Online piano lesson about interpretation and some helpful tips on hot play piano. It is told of Beethoven, who composed the well known piano piece titled Fur Elise, that he played over one of his own compositions to a talented pupil in order to give him some idea of the interpretative side, and then asked the student to play the same piece again. This was done, and the master complimented him, remarking that although it differed greatly from the original, it was decidedly better. This reminds me of Tchaikovsky, who was asked, after conducting a composition of his own, why he did not do so in the same way as he had once done before. “My friend,” the master replied, “if you ever see me conduct this again, it will be different still. It is merely a matter of mood.” To show how different renderings of the same piece may be possible without the structure of the work being in any way altered, I give on page 80 two interpretations of the opening subject of Frederic Chopin’s Prelude in F Major, which both possess equal merit. (See Figs. 31 and 32.)

Piano interpretation : online lesson

FIG. 32. Another rendering of the same subject.

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The fingering given in the C major example is similar in the keys of D, E, F, G, A, and B. For the E flat and B flat scales the fingering is the same as that given below.

Piano scales in B flat and Arpeggio Right hand.

Scales in B flat and Arpeggi. Left hand.

To arrive at any real result in the study of the piano, it is essential to start very young, and to train both the ear and the hand from childhood. In the case of the beginner, the purely mechanical side of how to hold the hand and produce a supple articulation, is, of course, the main object, but together with this, I am of the opinion that elementary instruction should be given in harmony and the rudiments of music, that the pupil may begin to understand a little about the progressions of sounds and the sense of rhythm which is so necessary to musical development. Nowadays, there are many and various systems of teaching children these elements of music, in forms that will interest and entertain them while they learn almost unconsciously.

Beginning to learn to play piano music

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Tips about how to use the pedal on a piano

The piano pedal can also be used in passages to give a more sustaining quality to the tone, though here care must be taken not to impair distinctness, but a great deal more pedal can be applied without causing any blur if an accent is given on the bass note on which the passage is built. The pedal may be applied in a greater degree in the higher than in the lower registers of the instrument, as the higher tones can stand, and also need, more sustaining than the lower ones, whilst these last possess of themselves a certain sustenance of tone, and therefore blur more quickly. When applying the pedal it should never be banged on, but pressed down gently and gradually.

It is essential to possess a good knowledge of harmony in order to be able to apply the pedal correctly, for it is necessary when using it to understand something about the structure of chords. All blurring over of tone by the pedal produces a most unpleasant impression upon the ear, and must be rigorously guarded against, except when, in some particular passage, a special effect is required. such as in the F minor Ballade of Chopin, in the example given below. But this is only an outlying instance which really appertains to the most elaborate study of tone-color. The general elementary

FIG. 33. Prelude in D flat (Chopin). Read more

Analysis of the melody of Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig Van Beethoven

The melody is introduced in the fifth bar, and must give the idea of floating on the accompaniment. At the tenth bar there comes a change of harmony from the major into the minor key, and here the note G (the first G) in the right hand should be accentuated. Ex. No. 2, bar 10. Proceeding onwards to the last quarter of the fifteenth bar and leading to the sixteenth, the melody adopts a more insistent temper, which may be rendered by emphasizing the notes B and C of the melody in the right hand, especially the C.

In fact, this note C should be taken arpeggiato with the accompaniment underneath. It seems to me to represent a cry of unutterable heart-ache, a Read more