Ann Milliman Gipson is Associate Professor of Music at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee where she teaches applied piano, class piano, and coordinates the piano pedagogy program. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma where she studied piano with Dr. Jane Magrath and piano pedagogy with Dr. E. L. Lancaster. She is active as a clinician, adjudicator, and accompanist, and currently serves as the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association State President. In addition to her university teaching, she also teaches in the OBU Preparatory Department, where she instructs precollege students and Keyboard Readiness, a class for five and six-year old children.
Ann Milliman Gipson
College of Fine Arts
Oklahoma Baptist University
Shawnee, OK 74801
405.739.0097
Ann_Gipson@mail.okbu.edu
Although a perfect performance is certainly a desirable goal for all performers, for some pianists, a perfect performance may only be wishful thinking. While musicians strive to learn and perform music with as much accuracy as possible, a pianist should also be aware of the pitfalls that may occur during a performance. A slip of the finger or a missed note may confuse the tactile memory while the mind may wander and aural memory may be lost causing the performer to forget where he or she is in the music. Young performers as well as those musicians with years of performing experience all may be susceptible to memory slips and occasional mistakes. For some pianists, the ability to cover memory slips and play through mistakes seems quite easy and natural. For others, a memory slip or wrong note can impose an enormous obstacle, bringing the musical performance to a momentary halt. While this can be devastating for the performer, it is also unpleasant for the listener. The successful performer, however, in spite of mistakes, knows how to musically cover those mistakes to create a satisfying performance, for both performer and listener.
Ideally, prior to a public performance, the pianist should find performing opportunities for the purpose of testing his or her memory of the piece. Although perfect execution of the musical score must be demanded when memorizing music, such attention to detail may get in the way of the performer seeing and hearing the big picture of the piece. A big picture or broad scale approach to memorizing forces the pianist to view and hear the structural outline of the work.
Memorizing Structural Points
Memory work should include identifying starting points throughout the music. A pianist who has memorized starting points throughout a piece has an added amount of confidence in being able play to the end of the piece, in spite of possible memory slips or mistakes that may occur. Starting points normally should be located at important structural locations of the piece and should be learned forwards and backwards throughout the piece. The pianist should be able to play two or three measures at starting point "A" then jump ahead and play two or three measures at starting point "B" before jumping to starting point "C", etc. For added memory confidence, the pianist should be able to begin at the last starting point of the piece (for example, play two or three measures at starting point "C"), then play two or three measures at starting point "B", and continue tracing starting points backwards through the piece, until arriving at the beginning.
Memorizing the Harmonic Framework
Extracting harmonic progressions provides another method for hearing and seeing the structural outline. Although the harmonic structure of the work may have been studied during the early stages of preparation, after memorizing the work, a reliance on tactile memory of certain passages may overshadow the actual harmonic progression. By playing the harmonies in a blocked position, from memory, the pianist can see and hear the chord progressions in their simplest form, thereby reinforcing the basic harmonic structure, and ensuring a memorized harmonic framework.
Simplifying the Passage
The learning process as well as the memorization of some music can be hindered due to dense writing and thick textures in the music. When learning a thickly textured work the pianist may simplify the passage; separating the most important musical lines from the accompaniment material included in the texture. Memory of some musical passages also may be enhanced by simplifying the texture. For example, when memorizing a passage of octave chords, the pianist may give so much attention to the specific notes of each chord that the melody in octaves is obscured. By playing the octave melody, from memory, then gradually adding the remaining accompanying musical textures, the pianist can focus on the most important musical elements of the passage. Although the specific notes of each chord must be learned and memorized correctly, in a performance, the musical line and rhythmic momentum of the music must be maintained. Simplifying the texture during the memory process can remind the pianist of what is musically important during the performance.
Improvising In a Musical Style
While reinforcement of memory will ensure some pianists of a performance uninterrupted by memory slips and mistakes, other pianists may need to learn to cover mistakes by learning to improvise in the style of the piece being performed. A pianist capable of covering his or her mistakes has the ability to keep the music going, continually playing to create a continuity of sound. Whether the pianist must cover a few wrong notes or a few measures, maintaining the style, texture, and harmonic language of the passage is essential to musically play through a mistake. Of course, the pianist must then have clearly memorized the formal and harmonic structure of the work as well as appropriate starting points to get the performance back on track.
For some pianists, the ability to improvise occurs quite naturally, while others feel threatened at the thought of creating music on the spot. These pianists, however, should remember that improvisation is a structured activity based on limitations that comply with the texture, rhythmic nuances, harmonic language, and any other characteristic unique to the style of the piece in question.
Improvisation is a skill that can be developed. When learning any skill, progress may be achieved more quickly by starting with a simple assignment. Instead of trying to improvise in the style of a Beethoven piano sonata or a Bach three-voice fugue, a pianist may have more success by choosing a simpler work from the same style period.
After choosing an elementary or intermediate-level piece such as a Beethoven "German Dance" or "Minuet in G" from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, a first assignment might include the following: play phrase A as written; in phrase B, while playing the written left hand accompaniment, create a new melody in the right hand; the new melody in phrase B should be in a similar style to phrase A. As a next step, the pianist might try improvising a completely new B phrase, playing both a new melody and a new accompaniment. This type of activity should be practiced again and again, until the pianist feels comfortable playing in a particular musical style. Then the pianist should practice his/her improvisational skill on music that is being prepared for performance. Keep in mind that this type of activity is not intended to hinder regular practice, but is useful in developing the ability to play through mistakes or memory lapses that occur during a performance.
Achieving a Musical Performance Through Improvisation
When practicing improvisation in a more difficult work such as a Beethoven sonata, the pianist should limit improvisation practice to short segments of the piece, such as the exposition's first theme area or the closing theme of the exposition. The pianist should then choose a measure or two of the original work that will be replaced with an improvised version. Over a period of time, the pianist should begin to feel comfortable covering up mistakes in a performance setting by relying on his or her improvisational skills. As previously mentioned, some pianists naturally cover memory slips and mistakes. For other pianists, the development of this skill should be included as a part of their performance preparation. To achieve a musical performance, the performer must know how to handle mistakes and how to musically cover those mistakes to create a satisfying performance, for both performer and listener. Developing improvisational skills can improve the performer's ability to maintain a musical continuity in the performance.
Certainly, a pianist should prepare for the perfect performance. Perfect execution of the musical score must be demanded during the preparation phase. An accurate musical performance, either with the music or from memory, must be the goal. However, once a performance has begun, the pianist should turn his or her attention to making music; musically reacting to any mistakes or memory slips that may occur within each individual piece of music. Only then, will the pianist be prepared not only for the perfect performance, but the most musical performance possible.
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