Once the intellectual concept has been introduced, the next step is to get it into the body, and hear and feel where the beats occur. A valuable tool is to have students tap the LH rhythm on their left thigh and the RH rhythm on their right thigh. I insist that they count out loud as they tap. When there is ease of coordination and the opposing rhythms are comfortably integrated, I ask them to do the same thing, but this time with the RH tapping on top of the closed piano lid. The difference in timbres helps students hear how the voices sound, and the process of careful listening begins.
To help develop an awareness of the voicing between the hands, I have students repeat the tapping with eyes closed and not counting out loud. Physical memory begins to take over and aural skills begin to refine. To challenge the ear even more, I have students tap the RH louder than the LH in preparation for the balance needed between the melody and the accompaniment. Now the student is ready to apply this learning to the keyboard.
It is important that this rhythm be taught early during piano study instead of waiting until this Nocturne is assigned. A book that I have found enormously helpful is Louise Robyn's 85 Etudes (Presser) to develop sightplaying, pedal technique, and rhythm. Although mostly a book to drill the use of the pedal (and it is truly a gem!), the end of the book (exercises 72-85) gives students a step by step experience in playing two-against-three. She even has examples for students to practice in which the LH has the twos and the RH has the threes (which serves as a fine preparation for Debussy's first Arabesque).
Even when the student has gained the intellectual understanding, has integrated the rhythms in the body, and has prepared the ear to hear the voicing between the two hands, the passages with two-against-three can still be played unevenly. Often, this is due to the LH accompaniment interfering with the melodic line because it is played too loudly, or because the player leans on the third eighth note of each three. Here is a typical place this might happen:
This makes the piece sound like a waltz and the long melodic line gets lost. To hear this excerpt played both this way and more artistically, click below:
Click to the left to hear the less-musical "waltzy"
version
(380k, WAV sound file)
Click to the right to hear the same
excerpt played more artistically
(347k, WAV sound file)
Further along in the piece, Grieg adds to the challenge by giving the RH the twos and the threes!
I teach this measure using the same principles discussed previously, but in a four-step process. First, I have students play just the melody (the twos) of the treble clef part, making sure the melody has a beautiful legato and warm tone. Second, they add the accompaniment (the threes) of the treble part, but they play the notes with the LH, not the RH. Again, the idea is to get the pattern into the body, always listening for the melody being legato and the accompaniment being soft. Once the body has assimilated the voicing through hands-separate playing, then it is time for the third step-the RH plays the treble part as written, but by itself. Finally, I have students add the LH part, making sure that the accompaniment doesn't overpower the RH melody.
The melody line is the key here. If the RH lets go of the eighth note duples and breaks the legato, not only is the melodic line lost, but the meter begins to sound like three groups of 3/8 rather than one measure of 9/8. Students must make sure they hold the RH top voice throughout the measure while playing the threes.
To hear a short recorded segment of
an actual lesson on this part, click below
895k, WAV sound file
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