Today’s post is the last on my blog until the end of July, as I undertake an exciting trip to the Far East for my publisher Schott Music, giving piano workshops for teachers, public and private classes and lessons for both teachers and students, as well as talking about my books. But before I go, I’d like to share a few thoughts and ‘teaching observations’ about score preparation.

Preparing a score with fingering, pedal markings, metronome marks, and many other important performance reminders is, in my opinion, vital. It was quite a surprise to teach on adult piano courses where mature students’ scores often contained scant fingering and little musical direction. And it was interesting to observe the effect this absence of detail sometimes had on their playing; fingers tended to lose their way, musical structure and dynamics relied on chance, tempo frequently became unsteady, and pedalling was rather ‘ad hock’. Some will argue that this is fine; why shouldn’t adult pianists enjoy themselves as opposed to adhering to certain criteria? 

It depends on what you want to achieve. Do you want to continue playing in a manner with which you have become comfortable, or do you want to progress and improve? Improvement usually requires a more disciplined approach, and this extends to marking detail in the score. (You may not want to write everything on the score itself, in which case using a notebook works just as well.)   

The following ‘criteria’ could be used as a checklist for those who are starting to learn a new piece.  

Fingering

This is undoubtedly the most important of all score ‘criteria’ and is a whole topic within itself. Fingering refers to the number markings often found above or below notes, telling a pianist which fingers play which notes.

Depending on the edition of your score, there will generally be some fingering written in by the editor, that is, unless you purchase an urtext edition which is free from any extra editorial markings – but these are rare, as the majority of urtext editions also contain fingering. This ‘added’ fingering may well be all you need, but if you’re a young player or someone who finds their fingers frequently become tangled, then chances are you’ll need significantly more information in your score than that provided by the publisher. 

As a general rule of thumb, the younger the student, the more I have to annotate the score from scratch; however, this can also apply to mature players, too. It’s a crucial element for students who need to learn a piece from memory, as fingering provides a pivotal role in secure memory playing. 

A composer whose music always needs careful attention concerning fingering is J S Bach. It’s quite usual for me to finger both a prelude and fugue (especially the latter), literally writing in fingering for every single note – and if, by chance, I’ve missed a few notes, I’m liable to be WhatsApp-ed or e-mailed for the missing fingerings! Fugue subjects can be difficult to ‘voice’ without seamless movement which often occurs between the hands, and this demands careful ‘finger’ planning, or, you might call it, developing a ‘finger map’. 

Suffice it to say that it’s a time-consuming task; last month it took me around an hour and a quarter to write fingering in the score of a Liszt concert study for a young student. Why did it take so long, I hear you ask? The piece was 14 pages in length, dripping with notes, particularly shimmering cadenzas where right- and left-hand note patterns didn’t always work in tandem, as well as many left (and right) hand leaps. To finger these effectively, I needed to work with the student, ensuring that he could actually reach the necessary chords and jump the large leaps, and we also focused on developing smooth chromatic fingerings; ones that work well at speed in rapid passages. Bespoke fingering is critical for lots of students, and it demonstrates the necessary role of the teacher.  

Start by adding your own fingering to a new piece; the best way to learn to do it is by trial and error. At first, it does help to add your finger numbers to every note. If this feels tricky or, perhaps, you feel you need greater knowledge to do this effectively, you may want to ask your teacher, if you have one, or perhaps purchase a fingering manual (I have made a couple of suggestions below). You might need to play passages numerous times to find the best ‘fit’ for your hand, as one size does not fit all. When fingering scores for my publications, I always want to add at least two possible fingering suggestions for complex passages – but, of course, I am not supposed to do this.

Once students reach a certain level, I ask them to finger simpler passages themselves, and then we check them together during the lesson; this way, the pupil gains enough confidence and insight to be able to work alone, which is an important step towards gaining independence. Fingering provides the bedrock of learning, so be sure to pay attention to it in the early stages of learning your new piece. 

Metronome Markings

A controversial topic. The metronome is a mechanical beating device that can help keep us in time, but many can’t abide even the mention of such an artificial method of training tempo control. In my experience, a metronome helps create a secure sense of pulse in those who use it consistently, that is, at every practice session.   

Should you add your metronome markings at the top of a score, if the composer hasn’t made any suggestions? Yes, I think you should. In my teaching, we add at least three to four metronome markings before we reach the ‘final’ stage of preparation and decide on a final speed; one that feels comfortable for the student as opposed to merely complying with suggested markings.

My students find that the metronome provides a fundamental learning ‘crutch’ in securing an unwavering pulse; this is something that must be mastered if a performance is to sound convincing. Using the metronome for under-tempo practice can and does allow the student to become acquainted with the piece so that blemishes such as hesitations, note errors, or indeed any instability, are mostly eradicated. And if, after this work, there are still issues, a slower tempo is usually required. 

Start by sub-dividing a beat; perhaps practice using a semiquaver (sixteenth notes) pulse, if your piece is littered with semiquavers (a demisemiquaver beat can also be helpful for absolute precision). Practice slowly, so that your mind gains complete control over your fingers. You can raise the speed to quavers (eighth notes) and, eventually crotchets (quarter notes) when confident. However, don’t push it – give yourself plenty of time for this fundamental stage of ‘note combined with pulse’ learning. 

Phrasing and Dynamics 

This aspect is already added, I hear you say? Yes, it often is. Phrase markings, or arched lines above various note patterns on the score, help guide the performer to play material expressively. However, to shape the phrase adequately, it can help to write where the top, or most powerful section, of a phrase occurs so that it can be beautifully nuanced. 

My students find the addition of tenuto markings or lines above or below certain notes helpful; this directs them to move toward the high point of a phrase. It’s worth playing through your piece to decide which notes or note passage needs greater ‘tonal’ attention. Dynamics, or sound variation, can depend on how you wish to shape your phrase. To practice this, aim to work at developing consistency concerning crescendo and decrescendo markings; this is no easy task – it’s too easy to rush when playing with a gradually more powerful sound, and slow down when reducing that sound. Over the past few months, I have been working a lot on this aspect with students; we take a fairly simple passage and implement an exaggerated crescendo followed by a swift decrescendo. Next, we work at implementing a much longer crescendo, one that isn’t exaggerated, followed by a slightly softer, slower decrescendo. We use the metronome to assist here so that we learn to control the tone quality smoothly without changing the tempo. 

If your piece has no dynamic markings, consider adding your own. Guidance from a teacher is useful, but you can have fun devising a personal dynamic map, and it can help to write this information into your score. 

Ornamentation

Ornaments or embellishments are a tricky aspect of performance because a pianist needs a certain amount of musical performance practice knowledge to know how to articulate them within the confines of the era and style of the piece. For example, Baroque ornaments are quite different in terms of note patterns from those written in the Romantic period. 

Locating a helpful book on this subject may be beneficial, and I’ve made some resource suggestions at the end of this post. A teacher should be able to write each ornament’s ‘note pattern’ into the score for you. Most examination boards now write the suggested note patterns above the ornament, which is certainly helpful if you are preparing for an exam. However, in urtext scores, you are left to do this on your own (but there are sometimes suggestions in the footnotes). Aim to do some research and try to write them into the score for yourself, being mindful of the performance practice ‘rules’. 

Pedalling

This is occasionally written into the score for you, but it’s notoriously difficult to notate, and, again, one size does not fit all. How you use the sustaining pedal (right pedal) and the una corda (left pedal) will depend on your instrument as well as the venue or place where you are performing your piece. Irrespective of this, prep your score by writing in the pedalling that you think you will need and then adjust as you become more confident with the piece. It may be that you need to write half-pedalling or flutter pedalling into the score, too. It doesn’t matter how you do this, what’s more important is that the markings mean something to you and can remind you to direct your foot at the appropriate moment. You’ll find some resource suggestions at the end of this post.

Miscellaneous Markings

These might consist of all those ‘extra’ markings that you, or your teacher, write on the score as ‘reminders’ during your practice session. Some students are very reluctant to do this – I once taught a girl who wouldn’t let me write anything at all on her score, including fingering, as she believed that such markings would devalue her score or simply ‘make a mess of an expensive book’!

However, it can be beneficial to mark pauses, tension breaks, and highlight important thematic material, especially if the piece is contrapuntal. A good example of this is a fugue subject; it’s important to know where they occur, and how they develop throughout the fugue as well as marking in your articulation. Also, note any form of musical structure, so that you know where the piece’s development lies, encouraging you to think about how you will interpret this in your performance. 

You may well write all of the above in your score on a regular basis, and if you do, you are already well prepared. If you tend to leave it all to chance, perhaps you might consider how score markings can be most valuable and their addition will only have a positive effect on your piano playing. 

Helpful Resources:

The Art of Fingering by Rami Bar-Niv

The Art of Piano Fingering by Penelope Roskell

The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments by C P E Bach

Keyboard Interpretation by Howard Ferguson

The Pianist’s Guide to Pedalling by Joseph Banowetz

The Art of Piano Pedalling: Two Classic Guides by Anton Rubenstein and Teresa Carreño