Building dynamic colour into our playing is vital if we want it to be expressive, warm and engaging. But sometimes it takes all our attention just to play the notes on the page combined with the correct rhythm and pulse without adding anything else into the mix. So how can we develop and train our ears and fingers to produce the goods at the right moment in our piece? Here are a few suggestions.

 

Khatia Buniatishvili knows how to use a full dynamic range:

 

 

1. Start by practising on one note

To produce a very soft tonal colour, use your finger-tip and caress the key firmly depressing it slowly – the slower you depress the key, the softer the tonal colour; finger-key connection is important here, so keep fingers firmly wedded to the key. Work at this for a while, evaluating the point at where the note ceases to sound. Using the fingertip can provide greater control. Listening to the timbre produced as you experiment will be paramount, too.

 

2. Using a rotational or circular wrist motion alongside the fingers can be beneficial when varying the dynamic range.

Firm fingers help to control the sound and colour, but the addition of the wrist helps to ‘cushion’ that sound, so that it can be warm and inviting as opposed to harsh and unappealing.

 

Shura Cherkassky's broad palette of colours takes some beating!

 

 

3. Now use the weight of your arm, a relaxed, loose wrist, and a quicker finger depression for a larger tonal sonority.

Throw the weight of your arm behind the key (see my previous ’10 Tips’ article for Pianist on arm-weight) and use a quick, direct touch, far quicker than that used to produce a soft tonal colour. The more weight from your arm combined with a swifter depression, the larger the sound you will produce.

 

4. To experiment with dynamics, create a broad crescendo-decrescendo arch.

Practice slowly using part of a piece which includes repetitive note patterns such as those found in a Baroque or Classical style piece. Start with a soft colour, and in order to implement tonal intensity, gradually increase arm-weight as well as circular wrist movement behind your fingers, graduating to a full tone, before decreasing the amount of arm-weight and wrist movement, so by the end of the decrescendo, you will have smoothly moved back to producing a soft colour. This takes some practice but it’s well worth your time.

 

Watch Grigory Sokolov produce myriad colours in Rameau: 

 

 

5. It can help to work at a piece using the opposite dynamic range to that written by the composer.

As an example, start playing your piece fortissimo from beginning to end. This practice tool has many benefits, including the firming up of fingers. When moving back to the suggested dynamics, the note patterns will feel easier to control and you will have a wider tonal range available at your finger-tips.

 

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Main image: © Aline Paley (for Verbier Festival)