Commentary on Watanabe and Takeda

Abstract

This is a commentary on Watanabe and Takeda's article, "Why do I like Schumann more than Chopin? A Physiological Analysis of Pianists' Affinities for Composers". The study offers a valuable insight into the relation between pianists' physiological 'Stance Type', as evaluated through 6 short test exercises, and their preference as well as aptitude for music by certain composers. While being a valuable presentation of a potentially very practical and effective method that addresses development and improvement of piano performance skills, there is some scope for improvement, namely: insight into how the three hypotheses were derived, detailed explanation of the proposed body positions for the performance of tempo-driven and momentum-driven composers' music, reasoning for effectiveness of the two body positions, and reconsideration of some terminology.

Keywords

• piano performance
• performance practice
• piano repertoire