How
do you achieve color and interest to the piano songs you are playing?
One technique is how you balance the hands. Playing the melody stronger
than the accompaniment immediately adds more flavor and color to the
music. An easy way to achieve this is to simply apply more arm weight to
the right hand while playing.
All
instruments essentially imitate the human voice. However, with the
piano, every time you play a note, it immediately begins to fade out.
One thing I’ve noticed from listening to flute players is that they
play higher notes with more breath and volume than lower notes. This is
totally natural when singing or playing a wind instrument. One thing to
be learned from one of the great piano teachers, Ruth Slenczynska is
that you can mimic this effect on the piano. Playing higher notes louder
and lower notes softer will add a lot of color and expression to your
music. You can also take a bit more time when you reach the higher notes
to add a greater effect. You will create the sense of a singing line on
the piano!
But
let’s not forget about the left hand in all this. If you were using the
pedal you could meld the notes to create a nicer sound. Yet without the
pedal you can achieve this by holding selected notes with your fingers!
Try holding the bottom note holding the first note in each group so it
overlaps the following sixteenth notes. You will be rewarded with a rich
sound! ~ Living Piano, Piano Tips with Robert Estrin
