The difference between Teaching and Cramming.
3. How one's mind can be brought to bear on one's work.
4. Correct ideas of Time and Shape.
5. Elements of Rubato and its application.
6. Elements of Duration and Pedaling and their application.
7. Some details as to the application of the Element of Tone-variety.
Such themes must cause the thoughtful reader to pause and think. They
are treated with illuminating originality. The great aim of the teacher
must ever be to awaken thought along correct lines; the pupil must be
assisted to concentrate his thought on what he is doing: to constantly
think and listen. Teaching does not consist merely in pointing out
faults; the teacher must make clear the _cause_ of each fault and the
way to correct it. That section of the book devoted to the Element of
Rubato, is illustrated with many examples from well-known compositions,
by which the principle is explained. He shows how frequently this
principle is misunderstood by the inexperienced, who seem to think that
rubato means breaking the time; whereas true rubato is the _bending_ of
the time, but not _breaking_ it. If we give extra time to certain notes,
we must take some time from other notes, in order to even things up.
The subject of Pedaling is aptly explained by means of numerous
illustrations. The author deplores the misuse of the damper pedal,
which can be made to ruin all the care and effort bestowed on phrasing
and tonal effects by the fingers. The fault can, in most cases, be
traced to inattention to the sounds coming from the piano.
There are quotable paragraphs on every page, which in their sincerity
and earnestness, their originality of expression, stamp themselves on
the reader's imagination. Every teacher who is serious in his work and
has the best interests of his pupils at heart, should read and ponder
these pages.
XIII
HAROLD BAUER
THE QUESTION OF PIANO TONE
Buried deep in the heart of old Paris, in one of the narrow, busy
thoroughfares of the city, stands the ancient house in which the master
pianist, Harold Bauer, has made a home.
One who is unfamiliar with Paris would never imagine that behind those
rows of uninviting buildings lining the noisy, commercial street, there
lived people of refined and artistic tastes. All the entrances to the
buildings look very much alike--they seem to be mere slits in the walls.
I stopped before one of the openings, entered and crossed a paved
courtyard, cl
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