Two-note Slurs (4.1)

Two-note slurs are fundamental to both musical and technical development at the piano.

The preparatory motion to execute a single note is the same as that required to play a two-note slur:

• Lift and drop onto a single note
• Maintain a quiet hand
• Maintain good alignment
• Maintain good bridge support
• Release at the bottom of the key, do not press
• Play on the fleshy part of the finger
• Hand is not retaining excess tension: fingers are not curled or pulled back into a straight line with other fingers

• Forward and up movement (sliding)
• Pause to evaluate for good alignment
• Smooth transference of arm weight during the slur
• Flowing movement

Following good preparation and the descent into the key, begin moving the upper arm forward before striking the second key, maintaining a supple wrist and quiet hand.

• Allow slight 'sliding' on the key surface as your arm moves forward. This moderates the movement in the vertical plane and facilitates a much smoother slur.
• Continue to maintain your quiet hand, allowing all fingers that are not playing to be at rest on the top of the surface of the keys they are not playing.
• Remember that the optimal placement of the thumb may be off the surface of the keys when it is not playing, if that is better for the hand’s alignment, depending on the register.
• Listen musically; match the decay of the first note of the slur with the attack of the second note.