I’ve always believed that it’s not enough to rely on fingers, or finger action alone, to play the piano expressively. For me, enlisting the wrist, and rolling into notes, especially those that are shaped down at the conclusion of phrases are recommended.
In the attached video, I compare the progression of shorter notes to a longer note value with a tapering effect enhanced by a flexible, flowing wrist. The rolling motion delays entry into a key, and produces a desired “color” change when needed.
My Eurhythmics teacher at Oberlin, believed that putting a short note such as 8th beside a half note at the end of a phrase, for instance, required a “slower entry” into the note of resolution. (the half note) It didn’t take long for me to put this more abstract idea into “motion” at the keyboard, convinced over time that these complex relationships, first assimilated on a conscious level, had to translate into affective knowing. (beyond words to define, but within an emotional region of the brain)
What better way to elaborate, than to use phrases from Chopin’s Waltz in A minor, Op. Posthumous as examples:
