Schumann Melody Op. 68 No. 1 Help Please.

[1piano4joe]

I haven't played Schumann before and am starting to learn this piece and have a few questions about it.

Is this really only a Level 3 piece? This may be easy to play but to play it well is entirely another matter.

Isn't there 3 voices? The melody in the right hand I play the loudest. A second melody in the left hand on the beats I play second loudest which together with the right hand forms a harmony much like AMB notebook pieces. Am I wrong about this? The third voice I see is the left hand upbeats which are mostly the note G. This voice I play the softest. Is this correct?

What does <> mean? It can't just be an accent as there are other symbols for that. I think it means to not use a finger stroke but a forearm stroke but I'm not sure. Is this a symbol for sforzando (sFz)? I'm unaware of any symbols for motions. Is there such a thing?

One of my editions lists the tempo at 116 B.P.M. and another says Moderato but very few people on Youtube play it anywhere near that. So what is the correct tempo for this piece?

I can play hands separately at 144 B.P.M. in each hand and 76 B.P.M. hands together. Is this still too slow? For some reason I'm having trouble getting this up to speed. Why is this seemingly "easy piece" so difficult for me? Does anyone have any practice tips?  I think it sounds nice but it's probably the voicing, the dynamics and rubato.

I haven't worked this hard for a Grade 3 piece before. Is this really only a Grade 3 piece?

I don't use pedal at all on this piece. Is that correct?

Baroque-No Pedal. Are there exceptions?
Romantic-Lots of pedaling. Are there exceptions?
 
One of my editions has measure 5 mf and measure 6 mp and measure 7 also mp. I think this is just plain wrong.

I think measure 5 should be the quietest, measure 6 louder, and measure 7 should "really sing" that high A note. Isn't that the climax?

Thanking you in advance,

Joe

[nystul]

I would think of the left hand as a single, flowing voice.  In a sense I think you are right that the repeating g notes are not so much a part of that melody but just fill in the harmony (like an alberti pattern).  So they can be thought of as the least important.  But the way it is written I would still interpret it as one voice.  Maybe the piece will be easier if you don't overthink it.

<> is a swell (get louder then softer).  Of course like many dynamics it has to be interpreted within the limits of what a piano can actually do.  I would look at it in terms of shaping those little figures with the climax on the first note.  I don't know what dynamics Schumann wrote and what editors added but I'd agree with you regarding measure 5-7.

I imagine you could pull it off at 76 BPM but to me that is a bit too slow.

[haydnseeker]

Is this really only a Level 3 piece? This may be easy to play but to play it well is entirely another matter.

ABRSM have set this piece for Grade 1 in the past.  The current Grade 1 list includes Op. 68 No. 2.

[1piano4joe]

Thank you nystul for your reply. It is greatly appreciated.

For some reason I ignore the stems of the notes and whether they point up or down. This is the second time that I'm aware of that I have done this.

I actually learned Burgmuller's The Clear Stream from Opus 100 years ago just playing the right hand part and the left hand part and pretty much ignored the stems. Only recently have I discovered that this piece has 3 voices because of the way it is written. The left hand has notes with stems up and other notes with stems down and contains 2 voices. So this piece has 3 voices. This was my first mistake (that I'm aware of anyway). And apparently some notes have 2 stems one up and one down when the 2 voices are "singing" the same note.

Schumann's Melody because of the way it is written has 2 voices. All the stems of the left hand go in the same direction. I must be blind or something.

I think what I meant to say was that this piece teaches one to use 2 different dyanmics in the same hand and 3 different overall.

BTW, I googled the swell <> and apparently it is used in German instrumental music and is called a "closed accent" and is a warmer, softer accent.

haydnseeker, thank you for your reply. Pianostreet lists "The Soldier's March" as a Level 4 piece. I was very surprised to learn about this big a difference in grading systems as a grade (or possibly two) difference is rather common. I have seen sites listing Chopin's Prelude in A, E minor and the one in C minor as all being Level 4. I happen to play these 3 preludes and the one in A is clearly much easier than the other two. And with the 4 and 5 note chord's in the one in C minor I could understand why pianostreet  list's this as the hardest.

I am unfamiliar with ABRSM but with a little research found that their Grading system has a very high standard. Do you agree? I wonder how they grade pieces such as "Russian Folk Song" by Beethoven or "Minuet in G" from AMB. Maybe they don't at all or there is a primer level or possibly a grade zero?
  
Thanks for the replies, Joe