A native Missourian, Kevin Hampton was a scholarship student of George Katz at Drake University and was a scholarship student of Thomas Schumacher at the University of Maryland at College Park. As a scholar of the Rotary Foundation International at the Conservatoire National in Toulouse, France, Hampton studied piano with Therese Dussaut, and harpsichord with Jan Wilhelm Jensen. While in Toulouse, Hampton performed at the Palais Niel, the Musee des Augustins, and the Salle des Synods in the city of Narbonne. As a frequent recitalist and chamber music collaborator, he has performed at the Kennedy Center (the first annual celebration of the birthday of John F. Kennedy), the Washington Arts Club, the Martin Luther King Jr., Library, the Eldbrooke Arts Series, the Charles Sumner School and Museum, all in Washington, D.C, the Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD, the Fairfax County Library, Fairfax, VA, and the Des Moines Arts Center. Hampton has done extensive research on the stylistic evolution of George Walker, the 1996 Pulitzer Prize winner in composition, as seen in selected works for solo piano. His dissertation research developed the first comprehensive biography of Walker, based on interviews with the composer. Hampton has taught at Frederick Community College, Frederick, Maryland; Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, Virginia; and the University of Maryland at College Park.
Kevin Hampton
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Department of Art, Music and Theater
11935 Abercorn Street
Svannah, GA 31419
912.927.5325
hamptoke@mail.armstrong.edu
At one time or other, we've all had students whose finger joints collapse, whose wrists are not supple and responsive, and whose forearms are actively involved in producing sound at the keyboard. For most students, any one of these problems can be readily corrected. However, for others they persist, causing a good deal of frustration while impeding the technical and musical progress of that individual. I refer to students with joint laxity, or what is known commonly as double-jointed fingers. I have a vested interest in this topic because I, too, am double-jointed. Through experimentation, study, and research, I have been able to accommodate my joint laxity, understanding better the interconnections between the muscles of the upper torso, arms, and hands and how these affect playing the piano. I have also found specific technical exercises that have served to strengthen the independence and interdependence of my fingers, while gaining suppleness and freedom in my hands, wrists, and arms.
As many children progress into puberty, their joints tend to gain firmness, usually about the ages of ten or eleven. For some, however, this does not happen, and the joints of the fingers remain spongy. As such, my remarks from this point will be directed toward those students whose physical development and age would be about the age of twelve or older. However, their individual musical and technical development may be elementary, intermediate or advanced.
There are various aural and visual indicators that can point to joint laxity, and we as teachers need to be more aware of them. As we listen to our students play in a lesson or performance, certain sounds can indicate physiological problems such as joint laxity: inappropriate accents that do not match the meter, pulse, or articulations indicated in a given composition; unevenly matched tones in scales, arpeggios, or chords; or a seeming inability to produce gradual dynamic changes. If we hear such inconsistencies, we should focus our attention on the physical approach by which the student is playing the keyboard.
Visually, it may appear that a student is playing with the forearms, pushing them downward, most often on notes which are played by the thumbs, the fifth, and fourth fingers. Such a physical approach will produce false accents, and the tone of a melody, scalar pattern, arpeggio, or accompaniment pattern will be inconsistent: some tones will not sound or lack focus. Another visual clue is often found in the wrists: they may be hyperextended, taking on the appearance of being humped upward. When this occurs, the bridge of the hand will almost always be in a state of collapse, and frequently, the shape of the hand may look gnarled or twisted out of alignment.
The hand is a marvel of intricacy: tendons, ligaments, and joints each play an integral role in the production of tone at the piano. The fingers in particular, have received much attention from pedagogues through the years: one has only to think of the plethora of methods and approaches having been, or continuing to be developed to address their training. The fingers, or phalanges, have several joints of importance for pianists, and laxity may occur in any of them individually or simultaneously. The fingers are attached to the hand at the metacarpophalangeal joint. The joint in the middle of the finger is the proximal interphalangeal, and the joint at the end of the fingers is the distal interphalangeal. The thumb is unique in that it has only one interphalangeal joint, rather than two. These various joints allow our fingers to curve, straighten, or curl, depending on the motion indicated by the tendons and ligaments.
Through the years, the most common finger shape preferred by teachers is that of the rounded or curved finger. For students with joint laxity at the metacarpophalangeal joint, lifting the finger to strike the keys is often counterproductive: it will usually create tension in the wrist and forearm. Rather, one of the most useful approaches to finger motion is to have the student think of pushing the key downward with the finger. This motion can also be accompanied by drawing the finger pad slightly toward the palm of the hand. Such finger motion should also generate a supportive, slight residual action in the hand and wrist: a follow-through motion that responds to the finger motion. The natural weight of the arm is then transferred through the hand to the finger pad, sending the energy generated by the physical motion into the instrument, having been released from the arm and upper torso. (This drawing of the finger back toward the palm can be done at various rates of speed. It is very useful for clarity in scalar passage work, and for playing staccato from the fingers in passage work that requires a leggiero sound and approach.)
Laxity in the distal and proximal interphalangeal joints can be stabilized over time. Students can learn how to accommodate and support the joint(s) more efficiently. One helpful tip to consider in relation to the distal and proximal interphalangeal joints is this: allow the joint to collapse toward the fallboard of the piano, rather than backward toward the key surface. A collapse toward the fallboard will allow the impulse of the muscular motion to continue to move toward the finger pad, rather than stopping at the point of laxity.
I have found Chopin's employment of the five-finger pentachord, the last five notes of the B major scale, as well as Neuhaus's emphasis of this idea, including the substitution of B# for B-natural in a whole-tone pattern, to be very helpful in beginning technical development to address joint laxity with intermediate and advanced students. As Neuhaus referred to Chopin's incorporation of this pattern, it can be done with a slight portamento, using the wrist to allow the hand to drop into each note.1 This can be an enlightening experience for students with joint laxity who are accustomed to playing from the elbow joint with the forearms rather than the finger. Such students often have stiff or rigid wrists. This exercise can begin to help them find suppleness and a feeling of lightness in the wrists. Once this has been accomplished, a legato touch can be introduced into the pattern, with the ultimate goal of extending this to scales. The pattern to which I'm referring is given in the following example.
Example No. 1
The whole-tone pattern with portamento approach to touch.
One of the scales which serves as a good starting point for teaching technique is B major. I often use this for beginning students as well because it is easy for them to grasp when taught from the perspective of two and three black-note groups. This scale also conforms most naturally to the shape of the hand. For students with joint laxity, it allows for the possibility of optimal separation of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb from the same joint in the index finger. This separation is very important in helping the student begin to find proper weight balance in the hand. In particular, students with laxity in the thumb joints must learn how the thumb drops from the hand into the keys without allowing the wrist to also drop. Lateral separation of the thumb that occurs in pivot motion in scale playing will also grow more naturally as a result.
Placement and alignment of the upper body, arm, wrist and hand are critical for the fingers to have optimal weight support and range of motion. It is important not to allow a student to turn the hand from the wrist either outward, toward the right, or inward, toward the left. Students with joint laxity in the fourth and fifth fingers will frequently turn their hands outward, relying on the stronger index and middle fingers when playing. The five-finger, whole-tone pattern espoused by Neuhaus is a good starting point for teaching finger motion coupled with supportive, circular motion in the wrists. As the pattern is played in an ascending direction, the wrist begins to follow the direction in which the fingers are moving by circling slightly downward and to the right as the notes ascend, and over and to the left as the notes of the pattern descend. This wrist motion produces a flattened oval shape. More importantly, this motion allows the hand to provide stability and balance for the fingers. This wrist motion can then be transferred to other five-finger patterns in various keys. A good example of such employment can be found in the first exercise from Hanon's Virtuoso Pianist in Sixty Exercises, as seen below:
Example No. 2
This exercise requires a fluid, curvi-linear wrist motion. Used by permission, G. Schirmer Corporation.
Further stabilization of the thumbs' joints can be accomplished by incorporating the pivot motion necessary for transferring weight balance from one finger to another: the passing of the thumb or crossing of the third finger over the thumb in scalar passages. I have found Exercise No. 32, seen below, also from the Hanon 60 Exercises, to be particularly helpful. I also like to use combinations of fingers 1/3, 1/4, and 1/5 when working on this exercise.
Example No. 3
This exercise can be used with the following finger combinations: 1/3; 1/4; and 1/5. Used by permission, G. Schirmer Corporation.
The chromatic scale, using a variety of fingerings, is another helpful technical study. Erno Dohnanyi developed a repetitive pattern of 1-2-3-4 for the chromatic scale that can be very beneficial in training finger interdependence in shifting weight balance from one finger to another.
Example No. 4
The chromatic scale fingering variation found in the first four measures of this example can be beneficial in developing stability and control over joint laxity in the distal, proximal, and metacarpophalangeal joints. Used by permission, Editio Musica Budapest, Erno Dohnanyi, Essential Finger Exercises.
I also like to do a variation on the common chromatic fingering of placing the third finger on the black keys: the fourth finger substitutes for the third, and the third finger substitutes for the second finger.
Rotation is an indispensable technique for any pianist, yet it is also one of the most challenging for students with joint laxity. There are myriad etudes to which one can turn for practice, particularly those of Czerny and Hanon. When working with joint laxity, a slight staccato touch on the moving notes in patterns involving rotation is the articulation most likely to help the student achieve musical and technical success in performance. Exercise examples can be found in Czerny's Op. 261, numbers 5 - 7, and again, the Hanon 60 Exercises, No. 5, as seen below in the following example.
Example No. 5
This exercise is very good for introducing rotation into the technical development of students. Used by permission, G. Schirmer Corporation.
Rotation involves the expansion and contraction of the hand while transferring arm weight among the fingers. Hanon's Exercise No. 6 would be a good compliment to the previous example. Further study of hand expansion and contraction through ornamentation can be useful in training the student with joint laxity. The turn is a wonderful example. Usually, the middle fingers (2, 3, and 4) are involved in executing this ornament while the thumb acts as the pivot, allowing the hand to reach or expand outward from the contracted position. Czerny's study, Op. 261, No. 35 would be an appropriate for such technical development.
Example No. 6
The turn figure employed in this exercise focuses on the expansion and contraction of the hand. Used by permission, G. Schirmer Corporation.
Playing triads and chords can also be beneficial to strengthen joint laxity: a relaxed drop-release wrist motion should be employed, allowing the weight of the arm to sink into the finger pads. Staccato playing of triads can also be useful: they can be articulated with a slight pulling or flicking of the fingers toward the palm of the hand, the wrist being allowed to follow through in an upward motion as the bridge of the hand rises. This can produce a very clean sound while using finger, rather than arm motion.
The drop-release wrist motion, necessary to playing two-note slurs and longer, legato phrases, allows the hand to support the fingers' motion at all times. Coupled with the sensation of pushing from the metacarpophalangeal joint in the fingers, students with joint laxity can develop muscle strength that will help stabilize laxity in the joints. The student will have better control over the sound produced at the instrument. Examples of repertoire that would be supportive in strengthening joint laxity could include:
Elementary
Gurlitt: Songs Without Words
Sheftel: For the Right Hand
Heller: Etude, Op. 46, No. 11
Intermediate
Clementi: Monferrina No. 6
Mendelssohn: "On Wings of Song"
Prokofiev: Vision fugitif No. 10
Advanced
Liebermann: Gargoyles, No. 3
Ravel: Prelude, from Tombeau de Couperin
As teachers, we need to be careful when selecting repertoire for our students. The technical requirements in a piece should be considered carefully, as much as the musical value. Certain works are simply disasters waiting to happen when assigned to students with joint laxity. I'm referring to works such as the first movement of the Beethoven Sonata Op. 13, the Pathetique; Ernesto Lecuona's Malaguena, and Chopin's Etude Op. 25, No. 12. These are good pieces for students whose technique is more fully developed, but they are hindrances to the technical and musical advancement for those with joint laxity. Why not incorporate more pieces by Burgmuller, Gurlitt, and Heller for example, into our studios as teaching pieces? Many of the works by these composers have solid technical value, in addition to musical worth.
It is my hope that some of the ideas I've mentioned here will stimulate your thinking, particularly when you encounter students with joint laxity. Such physiological problems give us an ongoing opportunity to rethink the teaching of technique.
Notes
1. Neuhaus, Heinrich. The Art of Piano Playing. Praeger Publishers, New York: 1973. P. 84.
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