Pianist and Pedagogue
Since 2015 I’ve hosted a series for piano teachers called, “Exploring the Repertoire” at The Art of Piano Pedagogy on Facebook. 3-4 times a year we pick a theme (Women Composers, Bartok, Bach, Sonatinas, etc.) and discuss teaching strategies, favorite pieces, share student and teacher …
Each year the Music Teacher’s National Association (http://www.MTNA.org) hosts a convention. There are presentations, exhibitions, masterclasses, competitions, and concerts. I’ve attended State and National conferences before but this year I decided to apply to give a presentation for the first time. Thankfully, I was accepted! …
“You must compose for children the same way you write for adults, only better.” – Kabalevsky after Maxim Gorky
Since 2015 I’ve hosted a series for piano teachers called, “Exploring the Repertoire” at The Art of Piano Pedagogy on Facebook. 3-4 times a year we pick a theme (Women Composers, Bartok, Bach, Sonatinas, etc.) and discuss teaching strategies, favorite pieces, share student and teacher performances, etc.
For our most recent edition, our theme was Russian composer Dimitri Kabalevsky. This proved extremely popular as Kabalevsky’s works for elementary to early advanced students seem to hold a special place in the hearts of teachers and students alike. It also offered an opportunity to explore pieces that were unfamiliar to many teachers, myself included.
In addition to moderating, I recorded 28 of the 30 pieces from, “Music for Children” op. 27 on my home practice instrument. You can listen to my performances here.
Below is a short introduction to Kabalevsky, his music, and his teaching philosophy. In addition I have put together a listening guide to Kabalevsky’s enormous pedagogical output. It is designed to be browsed and used as a reference when looking for new teaching choices rather than devoured in one gulp. When possible I have included corresponding RCM, AMEB, and ABRSM levels. If you are a teacher many of these may already be a part of your teaching repertoire, but no doubt you will find some new gems as well.
Who was Kabalevsky?
Kabalevsky was born in St. Petersburg in 1904. His contemporaries include Russian virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz, who performed many of his works, and Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian.
While modern in style, his compositions are largely diatonic with a little chromaticism, quick shifts from major to minor tonality, quartal harmonies and lots of major 7th chords. As a result of his musical conservatism, he had an easier time as a composer under Soviet communism than Prokofiev or Shostakovich. But while his concert pieces remain popular, particularly “The Comedians” suite, he has not achieved the same status as a great composer.
It is perhaps his pieces for children which have the greatest staying power. This is not an accident as Kabalavsky loved working with young people, first teaching a class of seven year olds at the Scriabin Music School and then setting up a pilot music program whose syllabus was later adopted by every school in the USSR. His writings on the subject include, “Music and Education: A Composer Writes about Musical Education” published posthumously in 1988.
Kabalevsky died of a heart attack in 1987 at a conference in which he was to lecture on nuclear disarmament having devoted the last 30+ years of his life to teaching children music and promoting world peace.
Music for Young People
Of Kabalevsky’s 253 published pieces, nearly half are for children. Kabalevsky believed music for children should fall into three forms: march, song, and dance.
To illustrate this he published “A Story of Three Whales” in 1970. In the story, he relays an ancient slavic myth that the earth was supported on the back of three whales. For Kabalevsky, all larger musical forms (symphonies, oratorio, opera) were derived from the three basic building blocks of march, song and dance.
“Songs, dancing music, and marching music – these three main forms are unnoticeable because they are so easily woven into our lives, yet no one person can do without them, even when he may think he does not like music.”
In comparing music education to literature he believed that folk and fairy tales told to children before they could read formed the groundwork from which the great works of literature could be comprehended. Nationalistic and folk songs with a narrow vocal range play a large role in Kabalevsky’s compositions.
For ease of comprehension textures are generally clear, triads are played in parallel motion, melodies are often in five finger positions, and many pieces are written with the hands playing in unison. Virtually all of Kabalevsky’s writing is idiomatic to the instrument and a limited number of concepts and technical challenges are found in each piece, so as not to overwhelm the student.
Pedagogical Approach
Not unlike Kodaly, Suzuki, and Gordon, Kabalevsky took a sound-before-sight approach to teaching children. He believed that “music is experienced first through listening, then singing, and finally through seeing.” For Kabalevsky the role of the listener was as important as that of the composer and performer. At the core teaching children was the development of what Kodaly called “inner hearing” – hearing music inside one’s head without those sounds being externally present.
Listening Guide
Below I have put together an overview with video examples.
a. Music For Children op. 27 and 39
b. 35 Easy Pieces op. 89
c. Variations
d. Rondos
e. In the Pioneer Camp op 3/86 and From Pioneer Life op 14
Op. 27 30 Pieces for Children
Was written from 1937-38 and later revised. The pieces range from intermediate to early advanced and feature many studio favorites.
Fairy Tale (n. 20) was a favorite amongst our participants. It also provoked some controversy. It features a beautiful melody on top of broken first inversion chords. The controversy was in regards to the tempo marking: ‘andantino’. Andantino generally implies a little faster than one would walk but many teachers preferred a slower tempo to bring out the beauties of the line and harmony. Other teachers felt that too slow a tempo loses the child-like innocence of the piece.
For comparison I’ve included my own quicker recording with Diane Hidy’s beautifully crafted slower performance.
Etudes in A minor (n. 3), F major (n. 24) and A major (n. 26)
These are a wonderful ways to work on technical patterns in the context of exciting music. Both F and A major require the students to play arpeggios in one hand, scales in the other. I used ‘adult’ tempos but they needn’t be played so fast.
Toccatina (n. 12) and Sonatina (n. 18) are perennial favorites. Both are in A minor and are rhythmically dynamic without being too hard. I chose to interpret Kabalevsky’s slurring literally in the Toccatina but some teachers prefer longer phrases.
Playing Ball (n. 5) is an etude of sorts for playing fast repeated notes. It’s also a lot of fun as the ‘balls’ jump all over the keyboard. For the three repeated notes we had a wide variety of favorite fingering choices: 2-2-2, 4-3-2, 4-3-1, 3-2-3, 3-3-2, 3-3-3, and 3-1-3. The choice which received the least love was 3-2-1. To be a contrarian I recorded with this fingering.
Waltz (n. 1), A Little Song (n. 2), and A Night at the River (n. 4) are the simplest pieces of the set. The Waltz is music box like, the other pieces hauntingly sad and quintesentially Russian.
A Little Prank (n. 13) is playful and great for working on fast five finger patterns.
Song of the Calvary (n. 29) is regularly performed at festivals and competitons. Playing the left hand melody against the right hand chords is not easy to coordinate but well worth the effort.
Meadow Dance (n. 17) sounds like it belongs in a Miyazaki film. The left hand chord leaps are deceptively difficult.
Novelette (n. 25) was another favorite amongst are members. It is Schumann-inspired and tells a sad story.
Op. 39 24 Pieces for Children
Features some of Kabalevsky’s most beloved works. The first 12 pieces are at a late elementary level, the second twelve early intermediate. I’ve used my Art of Piano Pedagogy co-admin Jason Sifford’s recordings. You can listen to his complete performance of the set here.
Melody (n. 1) a simple three note tune with diads in the l.h.
Polka (n. 2) is a happy dance with a legato melody in the l.h. and staccato diads in the right.
A Little Joke (n. 6) is capricious with parrallel motion between the hand mixing staccato and two note slurs.
A Funny Event (n. 7) features copy cat play between the two hands.
A Little Dance (n. 9) is a jolly folk dance great for students working on primary and 7th chords.
March (n. 10) uses a short-long rhythm to create a pompous march. The black keys sections can be taught by rote.
Scherzo (n. 12) is heavily patterned and sounds harder than it is. This is always a favorite in my studio.
Waltz (n. 13) Melody in the r.h. with diads in the left and a little mode mixture.
Jumping (n. 15) is a fun coordinational challenge with the hands playing the same melodic figures but with different rhythms.
Clowns (n. 20) polled as our favorite Kabalevsky. The rapid switching between major and minor seems to represent the happy and sad painted faces.
Slow Waltz (n. 23) uses off beat chords in the l.h., single notes and sixths in the right. This is a funny and sometimes sardonic dance.
Op. 89 35 Easy Pieces
Was written between 1972 and 1974 and is similar in difficulty to op. 39. It represents a lifetime of experience writing for children and is his last published work for piano. One senses a feeling of completeness as he writes in meters and keys not contained in the earlier sets.
Amongst the simplest pieces are:
At Recess (n. 4) uses almost all thirds played with fingers 2 and 4, played as two note slurs or staccato quarters.
First Waltz (n. 5) Slightly melancholy with the melody in the l.h. Accompaniment and countermelody in the r.h.
Little Hedgehog (n. 8) Contrary motion broken chords and little dissonances depicting the playful, spikey animal.
Little Goat Limping (n. 19) The use of the irregular meter of 5/4 perfectly captures the limp. The drone bass gives the piece the feel of a folk song.
The Little Juggler (n. 21) is a lot of fun with one hand playing a broken octave, the other crossing over and back.
Chastushka (n. 25) A joyous folk song toccata with offbeat “wrong note” minor seconds and lots of crossing over.
Stubborn Little Brother (n. 27) A humorous piece with a gentle melody in the r.h. continually interrupted by accented repeated notes in the left.
More Challenging pieces include:
A Merry Tune (n. 26) is rollicking song written in parallel motion with a brief excursion to the minor (played here by APP member Jackie Sharp).
Rabbit Teasing a Bear Cub (n. 31) The l.h. lumbering bear moves slowly while the r.h. hare flits around interrupting his journey.
Almost a Waltz (n. 33) is a little sad a first but settles into contentment at the end. It is in a crooked 7/8 meter.
Melancholy Rain (n. 34) has ‘rain drops’ in the left hand, a fragmented sad melody in the left.
Trumpet and Drum (n. 20) is a hit with students. The ‘trumpet’ is in the right hand playing broken chords. The drum is in the left repeating a rhythmic ostinato.
Variations
Kabalevsky wrote many variation sets:
Variations op. 40 features two variation sets in D major (RCM 9) and A minor (RCM 10). They are a longer and more technically challenging than op. 51.
Easy Variations for Piano op. 51 features five sets based on Russian and Ukranian themes. These were familiar folk themes to his students and the pieces often sound harder than they are.
Variations on Folk Themes op. 87 uses well known international songs such as Sakura and “All the Pretty Little Horses”
Other collections by Kabalevsky include
Four Rondos op. 60 played at the link below by APP member Dan Severino (all are RCM 7). The first three of these pieces exemplifies Kabalevsky’s “three whales.”
The fourth is a tocatta.
www.pianolessonsplus.org/40-p-iece-challenge-2018-2019
In the Pioneer Camp op 3/86 and From Pioneer Life op 14
The Youth Pioneers was a movement similar to that of scouting in the U.S., although they were government sponsored and part of their function was to teach children and early adolescents communist doctrine.
These works that can be played separately or as a set. Op. 14 captures the activities of Youth Pioneers at camp including drumming, sport, vacationing, singing, and march. Op. 3/86 is a day in the life of scouts from early morning, exercises, river hiking, forest and mountain trails, extraordinary events, and an evening by the campfire.
The teacher may or may not want to discuss or not discuss the communist roots, but these are delightful pieces that will be enjoyed by any student who enjoys scouting, hiking, and camping.
I hope you have have found this post informative. I’d love to hear from you regarding your own experiences with Kabalevsky’s music in the comment section!
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A question that frequently gets asked by parents and pianists alike is whether a digital piano is interchangeable with an acoustic for learning to play the piano. The answer, with rare exceptions, is no.
Often it is believed that if there are 88 keys and they are weighted that is all that is required to imitate a piano. But an essential feature missing from all but a few high end digitals is the escapement mechanism. It is the escapement that allows us to draw out an seemingly endless range of nuances from the instrument and it is the escapement that does much of the work for us in technically challenging passages.
For a detailed explanation of all of the parts of the piano and its action check out Christopher Smit’s “The Piano Deconstructed” page. But here’s a brief summary:
A. Bartolomeo Cristofori and the Single Escapement Action
When Cristofori invented the piano in 1700 his most important innovation was the piano action. In earlier keyboard instruments like the harpsichord, the keyboardist depresses a key and a quill plucks the string. This allows for considerable overall volume in public performances but regardless of how slow or fast a key is played, the dynamic level remains the same.
Sound at the clavichord is produced by small metal blades called tangents which strike brass or metal strings from above. Until the player lifts their finger off the key the tangent stays in contact with the string. The clavichord can create many dynamic nuances and even vibrato, but the overall volume of the instrument is so soft that it is only suitable for home use.
With the invention of the pianoforte, the keyboardist had an instrument that could play both loud and soft on a single key and produced enough sound to be used in public performance. This was thanks to the escapement action. When the pianist plays the key, the hammers strike the string rapidly. Unlike the clavichord, the hammer immediately rebounds off the string while the key is still depressed. The slower the pianist plays into the key the softer the sound. The faster into the key the louder the sound. Degrees of volume are created by velocity, not force.
B. Sébastien Erard and the Double Escapement
Invented in 1821 by Erard, the double escapement made it possible to rapidly repeat a key. The addition of a repetition spring and other components meant that the hammer could “reload” allowing for multiple hammer repetitions without fully releasing a key. Composers of the Romantic era exploited this capability filling their music with repeated notes and chords, octaves, double notes, and tremolos pushing the limits of virtuosity at the keyboard to its extreme.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAKtfkh0C1M
Near the bottom of the piano key there is a little bump. This is the escapement level at which point the hammer strikes the string. Dorothy Taubman called this the “point of sound.” After the sound has been produced there is nothing we can do to alter it.
On a well regulated piano the point of sound should be about a pennie’s width higher than than keybed.
Past the bump there is a little bit of space called the ‘aftertouch.” Ideally the pianist aims for the point of sound and then follows through the aftertouch to the bottom of the key.
All tonal control is a result of the pianist’s relationship with the point of sound. Hindemith said that “it makes no difference on the piano whether it is touched with the tip of an umbrella or with the finger of Arthur Rubinstein.” But this fails to take into account how sensitive the instrument is. Even on a single note, an enormous range of volumes and tonal qualities can be produced.
As Thomas Marks notes in his book. “What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body“: “Volume of sound is not the only thing that changes: as the hammer goes faster and faster or slower, the mix of overtones shift also, so the quality of the sound changes as well as the volume. ”
If the finger plays too fast into the key a harsh sound is produced.
Too slowly, none at all.
To find the point of sound depress the key slowly until the bump can be felt and then play to the bottom of the key. Often young students are impatient and will take a few tries to drop slowly enough to feel the bump. Once the student has found the point of sound they can practice dropping faster or slower into a key to change the dynamic level.
Avoiding keybedding: The hallmark of virtuoso playing is minimal effort for maximal effect. A poor habit common to pianists is pressing against the keybed after the sound has been produced. This is true amongst children who believe that volume is created by force. But it is also true among professionals, particularly when they are emotionally involved.
As Tobias Matthay wrote, “the keybeds are not like ripe fruit out of which sound-juice can squeezed.”
To help the student feel how much effort is necessary I use a trick shown to me by Dr. Teresa Dybvig. I depress the keys and have the student play on top of them. If there is a “thud” I know they are working too hard.
Renowned hand therapist Dr. Caryl Johnson often recommended pianists practice on a table top to avoid using excess force.
In addition to tonal nuance the double escapement has to ability to rebound the hand in staccato passages, octaves, and chords much like bouncing on a trampoline. Gravity takes care of the down, the rebound the up. Without an aftertouch the pianist is forced to use the fingers to depress the full weight of the hammer and has to lug the arm around the piano rather than allowing it to be bounced from place to place.
Poorly regulated or nonexistent escapement is a major cause of injury at the keyboard. Playing without an escapement mechanism is equivalent to jumping on asphalt rather than a trampoline. I can play for hours on an acoustic piano without fatigue but I often find I’m sore after playing a gig using a digital keyboard due to the lack of a point of sound.
Helping students to rebound off the key is similar to finding the point of sound:
a. The student feels the ‘bump’;
b. The student rests on the bottom of the key;
c. The student slowly rides it to top as if it were an elevator.
Gradually the speed can be increased. If the student’s finger-hand-forearm unit is balanced well over the key, the repetition lever will do all the work for them. It is not even necessary to leave the surface of the key when practicing this.
This skill is essential for any non legato touch including octave, repeated notes, chords, and staccato.
Having students clap their hands together or pretend to dribble a basketball will further reinforce this image of the bouncing finger-hand-forearm unit.
The most efficient way to play a key is to aim for the point of sound and follow through with the arm to the bottom of the keybed at which point all downward motion stops.
However, there are places in the repertoire where a bell-like sound can be created by playing only to the point of sound. This is quite effective in impressionist music like Debussy and Ravel as in the ‘Bells” of Ravel’s “La Vallee des Cloches”
or for the wedge notes in the opening of Beethoven op. 110.
Brilliant passages like rapid alternating octaves can also benefit from this approach.
I hope I have made a case for the necessity of a well-regulated escapement mechanism during all stages of piano study. It is only fair to note that there are a few hybrid digital-acoustic instruments on the market which have a hammer action modeled after the piano. I haven’t had the opportunity to try them all but if you are in the market for a digital instrument I would only recommend purchasing one of these.
The action on an upright is a little different than a grand. Most do not have a double escapement but rather an additional spring to mimic the action of a grand. In general, a grand will have a better action with faster repetitions, but a high quality upright is preferable to a poor quality grand.
If you can’t find the point of sound on your acoustic or the aftertouch feels too shallow or too deep it is worth contacting a certified piano technician.
Please let me know if you enjoyed this post. Questions and comments welcomed!
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