Clavichord for Beginners

2. PREPARING TO PLAY

8 chaPter two Preparing to Play Ways of relaxing In order to play the clavichord, make certain that your hands, wrists, arms, and shoulders remain flexible and at ease. The following relaxation exercises are helpful particularly before and after short practice periods. 1. Drop your arms loosely to your sides and shake them rapidly from the shoulders (like a cascading waterfall). 2. Raise your right forearm as high as your elbow. Let your hand go limp from the wrist and twirl it first clockwise and then counterclockwise. • Twirl your left hand in the same way. • Now twirl both hands in contrary motion. • Drop your arms and shake them. 3. Raise your arms straight out in front of you. Rotate your forearms from the elbows in contrary motion, keeping your hands and wrists relaxed. 4. Now rotate both arms from the shoulders first in one direction and then in the other in an easy, open way. If convenient, learn a form of Qigong. These Chinese exercises can energize your body and free it from tension.1 Touch Awareness The key to all clavichord playing lies in the sensitive relationship between touch and tone. 1. With your eyes closed, feel an object with your fingertips. Touch your earlobe, your clothing, or the bark of a tree. Notice the subtle variations in textures and sounds. 2. Move slowly around a room with your eyes closed. Notice how you depend on touch and sound to find your way. 9 Preparing to Play Finger Awareness, Seated 1. Place the back of your right hand flat on a table, palm facing upward. 2. Slowly and easily raise your index finger. Then let it descend. • Attempt to keep your other fingers from moving or trembling. • If necessary, hold them down with the opposite hand. 3. Now lift and lower the other fingers of the right hand one at a time. 4. Repeat with the left hand. Always move in a comfortable way. Finger Interaction, Seated 1. Bring your hands together in prayer form. 2. Cup them so that only your wrists, thumbs, and fingertips are touching. 3. Gently and repeatedly move the entire index fingers back and forth while keeping your other fingers still (figure 2.1). 4. Similarly, move your third fingers back and forth, then your fourth fingers, and finally your fifth fingers. 5. Finally, move your two touching thumbs back and forth within the arch of your hands (figure 2.2). FIgure 2.1 FIgure 2.2 10 Clavichord for Beginners exercise for Finger Independence 1. Place your right hand and wrist on a table in playing position with your curved fingertips in a straight line. 2. Lift and lower one finger at a time, repetitively and very slowly, while your wrist, thumb, and other fingers stay relaxed. If your finger trembles or any other finger moves unintentionally, simply notice without being concerned. 3. Pause after each lifting and lowering of a finger. Then try again. 4. Repeat the same exercise with your left hand (figure 2.3). exercise for Flexible Wrists 1. Place the fleshy tip of your right middle finger on a table and hold it there lightly. 2. Circle your wrist clockwise and then counterclockwise in an easy, relaxed way. Your hand and forearm will follow naturally. 3. Repeat with your left wrist (figure 2.4). FIgure 2.3 FIgure 2.4 11 Preparing to Play getting to Know Your Clavichord It is important to become intimately familiar with your clavichord or clavichords. Each one differs in structure and sound. Details in playing technique depend on the instrument, its use and repertoire, and your own physical structure. FIgure 2.5 Joan at the clavichord, Copenhagen, 1968 12 Clavichord for Beginners Position at the Keyboard Sit upright in front of your clavichord, keeping your shoulders and neck relaxed. In his Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753), Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach states the following: The performer must sit at the middle of the keyboard so that he may strike the highest as well as the lowest tones with equal ease. When the performer is in the correct position with respect to height, his forearms are suspended slightly above the fingerboard. In playing, the fingers should be arched and the muscles relaxed. . . . Stiffness hampers all movement, above all the constantly required rapid extension and contraction of...