Voices of the Forrest Speak At last: Gillock's first pieces from his Lyric Preludes

A piece that focuses on one or two pianistic problems while providing musical interest and interpretive insight, makes an excellent and effective teaching piece.

American composer, William Gillock was often called the Schubert of children's composers. While living in New Orleans, Louisiana, he wrote a collection of 24 Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style, not only as a tribute to Bach and Chopin, but to prepare young pianists for more complex piano pieces of 19th- and 20th- century Romanticism.

Forrest Murmurs

The first prelude of Gillock's 24 Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style contain several complexities that must be solved by students. This piece includes technical and interpretive predicaments that induce intermediate students toward pianistic development.

The primary touch emphasized in Forrest Murmurs, is maintaining three levels of sound. The melody notes are to be played on the outside fingers of the right hand. The thumb and 2nd finger of the right hand play a trill pattern, the murmur, which must be performed sotto voce.

The left hand is played softly and provides the harmonic support throughout the entire piece. Secondly, the touches emphasized in are staccato in certain parts, while legato in the rest of the melody. Lastly, the phrasing of the staccato notes are identical to those that are marked legato. The phrasing of the chordal harmonies of the left hand only occur on the weaker beats of the measures. Another aspect of the phrasing also hinges on the sustain pedal changes, which usually occur on the downbeat of every measure.

Problems that Could Become Factors and Their Solutions

The problems that can arise for developing young pianists is that the three levels of sound could be undefined and become monotonous. The solution is three-fold, beginning with separating the three components of the piece and practicing them separately and at the correct dynamic level. 

For instance, the inner trill or murmur would be played softly, the melody in the right hand would be loud and pronounced, and the dynamic levels of the chordal harmonies in the left hand would fall somewhere in between the two. Secondly, listening skills should be emphasized, by thoroughly examining what is being playied, while playing it.

Thirdly, conscious weight distribution techniques should be established, through kinesthetic associations. This would be accomplished by playing with the eyes closed, in order to concentrate the senses on how the hands should feel.

Lastly, focus the attention toward aural imagery through mental practice. Several studies have shown that physical practice, supplemented with mental practice, provides pianists additional benefits than solely practicing kinesthetically (Please see sources). Thus, imagining how the piece should sound and then imagining playing the piece as it should sound, concentrating on the kinesthetic sensations, is the final solution.

Memorizing Gillock's Notated Fingering

In Order to solidify these techniques, the composer's notated fingering designations must be memorized. In the article, Fingering: The Key to Arming, Seymour Fink states "Fingering that promotes musical effectiveness in performance is good fingering. Fingering that detracts from the musical possibilities is inferior fingering."

The shape of the hand and arm movement is in direct relationship with how the music will sound. Utilizing Fink's theory, the hands must be choreographed, creating round shapes for the hands to follow. To accomplish this, trace a circle between the melody and internal "murmur" keys and then play over that shape, using the composer's specified fingering and phrasing.

The Major Difficulty and Its Solution

The major difficulty of Forrest Murmurs, is the inner trill pattern played by the thumb and 2nd finger of the right hand. The difficulty lies in making it sound round and, as characterized, a murmur. To create this combination the muscles must be relaxed, and the ear attentive. Always keep in mind that the muscles of the unused fingers, hand wrist and forearm must be relaxed. This is achieved by utilizing a minimized rotation which is underneath the trill pattern therefore, unseen.

In the essay, The Shortest Way to Pianistic Perfection, Walter Gieseking states "The secret of this is, as has been already said, in keeping one's ears open and in paying careful attention that the alternate tones of the trill follow in exact time one upon the other, neither too quickly nor too slowly."

To solve this pianistic enigma, the hand should be kept quiet by keeping the thumb and 2nd finger in constant contact witht he key surface. This can also be achieved by adjusting the weight of their hand so that it is lighter toward the inner fingers and thumb, yet heavier toward the outer fingers. Lastly, even though the thumb and 2nd finger are to be played softer, they still must play all the way down to the bottom of the key bed.

Sources

1. Fink, Seymour. A Symposium for Pianists and Teachers. Heritage Music Press; Ohio. 2002.
2. Gieseking, Walter and Karl Leimar. Piano technique. Dover Publications; New York. 1972
3. Gillock, William. Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style: 24 Short Piano Pieces in All Keys; 50th Anniversary CD Edition 2008. Alfred Publishing; USA. 1958.
4. True, Carolyn E. "Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style: 24 Short Piano Pieces in All Keys 50th Anniversary Edition," American Music Teacher, (Aug. - Sept. 2008).