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Cheryl is back for a masterclass on how awareness of musical tension and release can make huge changes to our playing, and demonstrates that we absolutely need to learn to learn to feel it in the body before we can successfully apply it to our piano playing

Show Notes

  • [6:20] Pulling/ pushing tempo- stretching time
    • More tension = get slower
  • [13:30] We have to *feel* tension/release, not just think about getting slower/faster (otherwise it’s too difficult)!
    • It also helps for tempo changes to happen gradually
    • Rubato = tension/release expressed with tempo changes
    • Nuances of the felt sense of tension/release- sensations come mainly from the chest
    • Musicality is strongly connected to being in touch with the feelings of these nuanced sensations
    • Why adult students (particularly classical) are most prone to not feel tension/release
    • Why adult men often find this particularly challenging
    • We need to be patient with ourselves when building this skill
  • [37:30] Dynamics also correlate with tension/release
    • 99% of the time, more tension = slower & louder- but tendency is to get quicker when getting louder (wrong way round)- unless feeling tension/ release from the chest
    • Tension/release can also be felt in the breath- like a feeling of suspense
    • Rubato is tension/release expressed through speeding up/ slowing down
  • [44:00] Interoception- vital for musical tension/release
  • [56:00] Useful tool to increase awareness of felt sense of tension/release is to suddenly stop at any given moment, and explore whatever sensations are in the chest
  • [59:00] Meditation is a tool to use interoception to quieten thoughts in the head. But it’s dangerous to approach meditation with the goal of quietening thoughts because we just create more thoughts- we have to accept the thoughts and keep coming back to interoception
  • 1:06:00] Harmony and tension/release. Tension very strong on the dominant
  • [1:18:35] ‘Magic wand practice’ as a powerful tool to facilitate turning the mind off to focus on interoceptive sensations of tension/release
  • [1:21:00] In meditation, and when playing the piano- being centred in interoception and in the body is the antidote to over-thinking and unhelpful states of mind that result in bad performances

Notes:

Many thanks to Forsyth’s Music Shop in Manchester for letting me use one of their teaching/practice rooms to record this podcast episode: https://www.forsyths.co.uk
I thoroughly recommend them for all your sheet music/ piano/ digital piano/ loads of other instruments(!) needs

Links for the podcast episodes for the previous 4 psychological skills:
E26: The #1 psychological skill you need to practise at the piano to be deeply musical

E29: The #2 psychological skill you need to practise at the piano to be deeply musical

E31: The #3 psychological skill you need to practise at the piano to be deeply musical

E32: The #4 psychological skill you need to practise at the piano to be deeply musical

E34: We discuss the 4 most important psychological skills you need to practise at the piano to be deeply musical

The intro/outro music is my jazz arrangement of the Rachmaninov Adagio from Symphony #2, you can watch the whole thing here if you like: https://youtu.be/hMqREAngb4s
You can also see the rest of my YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@HeartofthePiano

I have availability for online students at the moment- if you’re interested, do get in touch using the contact page at http://HeartOfThePiano.com