EPTMost sheet music does not tell you when to use the pedals and simply leaves this up to the performer, so how exactly should I know when to use them? Any tips on pedaling technique appreciated.
Question for Piano Players
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NeVeR
1352 Posts
Most sheet music does not tell you when to use the pedals and simply leaves this up to the performer, so how exactly should I know when to use them? Any tips on pedaling technique appreciated. | ||
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naonao
United States847 Posts
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Zurles
United Kingdom1659 Posts
it moves a part of the piano further away from the strings and the general effect is that the strings vibrate longer. I mainly use it when i want the note to last a bit longer, like at the end of bars or on the last note before a pause. and theres also some other times where you just one one note to last a bit longer or something. thats generally what i do though though this might be wrong i dont 100% know what im talking about seeing as i taught myself.. lol | ||
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captainwafflos
United States212 Posts
i've been playing classical and jazz piano for 4 years now and am fairly obsessed with the instrument -- feel free to PM me if you have any questions about repertoire/technique resources. | ||
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Khenra
Netherlands885 Posts
All I can say about the other pedals: I haven't yet played a piece where I needed them. | ||
Last Romantic
United States20661 Posts
Left pedal (una corda) used to soften... though it's generally preferable to just play softly unless the sheet music indicates pedal usage. Middle one is most often the sostenuto pedal. In 14 years of piano playing I've only ever used it in a couple pieces by Beethoven (most damn obsessive prolific pedal-focused composer ever) Er... All pedal usage should be marked :O edit: basically, random personal application of pedals is generally frowned upon until you're at a technical/artistic level that allows you to actually use them intelligently. if there are no pedal markings, don't use the bloody pedals. | ||
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Ryshi
Canada361 Posts
But to add a little more info: Left pedal: only hits one hammer (as opposed to 3 hammers for one note if no pedals are pressed), thus softening the sound. Middle pedal: I've never even seen this pedal in sheet music, and some pianos don't even have this. I usually use this when there's someone in the room who's on the phone and wants me to play quietly. | ||
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arcticStorm
United States295 Posts
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
On March 18 2009 08:28 Last Romantic wrote: basically, random personal application of pedals is generally frowned upon This. Don't take artistic license when it comes to classical piano, there's a reason why these composers are celebrates - they knew what they were doing. | ||
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skronch
United States2717 Posts
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Last Romantic
United States20661 Posts
Out of curiosity, what are you using? | ||
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Chromyne
Canada561 Posts
One tip is to not use the pedal as a crutch for sustaining sound. It's a good skill to create the legato (and sustain) fluidity without the use of a pedal, and then add the pedal to see the results! | ||
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NeVeR
1352 Posts
On March 18 2009 09:26 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: This. Don't take artistic license when it comes to classical piano, there's a reason why these composers are celebrates - they knew what they were doing. Well I'm currently working on learning a couple of Chopin pieces. I have a whole book filled with sheet music of all of his nocturnes, waltzes and preludes. No where in this entire book is there any indication of pedal usage, but I'm quite certain that at least the sustain pedal should be implemented for many, most, perhaps even all of the pieces. I've listened to a number of interpretations of his work, and the sustain pedal is clearly used. Take the "Prelude in E-minor" (Op. 28 No. 4) for example: without the use of the sustain pedal, this piece just sounds horribly mechanical and certainly not what the composer intended. On March 18 2009 09:45 Last Romantic wrote: Out of curiosity, what are you using? I have a Samick grand piano, but I'm not sure of the model. We've had it for years, but I've only just started playing recently. On March 18 2009 10:05 Chromyne wrote: If you're going to be learning classical pieces (specifically), it would be most beneficial to learn through a piano teacher. The sheet music I use tells me which notes to play and which fingers to play them with, so really it's all a matter of practicing, isn't it? What more can a teacher give me? Really the only thing I'm rather confused about is how to properly use the pedals. | ||
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Steelflight-Rx
United States1389 Posts
When the bracket starts put down the sustain pedal, when it ends lift up. I don't know about hte notation for the other pedals, I've never really used them. Have fun =) | ||
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NeVeR
1352 Posts
On March 19 2009 01:09 Steelflight-Rx wrote: There is generally some sort of notation to tell you how to you the pedals, i think its some sort of horizontal bracket ( ] <- that thing, but turned on its side that runs underneath hte phrases where you are supposed to use the pedal) Yep, don't see them. | ||
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captainwafflos
United States212 Posts
don't discount the benefits of having a good piano teacher. although they aren't as necessary these days, having some sort of external musical education is almost necessary to play the more difficult pieces unless you're a genius or have some otherwordly sense of creative drive. for harder pieces, like chopin's etudes (since we're on the topic of that composer), you might find it helpful to look at youtube videos in order to figure out the best way to make movements to create the music you hear as performed by professional pianists. like other disciplines, there are efficient and inefficient ways of learning to play the piano. unfortunately, most of the best ways to learn piano are non-intuitive. for free online learning resources, i would recommend especially c. c. chang's free online book on piano technique, found here: http://www.pianopractice.org/ also, pianostreet.com is one of the best and most informative piano forums on the internet. especially useful are Bernhard's posts on this forum -- he's a piano instructor based in the UK who has spent hundreds of hours posting about just about every topic in learning piano music. they also have a huge database of sheet music. you can download thousands of high quality sheet music scans for $5 (i think?), which is cheaper than i've found anywhere else. finally, some passages will probably baffle you and you might find youtube helpful, as i mentioned before. have fun! | ||
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NeVeR
1352 Posts
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pinenamu
United States770 Posts
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ph33r
Canada58 Posts
A note about the rightmost pedal (that I didn't see mentioned) is that you want to pedal right after you press the note. As for when to pedal, a lot of this comes from experience (a teacher really helps here). A general rule for pedal usage is if the sound is blurred, then you're sustaining for too long. Edit: when I just say pedal, I mean the rightmost one. | ||
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NeVeR
1352 Posts
On March 19 2009 12:18 ph33r wrote: As for when to pedal, a lot of this comes from experience (a teacher really helps here). A general rule for pedal usage is if the sound is blurred, then you're sustaining for too long. That's exactly what often happens to me. The problem is when I want to preserve the resonating sound created by the pedal throughout chord changes. I have to occasionally release and then step on the pedal again and there is this awkward moment where the resonance is suddenly lost. Anything you can say about this? | ||
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