Debussy - Clair de Lune

[a1]

  Hi,  I am a person who very very interested about Clair de Lune .
 Clair de Lune is a very meaningful music about moonlight. It is the 3rd
 part of suite bergamasque and also the climax. Suite bergamasque is
 original from a poem Clair de Lune by one of the Frence famous poet
 P. Velaine . ( See below )

 
Moonlight

 Your soul is like a landscape fantasy,
 Where masks and Bergamasks, in charming wise,
 Strum lutes and dance, just a bit sad to be
 Hidden beneath their fanciful disguise.
 Singing in minor mode of life's largesse
 And all-victorious love, they yet seem quite
 Reluctant to believe their happiness,
 And their song mingles with the pale moonlight,
 The calm, pale moonlight, whose sad beauty, beaming,
 Sets the birds softly dreaming in the trees,
 And makes the marbled fountains, gushing, streaming--
 Slender jet-fountains--sob their ecstasies.

 
 I am very happy to have a chance to play Clair de Lune .
 Unfortunately , i am not as good as all of you . I am not
 talented and have to struggle to play the beautiful masterpiece .
 Clair de Lune require a big hand because the music gap is big.
 This make my hand some time sore.

 Any suggestion and opinion about how to play Clair de Lune
 more  perfect i very appreciate. All of you can also go to
 my topic "Claude Debussy piano works" by me ( a1 )                                                         
 in sheet music request for voting. Thank you.

[zheer]

  yes me too, i love this piece, it's very difficult to play, big chords,fast arppegios,and it's to easy to avoid the beat on the first page.
   My advice to you would be,in-fact it's what i do, is to forget any recordings you have of this piece, and play all the fast sections like a very slow nocturne but musically for a long time.It can be done with this piece ,simple because of the style. One day you will find that the music has become so familiar to you that the music will find the correct tempo on its own. ( this might take a number of years)

[leucippus]

(this might take a number of years)

This is true of all piano music if a person really wants to make is sound the way they feel it.

Unfortuantely for me, this kind of time may not be available.  I'm 57 now and my health is already on the decline for reasons unrelated to age.  I'm just now starting to learn Clair de Lune myself, but as you point out, it's going to take years to get it right.  I may be heading down a dead-end road.  I think I just started playing the piano too late in life. 

[a1]

  Hi ,I am a1 again . Thank for give such a good suggestion
    and i appreciated . I think Zheer plays great and impresive .
    Keep up your great work and maybe plays Clair De Lune
    too. I want to vote for your but i still joining in YOUTUBE.
   

   
    Leucippus after I plays so many years of  Clair de Lune . I thinks
    you can play well is not the most important things.
    The most important things are to enjoy youself when
    play it . All people in this world have their own difficulty
    just like me and you. Happy , Enjoy and  Good Luck
    nothing  is imposible ............................................
    Now I tell you tips to play Clair de Lune  , the melody
    is the most important #1 . You must make the
    melody louder that the left hand ( 90% ).........
   

[and]

I have attempted this piece, however, coming from playing mainly tunes in 4/4 and 3/4 timing, the 9/8 timing puts me off.  I think this is complicated further in this piece since it is so overplayed, which makes it more difficult for me to learn.  Any tips?

[a1]

  I think you should count 9/8 because this is more accurate .
     I prefer to count 1,2,3    1,2,3,   1,2,3, because this is a
     simple way. The counting not need too accurate because
     this with make the music sound robotic . Remember
     just listen and make your own choice .
     
    There is no theory. You have only to listen. Pleasure is the law. I love music passionately.  And because l love it, I try to free it from barren traditions that stifle it. It is a free art gushing forth, an open-air art boundless as the elements, the wind, the sky, the sea. It must never be shut in and become an academic art.

[a1]

  i GUESS MY TOPIC SEEM TOO TEDIOUS.

[giannalinda]

I love Clair De Lune. I am 11 years old and every night I sit down at my piano and play it while my family is eating dinner. The piece is quite easy for me because I have a HUGE hand! While I play it, I imagine a place where I am walking while the moon is shining, the wind Is blowing, and the moon is beautiful. The flowers are blowing in the breeze and the water is calm. Anyway, do not let me get carried away! I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I do. It is a beautiful piece.
Gianna

[scottmcc]

I have attempted this piece, however, coming from playing mainly tunes in 4/4 and 3/4 timing, the 9/8 timing puts me off.  I think this is complicated further in this piece since it is so overplayed, which makes it more difficult for me to learn.  Any tips?

the middle section is the easiest part to count (starting at measure 27).  I count ONE & 2 & 3 & TWO & 2 and 3 & THREE & 2 & 3 &.  The remainder of the piece is difficult to count, as there is less of a clear pulse.  but with careful practice it can be done, and luckily the parts that are harder to count are easier in terms of dexterity.  also remember that in 9/8, sixteenth notes get 1/2 a count, eighth notes get one count, quarters 2, dotted quarters 3, and dotted halves 6.  hopefully this is helpful.

[j.s. bach the 534th]

The time signature can make Clair de Lune look confusing, but the time signature is not absolute. Try just completely ignoring the time signature and listen to other people perform it. Base your timing off that, as Clair de Lune sounds better when the counting is not completely accurate, and it has more expression.

[carlaorosz]

Hello:

  I have very small hands and have found that if I "roll" the large stretches very quickly, I can play Clair De Lune.  In some places, if the notes for each hand are close together, I play left hand notes with my right hand and vice versa.  I've also been known to play two notes close together with my thumb.

I hope this helps.

c

[tommypeters]

Yes the Db key signature can make this piece look daunting - and indeed it is - I altered the key down a semi-tone to a radically easier to read C Major in my renditions - https://www.remixdj.co.uk/remixes/clair-de-lune/ - made things a little simpler!

[wonzo]

Do you like steak sauce, a1?