GG Memory and fingering

[Anne Smith <smithqa@nexicom.net>]

From: Bradley Lehman:

> But take away that "requirement" of memorizing the music: it's mostly a
> 19th-century showmanship thing anyway.

Agreed.

(Or perhaps, in Gould's case, the
> score got in the way of freedom to internalize and interpret the
> music.)

The theory is that a person knows the music better if they have it
memorized.  I can't argue with that, but I find that people are so worried
about forgetting the notes that they are not making music.  They are trying
so hard to remember what comes next that they are not playing musically.
Much memorized music sounds like a race.  "Let's get this over with as soon
as possible."   I memorize music, but I use the score when I play in public.

> I guess a related question would be: how many (any?) concert pianists DO
> memorize specific motions and fingerings throughout pieces, beyond the
> physically tricky spots that can go only one way?

In my opinion the answer would be none.  By the time a person has reached
concert level pieces his/her fingers "know" where to go.  This is why nasty
old piano teachers insist that students do technique exercises.  The eye
sees an arpeggio passage and the brain automatically translates this to the
fingers. The same with chords, scale passages, etc.  Just think of how
awkward normal tasks such as walking would be if you had to think "Pick up
the right foot. Move it forward.  Put it down.  Pick up the left
foot......."

Glenn Gould went through the Conservatory system so he learned the same
scalework as the rest of us .  Even though he usually claimed that he
did not think about fingering, all these technique exercises would still be
stored in his brain.
At the risk of contradicting myself, I would like to add that I don't think
studying GG's fingering would be helpful to pianists.  Yes, there are many
times that standard fingering rules apply to most people, but a great many
times the fingering that works for one person will not work for someone
else.  When you are planning the fingering of those tricky parts you have to
take into consideration the size and the shape of your hand.

Anne