A Note About the Importance of Ensemble Skills for All Young Pianists

A Note About the Importance of Ensemble Skills for All Young Pianists

Each year, our piano students here at CYM spend the late summer and early fall working on duet pieces to be performed at the Ensemble Recital, and, each year, without fail, I hear this very valid question from a handful of students: “Ms. Sonia, why do we have to do this?  I’d rather just work on my solo piece.”

Admit it – you and your child probably chose the piano as an instrument of study because of its appealing solo-istic, stand-alone nature.  I know I did.  An instrument that allows a soloist to play not only lyrical melody, but also countless styles of accompaniment at the same time – how wonderful!  Then, why do we have to spend time each year treating the piano as an ensemble instrument?  The answer is this: through duet practice and performance, the performer develops the valuable skill of being able to actively (as opposed to passively) listen to more than one thing at a time.

  

Why is this listening skill desirable?  In any pianist’s musical journey, the following opportunities may present themselves: chamber music, accompanying or collaborating with another instrumentalist or vocalist, or, hopefully, the chance to perform a concerto with an orchestra.  In any of these musical situations, the pianist must be adept at listening to not only their own music-making, but also the music-making of their collaborators, as the combined music should be speaking as though from one source – unified gestures, phrases, and sentiments.

“What if I prefer playing in solo settings, though?  Why do I need to learn to listen and adapt to other people?” - a question I’ve heard countless times, as well.  Even in solo piano music, the previously described combination of melody and harmony is reason enough to warrant the necessity of active listening – listening to two different parts simultaneously, and then adjusting, accordingly, how each part is played, oftentimes with a different touch and sound in each hand, but with the end goal of revealing one clear story.  This sounds like A LOT of work, but how else can the pianist achieve the desired character in a Chopin Nocturne, where the correct balance between a lyrical melody in the right hand, and meditative accompaniment in the left hand, is so crucial?  How else can we as pianists invoke true Baroque polyphonic style in, say, a 4-part Fugue by J.S. Bach, where a hierarchy between the voices is essential?  Or, even at the very beginning of this musical journey, how else does the pianist play the “Twinkle” theme with a singing tone in the right hand, while playing a quiet, understated Alberti Bass accompaniment in the left hand?  The answer: adjustments brought on by active listening.

So, once a year, through the ultimately fun and rewarding process of working on duets with their peers, CYM piano students are asked to focus on this active listening – listening to their own duet part, as well as that of their partner, and combine their efforts to make these two different parts tell one story.  The hope is that this listening skill bleeds into their solo music making, and that, as soloists, they become better able to listen to and adjust the many voices between their own two hands to more clearly convey the coveted “one” story.  

 ~Dr. Sonia Tripathi, CYM piano department