“voicing” - Harmony & Melody in the Same Hand
Piano is one of the only instruments confronted with the concept of “voicing,” which is when you have multiple notes in one single hand comprised of both harmonic and melodic material. For students, mastering voicing is one of the milestones that serves as a testament to advanced skill in piano. It’s somewhat the next step after mastering “balancing,” which is when one hand plays louder than the other hand to bring out the melody.
Over the years I’ve explored different ways to teach voicing and I’ve settled on one fairly straightforward technique. As long as students have acquired the basic skills of playing, it should work just fine. Here it is.
Identify the melodic notes. This is usually obvious based on either stem direction, the top note of the chord, or the straightforward method: “whatever you’d hum.”
Sustain vs. staccato. Sustain the melodic notes by holding them using a dropped arm weight feel while lightly playing the harmonic notes as staccato (even though it’s not notated this way). Keep a steady pulse.
“Pour out the glass.” I tell students to hold their hand like they’re holding a glass of water. The upright glass position is the “sustained” melody note while the “pouring out” position is the light staccato (play pianissimo) of the harmony notes (assuming the voicing is the top; if it’s not, reverse the direction of the motion).
This works for my own playing and has proven very effective at simplifying the concept for students. Give it a try and good luck!