Practising Two-note Slurs (4.2)

• With the right hand, return to the C above middle C with your 2nd finger.
• With the right hand, play C, D, and D, landing on the second D with your 2nd finger.
• Before the second note is played, move the arm forward and allow the wrist to ascend slightly.
• Pause to carefully evaluate:
• Quiet hand
• Good bridge support
• Good alignment
• Listen for a musical slur without accents
• Land with a good single-note drop on the last note
• Expand to playing two pairs of slurs and stopping on a single note. Using only fingers 2 and 3, play C-D, D-E, and finish with your 2nd finger on E.
• Invert the exercise to play the left hand
• With the right hand beginning on E, play two more slurs and end with the 2nd finger on G.
• With the left hand beginning on A, play two descending slurs and end with the 2nd finger on F.
• As before, pause to evaluate for all elements listed earlier.
• Experiment with playing hands together in contrary motion
• With the right hand beginning on G, play two more ascending slurs, and pause on B. Continue in this fashion from B to D; from D to F; and so on.
• Always pause long enough to evaluate for released fingers and an aligned, quiet hand.
• As usual, the second note of each slur results from the forward motion of the arm before the second note is played.
• Play each slur with a slight diminuendo and a good legato connection.
• With the left hand beginning on F, play two more descending slurs, and pause on D. Continue in this fashion from D to B; from B to G; and so on.
• Follow the instructions for the right hand, above, regarding pausing to evaluate for released fingers, an aligned, quiet hand, and musical listening.
• Continue on to playing three pairs of slurs and pausing, then four pairs of slurs and pausing, etc., until you can play continuous two-note slurs at a moderate but continuous speed while maintaining all fundamental elements of a healthful three-dimensional technique:
• Quiet hand
• Good bridge support
• Good alignment
• Musical listening

Practise all previous steps with additional adjacent fingering pairs:

• 3-4: be vigilant to play on the pad of the 3rd finger
• 1-2
• 4-5

In each hand, practise a variety of all two-note slurs using previous steps with:

• Different intervals such as 3rds (1-3, 2-4, 3-5) and 4ths (1-4, 2-5), both in C Major and other scales
• Each adjacent-finger combination in different diatonic scales
• Each adjacent-finger combination in the chromatic scale

Be creative in applying this practice, cycling different options of keys and fingering pairs. Note that there are numerous pairs to experiment with, so incorporate only a moderate amount of two-note slur practice per day–perhaps five minutes. It’s more important to apply the principles of good, three-dimensional two-note slurs in moderation over many weeks, months and beyond to develop your form than to do too much all at once!