Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.
You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.
French to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Music
French term or phrase:chêne
this is taken from a pianist's interview in which he recalls a class with a very demanding teacher and describes what she would have him do, it reads: " Elle était d'une exigence terrifiante. Elle m'obligeait, par exemple, à jouer la main gauche d'une fugue par coeur, sans regarder le clavier, ou à répéter une table en chêne, rien que pour évaluer l'égalité du toucher."
I assume that he is refering to a music term and not an oak wood table?! I would be very thankful for any help on this one.
Explanation: A common way for a piano teacher to evaluate a student's touch is in fact to have the student "play" on the piano with the keyboard closed, or, in this case, on an oak table (any wooden surface would do the trick). In this manner, the teacher only hears the thumping sound of the fingers on the wood, hopefully equally as loud, one finger after the other.
I wonder if this pianist's teacher was friends with my former teacher. Mine did the same thing to me, and sometimes would start me out on scales, leave the room, come back several minutes later and know exactly which note I should be playing, and which pattern I should have reached by the time he came back. I often had to fight back my tears, but he definitely contributed to my playing skills.
Also, the word 'sur' is missing from the text: "ou à répéter 'sur' une table en chène".
Thank you so much for your answer, I got in touch with the pianist himself who confirmed that it was indeed on an oak wood table that the teacher made him play, his experience was indeed very similar to yours, and he is equally grateful to this teacher but it took him a long time to come to terms with her methods. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
I would assume a mistake in the transcription and read 'chaine'. A very likely mistake to make and it makes sense when you read about the fugue. Any idea what nationality the interviewer was i.e. French or English?
bien qu'en musique l'essence du bois soit très importante et qu'au début j'ai moi aussi pensé qu'il manquait SUR (une table en chêne), je crois qu'au vu du contexte, la personne était obligée de répéter une table "en chaîne", donc à la suite.
...it isn't actually 'répéter sur une table en chêne' — that would make much more sense, in terms of learning about one's touch.
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
6 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
oak
Explanation: A common way for a piano teacher to evaluate a student's touch is in fact to have the student "play" on the piano with the keyboard closed, or, in this case, on an oak table (any wooden surface would do the trick). In this manner, the teacher only hears the thumping sound of the fingers on the wood, hopefully equally as loud, one finger after the other.
I wonder if this pianist's teacher was friends with my former teacher. Mine did the same thing to me, and sometimes would start me out on scales, leave the room, come back several minutes later and know exactly which note I should be playing, and which pattern I should have reached by the time he came back. I often had to fight back my tears, but he definitely contributed to my playing skills.
Also, the word 'sur' is missing from the text: "ou à répéter 'sur' une table en chène".
Gayle Wallimann Local time: 07:00 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 24
Grading comment
Thank you so much for your answer, I got in touch with the pianist himself who confirmed that it was indeed on an oak wood table that the teacher made him play, his experience was indeed very similar to yours, and he is equally grateful to this teacher but it took him a long time to come to terms with her methods.
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +1
