Piano Lessons – Schumann – Scenes from Childhood – Part 1

This is a wonderful selection of movements that is a great choice for piano students just progressing past the intermediate level. I’m going to provide a few tips for you on how to get the best performance of these pieces of music.

Many of Schumann’s works are reflective of his life and he would constantly create multi-part pieces. What’s great about these pieces is that even though they are accessible to slightly above intermediate students, they still contain a great depth of expression.

I’m going to start from the first movement, Of Strange Lands and People. If you have a chance to watch the embedded video I highly recommend it. In the first section you have an almost choral sound to the music – except the inner voices (the notes under the melody) are staggered in triplets. The best thing to do is recognize what the harmonies are and the best way to figure this out is by breaking the music into chords.

This is a good technique for any new piece you are approaching and it allows you to flesh out the music and get a better grasp of what you are playing and the underlying structure of it. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t reach all the chords, this is not what it’s about. By doing this you will be able to both understand the harmony and structure of the piece as well as figure out the best fingering to use. In the video embedded with this article I break down this concept into great detail.

Once you have learned the harmony and figured out the best fingering by breaking the piece into chords it’s time to work on the melody. Bringing out the melody is something absolutely crucial in mastering your music. You don’t want all the notes to blend in together, you want the melody to rise above the harmony and sing.

You can play the melody legato and the accompanying triplets with staccato fingers to clarify the melody line in your hands. Once you have achieved this, you will be able to bring out the melody easily.

Thanks again for joining me and make sure to check out Part 2 of this series on Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood. Robert Estrin: Robert@Livingpianos.com