Loading...
Efficient Practice Methods Demonstrated in the Lieder for Piano Op. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8 by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel
YI, Xuan
YI, Xuan
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
Systematic piano education has gradually received recognition around the globe and profes-sional piano teacher organizations exist in many countries. Research-based piano teaching methods are increasingly becoming the norm. Yet many students continue to learn pieces carelessly at a fast speed. They fail to plan and assess their own practice methods and seldom stop to ask themselves: “what is my problem? what is the best way to solve it?” They don’t know how to use limited prac-tice time effectively. A large part of the problem is lack of information: many students, even piano majors, have never been taught effective learning and practice methods. They are not aware of the great variety of practice devices that can efficiently and quickly improve performance. Research over the last thirty years has demonstrated that the most effective learning and practice method is based on the underlying logic of the workings of the brain. This increase in a science-based understanding of brain function has not always been applied to the practical chal-lenges of piano practice, including time organization and memorization. In this dissertation, a neu-rology and psychology-based systematic practice method will be introduced. I first describe learn-ing theories in neurology and psychology, including the work of several important scientists: the work of Eric R. Kandel in the formation of long-term and short-term memory; the work of Terje Lomo and Tim Bliss in demonstration of long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) mechanisms; human memory models by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin that help understand human brain encoding, storage, and retrieval; and the practical applications of psycho-logical concepts from a variety of scientists concerning implicit and episodic memory. This paper will next examine the life and highlight some keyboard works of Fanny Men-delssohn Hensel, briefly analyzing and detailing expressive points in her Lieder for Piano Op. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8 (Op. 4 & Op. 5 are titled together as “Six Melodies for the Piano”). Fanny Mendels-sohn Hensel was a talented pianist and composer, but her professional life as a female composer in the 19th century was difficult. Mendelssohn Hensel’s output of more than 450 pieces of music is rarely performed even today, although the pieces are appealing and of uniformly high quality. Re-search-based practice methods will be described using selected pieces from Mendelssohn Hensel’s Lieder for Piano as examples. My discussion of practice methods is concluded in three steps: (1) a practical planning de-vice which will increase the speed of memorization and decrease the forgetting period; (2) specific practice goals utilizing the Pavlovian “perfect repetition” method, based on the research of Ivan Pavlov; and the Bernsteinian “challenge method”, based on Nikolai Bernstein’s thinking, (3) basic psychological concepts from Roger Chaffin and Gabrielle Imreh applied to practical memorization, including implicit, episodic and conceptual memory; (4) a concrete memorization plan devised by Scott McBride Smith.
Description
Date
2022-01-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Kansas
Collections
Archive Status
This item contains archived web content.
Files
YI_ku_0099D_18462_DATA_1.pdf
Adobe PDF, 13.05 MB
- Embargoed until 2172-05-31
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Music,