How is this played?

[Happy girl]

I haven’t come across this type of phrasing before (Is that what it is ‘Phrasing’)?

I could improvise ‘till Dooms day but what I would really like is help to understand the rules which will enable me to play these few bars correctly. Thank you.

 

[Zevy]

<FONT font=Garamond><SIZE size=125>It seems to me that you have a choice of holding those two notes (G & B) for 3 beats, or playing them for the value of an eighth note and then playing the (small) eighth notes right afterwards.
Good Luck!

 

[goldtopia]

On a piano you have a sustain peddle but you don't have one on an accordion. On a piano you can also jump from one end of the keyboard to the other holding a note using the sustain peddle to hold the whole value of the note. Its one of the reasons why pianists have got it easy and you can see everything that you are doing. I don't know if Roland's electronic accordions have got the ability to fit a sustain peddle.

 

[Anyanka]

If you want to play this as written then there is not actually a choice - you'd hold down the two long notes (e.g. with fingers 2 and 4) while playing the short notes 'over the top' (using the thumb for the low D, 2 and 4 for the G and B, finger 5 for the high D). However, both of the long notes are repeated in the shorter notes/melody, so you'd briefly take your finger off and replace it to make them audible as part of the run.

Is this accordion notation? A sustain pedal wouldn't really help as it keeps all the notes going, not just those two.

 

[Glenn]

Even on a piano you can't have your finger down and play the note again at the same time.
I would see this as an optional ornamentation. You either sustain the G-B or make them sound as full as you can whilst playing the ornamenting notes. Depending on the speed you play it will detertmine how atractive you find it.

 

[Happy girl]

Yes, this is indeed accordion music.

I like the term 'optional ornamentation' very much; thank you for each contribution it is much appreciated.

I will have fun trying out the various options to see which one works best in context with the piece.

 

[goldtopia]

I understand what Anyanka says. That is so if you have a piano with just two peddles. If you have three peddles you hold the middle peddle which just holds the first note that is played. I ever hardly use the middle peddle at all. The other stave for piano is the bass but the cleff is not shown.

 

[george garside]

I agree with Anyanka as far as playing exactly as written is concerned if that is what one wants so to do!

There is also merit in going for the optional ornamentation route as it has the benefit of bringing in a bit of 'you', 'oneself' or whatever into the music rather than aiming merely to play what somebody else has thought up !


George

 

[Anyanka]

If you have three peddles you hold the middle peddle which just holds the first note that is played. I ever hardly use the middle peddle at all.

Thank you - Ill have to go experiment with that. My piano has three pedals, but one of them seems to have no discernible effect... Ive looked at it with the cover off, and it brings the hammers a little closer to the strings, but I cant hear the difference! (The other two pedals are sustain and mute.)

 

[donn]

This probably doesn't help at all, but looking to broader horizons - in ensemble music, sometimes one sees a passage written smaller like that, and it's a "cue" - a distinctive phrase that you might be listening for from another part. Or that you might play, if that part isn't covered. The cue part will usually be identified if it isn't obvious.

 

[Happy girl]

Thank you Don.
It doesn’t apply to me directly in that sense for the reason that I sit & practice all by myself, alone..... ahhh!

If there is an ensemble in the room with me then it is definatly ‘all in the head’!

The information you provided is interesting however because it helps with a wider understanding of music generally, which is always welcome.
:tup:

 

[Glenn]

If you have three peddles you hold the middle peddle which just holds the first note that is played. I ever hardly use the middle peddle at all.

Thank you - Ill have to go experiment with that. My piano has three pedals, but one of them seems to have no discernible effect... Ive looked at it with the cover off, and it brings the hammers a little closer to the strings, but I cant hear the difference! (The other two pedals are sustain and mute.)

This 3rd pedal sustain system is found on larger, grand pianos mostly and is rarely used .
Anyankas system is a mute and a soudine. On my piano the mute lifts a felt between the hammers and the strings and in my opinion it sounds horrible and I never use it. The sourdine allows you to play quietly but is not easy to use on an upright as indeed it usually moves the hammers closer giving them less distance to swing onto the strings. The best pianos move the whole mechanism to the right thus striking 2 of the 3 strings which gives the same action (weight ) but less sound.

 

[Anyanka]

Thanks for the explanation! My mute works same as yours and does indeed sound horrible - I only use it when I desperately want to run through a piece at an unsociable hour, i.e. hardly ever. You lose all the beauty of the piano quality.