overpedalling...

[sklebil]

Hi, I currently have a digital Casio Privia piano and I am happy with it, however, today I got a chance to practice on a Yamaha baby-grand  (last I played acoustic was about 5 months ago) and I was absolutely disgusted by my pedalling. It seems that during the time I was practicing on the digital, I turned into a pedal-maniac, I use the pedal too much (Privia has a very nice key-touch, but the pedal sucks a lot, and it only has on-off states...). I wonder whether there is some clever way to practice pedalling? Do you have this problem with other digitals or is it just me and my privia?
cheers

[happyface94]

The pedal is very different from a straight piano to a grand piano. Generally the rule of thumb is you can keep a pedal if its the same chord.

[sklebil]

Thanks, but that's not exactly what I mean. My concern is, how, in general, to practice pieces with pedalling on a digital to be able to get  a good or at least satisfactory result on an acoustic.  I observed that pedalling mistakes on a digital do much less harm then on an acoustic and esp. grand, probably because the sound is generally less rich, limited polyphony etc. Probably this is a stupid question, there's probably no shurtcut. Most likely one always needs to "optimize" the pedalling using instrument one is going to perform the piece on. But if anyone has some useful observations, please drop them here , thanks.

[mound]

Thanks, but that's not exactly what I mean. My concern is, how, in general, to practice pieces with pedalling on a digital to be able to get  a good or at least satisfactory result on an acoustic.  I observed that pedalling mistakes on a digital do much less harm then on an acoustic and esp. grand, probably because the sound is generally less rich, limited polyphony etc. Probably this is a stupid question, there's probably no shurtcut. Most likely one always needs to "optimize" the pedalling using instrument one is going to perform the piece on. But if anyone has some useful observations, please drop them here , thanks.

I understand your problem exactly, as somebody whom practices daily on a digital, for lack of an acoustic of my own.

The solution I'm afraid, is very simple, but perhaps very difficult -  practice on an acoustic.  My teacher works in a church, and I'm lucky in that he gave me permission to come in anytime nobody is around and use any of their 3 baby grands (a Mason & Hamlin, a Steinway, and a Yamaha) - I take advantage of this often, pedaling being one of the huge reasons I do so.  See if you can get access to a real piano to practice on at least once a week, at a school, church etc. 

-Paul

[Astyron]

I have a few students who have keyboards at home then come to play my piano and have difficulty pedaling.  The one big thing I noticed is height of the pedal action.  Lots of the keyboard pedals have a very shallow action, whereas a piano (particularly one up on caster or a frame) is going to have a much taller action.  If you can adjust your keyboard pedal so it is up off the ground and inch then maybe that would help a little, but I don't know if that's possibly.  I've told my students with keyboards to pedal excessively high at home, bringing their foot right up and off their pedal.  Since trying that at home, their pedaling has improved on my piano and they say on others too.  It was just a matter of buiding new muscle memory in their ankles.

Ways to practice controlled pedaling?  That's a touch one.  Go find a church hymn that's very basic with LH chords.  Maybe by practicing a basic piece and focusing on changing the pedal only when needed it'll help.  I don't think you could do the same with an Impressionistic piece, where pedaling is really an individuals preference in spots.

[janice]

I have sort of the opposite problem as you, but equally maddening!  I have a Kawai grand which I LOOOOOVE!!!  Everything about it is perfect (at least to me), the touch, the pedal, etc.  But I have a problem.  My church has a keyboard.  But the pedal on it doesn't work "right".  I have to pedal LESS often.  I could hold it down for an entire line, in order for it to sound right.  Try doing that on an acoustic piano and everything sounds "muddy", it's all blurred together.  So whenever I play a solo (I'm reminded of this because I played one just yesterday) I have to learn it "wrong", on my acoustic piano.  I have to practice it while holding the pedal down for several measures.  Grrrrrrrr