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Pedal Shading in Chopin and Debussy

Pedal Shading in Chopin and Debussy. Thomas Mastroianni. Pedal Shading The Pedal is not an “on/off” device. Pedal depth and timing influences tone color and intensity The amplitude and overtones of string vibration is influenced by nearness of the damper to the string during vibration.

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Pedal Shading in Chopin and Debussy

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  1. Pedal Shading in Chopin and Debussy Thomas Mastroianni

  2. Pedal ShadingThe Pedal is not an “on/off” device • Pedal depth and timing influences tone color and intensity • The amplitude and overtones of string vibration is influenced by nearness of the damper to the string during vibration. • Sympathetic vibration of unstruck strings influences tone color.

  3. Pedal, String and Damper Dampers String Pedal 15% 40% 0 100%

  4. Dampers • Degrees of separation from strings Partial pedal depression Partial pedal release

  5. Pedal Timing • LEGATO PEDALING • Tap Pedaling

  6. Pedal Slur • Ballade # 1 end of 1st theme

  7. “Bel Canto” Accompaniment • Ballade #1 1st Theme L.H. • Selective Pedaling (Timing) • Pedal Melody notes for warmthAvoid pedal on Accompaniment notes

  8. Pedal Shading • Ballade # 1 2nd Theme: • Various Degrees Of Pedal Depth To Shade Line Of The Melody • (Greatest warmth on the Eb harmony)

  9. Quarter Pedal • Ballade # 1 closing theme: • Misty, blurred effect – dampers touch but do not press to arrest string vibrations

  10. Progressive, IncrementalChanges of Pedal Depth to Create Distance Perspective • Opening of Ballade # 4: Introduction begins in the distance and gradually becomes more resonant as it approaches the entry of the 1st theme. • Begin with ¼ pedal depth, progress to ½, ¾ and finally full pedal depth.

  11. Progressive, Incremental Changes of Pedal Depth to Create Distance Perspective • Ballade # 1 Opening of Introduction: Begin with full pedal depth and gradually reduce the pedal depth through the opening bars to reach the apex of the first ascending passage to create a distance perspective for the tenderness of the arrival point.

  12. Ballade # 4 - 1st Theme in 6/8 • Greater clarity of pedal changes on bar lines helps to delineate 6/8 time and prevent the feeling of 3/8 time. • Repetition of melodic figures beginning on the bar are thus differentiated from similar melodic figures off the bar.

  13. 3 Variants of Theme I in Ballade # 4 • Pedal Changes for Variety and Clarity in Countrapuntal Variants

  14. Impressionistic Effects • Recapitulation of 2nd theme in Ballade # 4Fluctuations between 1/8 and ¼ pedal depth to clarify the thick broth of left hand scales in the bass. • Very shallow pedal attenuates and strains out the dense mixture of overtones resulting from adjacent bass notes.

  15. Final Variant of 1st Theme in the Recapitulation of Ballade # 4 • Clear pedal changes rob the fioratura of mystery. Too much pedal hinders tone quality and creates density rather than mystery in the f minor section. As the fioratura recedes into triplets in the Ab major phrase, more pedal and higher energy leads to the brilliance of the 3rd phrase.

  16. Short pedal length enhances clarity and rhythmic excitement in the Coda of Ballade # 4

  17. Extending the Length of the Damping Interval • Harp Etude (Chopin Op. 25 # 1) Reduced Length of Pedal Depression

  18. Pedaling The Inner Voice Rather Than The Melody • Harp Etude (Chopin Op. 25 # 1)

  19. Claude Debussy • No Customary Pedal Indications. • Context and Notation Implies Pedaling

  20. Holding Sustained Bass without Sostenuto Pedal • Clair de lune - P. 2

  21. Blending Colors • Les sons et les parfumes tournent dans l’air du soir. p.13 m. 1 • Distant French Horn Effect - bottom p. 15

  22. Bass Note Length Indicates Pedal Duration • Prelude v. 1, # 1, p.1 • Whole note bass vs. two half note basses • Prelude v. 1, # 3, p.9 (Le Vent dans le plaine)

  23. Slurs Across Bar Lines • Prelude v. 1, # V, p.16 (Les collines d’Anacapri) • L’isle joyeuse - B theme - final bars

  24. Verbal Indications In The Score • Prelude v. 1, # 9, p. 33 (La sérénade interrompue) (“les deux pédales)

  25. Sostenuto Pedal andRetaking Notes • Prelude v. 1, # VIII, p. 31 (La fille aux cheveux de lin) • p. 32 final bars

  26. Listening for Better Pedaling • The Pedal is a Partner for Good Phrasing and Good Tone • No Pedal Technique Can Make an Aimless Phrase Sound Beautiful • The Ear Dictates Pedaling Once the Music is Comprehended, Just as the Tone of Voice Carries the Meaning of a Verbal Sentence.

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