Bad sound in Chopin's Prelude #4 in E

[Rafant]

I learnt this gorgeous Prelude two years ago, but I don't like as it sounds under my playing, very far from the delicate, clear, warm and round sounds that I hear in the records I have.  As I play it sounds rustic, harsh, rough. The teacher I had at that time used to say the problem was lack of musicality, but was unable of helping me to amend it.
Specially I'm dissatisfied with the left hand. I play without rubato, renewing pedal syncopatedly for every harmonic change, and using only a light pedal touch, since no pedal or deep pedalling is worst. What could be wrong? Maybe the touch, or the rythm or anyelse? I have a studio upright piano. I'll be grateful for suggestions.

[bernhard]

Is the piano a problem? Do you always sound rustic . harsh and rough no matter what piano you play? It is amazing the difference a good piano can make.

Assuming the piano is not the problem, do you have a very clear representation in your mind of how you want this prelude to sound? This is the first and most important step.

If you know exactly the sound you want, go after it. Usually the fingers always comply with what is in your mind. If you are not getting the sound that you want, you must somehow change something. It is no good repeating exactly what you always do, since you will only get more of the same.

Without seeing and hearing you play, it is almost impossible to tell you what to do in a way that will solve your problem. So you must do some investigation. Look at the suggestions below as areas of investigation, rather than ultimate solutions. Keep what works, discard what does not.

1.      Use different dynamics for the right and left hand: the left hand chords softer than the right hand notes (this will bring out the melody).

2.      Use a fingering (this will require a lot of experimentation on pairs of chords) for the left hand that allows you to achieve perfect legato between chords without the pedal (you will use the pedal as well, but later)

3.      Keep your fingers touching the keys constantly (let the keys go back by releasing the finger pressure, but still touching the keys). Release the keys as little and as late as possible. The hands should feel “rooted” to the keyboard.

4.      Spend time on a single chord trying different touches/movements and listening to the resulting sound. This is slow, painstaking work. Eventually you may hit on the precise co-ordinates that give you the desired sound. Then you must start practising these co-ordinates so that you can produce the sound at will and subconsciously.

5.      Use a forward circular movement of the arms rather than and up and down movement to play the left hand.

6.      Do not play this too slow. If you do, the chords loose its fluidity and become too “solid”. You want a mist of sound on the left hand, and if you play too slow the sound decay will not allow continuity.

7.      Don’t regard the chords as simply chords, but as three different voices. Break the left hand in three melodic lines and practise each line separately, so that the voices inflections become obvious. Then try to follow such inflections when you join the notes into chords again.

8.      Another way to work on the harmonic inflections is to hold the notes that do not change in the chord and play only the changing notes. Then listen as the voices descend or ascend. Your aim here and on (7) above is to hear the chords not as blocks of sound, but as moving voices. Above all you want to avoid a “staccatto” feeling on the left hand.

9.      On the RH, practise a singing tone by making the notes say “Oh dear”, in a plaintive way, accenting the “Oh”, so in the initial sequence of C-B you would have C (Oh) – B (dear). If necessary say it as you play, so that the notes have the same inflection as the voice.

10.      Now you must join hands and balance the oh dear inflection on the RH with the voice movement on the left. Displace the RH notes ever so slightly, so that they do not fall on the brunt of the chord, but on its decay. This has to be precisely timed, otherwise the effect is horribly sentimental.

11.      Take your time on Bar 13 (where only the right hand plays). Do not rush it (a lot of people are really eager to go back to the initial motif), since this a really expressive moment in the prelude.

12.      On Bar 18, really make the bass octave B ring. Think Budhist temple bells (the huge ones that are struck horizontally with logs). Pedal is crucial here.

13.      You can also try changing the pedal every crochet beat, instead of every harmonic change.

14.      As you can see it has everything to do with being obsessed with details and minutiae. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.


I hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[bttay]

Hey! That's really a list of good advices, Bernhard.
I have just completed learning the fingering of the piece and was thinking what could I do with it.

I am going to print it and put it on my piano.

[djbrak]

Play this piece on a grand piano and you'll see the dynamics on the left hand to be much easier to control than with the upright.  This piece was the first Chopin piece I learned.  I also had the problem with keeping the left hand softer.

[Rafant]

Wondering what is bigger in Bernhard: his diligence, his knowledge or his generosity.  Thank you very much, Bernhard. That complete advice was what I was looking for. I'll let you know about my progress.
And about playing the piece in a grand piano, I hope to have the opportunity some day. Thanks again.

[bernhard]

Wondering what is bigger in Bernhard: his diligence, his knowledge or his generosity.  Thank you very much, Bernhard. That complete advice was what I was looking for. I'll let you know about my progress.
And about playing the piece in a grand piano, I hope to have the opportunity some day. Thanks again.

You are welcome.

[barnowl]

Wondering what is bigger in Bernhard: his diligence, his knowledge or his generosity.

I asked the same question of some of the women in Bernhard's life, and couldn't get a satisfactory answer. They all went dreamy, and sort of wafted away.

One of them sighed a sigh of infinite bliss, smiled inwardly, and quietly, uttered, "None of the above."



 

[Rafant]

Wow! Thanks for resuscitating this old post  . The Bernhard's wise advise remains suitable and opportune for the new visitors.

[oceansoul]

Thank you a lot for opening back the post. I've been trying to play this lovely prelude, but I fail at the climax part, from 16th bar to 19th bar. I get a little entangled. Of course I'm not trying to make it perfect yet, I'm still trying to learn all the fingers. Although, I'm always trying to make the left hand softer and giving the right hand that much expression which is needed for this piece. I do not use the pedal, because I think that I should learn the correct tempos without the pedal, and that I should make it the best I can without the pedal. After achieving what I wish, I'll give it some pedalling.

Let me tell you something else: I love this piece. 

Goodbye for now,
    OceanSoul.