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Four Hand Piano
Four handed piano (also known as piano four hands or piano duet) refers to two pianists playing simultaneously on the same piano. The players sit side-by-side, with one person (often called the "primo" or first player) typically handling the higher register of the keyboard, while the second player (the "secondo") covers the lower register.
This arrangement creates a rich, full sound since all registers of the piano can be played simultaneously with greater complexity than what a single player could achieve. Four-handed piano performances allow for more intricate textures, harmonies, and rhythmic interplay.
The players
Abigail Charbeneau (piano) holds a B.A. in Music from Skidmore College and an M.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Illinois. She is a collaborative pianist at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH, and has taught piano at St. Paul's School and at the Concord Community Music School for over 25 years. She is the organist at South Congregational Church in Concord N.H and has been the Artistic Director and pianist for the Grace Coolidge Musicale Series in Plymouth, Vt. Ms. Charbeneau has held faculty positions at Millikin University and the University of Illinois.
Shawn McCann, a collaborative pianist, has been active in the area for over 40 years. He is the Director of Music Ministries at First Parish Church of Groton, MA, and has been collaborative pianist for the Nashoba Valley Chorale since 2010 and Groton Hill Music Center since 2012. He earned Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano Performance and Music Theory/Composition from the University of Lowell.
Describe what it’s like to play four hand piano?
Abby: Fortunately, the way Brahms has written this piece, I don't feel like we're really on top of each other, like other composers have done for four hand piano music. There are a couple places that we have to accommodate each other. We're very close to but we're not actually sharing notes. We just have to make sure one hand is higher than the other, so the other person's hand can go underneath to grab some notes. Another thing we have to think about is the pedaling because it's two of us, but only one foot needs to be doing the pedal so that's one of the things we worked out right away. Usually the secondo does the pedal, but in this piece, it made more sense for me to help out on the primo a lot more with that, just to cover some of the melodies.
Shawn: The other thing we had to work out were the page turns. Most of the time since we read from left to right, we're turning the right hand page over. So, Abby is doing most of the page turns.
Abby: You're so used to sitting basically in front of Middle C. Even when I'm practicing my part, I just move over to a higher area of the piano.
And it's just sort of a different orientation of the keyboard.
Shawn: I do the same thing. I sit in front of where I'm gonna be playing on the left.
How do you communicate?
Shawn: I think it is just like any other musical performance. You're in tune with the person next to you, feeling the meter of the music, aware of visual cues. We often breathe together. Even though the instrument doesn’t require breath to produce sound, we still have to breathe and sometimes that breathing or slight little body movement helps out. And we do, once in a while, whisper to each other. (Laughter)
I really like the way Abby plays. I like how she handles syncopations. We approach them the same way.
Abby: Shawn's a real sensitive player. From the moment we started rehearsing I just thought, oh my gosh, he's playing so sensitively, and I also just love collaborating with him because he's so encouraging!
Shawn: We just play in a similar style and communicate so well. Done correctly it sounds like one person playing.
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