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.

3.1 About creating the exercises

In this chapter of the research I will give an overview of the choices that had to be made in creating the exercises. The exercises are constructed from the skeleton of opus 110. I chose the following categories for constructing the exercises. These categories were largely determined by the data gathered in the analytical approaches. The categories are:1

Preparatory exercises: general material like scales and arpeggio’s
Exercises with material from the score
1. Harmonic exercises
2. Melodic exercises
3. Combined exercises
4. Exercises with abstracts of the actual score

I will now define the framework of the exercises. What do I want to achieve with them and what are the criteria they have to meet?

Preparatory exercises: these exercises concern standard patterns2in the keys of the first movement. They are not new by any means but create a basis for the second type of exercise.
Exercises with material from the score should:
- be directly linked to the score or reconstruction (bass line, harmony or
  
  melody),
- engage the player in an activity involving more then playing through (copy
  
  by ear, find the chords, add texture, improvise a melody, play in a certain
  
  mood, fill in the blank spots,...),
- be completed mainly by playing and/or singing and occasionally writing,
- have an average length of about four measures.3

What will the exercises look like?

From the beginning it was quite clear to me that figured bass and chord symbols would play an important role in the exercises to be created. Working form the bass is important. Strobbe (2014) argues that anyone wanting to acquire skills within tonal music should learn to focus on the bass and derive the other voices from the bass.4 Chord symbols have the advantage of being a hands-on approach, but have the disadvantage of not being an aid in transposition. That’s where figured bass can play an important role, making transposing easier.

Preparatory exercises

The preparatory exercises can be done every day as a warm up before the other exercises.

a) Linear scale approach:

Scales in thirds, sixths, tenths.
Scales in double thirds

Playing the scales with leaps of thirds and fifths

Improvising short phrases with the scale

b) Vertical scale approach:

Triads: parallel triads in root, first and second inversions
Seventh chords: parallel seventh chords in all inversions
Improvise with parallel chords in both hands, switching between inversions
Playing cadences

Harmony:

Playing chord progressions from a figured bass or from chord symbols,
Reproducing chords by ear (bass line given),
Improvising figurations within a harmonic framework,
Transposing the chord progression,
Transposing the figurations.

Melody:

Improvising a melody above a bass line
Improvising a melody above a chord progression
Filling in/improvising blank spots in a given melody and bass line
Playing outer voice reductions

Combined exercises

Combination of the exercises mentioned above

Abstracts of the actual score

Filling in (by playing) blank spots of score examples
Playing different versions of score examples: changing figurations, harmony, adapting melody’s, altering cadences.

The exercises will be organized according to formal components of the first movement e.g. main theme group, transition, subordinate theme group, development and closing group. Within each formal component exercises of the different categories will be used.

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