Carl Czerny

“ Many half-formed players imagine that every thing will be right, if they do but step forward at once with a difficult piece by some celebrated composer. But by this means they neither do honor to the composition nor to themselves; but merely expose themselves to the danger of exciting ennui, and, at best, of being applauded from politeness and compassion, and therefore of being blamed and laughed at behind their backs. For, even with regard to amateurs, persons avail themselves of the right to blame when they have not received any pleasure ”

“ To this belongs the very important quality, that the player should know how to listen properly to himself, and to judge of his own performance with accuracy. He who does not possess this gift, is apt, in practising alone, to spoil all that he has acquired correctly in the presence of his teacher.
But I must once more remind you, Miss, that we can only study new pieces quickly and well, when we have not forgotten those already learned. There are, alas! many pupils (female pupils too, dear Miss) who play only that piece well which they have just been taught. ”

“ Every composer, as well as every player, founds his art and his science on what his predecessors have already done; adding to that the inventions of his own talent. By these natural steps in advance, it is evident that the compositions of the present distinguished pianists are in many respects much more difficult than those of times gone by; and that whoever desires to study them must already possess great knowledge of music, and a very considerable degree of execution. ”

“ Thus, for example, the thumb is much stronger than any of the other fingers; the first finger is much stronger than the little finger, and the third finger, on the contrary, is, with almost every person, the weakest of all. The pianist, however, must know how to employ these various degrees of power, so that in playing the scales all the fingers may strike their appropriate keys with perfect equality of strength; for the scales sound well only when they are played in every respect with the most exact equality. ”

“ For you may easily imagine, Miss, that the happiest talent avails nothing, when the fingers are incapable of following and obeying its dictates. Besides this, it also requires an intimate acquaintance with the compositions of all the great composers; for only by this means can one’s own talent be awakened, cultivated, and strengthened, so as to enable us to produce music of our own invention. ”

“ When I, some years ago, had the pleasure of being personally acquainted with your family, I discovered in you so decided a talent for music, that I am exceedingly rejoiced to hear that you are now really about to devote yourself to the delightful art of playing the pianoforte. ”

“ Therefore, dear Miss, exercise yourself cheerfully and courageously in this very honorable branch of the art. If the labour is great, the pleasure and reward which you may gain thereby are still greater. ”

“ From every musical instrument we may produce either a fine tone or a detestable one, according as we handle it. The same excellent violin which, in the hands of a clever player, sounds so delightfully, will, when handled by a clumsy person, yield as disagreeable sounds as if a number of kittens were squalling. It is the same with the pianoforte. If it is not properly handled by the player, or if we merely thump and bang the keys, the best instrument will sound hard and unpleasant. ”

“ To what purpose do we learn, but to give pleasure, not only to ourselves, but also to our beloved parents and our worthy friends? And assuredly there is no higher satisfaction than in being able to distinguish oneself before a large company, and in receiving an honorable acknowledgment of one’s diligence and talent. ”

“ With many, there predominates a brilliant, shewy, and strongly marked manner; with others, an expressive, quiet, connected, and gentle style of playing is most generally called for; others, again, require a characteristic, impassioned, or even fantastic and humorous expression; and, in many compositions, a tender, warm, playful, and pleasing mode of execution is most suitable. Lastly, there are pieces which include all these different styles, and which therefore compel the player to adopt corresponding alternations of manner in his performance. ”

“ First of all, I will endeavour, by the following explanations, to give you as clear an idea as possible of what thorough-bass or harmony is, and to what purpose it serves.
Music consists of melody and harmony. When, for example, a female sings quite alone, without any accompaniment, her song is pure, simple melody. When another female singer, with a somewhat deeper voice, accompanies the first with a different, but still agreeably sounding melody, this will form music in two parts, which may also be called two-part harmony. ”

“ Indeed, I have no hesitation in saying that, for the tuition of children on the Pianoforte, no work of equal merit and utility has ever come before the public. For Class or School-teaching it will be found absolutely invaluable; and country teachers, and persons who have not had long experience in tuition, will, by its aid, be enabled to guide their pupils into a short and pleasant path, along which their progress towards excellence will be rapid and certain, and which will assuredly redound equally to their profit and their reputation. ”

“ The white keys are to be struck on the middle of their anterior broad surfaces, and the black keys pretty close to their nearest extremities or ends.
You must take great care, Miss, that you do not strike any key sideways or obliquely; as, otherwise, a contiguous and wrong key may chance to be touched; and, in music, nothing is worse than playing wrong notes.
While one finger strikes, the other fingers must be kept close to the keys, but always bent, and poised quite freely in the air; for we must not touch any key before the moment in which it is to be struck. ”

“ Your instructor has already accustomed you to observe, in general, the marks of expression; as forte, piano, legato, staccato, &c. The more you begin to overcome all the mechanical difficulties of pianoforte-playing, the greater the attention you must give to this important subject—expression.
Expression, feeling, and sensibility are the soul of music, as of every other art. ”

“ If, with a fixed determination to excel on the pianoforte, you dedicate to it, daily, only three hours, of which about half an hour shall be appropriated to the exercises, as much more to playing over the old pieces, and the remaining time to the study of new compositions,—this will assuredly enable you, by degrees, to attain a very commanding degree of excellence, without necessarily obliging you to neglect your other pursuits. ”

“ So decided a disposition and inclination for this fine art could not, in truth, remain long dormant; for no art is more noble, nor more surely indicative of general mental cultivation than music; and you know that pianoforte playing, though suitable to every one, is yet more particularly one of the most charming and honorable accomplishments for young ladies, and, indeed, for the female sex in general. ”

“ Useful as these studies are in general, we must not lose sight of the fact, that every piece, be it a sonata, a rondo, an air with variations, a fantasia, &c. is also a study in its way; and that, for example, we may draw from a concerto, or a set of brilliant variations, equally as much advantage in regard to rapidity of finger, or from a sentimental adagio equally as much improvement in regard to expression, as we can from the practice of any set of studies whatever. ”

“ Some graceful movements are necessary while playing; it is only the excess that must be avoided.
When we have to play in the highest or lowest octave, a gentle inclination of the body is at once necessary and appropriate. When we have to play difficult passages, chords struck loud and short, or skips, the hands are and must be allowed a moderate degree of movement. As we must sometimes look at the notes, and sometimes at the hands, a slight movement of the head is, if not necessary, at least very excusable. ”

“ Among all the chords practicable in music, there is only one in each key which is called the perfect common chord, or perfect triad. It consists of a bass note or root, its third, its fifth, and when in four parts, the perfect octave also: viz.
or
The third may be either major or minor, according as the key is major or minor; but the fifth and octave must be perfect.
I must once more remind you that all the intervals in each chord are always computed and sought for from the lowest note upwards. ”

“ One of the most necessary acquirements for a pianist is to be equally practised and ready in all the keys. There are many who are as much startled at a piece having four or five sharps or flats for its signature, as though they saw a spectre. And, nevertheless, to the fingers all keys are in reality of equal difficulty ”

“ I also request you most earnestly, while you are studying new pieces, not by any means to forget those already learned, not even the earliest ones.
New pieces serve but little, if, on their account, the preceding ones are forgotten.
For the adroitness and expertness of the fingers, the eyes, and the ears must of necessity repose firmly and fundamentally on the experience which we have already gained; while these qualities are to be enlarged and refined by new acquisitions. If, for example, you forget a piece which it took you three weeks to learn, these three weeks are as good as lost. ”

“ Continue daily to decypher a couple of new little pieces, and at the same time to practise still more those which you have already learned, so that these latter ones may go off quicker and quicker, and that you may each week study at least two fresh pieces. For, as you have an earnest wish to attain to a high degree of excellence in pianoforte-playing, you must look upon all that has been given to you as yet, only as a means to that end, and, indeed, as that means which will conduct to this end as quickly and as agreeably as possible. ”

“ And, even to the player and practical musician, this science ought not to remain unknown; for it is equally useful and pleasant to be able to account to oneself, as to how far each composition may justly lay claim to intrinsic merit; and because thorough-bass is of the greatest assistance in extemporizing, playing at sight, and accompanying. ”

“ At present, Miss Cecilia, you cannot form an idea of the beauty and effect which is produced by a pure, clear, rapid, and strictly equal execution of such runs; they are musical rows of pearls; and many great artists are more particularly distinguished on account of their peculiar excellence in the performance of them. You will no doubt have already remarked, that correct fingering is a very important part of pianoforte playing, and one which costs every pupil a good deal of labour. Now, the scales contain all the principal rules of fingering ”

“ You are now arrived at the epoch where the art begins to proffer you true, noble, and intellectual pleasures, and in which the new and continually more and more beautiful compositions, with which you will now become acquainted, will give you an idea of the inexhaustible riches and variety in music. ”

“ At first, this will appear difficult to you; what you play will seem unconnected, or even incorrect; you will lose that courage and confidence in yourself which are so necessary to this purpose. But if you do not allow yourself to be frightened by this, and will repeat these attempts day after day, you will perceive that your powers will become more developed from week to week; and, with a more extended knowledge of thorough-bass, you will soon learn also to avoid faults against harmony. ”

“ You possess an excellent pianoforte by one of our best makers; and you will already have remarked, that the most gentle pressure of the finger on a key produces a perceptible alteration and modification in the tone; and that we may play with great power, without any excessive exertion, and without using any unnecessary and ridiculous movements of the hands, arms, shoulders, or head. For, unhappily, many even very good pianists are guilty of these and similar contortions and grimaces ”

“ And now, Miss, allow me in this letter to offer this last very important remark: the best knowledge of the notes avails us very little, if, at the same time, the fingers do not begin to develop that degree of flexibility which is requisite for striking the keys and for playing in general. I therefore most earnestly recommend you to practise daily, with untiring diligence and the greatest attention, all the five-finger exercises in both hands, which you will find at the beginning of my Pianoforte School, and which your instructor will explain to you ”

“ In fact, it is as impossible to play the pianoforte well with stiff and untractable fingers, as to dance well with stiff and untractable feet. Volubility of finger is one of the chief requisites in pianoforte-playing.
It is very proper that your teacher gives you an hour’s lesson every day. If, in addition to this, you daily dedicate another hour—or, if possible, two hours to practising by yourself—you will in a few months have for ever conquered all that is difficult or tedious in the elementary branches of playing ”

“ But before we learn to know the chords, we must see from what they are constructed.
Each chord must consist of at least three notes, sounded together. When we strike only two notes together, it is not a chord, but merely an interval.
There are ten such intervals in music, which here follow; C being always taken as the lower note or root.
With respect to these intervals, the following remarks are to be made:
1st. Any key which we choose to fix upon, may serve as a root or bottom note to all these intervals; and consequently they may take place in all keys and in all octaves. ”

“ It is very necessary, therefore, Miss, that you should study and commit to memory a good number of little, easy, but tasteful pieces; so that, on such occasions, you may be able to play them by heart: for it appears rather childish to be obliged, for every trifle, to turn over one’s collection of music ”