Towards an integrated method for practicing: internalizing the composer’s language.

Pim Witvrouw

Name Pim Witvrouw Main Subject Music Theory Supervisors Paul Scheepers / David Kuijken Title of Research Towards an integrated method for practicing: internalizing the composer’s language Research Question In which ways can we use the outcome of an analysis to develop a practice method focused on learning the general musical language of a score, instead of just memorizing the right notes? Summary of Results Musicians who could very well play, improvise and compose wrote down the majority of repertoire, which we encounter as Western classical musicians. In conservatories and music schools often an attitude towards classical music is developed from a narrower point of view: learning and performing a score. There are extra classes in solfeggio, harmony, improvisation, analysis and counterpoint. However, the reality is that, for most students these subjects are not connected to their practice as instrumentalists. As a pianist, I don’t use all the resources I have as a theorist, and there seems to be a separation between these two practices. Might there be a different way to start practicing a classical work? For the purposes of my research I have chosen one piece as a case study: the first movement of Beethoven's piano sonata n. 31 (op. 110, in A flat major). First I analysed the movement and then I looked at what I can do with the data generated from the analysis. I developed some exercises in order to prepare one for studying the actual work. These exercises could bring theoretical knowledge and improvisation skills into the instrumental lessons and give the player a deeper insight into Beethoven’s harmonic language and use of formal structures. Further research is necessary in order to work out these exercises for more repertoire of all levels, styles and even instruments. It is my intention with this research and future work to bring music theory and activities in the practice rooms of musicians closer together. Biography Pim Witvrouw began his professional music studies at the Young Talent Department of the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven (Belgium) where he studied piano with Stefan Celen. He continued to study in the Netherlands at the Utrecht Conservatory, where he studied with Paolo Giacometti. In addition to this he studied musicology at the University of Utrecht. Pim is currently engaged giving piano lessons and music theory classes at the CKV-Almere. Since September 2018 he also teaches music theory at the Conservatory of Zwolle. In recent years he performed a solo program devoted to works of J.S. Bach.

1.4 Research questions and method

My research question is as follows:

In which ways can we use the outcome of an analysis to develop a practice method focused on learning the general musical language of a score, instead of just memorizing the right notes?

a) In which ways can we use the harmonic reductions to create exercises that prepare us for practicing the piece?
b) What role does improvisation play in this process?
c) What do formal analysis and reconstructions bring us in making an alternative

version?

By means of formal analysis, reconstructions and harmonic reduction I will downsize the score to its essential harmonies and melodic contours. In this research I hope to find out which kind of exercises can be created.
Generating data1 through analysis will thus be the first step. This then results in a lead sheet or framework of certain parts of the piece and the player, through the act of harmonizing bass lines, improvising melodic content and/or textures moves toward the actual score. Preparing this skeleton requires a theoretical framework that focuses on:

Harmonic analysis, harmonic reduction and the reconstruction of sequences.
Formal analysis and reconstruction.

A concise study of Beethoven's piano figurations or textures within opus 110.

Of course we could use more methods of musical analysis, for example Schenkerian analysis. Within the framework of this research I have decided to limit myself to an analysis that doesn’t require too much specialized theoretical knowledge and can probably be produced by most instrumentalists. The idea behind this is that piano teachers could produce an analysis and produce and alternative score themselves for their pupils.2 Of course further research could be interesting in order to see if more specialized ways of analysis such as Heinrich Schenker’s approach or Hans Keller’s Functional Analysis, would bring different results.

As a case study I will use the first movement of the piano sonata opus 110 by Ludwig van Beethoven. This piece offers sufficient harmonic and analytical questions to develop a process that is broadly applicable to more repertoire. I would like to advise the reader to keep a score of the first movement at hand while reading this research.

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