Pianist – Daniel Bachelis

Whenever I speak to vocalists and instrumentalists, it surprises me how few of them go the extra mile with their pieces.  The music field is supposedly one of passion and joy, yet people treat their pieces like homework.

Going the extra mile isn’t something as simple as practicing more hours, or simply playing a phrase over and over a thousand times until it is absolutely perfect or pristine (although that will definitely help).  No, going the extra mile is something quite simple, yet effective.

It’s learning about your piece!

This is something I used to take for granted, that I would learn about my pieces before or while learning them.  That was until one day, when I was meeting with a vocalist who was singing a song from an opera in Italian.  She did sing it beautifully, and so I asked her what it was about, and she didn’t know!

So here’s rule number 1:  If you are ever playing any kind of song with any kind of text in any language, TRANSLATE IT!  Learn what it’s about.  The last thing you want to do is sing happily about how your husband killed himself out of shame for some action.  If the song is from an Opera, learn about the opera. Where in the plot does the song take place?  What is it about?

The same types of questions apply to any piece by any composer.  At what age did he write it?  Was it during a particular war?  What kind of things were happening in history at the time?

The Grove Dictionary provides a great starting point, but ultimately, you’ll probably have to do a little digging at the library.  Chopin’s last mazurka is pretty bleak.  Ode to joy was written after he had been long deaf, and it’s an ode to joy!  Schumann supposedly wrote with multiple personalities, and Symphony Fantastique was supposedly based on a huge opium trip.  In order to really understand art, you must know where it comes from.  That way, you can bring the subtlety and nuance of those subtexts in to your own playing.  With a war sonata, you’ll hit the keys just a little bit harder, and with a romance, you’ll give it that extra sense of caressing care.

Whether you are aware of it or not, this kind of thing separates the men from the boys and it’ll bring more layers of sound to everything you do.  So do your research and you’ll be surprised at how interesting the pieces you’re learning may become.

Have any questions about music, or piano in general?  Just contact me at my E-mail!  Or leave a comment, I love reading them!