Overview

Written by Joan Benson, one of the champions of clavichord performance in the 20th century, Clavichord for Beginners is an exceptional method book for both practitioners and enthusiasts. In addition to detailing the historical origins of the instrument and the evolution of keyboard technique, the book describes the proper method for practicing fingering and articulation and emphasizes the importance of touch and sensitivity at the keyboard.

Full Product Details

Author:   Joan Benson
Publisher:   Indiana University Press
Imprint:   Indiana University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 21.60cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 27.90cm
Weight:   0.417kg
ISBN:  

9780253011589

ISBN 10:   0253011582
Pages:   144
Publication Date:   25 April 2014
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Clavichord for all Keyboardists What is a Clavichord? Clavichord for Keyboard Beginners For Harpsichordists For Players of Early Piano For Modern Pianists For Organists For Singing Clavichordists A Personal Note for Aspiring Clavichordists 2. Preparing to Play Ways of Relaxing Touch Awareness Finger Awareness, Seated Finger Interaction, Seated Exercise For Finger Independence Exercise For Flexible Wrists Getting to Know Your Clavichord Position at the Keyboard Control of Tone and Pitch 3. Clavichord Lessons Series I Lesson One: Lowering a Key Soundlessly Lesson Two: Making a Sound Lesson Three: Playing Two Notes in a Row Lesson Four: Including a Raised Key Lesson Five: Bach's Cantabile Touch Lesson Six: Producing a Cantabile (Singing) Sound Lesson Seven: Cantabile with Fingers 4 and 5 Lesson Eight: Cantabile With the Thumb Lesson Nine: Cantabile on two Successive Notes Lesson Ten: Playing Five Notes in a Row Lesson Eleven: Timing Lesson Twelve: Five Finger Exercise 4. Clavichord Lessons, Series II Lesson One: Degrees of Softness Lesson Two: Degrees of Loudness Lesson Three: Crescendo and Diminuendo on Five Notes Lesson Four: Contrast in Dynamics, Two Hands Lesson Five: Articulation on Single Notes Lesson Six: Articulation on Two Notes Lesson Seven: Leaping with one Finger Lesson Eight: Playing Intervals Lesson Nine: For a Flexible Thumb Lesson Ten: The Makings of a Scale 5. Preparing for Pieces 6. Eleven Easy Pieces 7. Exploring the Past: 15th Through 17th Centuries 8. Exploring the Past: Eighteenth-Century Germany 9. Exploring the Present and Future Selected Bibliography Extended bibliography Index About the Author

Reviews

<p>Ms. Benson provides an extremely methodical primer for beginning clavichordists, starting with the easiest fingerings and progressing to the most difficult. She invites us to delight ourselves with the tactile elements of playing and truly makes the touches come to life on the printed page.--Carole Terry, performer and pedagogue

If pianists learned to play on the clavichord, they would be much more careful with the kind of sound they produce on the modern piano. The clavichord is my best teacher because it makes me listen very carefully. The sound is so delicate and the touch so sensitive, it shows all my shortcomings immediately. The clavichord also helps me play Bach without the sustaining pedal of the modern piano. I would make clavichord practice compulsory for all pianists. --Andras Schiff, Grammy award-winning classical pianist and recipient of the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize--Andras Schiff, Grammy award-winning classical pianist and recipient of the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize

Author Information

Joan Benson has performed throughout the world, garnering respect of classical music enthusiasts and major contemporary composers. Her advocacy of modern Western music led her to Olivier Messiaen's class at the Paris Conservatoire, to the University of Utrecht Institute of Sonology, and to Stanford's Center for computer Research in Music and Acoustics. She has taught on the faculty at Stanford University, the University of Oregon, and the Aston Magna Academy in Massachusetts.

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