[f_minor] book

[michael macelletti]

sorry  about getting a little excited about the word haptic, but it does seem to provide the missing term which describes the type of memory which most pianists use. ( and often with disastrous results ! )     and i'm happy to say, bob, that mr webster would totally agree with you is his fine book. no difference to him either.  but , if i might be excused for a little personal interpretation,  there may be a great difference. the term tactile seems to have been sullied by previous use, it's connection with the " feel " of , say, a fabric or  smooth piano keys. ( providing they aren't worn ivories ! ).    haptic, on the other hand, happily ( sorry about that ) because of it's lack of familiarity, can easily make the bridge between touch and mind to my way of thinking.          it even sounds psychological !            i mentioned the disaster that can result in using this type of memory for a  concert. it's always a temptation to rely upon  it because
 most pianists will find that they can play a sonata without music ( and without mind !! ) in just a few months. then they try to play it for a jury exam or recital, they start to  " think " about the connections, and lo and behold, all is lost.  their hand memory, or haptic memory was an illusion.  and they slink away in disgrace. 
i have a feeling that gg relied upon this type of memory to a certain extent, in addition to his using great additional analytical skills. this might explain his shaking in bed on the afternoon before a evening concert. ( i mean, there are rather more than a few unnatural memory spots in the goldberg, as anybody would admit who plays it )   it might also explain why he used the loud  vacuum cleaner to distract his mind temporally  so that he could get through the ascending sixths passage in the  last movement ( var 5 ) of  op 109. ( when suddenly, one day,  he couldn't play it ! )
well, just a little digression on a day when it's honestly too hot in connecticut to do anything but think and then bother the f minors.   stay cool if you happen to be on the unfortunate side of the equator.     



________________________________
From: Robert Merkin <bobmerk at earthlink.net>
To: Discussion of the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. <f_minor at glenngould.org>
Sent: Sun, June 27, 2010 11:39:10 PM
Subject: Re: [f_minor] book

 
Thanks for the cool new word! But 
... how does "haptic" differ from "tactile"?
 
Bob
 
 
----- Original Message ----- 
>From: michael macelletti 
>To: f_minor at glenngould.org ; gail 
>  paynter 
>Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 9:30 PM
>Subject: [f_minor] book
>
>
>a  " must have " book for all gouldians :    " BRAVO 
>  FORTISSIMO " GLENN GOULD , THE MIND OF A CANADIAN VIRTUOSO ,   by helen 
>  mesaros.  and , believe  me, i've got them all.  this volume is 
>   a veritable treasury of minutiae. i.e. where and when did he practice on 
>  the nassau trip. ( and who was there to witness it. ) , where was he when his 
>  teacher died, what bothered him the most about retirement. the word, haptic ( 
>  i never saw it before! ) and the beethoven 5.   enjoy! 
________________________________
 > 
>
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