The Fusion of the Hands

A.B. playing Albeniz: Orientale

#1

As a general principle the left hand should always be playing with and encouraging the right hand.  When nothing is written for the left hand in a particular measure, then, for practicing purposes, the left hand can either provide notes that support the right hand harmonically, or make gestures as if playing these notes but without sounding them – as long the physical effort involved is tantamount to or greater than the effort that would be made to sound the notes.

In the section where A3 is held and the remaining fingers play a series of parallel triads in inversion, AB’s right hand feels insecure; he says that it doesn’t feel balanced; the fingers feel awkward trying to play the exact notes of the triad. I asked him to play the octave a2-a3 in the left hand, and to re-play with each triad in the right hand.  “Miraculously”, his right hand no longer felt out of balance.  The reason that it is best when both hands are lending mutual support to each other is because we are bilaterally symmetric creatures – our arms and legs are mirror images of each other.

If we interlace the fingers of our two hands and then move our hands conjointly around in space (up and down, sideways, it doesn’t matter), we are no longer automatically conscious of what one hand is doing versus what the other hand is doing. They have lost their individual identities once fused together in a larger, single, natural entity. Starting with this larger unit, we can then farm out assignments to each hand.  There is a ‘pulse’ generated by the center of the body that travels like an electric current down both arms in concert.  This pulse can also cross from arm to arm in analogy to how the optic nerves crisscross on the way from the eyes to the brain.  We should assume, in both cases, that each gains support from the other.

The hands form a unity such that each hand suffers when that unity is broken.

#2

A chord is the same regardless which hand plays it:

In the same section of the piece, where a sequence of parallel triads occur over a held a3, A.B. says that if he uses his right hand to play all three notes of each triad, his ear is more able to be aware of the chord that is formed by the three notes.  I said that ideally, we want to reach a point where what we hear is not dependent in any way on which hand is playing which notes of the chord.  The chord exists as a single sound unit regardless of which notes in the chord are played by the right hand and which by the left hand – it’s always the same chord with the same sound. Physical differences are secondary.

How to play 3 in one hand against 2 in the other

This is a brief technical manual for coping with the rhythmic situation known as “three against two.”  One encounters this situation when one hand is subdividing a pulse into three equal parts while the other hand is subdividing the same pulse into two equal parts.

I want to break the problem down into a short series of small, doable steps.

We start by taking the two rhythms (triplet and duplet) and superimposing them one upon the other, and derive a single composite rhythm.  Once we have it in the form of a composite rhythm, there is no longer anything special required to address the coordination of one hand with the other.  Once we see 3 against 2 as a single rhythm, it looses all its strangeness, and becomes a very simple rhythm to execute.

THE COMPOSITE RHYTHM ONCE WE HAVE AMALGAMATED THE TWO DIFFERENT RHYTHMS.

One way to write it is: a quarter note – eighth note – eighth note – quarter note.  It does not matter if these note values are different than those in the score.  Any note values would serve the same purpose as long as their durations stand in the following comparative ratio: 2 : 1 : 1 : 2.  Half  -Quarter  – Quarter – Half, or Eighth – Sixteenth – Sixteenth – Eighth ,would do as well.

We no longer have to concern ourselves with the difference in the duration of a triplet versus a duplet.  It is all homogenized in the combined rhythm.

This, then is the composite rhythm of a 3 against 2:

|| quarter – eighth – eighth – quarter ||

|| means a bar line.  We assume the meter to be 3/4 time,

First, let us consider the situation where the 3 (or triplet) is in the right hand and the 2 (or duplet) is in the left hand.

THREE IN THE RIGHT HAND VERSUS TWO IN THE LEFT HAND:

Step 1:

|| quarter – eighth – eighth – quarter  ||

Using both hands at once, tap or play this rhythm (quarter eight eighth quarter) over and over in an endless loop*.  You can keep the hands a foot or two apart as you do this.  Each time you reach the end of the measure recycle, without a pause, to the beginning of the measure.  And continuing in this fashion, doing the measure over and over.  Do it enough times for it to feel completely natural and automatic in the hands.

What to tap on:

You can tap it on the closed fall board at two separated places, or always playing the C below middle C with the left hand and Middle C with the right hand.  Or on two drums, or on your lap, or anything else handy.

Step 2:

Repeat step 1 and add these spoken words to the notes:

|| quarter  eighth eighth quarter || quarter …. <-Play *

|| together  right   left   right”   || together … <- Say

* each note with both hands

Step 3:

Repeat step 1 and 2 with this revision.  The four notes in the composite rhythm are not all played with both hands.

(the rhythm):

|| quarter  eighth eighth  quarter  || quarter ….   || together  right   left       right       || together …

(which hand(s))

here is another description of step 3:

play the first note in both hands and say  “together”

play the second note in just the right hand and say  “right”

play the third note in just the left hand and say  “left”

play the fourth note in just the right hand and say “right”

start the pattern again with “together”

just make sure to stay with the same rhythm: quarter eighth eighth quarter.

Step 4:

4A  for the right hand:

Repeat step 3, but say only the word ‘right’ and only at those times when the right hand is due to play.

|| quarter    eighth   eighth  quarter  || quarter ….    <= play

|| right         right                     right       || right     ….    <= say

4B  for the left hand:

Repeat step 3, but say only the word ‘left’ and only at those times when the left hand is due to play.

|| quarter   eighth eighth quarter  || quarter .

|| left                          left                         || left ….     <= say

Let us now consider the situation where the 3 is in the left hand and the 2 is in the right hand.

TWO IN THE RIGHT HAND VERSUS THREE IN THE LEFT HAND:

Step 1:

Step 1 is the same as before.  Using both hands at once tap or play this rhythm (quarter eight eighth quarter) over and over in an endless loop.  At the end of each measure of 3/4 go back (without a pause) to the beginning of the measure.

Step 2:

Repeat step 1 and add these spoken words to the notes:

|| quarter    eighth eighth quarter || quarter ….   <= Play

|| together  left     right    left        || together …   <= Say this

Step 3:

Repeat step 1 and 2 with this revision.  The four notes in the composite rhythm are not all played with both hands.

|| quarter   eighth eighth quarter  || quarter ….  <= rhythm

|| both left  right left ||  both … <= which hand

here is another description of step 3:

play the    first note  in both hands  and say  “together”

play the    second note  in just the left hand    and say  left”

play the    third note     in just the right hand  and say right”

play the   fourth note    in just the left hand    and say  “left”

start the pattern again with “together”

Once again, just make sure to stay with the same rhythm: quarter-eighth-eighth-quarter.

Step 4:

4A  for the right hand:

Repeat step 3, but say only the word ‘right’ and only at those times when the right hand is due to play.

|| quarter   eighth eighth quarter  || quarter ….  <= play this rhythm

|| right                       right                      || right ….    <= say

4B  for the left hand:

Repeat step 3, but say only the word ‘left’ and only at those times when the left hand is due to play.

|| quarter   eighth eighth quarter  || quarter ….  <= play this rhythm

|| left           left                       left         || left ….     <= say

Have fun. Start slowly until the muscular and vocal habits have had a chance to set in.

I would love some feedback.  For instance,

1) is this technique too complicated to follow

2) does this technique help put the 3 against 2 issue in a clearer light

3) A: didn’t help much. B: helped slightly C: made a difference