melody louder than bass

[drazh]

Hi
My teacher told me  l should play melody line louder than bass. Is that a rule or a kind of interpretation ?
Thanks

[pianoplayjl]

I think it is a rule. Well in my opinion in order to make the piece sound good you must bring out the melody and the bass must be quiet. The bass harmonizes the piece, I think. Although you can shape the bass and add some phrasing in some pieces.

[mike_lang]

Although you can shape the bass and add some phrasing in some pieces.

The bass should be shaped/phrased in ALL pieces!

[brogers70]

A couple of weeks ago I played the Sarabande from Bach's 1st Partita for my teacher, a beautiful florid melody over a completely simple, uninteresting bass. My teacher told me to think carefully about exactly how I wanted each bass note to sound, and bingo, my playing of the piece went from boring mush to quite beautiful. The bass is important, even when it's simple and even when you don't want it to overpower the melody.

[mike_lang]

A couple of weeks ago I played the Sarabande from Bach's 1st Partita for my teacher, a beautiful florid melody over a completely simple, uninteresting bass. My teacher told me to think carefully about exactly how I wanted each bass note to sound, and bingo, my playing of the piece went from boring mush to quite beautiful. The bass is important, even when it's simple and even when you don't want it to overpower the melody.

This coincides very much with what Richter told my teacher re: Bach Fugues -- every voice must be heard (by player and listener).  In other words, even though there is voicing and "orchestration," each voice must be shaped and interact with the others.  No voice is neutral/uninvolved.  This goes for all music!

Mike

[pianoplayjl]

The bass should be shaped/phrased in ALL pieces!

Ok you are right. But perhaps the bass should not be shaped too much in some pieces because it is mainly the melody that needs shaping.

[mike_lang]

Ok you are right. But perhaps the bass should not be shaped too much in some pieces because it is mainly the melody that needs shaping.

It's mainly a question of the degree to which it is shaped -- you don't want it to overwhelm the melody, so the dynamic may need to be somewhat under, slightly different articulation, different sound, but it should receive equal attention in preparation.

Should the melody be louder?  In most circumstances, yes.

[pianoplayjl]

Well obviously the melody  at all times must be at a degreee louder than the bass because the melody is the main focus of a piece isn't it? otherwise I don't think it might be called a melody at all.....while some sections in the bass do require a little attention to shaping, there are others that don't require much like chords, as opposed to arpegios. But this is just my opinion.

[mike_lang]

Well obviously the melody  at all times must be at a degreee louder than the bass because the melody is the main focus of a piece isn't it? otherwise I don't think it might be called a melody at all.....while some sections in the bass do require a little attention to shaping, there are others that don't require much like chords, as opposed to arpegios. But this is just my opinion.

In the case of chords, we call it "voicing," which is perhaps the vertical equivalent of shaping?

[keypeg]

In this performance both the LH and the RH are shaped.  There is no
problem in hearing the melody.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNUOIzCeSIY