ur primary responsibility in teaching rhythm
to any student is, of course, to help establish a rock-solid rhythmic
pulse, from the very beginning-learning the rules. Only out of
this inner sense of rhythmic stability can the student begin to
explore the joy of mature, expressive music-making-stretching
the rules.
It is the exploration and discovery of the expressive musical elements leading to experiences like rubato that I find most exciting and satisfying as a teacher. For both me and my students, it's the fun part! As a result of their involvement with the excitement of the music, many young students encounter rubato in their first year of study.
We discover early on that creating
exciting music is not a spectator sport; we need to get involved.
Our first involvement is to establish that all-important inner
pulse and to prepare our piece rhythmically before we play it;
this includes swinging our loose arms across our bodies while
saying the words with one full swing per pulse, filling every
beat and taking a deep breath at the end of our sentences-
coon we discover that just as we speak in phrases, our music has
musical phrases. To make this point, I speak-in-a-mo-no-tone-syl-lab-ble-by-syl-lab-ble,
and the student bursts into laughter. We quickly agree that to
tell a story with real enthusiasm, our musical phrases, like our
spoken phrases, must rise and settle, must have flowing energy
and convey the excitement, tile thrill, the beauty, and the joy
of the moment. This can happen very early in the musical learning
experience.
The rubato experience itself grows out of the filling of the pulse. It is that slight extension of the pulse that allows the savoring of the moment.
We are blessed with a large variety of beautiful, expressive literature for beginning and intermediate piano students. I find duets, with the teacher playing the secondo, to be a particularly useful tool in supporting the first rubato experiences. Playing together (and singing together), the teacher can help support the slight stretching of the phrase that allows the young student to experience rhythmic nuance.
To support a particularly expressive moment, we often create words to help us experience the phrase energy. Favorites in my studio are: "en-jooy!"; "Wheee!"; "Go-ing to heeere'"
The following are two examples of words created by my students to intensify the musical experience. The first was an endeavor to help feel one main flowing pulse per measure and filling the long notes. The second uses a single word to enhance a more mature rubato experience.
The possibilities, of course, are virtually endless. I encourage you and your students to become fully involved, early, with these nuance opportunities and live the moment!
MARY REIFF is an independent
piano teacher in Rochester, Nero York. She is past co-Chair of
District 12 of the New York State Music Teachers' Association
and is currently co-Convention Chair for the NYSMTA.
Article (1992) by Boyce Reid Sher
y initial response to this question was, "You've
got to be kidding! I have a hard enough time teaching kids to
play in time!" With some students, I may not get around to
teaching rubato for several years. Often I choose repertoire that
avoids rhythmic sophistication. The better a student's internal
rhythmic instincts, the sooner we can "play around"
with the rhythm.
Even for a student with excellent rhythmic talent, the elasticity of the beat is a concept I postpone for several years. I refer to those subtle ritards for special effect or linking sections within a composition, not those at the end of a composition which are relatively easy for most students, To me, a student must have much experience with accelerando and ritardando before tackling rubato.
Several pieces for teaching these subtle rhythmic effects are found in the Burgmuller 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100 in which diminuendo e poco rit. or dolce e poco rit. are written in the score. These pieces are wonderful preparation for more advanced romantic repertoire. One of my favorites, La Styrienne, is a waltz in which Burgmuller requests the following from the performer: ritard, a tempo, dim. e rall., a tempo. dolce all in the B section, giving a distinctly rubato feel. In this composition we find many of the same rhythmic problems encountered in Chopin Waltzes but without the advanced technical difficulties. Many others from the collection have brief moments of rhythmic "bending" which prepare the early interme-diate student for the more advanced concept of rubato (it is fortunate that Arabesque and Ballade, good as they are, are selected for study so often, while other equally effective pieces from this opus are ignored.)
In his 78 Characteristic Studies, Op. 109, Burgmuller provides rhythmically subtle directions in pieces of increasing difficulty. The waltz-like Shepherd's Return has Chopinesque ritenuto's, mixed with dolcissimo. My favorite piece for teaching real rubato, however, is the one entitled Song of the Gondolier. For a student with rhythmic sensitivity, pushing and pulling of the rhythm is great fun. Even for less gifted, this Barcarolle is a most appealing piece. I recommend it highly for teaching rubato.
And how do I teach students to have flexible rhythm without destroying the underlying pulse? First, I play the student's piece for him/her, illustrating the rhythmic flexibility we are seeking. Then we play it together, with me at a second piano. While the student plays softly in order to hear me easily, I play slightly louder than normal with rubato style. In this way the student hears and experiences the push and pull of the rhythm with my help. Sometimes I break this process down further by having the student play the melody line only while I play all of the notes on the second piano. This enables the student to feel the flexible movement of the line without having to cope with the underlying harmonic changes. The experience of rubato becomes clear and tangible. Of course the more we listen to rubato style the better it can be incorporated into our own playing-teacher and student alike. If students listen to good recordings, especially of their own literature, the task of teaching rubato will be easier by far.
BOYCE REID SHER holds both undergraduate
and graduate degrees in piano from the Eastman School of Music,
and has had further study in New York City under Martin Canin,
and in Rome as a Fulbright scholar. She is a frequent presenter
of workshops throughout the Southeast, and her students are consistent
winners in local, regional, and national competitions.
