The Impressionist Style:
Preparing Students for Works of Debussy and Ravel
Curtis Pavey
Introduction
The piano music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel is regarded highly as some of the most
imaginative and beautiful music for the instrument. Pianists frequently enjoy these works for
their unique harmonic language, dramatic virtuosity, and use of tonal color. That said, studying
works by these two composers is often an uphill battle for even advanced pianists; the
challenging musical language and the stringent technical requirements demand a refined
musician with a good sense of pianistic control.
The purpose of this article is to suggest some teaching strategies to use with late intermediate and
early advanced level pianists. I have broken down my discussion into two parts – musical
difficulties and technical difficulties – offering a broad sense of the types of challenges a student
who is unfamiliar with this music will face. By making this music more accessible and
understandable, we can make the learning process less frustrating and more enjoyable.
Before Ravel and Debussy
Before a student encounters works by Debussy and Ravel, I would recommend acquainting them
with the impressionist style via works by composers of today. Numerous composers, such as
Catherine Rollins, Jennifer Lin, and Dennis Alexander, have composed pedagogical works for
students who are at the beginning or intermediate level. Using these from the beginning of a
student’s study of the piano helps to build musical and technical fluency before introducing the
easier works of Debussy and Ravel, which are only appropriate for students at the upper
intermediate level or higher.
Musical Challenges
Students who are new to the Impressionistic style and music by Debussy and Ravel may struggle
with the foreign musical sounds that are typical of the period. In order for students to become
comfortable with this style, they must learn the musical elements of the impressionists including:
harmony, scales, modes, and more. By learning to recognize these sounds, students will be more
comfortable reading them on the page and understanding their relationship to the music at
hand.
The use of nontraditional scales as well as modes is characteristic of music from this
time. Debussy’s fascination with new scale collections began in 1889 during the Exposition
Universelle – the world’s fair held in Paris. Throughout this gathering, Debussy heard a variety
of new sounds, which sparked his curiosity in music from other cultures including gamelan
music and more. Soon after, Debussy began exploring these sounds in his music including
“Voiles” from his Preludes, Book I (1910). In this Prelude (Example 1), Debussy juxtaposes
long sections of music using the whole tone scale with a smaller section built on the pentatonic
Example 1: Debussy, Preludes, Book 1, Voiles, Opening
scale. Before introducing a student to a work such as this, it is imperative that the student learns
how to build and recognize (by sight and aurally) pentatonic and whole tone scales. Besides
these two commonly used scales, the octatonic scale (built from alternating whole and half
steps), is used as well. In addition to these scale types, Debussy frequently uses modal coloring
in his music to create sounds of unique images and backgrounds. For example, in his Prelude,
“La cathédral engloutie,” Debussy dramatically uses the Mixolydian mode at the climax of the
work. Along with learning the major and minor scales, students must be comfortable playing
scales in various modes so that they can recognize the modal flavors of this music; teaching
modes alongside scale exercises makes for an efficient way to present this concept.
Harmonically, music of the impressionistic period is known for using major and minor triads in
new ways in addition to exploring other colorful chords such as augmented triads and extended
tertian chords including seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords. For example, Ravel, in
his Le Tombeau de Couperin uses rich alterations and extensions to traditional tonal harmonies
to create a new sound world in his “Forlane” (Example 2).
Example 2: Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin, Forlane, Opening
Just as students learn chord progressions in the major and minor keys (I-IV-V7-I), students need
to learn to build chords that are found in this style. After familiarizing students with all types of
triads, students should learn to build and recognize seventh chords and continue with further
extensions. Students often need several lessons to become comfortable identifying different
types of seventh chords, but extending beyond this may become simpler since extended tertian
chords are built from a seventh chord foundation.
Besides the challenging scalar and harmonic foundations of this music, another daunting musical
challenge is creating musical imagery that evokes sounds of distant places and ideas. Ravel’s
Jeux d’eau (Example 3 below), for instance, evokes a water-filled sound world encompassing
numerous fountains and streams. Many of Ravel’s smaller pieces are also imaginative in their
use of the piano. Ravel’s Prelude, written for the sight-reading exam at the Paris Conservatoire,
begins softly while exploring the different registers of the keyboard.
Example 3: Ravel, Jeux d’eau, Opening
In order to encourage students to create these sound worlds, they must first have their
imaginations sparked. An easy way to engage a student in this way is to play an excerpt of this
music and ask them to narrate it with a story or imagine it as a soundtrack to a movie. Besides
this, we could ask students to associate certain sounds with different colors. Using colored
pencils, students can draw or label dynamics, chords, scales, or other musical elements to help
them remember to play these with their imagination.
By introducing the musical elements of Impressionistic music, students learn how to identify
these in their music and become comfortable with these sounds throughout the learning process.
Technical Challenges
The music of Ravel and Debussy is filled with technical challenges that require creativity and
musical imagination to overcome. Ravel, fascinated with the complex and daring works of Franz
Liszt and Mily Balakirev, aspired to create a work of exceeding difficulty when composing his
Gaspard de la Nuit. Virtuosity was not always Ravel’s (or Debussy’s) immediate focus, but
there are still many challenges that must be addressed with our students including: overlapped
hands, repeated notes, and soft playing.
One of the most challenging textures that Ravel frequently uses in his works is a texture
involving overlapped hands. There are numerous examples of this texture, but perhaps the most
famous is the opening of his Sonatine. The complicated interlocking of the hands at a very soft
dynamic is very challenging to control and requires careful hand positioning (Example 4).
Example 4: Ravel, Sonatine, Movement 1, Opening
Another example of a similarly complicated texture comes from his Prelude (Example 5). In this
work, the left hand must play parallel thirds in between octaves in the right hand. Students who
have never encountered textures like these are often confused and stumble through them.
Example 5: Ravel, Prelude, mm. 10-12
A simple way to practice this type of texture is to create exercises for students to attempt as
preparatory etudes. These can be taught by rote and help a student to focus on the feeling and
the placement of the hands, rather than on reading these complicated textures. An example is
shown below (Example 6):
Example 6: Preparatory Exercise for Ravel’s Sonatine
The use of repeated note patterns is another common technical challenge apparent in the music
of Ravel and Debussy. Ravel does this frequently in his works such as the “Toccata” from Le
Tombeau de Couperin (Example 7) and “Alborada del gracioso” from Miroirs.
Example 7: Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin, Toccata, Opening
While these pieces are only appropriate for advanced students, repeated notes do appear in a
number of other works including Debussy’s “Minstrels” and “La sérénade interrompue” from the
Preludes, Book I. Students are characteristically prepared for this technical challenge over time,
playing repeated notes at slower tempos with changing fingering. Outside of this, similar
technical exercises can be devised such as those below (Example 8):
Example 8: Preparatory Repeated Note Exercise
Besides these challenges, students often must deal with the added challenge of playing at very
soft dynamic levels in this style. The beautiful waves of sound that open “Une barque sur
l’océan” from Ravel’s Miroirs provides an excellent example of the delicately controlled sound
that must be created throughout the work (Example 9).
Example 9: Ravel, Miroirs, Une barque sur l’océan, Opening
Preparing students for the soft colors of Debussy and Ravel begins first with creating a natural,
relaxed sound at a comfortable dynamic. Over time, students can use less and less of their arm
weight and energy to create a sensation of hovering over the piano when they play. A helpful
exercise to get students comfortable with this is to assign a student to play a passage in multiple
different dynamics: first forte, second mezzo forte, then mezzo piano, etc. By dropping the
dynamic over time, students can feel and judge the amount of effort that is necessary to create
these memorable sounds.
Conclusion
With careful planning, making Impressionistic music accessible is possible for late intermediate
and advanced pianists. By gradually introducing new concepts, techniques, and musical
elements, teachers can prepare students for these works gradually, rather than surprising them
with challenging and foreign compositions. Over time, students will learn to love playing these
imaginative and creative piano works.
Resources
Debussy, Claude. Préludes, Livre 1. Paris: Durand et Cie., 1910.
Ravel, Maurice. Jeux d’eau. Paris: E. Demets, 1902.
––––––. Miroirs. Paris: E Demets, 1906.
––––––. Prélude. Paris: Durand & Cie., 1913.
––––––. Sonatine. Moscow: Muzgiz, n.d.
––––––. Tombeau. Paris: Durand & Cie., 1918.
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