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tonebase Piano Course

Garrick Ohlsson At Home: Musicianship Skills

Taught by renowned pianist

Garrick Ohlsson

Join one of the towering pianists and musical minds of our era, Garrick Ohlsson, in this intimate collection of lessons filmed in his home studio. Seated at his luxurious Bösendorfer, Ohlsson shares his insights on core facets of pianism, from the dos and don'ts of practicing to the elusive question of how to "touch" the keyboard. After a pair of complimentary lessons on pedaling and rests, Ohlsson delivers an in-depth lesson on Brahms' beloved Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2, and leaves you with an encore lesson on how to play glissandi.

  • checkmark icon
    Difficulty: 
    intermediate
  • checkmark icon
    Duration: 
    1
     hours
     hour
All courses on tonebase include subtitles in English and Spanish

Course Syllabus

On Glissandos

Join celebrated American pianist Garrick Ohlsson as he shares tips and tricks for mastering glissandos at the keyboard. Although glissandos sound and look impressive, Ohlsson shows that, with the right approach, they’re simple once you get the hang of them.

By flipping your hand over and using the fingernails (and less pressure), it’s possible to avoid getting stuck or injured — although for specialized, double note glissandi, Ohlsson’s teacher once told him that while developing the panache necessary to just toss them off under any circumstances, it might hurt a little at first! With practice, you’ll find a good angle for your hand that avoids strain and allows for a smooth, even glissando.

Ohlsson demonstrates his approach to standard glissandi as well as to special examples found in Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso, Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata, and Prokofiev’s Third Concerto.

Intermezzo, Op. 118 No. 2

In this lesson, American pianist Garrick Ohlsson guides you through Brahms’s “unbelievably loveable” Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2.

Ohlsson directs your attention to Brahms’s detailed articulation markings, which he helps you to decipher and incorporate into your strategies for phrasing. You will learn to play the constant stream of eighth notes that flow throughout this piece with expression and musicality. This accompanimental figure, Ohlsson advises you, should not sound neutral or passive, nor should it overpower the melody.

During the piece’s more contrapuntal passages, Ohlsson invites you to decide for yourself which voice to bring out. He encourages you to consider highlighting one of the inner voices, since most pianists emphasize the topmost. Whichever voice you decide to bring out, Ohlsson advises you to practice doing so in an exaggerated fashion until you are comfortable voicing with more subtlety.

On Pedaling

Join celebrated American pianist Garrick Ohlsson as he discusses pedaling, the "soul of the piano." Offering both simple mechanical advice and sophisticated insights, Ohlsson covers the dos and don'ts of pedaling, and shows how it is the ear, and not the foot, that is the key to mastering the pedal.

Constraining his discussion to the right, "damper" pedal, Ohlsson first discusses the workings of the pedal apparatus and issues caveats about foot technique in order to avoid unwanted stomping sounds. He then walks you through the history of the damper pedal, from its early days as a special effect in Haydn and Beethoven to its more mature use as a means for connecting disparate notes into a single sonority, and coloring phrases, as in Chopin.

Chopin's Third Ballade serves as the centerpiece of the discussion, as Ohlsson demonstrates how Chopin took a simple means of blending harmony and turned it into a vehicle for a wide range of nuanced expressions.

On Practicing

In this lesson, American pianist Garrick Ohlsson shares his insights into practice routines. He invites you to view your practice sessions as opportunities to develop self-awareness and step outside your comfort zone. Focus your practice sessions on identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and devote your time to the latter. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!

Ohlsson will offer you strategies for practicing methodically, “dividing and conquering” the most difficult passages. He advises you always to practice with a sense of expression and musicality, especially when practicing under tempo. Finally, Ohlsson will teach you strategies for testing your knowledge of a piece when you believe that you have learned it successfully.

On Rests

Join celebrated American pianist Garrick Ohlsson as he tackles a subject that is not discussed often enough, but vitally important to piano playing – rests. There's a paradoxical old adage that says you must "play through" the rests, and Ohlsson shows you how.

Drawing on examples from Beethoven and Brahms through Schoenberg and Webern, Ohlsson demonstrates how to treat rests musically – not as a cessation of the music, but its continuation. In some instances, you must "kiss" the rests, with subtle use of pedal and release points, as well as a feeling that the energy of the phrase continues to grow. In other places, you should feel rests as pregnant pauses and not cut them short, instead hearing the silence as generating uncertainty and anticipation on the part of the listener.

Thecenterpiece of Ohlsson's discussion is Brahms's enigmatic E Minor Intermezzo, Op. 116 No. 5.

On Touch

In this lesson, American pianist Garrick Ohlsson discusses touch, which he describes as an “ecology” of interactions among different variables of sound and intent, or, in more technical terms, the regulation of pressure applied to the keys.

The art of touch, Ohlsson explains, is grounded in the act of fooling the ear. He describes the piano as “a box of decrescendos.” Its sound, after all, immediately decays. Whenever you execute crescendos or a cantabile style of playing at the piano, you are in fact creating an illusion, because it is ultimately impossible to control a note’s dynamic level once a key is depressed.

Ohlsson also introduces you to his notion of the “relaxation response.” You will discover the importance of immediately releasing physical tension after striking a note. Ohlsson invites you to think of your hand as a muscle; a beating heart that must expand after contraction. This advice is particularly helpful to bear in mind when pursuing a legato style; a connected sound, you learn, does not require you to hold onto notes unnecessarily.

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Garrick Ohlsson
meet YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Garrick Ohlsson

Since his triumph as winner of the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, pianist Garrick Ohlsson has established himself worldwide as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess.

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Garrick Ohlsson
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