The pupil was
instructed to go through these exercises first staccato, effected by a
free movement of the wrist, an admirable means of counteracting
heaviness and clumsiness, then legato-staccato, then accented legato,
then pure legato, modifying the power from pp to ff, and the movement
from andante to prestissimo.
He was exceedingly particular about arpeggio work, and insisted upon the
repetition of every note and passage until all harshness and roughness
of tone were eliminated. "Is that a dog barking?" he was known to
exclaim to an unlucky pupil whose attack in the opening arpeggio of a
Clementi study lacked the desired quality. A very independent use of the
thumb was prescribed by him. He never hesitated about placing it on a
black key when convenient, and had it passed by muscle action alone in
scales and broken chords whose zealous practice in different forms of
touch, accent, rhythm and tone were demanded by him.
Individualization of the fingers was one of his strong points, and he
believed in assigning to each of them its appropriate part.
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