In this practice clinic edition, Graham Fitch answers questions from participants in his Building Firm Foundations course alongside a variety of subscriber questions. Topics include the Floating Fermata in Bach, shaping the coda of a Schubert Impromptu, phrase direction in Schumann and Villa-Lobos, ornaments in Haydn and repertoire suggestions for progressing from the intermediate to the advanced level.
Practice clinic questions
Haydn – Andante con Variazioni in F minor, Hob. XVII:6 – I need some help with the trills in the F major variation, particularly bars 83–88 and 93–98. I’m unsure whether the trills should begin on the upper note, especially where notes are tied from the previous bar, as this seems to risk obscuring the melodic line. I’d also appreciate some advice on practising these passages effectively.
Shaping phrases in Schumann and Villa-Lobos – I recently taught two pieces which both begin with an anacrusis followed by a two-note slur: Schumann’s Sailor’s Song from Album für die Jugend and Villa-Lobos’ Assim ninava mamã from Petizada. This seems to create a conflict between the natural movement towards the following beat and the traditional shaping implied by the slur, where the first note receives more emphasis. I’m interested in how to balance these two ideas in shaping the phrase.
The Floating Fermata and other practice tools – I’ve been applying the “floating fermata” technique to Bach’s Prelude No. 15 in G major, BWV 860 from the Well-Tempered Clavier and have noticed two things: 1) It has exposed my tendency to rush mentally towards the next group before fully preparing it and 2) The exercise has been very effective for maintaining detached quavers consistently, especially in bars 11–12 where the voices and quavers switch between the hands. I also realise I’m not always sure which practice technique is best suited to a particular musical problem.
Schubert – Impromptu in E-flat major, Op. 90 No. 2, D. 899 – I’ve been working on the coda of this work and am finding the final section both exciting and difficult to shape convincingly. In particular, I’m struggling with how to pace the accelerando so that it feels organic and like the true culmination of the piece, rather than simply becoming faster. I’d like to understand how to judge the rate of acceleration while still maintaining a clear structural sense.
Repertoire recommendations – I was inspired by Graham’s series on Burgmüller’s 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100 to finally work through the complete set after leaving them untouched on my shelf for years. Having reached the level of the later études, I’d now like recommendations for a similarly progressive collection that could bridge the gap towards more advanced repertoire.
Join us!
Our next Practice Clinic will take place on Saturday 4th July as part of a full day of presentations and performance workshops at the 1901 Arts Club in London. Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer registration for this edition as a standalone event, as the clinic forms part of the wider programme and will take place towards the end of the day.
However, if you have booked an online ticket for the full event, you will be able to join the clinic live as part of the programme (click here for more information and booking details). We’ll also make the recording available afterwards therefore if you’re not on our email list, please use this form to sign-up to receive recording links and details for upcoming clinics:
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