Saturday 21st June - Piano playalong - Beethoven Moonlight 3

 Here's a very specific way of dealing with the little 'bell - like' motif that starts in the second line.

I've copied the bit, marked up to show the three steps to make it really easy to play; 

Firstly, get the nitty-gritty of the rhythm sorted. At the speed of a sloth, play the octave G sharps, then the 2nd finger C#, then the 3rd finger E, slip in a cheeky little top G# and replay the octave again. Don't worry about exact timing to start with; this is to sort the coordination. My hands are too small to use a 4th finger on the top G# without PAIN! and TENSION! Both of these are no- no words, so I use my 5th finger both times.

Once you've got the order in which your fingers play the notes clear in your mind and muscles, we can think about the rhythm. The quavers are triplets, three notes to each count. Think of a clock face; if you divided it into thirds, the markers would be at 4, 8 and 12.

The 'bell' is a dotted quaver followed by a semiquaver. Looking at our clock, if we divided it into three quarters followed by one quarter, the marker would be at 9.

So at 12, we play an octave, at 4 the C#, at 8 the E and at 9 the top G#. Finally when we're back at 12 we're playing the octave again at the beginning of the next beat.

That's just a visualisation! Don't go crazy watching a clock!

The point is that the triplets carry on in their unhurried way, and the top G# slips in just after the E without causing any fuss. Don't drop it in like chucking a rock into a lake, more like a little bubble rising to the surface. 'Was that a fish rising over there?' as opposed to 'who is throwing stones at us?!'

This is massively quicker to do than explain. I just talk too much.

Now revise the triplets that begin the next bar;

Nearly there;

The burning question is 'can you do the purple bit (first extract) followed by the green bit (second extract) without any fuss and botheration?' Start at sloth speed, right hand only, and work up to playing tempo, keeping it all very casual.

Set up the lh chord, fingers all ready, and just, ever so gently, push them down at the right moment. Red bit below.

You might want to stop now, come back to it over a day or two. You can carry on when you are ready, because it's the same idea for the next section. 

Here's the thing to make it SO MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL; the triplets need to be soft, soft, soft. Make sure your thumb understands this. If you are rowing across the lake, slip the oars in without splashing. Somehow you need to weight the sound so that the bell - 5th finger - gently rings out over the water. 

Start by totally exaggerating the fifth finger - sloth speed, remember - it's tricky because the thumb WILL try to interfere. Think, then play the octave, balancing the sound, before continuing the triplet. Add a few more notes, but only a little at a time. Constantly monitor the sound, monitor for tension, monitor for impatience or getting cross.

Be gentle with yourself, celebrate the successes. If you are  not in the mood go and clean the oven or read a book. Come back later.

This can take intense concentration if it is a new technique. Honestly, digging a ditch is easier physical work. But once you have learned it you will have it forever.

It's real hare and tortoise stuff, and we know who won in that story.