playing Root Position V 7 Chords.... Technique Tools Review... Masterwork Etude.... Ending with Flair... Masterwork Etude.... Music Time Traveler....................... Artistic Etude (What Makes It Swing).... 0 Hanon Variations... Technique Tools Review... Masterwork Etude 7.... Technique Tools Review...
A Note to Teachers The technical goals in Technique Book are accomplished through ive types o activities: The art o playing the piano requires three things: knowledge, musical eeling, and the physical skills to perorm what is artistically intended, also known as technique. The development o technique is essential to uture success at the piano. Developing technique is a result o irst understanding, then practicing the correct physical movements many times. The technical tools and artistic skills learned in Alred s Premier Piano Course, Technique Books A, are enhanced and expanded in Technique Book. Each page in the Technique Book correlates with a speciic page in the Lesson Book. When the Lesson, Theory, Perormance and Technique ooks are used together, they oer a ully-integrated and unparalleled comprehensive approach to piano instruction. In Technique Book, students encounter technical skills in our areas, similar to A : Technique Tools rom Books A * are reviewed and new technical goals or this level are clearly presented through appealing and descriptive exercises:. Slur Gestures (p. ). Voicing the Melody (p. 0). Building Scale Velocity in Flat Keys (p. ). Trills (p. 0) These Technique Tools should always e introduced to the student during the lesson. Hands-Together Workshops ocus on developing the skills necessary or coordinating hands-together playing (pp.,, 7). Patterned Exercises provide students with the necessary repetitions to make the technique eel natural. Memorization, although optional, is suggested. Artistic Etudes showcase a student s technique in an artistic musical setting (pp.,,, 0). Masterwork Etudes, written y important composers and teachers rom the past, provide training to play standard masterworks. Many o them also reinorce Technique Tools and Hands-Together Workshops (pp. 0,,,,,, ). Playing Naturally Moving Freely Playing Beautiully Playing Artistically The overall goal o the Technique Books in Alred s Premier Piano Course is to develop the physical skills needed to play artistically, expressively and eortlessly. * See Technique Books A or descriptions o Technique Tools reviewed in this ook.
Artistic Etude Form and Expression Form descries the organization o a piece and provides a guide to playing the piece with proper musical expression. Barcelona Relections is in A-B-A orm. Section A (mm. ) For the repeat o the A section, change the dynamics and/or the heart notes. Section B (mm. 7 ) When the B section egins, change the mood. Coda (mm. ) Let the music uild to a dramatic ending. Think aout how you will play each section or every piece you play. Your perormance will then sound much more appealing and musically more interesting. Lesson Book: pages 7 Barcelona Relections Section A Lively F... #. # nd time to Codai #. * Barcelona is a maor city on the east coast o northern Spain (Catalonia) and home to one o the most eautiul asilicas in the world, La Sagrada Família. The architect or the asilica was Antoni Gaudí and it is still under construction.
0 Lesson Book: pages 0 Masterwork Etude Playing with a Warm Sound When pianists play espressivo (expressively), they create a warm, eautiul sound that is not harsh. To create this sound, play with relaxed arms and hands as your ingers play deeply into each key. Play Prelude in D Minor with this technique to achieve an expressive sound. Prelude in D Minor (Introduction to the Art o Playing on the Pianoorte) Andante moderato espressivo C C p w w # Technique Tip: Play the irst LH whole note (sustained note) in each measure with slightly more weight. Muzio Clementi (7 ) Op. (adapted) w P w simile w w # 7 w w % p w poco cresc.
0 Technique Tool Voicing the Melody Voicing means to ring out the melody y playing it so that it stands out rom the other notes played y the same hand. Usually this note is played louder. Play with more weight on the notes to e voiced as the melody. Lesson Book: pages 9 more weight. Play the RH melody notes with added weight ( ). # #. Play the RH melody with added weight ( ) while you simultaneously and silently play the other RH notes. Pianists call the silent notes the shadow. # # The shadow The shadow. Play the RH melody in No. with added weight ( ) as you play the other RH notes sotly. The sot notes were previously the shadow.. Finally, add the LH playing the ass notes. Rememer to play all melody notes with added weight ( ). P
Masterwork Etude Voicing Use the voicing technique you learned on page 0 to play this etude. In the measures that include RH harmonic intervals, listen careully so the top note melody sings out aove the other RH notes. Lesson Book: pages 9 Etude in D Maor Ludvig Schytte ( 909) Op. 0, No. 7 P (through m. ) 9
Lesson Book: page Artistic Etude 9 Changing Meters Changing meters oten can have an unsettling eect. When changing rom to, the eighth note pulse should remain the same. This is indicated y the symol e= e (see m. ). In Section A o Whirlwinds, the eat should remain steady. Whirlwinds Section A Allegro giocoso (lively and humorous) F e = e J # J # # J Technique Tip: Stay close to the keys to play the staccato notes at a ast tempo. J # J J nd time to Codai # J J n # # #