| This study seeks to deduce principles of fingering practiced by keyboardists in eighteenth-century Germany as developed from, and as an improvement upon, earlier practices, to assess the benefits of these principles in comparison with representative examples of fingerings given in modern keyboard editions of eighteenth-century literature, and to demonstrate the application of these principles to appropriate intermediate repertoire. Moreover, as a corrective to deficiencies observed in many modern elementary piano methods resulting from the restricted presentation of variations in articulation and figuration inherent in keyboard music, particularly in regard to fingerings that facilitate efficient realization of these elements, this study provides templates for supplemental pedagogical exercises, both original and inspired by the J.C. Bach-Ricci Method, allowing teachers to expose students to a diversity of touches and fingering combinations in the early stages of study. Through study and practice of fingering concepts in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and by incorporating the pedagogical opportunities found in the Bach-Ricci Method, students and teachers will improve their ability to creatively interpret a range of musical styles. Furthermore, by increasing their awareness of the multifarious touches and fingering combinations possible at the keyboard, pianists will deepen their understanding of repertoire from all time periods. |
