Practical Guide for Music Teaching from the Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School Op. 500 by Carl Czerny

Abstract

Carl Czerny, a pianist and composer, was one of the most diligent piano pedagogues of the 19^th century. Apart from his renowned etudes and exercises for developing finger dexterity, he composed a large number of pieces, mainly for piano. His oeuvre includes at least 861 works with opus number, an autobiography, and important treatises. Amongst his treatises is the Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School, op. 500, consisting of four volumes. In the first two volumes of this treatise, Czerny provides progressive clear instructions on the development of pianistic technique, as well as elementary principles of music and a doctrine of fingering, all illustrated with numerous examples. In the third volume, Czerny discusses the refinement of expression and the understanding of musical style, including even the caprice of the performer. The last part, published as a supplement to the third volume, explains stylistic elements of new romantic compositions and performance commentary on piano works by his teacher, Ludwig van Beethoven. This comprehensive piano method can be usefully applied for teaching contemporary pianists along with Czerny’s technical exercises and as a significant reference source of performance practice. In this article, alongside Czerny’s notes on Beethoven’s teaching, the overview of the content of the whole treatise is summarized with demonstration of selected examples to give a practical guide for teachers and pianists to study and further develop a systematic pedagogical method by Czerny, which might be forgotten nowadays.