Meaning and Purpose of Keyboard Technique
I feel that it is most urgent that the present work be issued by Tobias Matthay, and trust that it will serve as a corrective to so much spurious "Matthay teaching" which was very prevalent throughout Europe prior to World War II. It will be seen that I do not here more minutely stress the locality of muscles or anatomical details at greater length than I thought fit in my first work,
The Act of Touch.
The fact remains, that beyond certain simple generalizations, the attempted realization of the precise locality of the muscles concerned is not only futile, but is bound to impede the progress of the student, since it must take his attention away from the points where it is most directly needed. Anyway, this is practically impossible both physiologically and psychologically, for us to influence or provoke any particular muscle directly into action, however hard we may try. Were such attempt possible, it would be hopeless to impart or acquire the correct playing actions, considering that even the most simple actions of our limbs (both the visible and the invisible ones) require a complexity of muscular interplay that would at once render such problem unthinkable.
The fact remains, that beyond certain simple generalizations, the attempted realization of the precise locality of the muscles concerned is not only futile, but is bound to impede the progress of the student, since it must take his attention away from the points where it is most directly needed. Anyway, this is practically impossible both physiologically and psychologically, for us to influence or provoke any particular muscle directly into action, however hard we may try. Were such attempt possible, it would be hopeless to impart or acquire the correct playing actions, considering that even the most simple actions of our limbs (both the visible and the invisible ones) require a complexity of muscular interplay that would at once render such problem unthinkable.
The precise action of the deeper-seated muscles in playing is still largely a matter of conjecture and inference.
What we can learn and should teach is what may be termed the "general muscular mechanics of the limbs" we use. We can learn which section of the playing limb should be exerted and which should be left lax. Thus by willing the desirable stresses into action and by inhibiting the undesirable ones, the concerned complex muscular coordinations will indirectly be called into responsive operation. This basic principle which underlies all my technical teachings is also carried out in the present work known as Visible and Invisible in Pianoforte Technique
What we can learn and should teach is what may be termed the "general muscular mechanics of the limbs" we use. We can learn which section of the playing limb should be exerted and which should be left lax. Thus by willing the desirable stresses into action and by inhibiting the undesirable ones, the concerned complex muscular coordinations will indirectly be called into responsive operation. This basic principle which underlies all my technical teachings is also carried out in the present work known as Visible and Invisible in Pianoforte Technique
How the brain works
This is how the brain works. Each neuron receives inputs from other neurons and a few of the neurons receive inputs from the receptors[1].
This consists of a large number of neurons, but only a small fraction of them. The neurons communicate with each other within in the cortex by sending these spikes of activity. The effective input line on a neuron is controlled by synaptic weight[2], which can be positive or negative. These synaptic weights adapt, and through adaptation, the weights enable the whole network to learn and to perform different kinds of computation. Examples of this are recognizing objects, understanding language, making plans, controlling the movements of your body. You have about ten to the eleven neurons, each of which has about ten to the four weights. So you probably have 10^15 (ten to the fifteen) or maybe only about 10^14 (ten to the fourteen) synaptic weights in your cerebral cortex. A huge number of these weights, quite a large fraction of them, can affect the ongoing computation in a very small fraction of a second, that is a few milliseconds. That is much better bandwidth to store knowledge than even a modern workstation has.
This consists of a large number of neurons, but only a small fraction of them. The neurons communicate with each other within in the cortex by sending these spikes of activity. The effective input line on a neuron is controlled by synaptic weight[2], which can be positive or negative. These synaptic weights adapt, and through adaptation, the weights enable the whole network to learn and to perform different kinds of computation. Examples of this are recognizing objects, understanding language, making plans, controlling the movements of your body. You have about ten to the eleven neurons, each of which has about ten to the four weights. So you probably have 10^15 (ten to the fifteen) or maybe only about 10^14 (ten to the fourteen) synaptic weights in your cerebral cortex. A huge number of these weights, quite a large fraction of them, can affect the ongoing computation in a very small fraction of a second, that is a few milliseconds. That is much better bandwidth to store knowledge than even a modern workstation has.
Brainstem
Though small, the brainstem is an extremely important part of the brain, as the nerve connections from the motor and sensory systems of the cortex pass through it to communicate with the peripheral nervous system.
Our business as teachers is to make clear to the learner which are the limb-stresses (both visible and invisible) needed in playing, and which are the ones to be avoided. It is the only way by which the learner can be directly helped. The physiological aspect of 1) touch and 2) technique is usually found to be the most difficult problem to grasp by the learner. During the process of teaching one is able to bring the details to the attention of the pupil as required at the particular moment. In order to execute a specific passage, the motions that are required must be implemented first on a conscious level, before they can be executed at a subconscious level during performance.
- Technique means the power of expressing oneself musically. It embraces all the physio-mechanical means through which one's musical perceptions are expressed.
- It is therefore absurd and hopeless to try to acquire technique dissociated from its purpose to express music.
- Technique is rather a matter of the mind than of the fingers and the mental state is primary.
- To acquire the necessary muscular discrimination for playing, implies the acquisition mentally of the power muscularly, so to direct your limbs in their work, that your musical purpose shall accurately be fulfilled.
[1]
receptor: A neurotransmitter receptor (also known as a neuroreceptor) is a membrane receptor protein that is activated by a neurotransmitter. Chemicals on the outside of the cell, such as a neurotransmitter, can interact with the cell's membrane.
[2]
synaptic weight: In neuroscience and computer science, the synaptic weight refers to the strength or amplitude of a connection between two nodes, corresponding in biology to the amount of influence the firing of one neuron has on another.
The term is typically used in artificial and biological neural networks.