Det_Nosnip
06-21-2006, 12:08 AM
I begun learning the pianoforte a while back and have since gotten into the instrument quite a bit. Unfortunately (for purely monetary reasons), all of my learning to this point has been self taught, largely based upon my earlier studies in percussion and what materials I have available. I say this as a disclaimer: that these methods, though they have worked remarkably well for me and are based in many of the learning methods that educators in the drumming community have used, don't have any kind of official backing that I am aware of. That also said, as I am rather ignorant of most formal piano teaching methods, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if these same exercises are in fact in wide use and application and have been for centuries as they are, when it comes down to it, pretty straightforward and logical.
So, yeah...enough about that. What I have been working on involves targeted melodic independence between the right and left hands. That is, working towards being able to perform complex melodic phrasings with one hand while providing harmony or counterpoint with the other...the end goal of just about any pianist. When it comes down to it, individual voices (such as the left or right hand on a piano) have two major functions: rhythm and melody. The former comes quite easily to most drummer-turned pianists out there, as rhythmic independence is one of the key focuses of study in percussion. So, I went out on a limb and assumed that concentrating on melodic independence was going to help me out the most for the time being.
In order to do this, I have simplified as much as possible the rhythmic aspects of these exercises. I had as a perfect model (and, basis really) for this the famous Hanon book of exercises, which I had practiced religiously upon first starting the instrument. The first couple of sections of Hanon's book are basically a giant assortment of different fingerings (behave), applied in unison with both hands. The goal: to build melodic independence WITHIN each hand, so that the fingers themselves are able to operate freely in of themselves. This is great if you're going to just sit there and doodle with one hand (or both hands in unison), but if you're going to be playing anything worth mentioning, sooner or later you're going to want to be able to play something different with the other hand.
So, here's what I've been doing:
I choose one of the fingerings, and play it with my right hand (for the sake of this exercise, do NOT follow Hanon's instructions of moving along up the board...just loop the same melody indefinitely), while writing a simple quarter note based harmony with my left hand. Starting off slowly with the first couple of exercises, this isn't too difficult. If you intend to try my method, I leave it to you to write your own harmony/s. It's rather open ended, really...the more, the better! See how creative you can be using only quarter notes. Once you find a harmony that suites the right hand melody and have practiced it (and any others that you can come up with) to the point where you're comfortable playing them at different tempos, switch the hands. This is where things'll get dicey for alot of people...Now, play the melody with your left hand, while playing the SAME harmony used before with your right hand.
Once you feel absolutely confident in this fingering - that is, you're able to freely play any harmony over it that comes to mind without having to stop and train your mind to learn it - go on to the next fingering and repeat the same process. Although this may sound horribly monotonous and boring, it's incredibly benefitial. Personally, I find the whole process strangely addicting, but I might be a freak. ;)
Give it a shot. The fastest way for successful improvement that I have found is baby steps. There are many possibilities for fine songwriting based off of simple quarter note harmonies, particularly when those harmonies consist of something other than just mashing chords or roots, and it's a great place to start. Once you feel confident with quarters, move on to 8th notes...build slowly towards syncopation, always making sure to cover as many bases as you can in order to work towards the free expression of ideas, unhindered by physical barriers (which, I believe, should be the goal of any musician). Good luck!
So, yeah...enough about that. What I have been working on involves targeted melodic independence between the right and left hands. That is, working towards being able to perform complex melodic phrasings with one hand while providing harmony or counterpoint with the other...the end goal of just about any pianist. When it comes down to it, individual voices (such as the left or right hand on a piano) have two major functions: rhythm and melody. The former comes quite easily to most drummer-turned pianists out there, as rhythmic independence is one of the key focuses of study in percussion. So, I went out on a limb and assumed that concentrating on melodic independence was going to help me out the most for the time being.
In order to do this, I have simplified as much as possible the rhythmic aspects of these exercises. I had as a perfect model (and, basis really) for this the famous Hanon book of exercises, which I had practiced religiously upon first starting the instrument. The first couple of sections of Hanon's book are basically a giant assortment of different fingerings (behave), applied in unison with both hands. The goal: to build melodic independence WITHIN each hand, so that the fingers themselves are able to operate freely in of themselves. This is great if you're going to just sit there and doodle with one hand (or both hands in unison), but if you're going to be playing anything worth mentioning, sooner or later you're going to want to be able to play something different with the other hand.
So, here's what I've been doing:
I choose one of the fingerings, and play it with my right hand (for the sake of this exercise, do NOT follow Hanon's instructions of moving along up the board...just loop the same melody indefinitely), while writing a simple quarter note based harmony with my left hand. Starting off slowly with the first couple of exercises, this isn't too difficult. If you intend to try my method, I leave it to you to write your own harmony/s. It's rather open ended, really...the more, the better! See how creative you can be using only quarter notes. Once you find a harmony that suites the right hand melody and have practiced it (and any others that you can come up with) to the point where you're comfortable playing them at different tempos, switch the hands. This is where things'll get dicey for alot of people...Now, play the melody with your left hand, while playing the SAME harmony used before with your right hand.
Once you feel absolutely confident in this fingering - that is, you're able to freely play any harmony over it that comes to mind without having to stop and train your mind to learn it - go on to the next fingering and repeat the same process. Although this may sound horribly monotonous and boring, it's incredibly benefitial. Personally, I find the whole process strangely addicting, but I might be a freak. ;)
Give it a shot. The fastest way for successful improvement that I have found is baby steps. There are many possibilities for fine songwriting based off of simple quarter note harmonies, particularly when those harmonies consist of something other than just mashing chords or roots, and it's a great place to start. Once you feel confident with quarters, move on to 8th notes...build slowly towards syncopation, always making sure to cover as many bases as you can in order to work towards the free expression of ideas, unhindered by physical barriers (which, I believe, should be the goal of any musician). Good luck!