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Playing without the correct intonation with weight is one of the three reasons of discomfort while playing a piece. The other two reasons are the absence of exact idea of musical means of expression and the absence of skills to correctly perform the conceived on the instrument.
As a consequence of playing without intonation, hands begin to get strained because there’s no sensation of weight and freedom. Fingers don’t strengthen due to an insufficient feeling of weight, and there’s a sensation of just touching the keys instead of a sensation of playing in sound in fingertips. Also, playing without intonation doesn’t give a deep and vivid sensation of melodic movement and pattern. The played piece seems flat, out of dimension. And most importantly, there’s no feeling of the finest gradations of intonation of sounds — those smallest rubato (agogics) that are just necessary for a beautiful and natural playing. These nuances are almost unnoticeable to an ear, but felt well in music both by performer and his audience.
When playing without intonation, music doesn’t flow from the heart and soul as in singing, and it all simply comes down to plucking necessary sounds on the keyboard. And during such playing an unpleasant feeling of being outside the music appears, and you as though look on the played piece from aside. And even though you really try to play expressively and beautifully, you can’t fully express what you feel in sound and music. And here comes a feeling of dissatisfaction.
By playing with correct intonation and weight, you get a feeling that you begin to create music at each moment, in each instant of your playing. Music passes through your soul and flows from hands and fingers to the instrument.
Sound
Intonation is the most important thing in playing. If you have the correct idea of sound (timbre, sound movement, harmony, dynamics, balance, texture and pedal) and can correctly express your auditory ideas on the instrument, but don’t have correct intonation, then you’ll be able to do a half (qualitatively) of what you’ve imagined about your sound. Everything will sound flat, non-relief and inexpressive.
1) Sound timbre will be weak and flat instead of being dense and three-dimensional.
2) Sound movement will be almost inaudible and short and not long.
3) Harmony will be shallow, grayish and colorless and not full and colorful.
4) Dynamics won’t be bright; all dynamic nuances will sound around mp and mf. There won’t be enough of three-dimensional and singing f, and p will be disappearing.
And if your teacher asks you to play f louder, with richer sound, you’ll begin to apply more force — press down with more force. But f won’t become louder, it will sound harder and rougher. And if you’re asked to play p quietly and equally so that not a single sound would “come out”, you’ll begin “bounce back” from the instrument with fear while straining even more instead of diving even deeper into intonation of sounds.
Thanks to the correct intonation with weight you’ll always be in sound and won’t “fly out” from it. All nuances of sound will sound full, three-dimensional, relief, expressive, colorful, juicy and accurate to the maximum.
Musical Speech
You won’t be able to master musical speech without intonation. You won’t be able to express the meaning and direction of intervals. Your playing will be boring and dead.
Your speech will revive thanks to intonation — you’ll be able to feel emotional difference of interval steps.
Articulations
You won’t be totally in control of articulations without intonation.
1) Staccato will be very uncomfortable to play, hands will be straining. And that articulation will be either too tough, or soft or flabby.
2) You won’t be able to play portamento sufficiently deep, melodious and with weight. And if you begin applying more care and effort, it will turn to pressure and hand straining.
3) When trying to playing marcato, you’ll fear to play that articulation too rough and tough or flabby.
4) Non legato will be too simple in sounding and non-relief.
5) Legato itself will be “stomping”, insufficiently pouring and joined.
Thanks to playing with the correct intonation with weight, all articulations will be accurate. And playing these articulations will be comfortable and dexterous.
Sitting position
The correct, effective and handsome sitting position is connected to intonation. If you try to pay attention to a handsome posture and correct sitting position while playing, you’ll feel that constantly paying attention to it isn’t possible. Moreover, by switching attention to your sitting position, you’ll stop paying attention to music.
The correct sitting position and correct intonation with weight are connected to each other — they are in the system. If you do intonation correctly, you’ll always keep your posture and sit correctly while playing.
Playing fast passages
Thanks to playing with intonation and weight, not a single passage will be dangled or overplayed. All sounds will be even and singing in all tempos. Hands will be very supple and flexible from such performance of fast passages. Hands won’t get tired and strained. Fingers will be very plastic and “smart”.
Phrasing and Form
If you do phrasing without intonation, then with all your desire to play phrasing flexibly, interestingly and naturally, it will still sound very bluntly and single-meaningfully. You won’t be able to show 100 possible variants of intonation of phrasing. The sensation of form of a piece without intonation will also look flat and inexpressive. The sensation of beginning and development of a piece won’t be sufficiently deep and placid, and climax won’t be sufficiently bright and strong.
Thanks to playing with the correct intonation with weight, your phrasing will always sound full and rich. Form of a piece will seem wholesome and understandable.
Emotional image
Without free, deep, relief and “three-dimensional” intonation you’ll never be able to fully express emotional image of a piece through sound, no matter how rich and understandable it may appear to you. Because emotional image of a piece is expressed through your intonation in the first place.
Intonation is life. It’s the heart and soul of music. It’s a thing without which the music you create will be lifeless, inanimate, colorless and flat. It’s what fills your every desire, your every movement and each one of the musical means of expression with air, light and life.
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