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Playing Beyond the Notes: A Pianist's Guide to Musical Interpretation
Playing Beyond the A Pianist's Guide to Musical Interpretation demystifies the complex concepts of musical interpretation in Western tonal piano music by boiling it down to basic principles in an accessible writing style. Author and veteran piano instructor Deborah Rambo Sinn tackles a different interpretive principle, explaining clearly, for example, how to play effective ornaments and rubatos. As a whole, the book helps pianists understand concrete ways to apply interpretive concepts to their own playing and gives teachers practical ways to teach interpretation to their students. The book is illustrated with over 200 repertoire excerpts and supplemented by a companion website with over 100 audio recordings. Playing Beyond the Notes is essential reading for all performing pianists, independent piano teachers, and piano pedagogy students.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 8, 2015
Fantastic book - I only wish it had been 500 pages and not 100, and I wish I could have read this 20 years ago to improve my piano playing. This book is the antidote to some of my frustrations after years and years of piano lessons, as professors could not explain in plain English what the musical goals were, why, and how to achieve them: "Do you want it louder here or there? Faster or slower?" -No, just play with 'more feeling'- "Well, what does that mean?!" This book can answer that question, and more.
August 17, 2017
A fantastic short overview on piano interpretation. Very concisely written, a great introduction and reference to make your playing more interesting, with neat checklists after every chapter. Every piano performer who hasn't already read his eye out on interpretation should read this.
There are dozens of in-depth analyses of passages in classical music with neatly annotated sheet music extracts. But i especially loved the many great snippets of concrete information that are highly quotable, almost like aphorisms! All quotes from here on, see for yourself.
"Dynamics have much more to do with character than with decibels." - Oscar Wilde ;)
"Every note of every piece should be approached with questions. Why this note here and now? How does it connect with those around it?"
any note following a long note must come in at the same dynamic level or even softer than the end of the long note. If this does not happen, the phrase is broken.
performers flex rhythm in every piece for expressive purposes, and it is impossible to play a piece without it.
Unless otherwise noted by a composer, short notes give energy to the longer notes that follow.
grace notes nearly always give energy to the note that follows.
the sound can become cloudy when too many notes are played at an equal volume.
Humans are drawn to sets of threes, both visually and aurally.
When both hands play the same notes in octaves, it is advisable to clearly voice the upper note. Since it is impossible to play both notes evenly, this keeps attention from shifting back and forth between them.
Because the first-tier melody is usually defined by a composer and not up for debate, deciding on a bass melody and how it will interact with other elements is a creative detail that engages the personality of performers and differentiates performances.
slurs can signal a wide variety of meanings. Yes, they can indicate phrase structure but just as often inform articulation. Some composers also use slurs in a negative way, as to say, “Do not break this set of notes apart.”
The primary definition of staccato is “detached.” Within the freedom granted by that single word is an array of possibilities that stretch from playing very short notes to holding them as long as is feasible without connecting to the next event.
Generally, chords need more time on the ground than single notes, requiring a different approach to staccato.
Most of the time, faster tempos require strict values for notes and rests, and slower tempos call for a looser, more relaxed interpretation.
A pianist should disregard almost all pedaling indications in scores. Even if they appear in a composer’s autograph copy, it is almost never clear who wrote them. In addition, pianos have changed over the centuries,
Even if one has carefully worked out the pedaling for a given piece, each piano and concert hall is different
It is easier to use long pedals if the melody is rising rather than falling.
ACCENT PEDALS To assist the volume and timber of loud chords, accent or strengthening pedals are invaluable. The damper pedal is depressed and released exactly with the beginning and ending of the chords, so the foot and hands work entirely in tandem. This gives the chord or chords a fuller and louder sound
Starting with a concept of sound and then finding out how the piano can deliver it properly puts the horse before the cart.
Analysis simply provides a structure on which to hang one’s expressiveness in performance.
With the ability to choose your own interpretation, you own the power and uniqueness of your performance, which will connect with those who hear you play.
There are dozens of in-depth analyses of passages in classical music with neatly annotated sheet music extracts. But i especially loved the many great snippets of concrete information that are highly quotable, almost like aphorisms! All quotes from here on, see for yourself.
"Dynamics have much more to do with character than with decibels." - Oscar Wilde ;)
"Every note of every piece should be approached with questions. Why this note here and now? How does it connect with those around it?"
any note following a long note must come in at the same dynamic level or even softer than the end of the long note. If this does not happen, the phrase is broken.
performers flex rhythm in every piece for expressive purposes, and it is impossible to play a piece without it.
Unless otherwise noted by a composer, short notes give energy to the longer notes that follow.
grace notes nearly always give energy to the note that follows.
the sound can become cloudy when too many notes are played at an equal volume.
Humans are drawn to sets of threes, both visually and aurally.
When both hands play the same notes in octaves, it is advisable to clearly voice the upper note. Since it is impossible to play both notes evenly, this keeps attention from shifting back and forth between them.
Because the first-tier melody is usually defined by a composer and not up for debate, deciding on a bass melody and how it will interact with other elements is a creative detail that engages the personality of performers and differentiates performances.
slurs can signal a wide variety of meanings. Yes, they can indicate phrase structure but just as often inform articulation. Some composers also use slurs in a negative way, as to say, “Do not break this set of notes apart.”
The primary definition of staccato is “detached.” Within the freedom granted by that single word is an array of possibilities that stretch from playing very short notes to holding them as long as is feasible without connecting to the next event.
Generally, chords need more time on the ground than single notes, requiring a different approach to staccato.
Most of the time, faster tempos require strict values for notes and rests, and slower tempos call for a looser, more relaxed interpretation.
A pianist should disregard almost all pedaling indications in scores. Even if they appear in a composer’s autograph copy, it is almost never clear who wrote them. In addition, pianos have changed over the centuries,
Even if one has carefully worked out the pedaling for a given piece, each piano and concert hall is different
It is easier to use long pedals if the melody is rising rather than falling.
ACCENT PEDALS To assist the volume and timber of loud chords, accent or strengthening pedals are invaluable. The damper pedal is depressed and released exactly with the beginning and ending of the chords, so the foot and hands work entirely in tandem. This gives the chord or chords a fuller and louder sound
Starting with a concept of sound and then finding out how the piano can deliver it properly puts the horse before the cart.
Analysis simply provides a structure on which to hang one’s expressiveness in performance.
With the ability to choose your own interpretation, you own the power and uniqueness of your performance, which will connect with those who hear you play.
September 29, 2024
Sinn's book is a must-have in the pianist's library. Like David, I only wish it were longer! The concepts are explained well. Some (many?) pieces are above my current playing ability, but they still worked as examples. There is room for improvement in how the list-based chapter summaries are presented.
November 7, 2014
Some chapters could be more detailed, but as a guide for intermediate and early advanced piano teaching absolutely excellent, offering easily grasped solutions and useful checklist for the students. Author is obviously an experienced tutor. A fine addition to my music shelf.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews