Refusal to play at a volume other than the maximum
This issue is most common among beginners, although I have come across some students up to an intermediate level with particularly resistant forms of the disease. Many students with fortissimo fixation think of playing the piano as pressing buttons. They believe that if they press the right buttons at the correct time then they are playing correctly. If this is the case, it’s no wonder that they press each key down so swiftly and emphatically, creating the harsh banging sound that results.
Symptoms
Prescriptions
As Soft As...
In lesson
The trick with this remedy is to make it into a game. If your student has fortissimo fixation I’m sure you have already tried asking her to play more softly. That’s not what I’m suggesting here.
As soon as your student has finished playing a piece very loudly and roughly, launch right into the ‘As Soft As...’ activity. Don’t correct anything in her piece or make comments about the dynamics but go straight to this activity just as if it were the next thing on the agenda.
Ask your student to think of the quietest thing she can. It doesn’t matter what example she chooses; anything quiet will do. Once she has chosen, ask her to play something simple (a scale, piece or exercise she knows well) “as soft as a ”. Encourage her to play more and more softly using the comparison she has chosen, for example: “A swan gliding on a pond is even softer, isn’t it? Swans make almost no sound at all! Let’s try that one more time.”
When she has mastered playing “as soft as a ” with the simple scale or piece, return to the original piece she played for you. Phrase your directions with a sense of curiosity: “Hey, I wonder what that Gigue would sound like if it were played as quietly as that swan. Let’s try that now.”
At home
Assign your student practice of all her pieces like the softest things she can imagine. Ask her to draw a different example of something super quiet at the top of each page, or in her assignment book. Continue to use the words “as soft as” or “as quiet as” and avoid using musical terms such as “pianissimo”. Your student might be put off by the Italian terms if she has been corrected and reminded about dynamics a lot in the past.
Freefall
In lesson
If your student’s fortissimo fixation is rooted in a technique issue, then a great deal of ‘Freefalls’ may be in order. Good indicators that the problem is actually a technique problem rather than a choice include proclamations of “I just can’t play any quieter!” and/or that your student appears to be pushing or forcing her way into each key.
Start away from the keys and stand facing your student. Demonstrate the ‘Freefall’, stretching your arms up above your head and then letting them fall down heavily by your sides. Repeat this exercise several times.
Once the ‘Freefall’ is well established, sit down again facing your student and demonstrate the ‘Freefall’, this time with your hands starting at shoulder height and dropping onto your knees.
Translate the ‘Freefall’ motion to the piano next, starting with just one hand playing a single key. These ‘Freefalls’ should still be quite exaggerated, starting from at least 60 cm (2 ft) or so above the keys. If your student’s movements appear to be free from tension and she is using the natural weight of her arm, begin to apply this technique to her repertoire. Keep the notes broken apart, lifting and freefalling to play each and every note. Whether she can play hands together or separately only will be down to each individual student.
Keep an eye on her technique and, if tension returns, simplify the ‘Freefall’ exercise to alleviate it. She will still be playing loudly, but the arm weight will create a warm, full tone so that she can play fortissimo without harshness.
At home
Have her practice at least one piece (or possibly all her assignments) using the ‘Freefall’ technique this week, and check that she is still moving freely at the next lesson. Once the arm is engaged you can start to introduce other dynamics and minify the arm motions, integrating the feeling of ‘Freefall’ seamlessly into her playing technique.
Related Diagnoses
Expression Omission Disorder
Floppy Finger Predicament
Sticky Tipitis