9
Although we have access to Chopin’s method, there is still much today that scholars do
not know about his teaching methodology. Much of this is due to the fact that Chopin did not
have many pupils who went on to become famous musicians. Most of his students were upper-
class women who studied piano for their love of music.
28
As a result, Chopin’s teaching
philosophy has not been thoroughly documented by researchers.
Chopin’s Pianism
Chopin’s great pianistic ability is reflected in his piano compositions, most of which are
very demanding of the pianist’s technical and musical ability. Artur Rubinstein, one of the great
interpreters of Chopin, said that Chopin’s piano works are challenging because of their unique
thought and musical ideas.
29
A better understanding of Chopin’s pianism will greatly help
teachers and students when working on Chopin’s piano works.
I. Chopin’s Integral Relation to Dance in his Pianism
One of the important aspects of this study is Chopin’s direct involvement with social
dancing, both as a dancer and dance accompanist. Chopin learned dancing starting at an early
age in Warsaw, where social dancing was very popular in upper-class society. Chopin attended
dance parties, where he danced various opening country-dances, including the Mazurka.
30
These
opening dances were reserved for the best dancers in each party.
31
Further, Chopin sometimes
played his own waltzes at social dances. He also improvised new pieces, inspired by the
movement of the dancers.
32
28
Alan Walker, The Chopin Companion: Profiles of the Man and the Musician Rev. ed. (New York: Norton, 1973),
14-15.
29
Artur Rubinstein, “Foreword,” In The Life and Death of Chopin by Casimir Wierzynski (New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1949), xi.
30
Adam Zamoyski, Chopin: A New Biography (New York: Doubleday, 1979), 26-27.
31
McKee, 141.
32
Krystyna Kobylańska, Chopin in his Own Land, Translated by Claire Grece-Dabrowska and Mary Filippi
(Cracow: Polish Music Publications, 1955), 231; McKee, 142.
10
The impact of Chopin’s experiences as a dancer and dance accompanist on his waltzes is
discussed in great detail by Eric McKee in his 2011 book, Decorum of the Minuet, Delirium of
the Waltz. McKee compares melodic gestures with physical motions in dances and finds a
correlation between the two. McKee believes that specific musical elements relate directly to
certain dance movements. For example, he suggests that a rotating movement for a dancer can be
compared to a neighbor motion in a melodic line, while a lifting dance motion is associated with
the appoggiatura and grace note.
33
Understanding these dance elements will be helpful in
interpreting and in teaching Chopin’s waltzes.
The influence of dance on Chopin’s piano techniques and teaching methodology has not
been deeply discussed by other sources. Based on my research, I believe that some of Chopin’s
styles of piano playing and teaching are explained better through examining his experience with
dance. The first reason is that his unique piano style was not learned from his teachers or school,
but developed by himself.
34
Secondly, we already know that Chopin adapted techniques from
diverse places, such as his use of singing melody reflecting the influence of Italian opera, and the
influence of Polish folk music on his development of rubato. Finally, Chopin’s pianism is
understood well by his physiological approach. One example is his advocating of the B major
scale, which he considered the most comfortable hand position. Another example comes from his
student, Mme de Courty. According to her, Chopin said that, “The arms should be the slaves of
the fingers, yet the opposite always tends to occur; one should keep one’s mind off the arms and
just use them as naturally as possible: fingers elongated for singing passages and closely bent for
that special cloudy fluency of ornaments or appoggiaturas.”
35
The quote gives the idea that the
fingers lead and the rest of the mechanism (arms, elbow, and shoulders) follows the fingers.
33
McKee, 146-163.
34
Eigeldinger, 16.
35
Ibid., 30-31.
11
According to Mikuli, Chopin said, “As gymnastic aids he [Chopin] recommended bending the
wrist inward and outward, repeated wrist strokes, …”
36
Mikuli pointed out that in the case of
playing wider intervals found in arpeggios or octaves, Chopin advocated moving the arms away
from the body for more freedom of motion. Chopin’s physiological approach to piano playing is
similar to the physiological motion of nineteenth-century Polish national dances: Polonez
[Polonaise], Mazur [Mazurka], Kujawiak, Oberek, and Krakowiak.
37
Moreover, his close friend,
Franchomme stated that Chopin used to say, “Have the body supple right to the tips of the
toes,”
38
which is the required posture for Polish national dances.
39
II. Physiological Approach to his Piano Playing
In a letter to his family on October 6, 1835, Felix Mendelssohn said, “… he [Chopin]
may be called a most perfect virtuoso.”
40
Chopin’s preferred physical piano technique is based
on his philosophy of natural coordination. The posture of the body and the position of the hand
when playing the piano are focused on comfort. His technique of bending the wrist helps the
hands to move smoothly.
41
This is reminiscent of Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which
concerns action and reaction. This can be applies here: a bouncing motion from the wrist moving
down-up causes a naturally extra smooth movement in the entire hand. Lastly, Chopin believed
in selecting fingerings that felt easy, even if they were not traditional. With those comfortable
posture and hand positions, bending wrist, and easy fingerings, Chopin preferred to minimize
physical body movement in his piano technique and that of his students. Specific examples
follow.
36
Mikuli, iii.
37
Ada Dziewanowska, Polish Folk Dances and Songs: A Step-by-Step Guide (New York: Hippocrene Books, 1997),
469-655.
38
Eigeldinger, 29.
39
Dziewanowska, 19.
40
Felx Mendelssohn, Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: From 1833 to 1847, Edited by Paul Mendelssohn
Bartholdy and Carl Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Compiled by Julius Rietz (London: Longman, 1863), 89.
41
Eigeldinger, 30.
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