Attending to Ergonomic Principles While Developing a Linear Improvisatory Language at the Piano

Abstract

Throughout years of piano practice aimed at developing fluency in improvisation, I have repeatedly attempted to reduce and/or eliminate the discrepancy between my intended musical outcomes (what I the musician intend to play) and the physical capabilities of myself as an improviser (what I am physically capable of in that moment). Attempting to reduce this discrepancy during musical improvisation provokes the perennial problem of how to ensure accurate execution of material, despite not knowing in advance what I am going to play. From the formative ideas discussed above, the following research questions emerged: 1. Which developmental processes enable me to minimise the discrepancies during improvisation between my intended musical outcomes and what I am physically capable of executing? 2. What ergonomic principles and other observable conditions explain the efficacy of these developmental processes? This dissertation outlines my responses to these questions. Three important research activities resulted in the acquisition of research outcomes. The first activity involved studying and embodying the principles of the Taubman Approach to piano technique. The second involved rechoreographing my existing improvisatory language with adherence to the ergonomic principles derived from the previous research activity. The third research activity involved developing a model of Piano Fingering Syntax which reduces the risk of deviating from ergonomic principles during improvisation. Research outcomes provided answers to the research questions, including the identification of slow motion video analysis as an effective developmental process and the discovery of important physical mechanisms that distinguish ergonomic pianistic motions from inefficient and/or harmful pianistic motions.