Voicing chords in Chopin Preludes

[atticus]

Hi all,

Do any of you have any tips on how to voice chords (i.e. in Chopin Prelude Op. 28. No. 9 in E major)?   I am trying to learn how to bring out the top note of the chord (played by the 4th or 5th finger) but mostly the chord is sounding "even". 

Any tips on practicing this?

Thanks,
atticus

[xvimbi]

Start with a normal triad. Play it evenly. Then, try to stress each individual note. This is relatively easy for the bottom and top notes, because one can simply rotate the wrist a bit, so that more force is directed to the thumb or little finger. The middle note requires some extra action from the finger. One can also make the outer notes louder by using a little bit more action from the finger, but good control is required for that. Finally, one can play the emphasized note ever so slighly before the rest of the chord. This achieved easily when you lower than hand to play the chord: instead of the fingertips being all at the same height, so that the keys are struck at the same time, lower the emphasized finger a bit, so that it strikes the key a bit before the others.

As with such subtle nuances, everything is futile if you can't actually hear the effect. What sounds like an even chord to one person may not sound even at all to a more experienced pianist with lots of eartraining. So, first make sure you can actually hear the effect before you are trying to duplicate it.

Hope that helps.

[spirithorn]

Finally, one can play the emphasized note ever so slighly before the rest of the chord. This achieved easily when you lower than hand to play the chord: instead of the fingertips being all at the same height, so that the keys are struck at the same time, lower the emphasized finger a bit, so that it strikes the key a bit before the others.

Somewhere or other I came across an older article by (or interview with) Horowitz in which he suggested basically this same technique.

[atticus]

Thanks for the tips!  I will definitely try them out.


atticus

[mrchops10]

One way I tried to practice this was by playing the note I wanted the emphasize some time before the rest of the chord. This makes it much easier to bring out. Then play the chord more and more together, taking care how the fingers feel, which was is firmer, how the wrist is weighted, etc. It should be exactly the same when played together as when played before. (Sry if the wording is a little confusing).