Need help with basic notes

[riwa]

Im trying to learn this piece here: https://www.nobuouematsu.com/sheet/piano/julian.zip

Im very new to notes so bear with me please. I can read the note values but there are other details in the notes that I dont understand. Im talking about the syncopation. I dont understand "which" notes are being "moved" and also "where" they are being moved. If someone could explain with rests or some other way it would help me a lot.

Thanks

/Richard

[zezhyrule]

Can you point out the exact measures you're having trouble with? I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say here. I don't see any notes moving around when I view it D:

[riwa]

Im referring to the very first part in the F clef. The second notes there have a "line" toward the next note pair.

Thanks for the reply!

[mikeowski]

It means you need to hold these notes for that exact duration of time. for example the note pair in measure 2 you were referring to needs to be held for the duration of 2 quavers.

That's only if the notes have the same pitch, though.
If notes with different pitches are bound together, like here:



that means, the notes need to be played legato (connected, no pause in between them). Also, if there's a bow over more notes, all of them need to be played legato.
Just so you don't get confused in the future.

[riwa]

Thanks a lot. Still confused though. Could the 2nd note pair (C A) be written with quarter notes instead (effectively removing the necessity for those "legato" lines)? Would that have the same effect?

[zezhyrule]

It would be played exactly the same, yes. It appears in this case that it was done like that to keep it easy to read with all the notes in line and stuff (see how the tied note is directly under the right-hand melody). Sometimes also done to keep the pulse of the beat. For some reason it's better to write a quarter note on beat two tied to a half note on beat three in a 4/4 measure than to put a dotted-half on beat two, or so I'm told. Ties are of course useful for keeping notes held over bar lines, which is where they're mostly used I think.

[riwa]

Allright. Then I get it I think. Thanks a lot for clarification!

Regards
Richard

[riwa]

I just learned up to (and including) section 9. However, in part 7 theres an impossible part. That A7th (or whatever it is) is just too weird to do with one hand. And I cant reach the C with left hand from the low A im already playing. Which note seems most sensible to skip? Atm Im skipping the low C.

Thanks a lot for all the help.

[mikeowski]

Have you tried using the fingering 1245? If that doesn't work, dropping the lower c is probably the best solution, though I think it should be possible if your hand is big enough to play an octave. Certain fingerings can feel uncomfortable or strange if you've never used them before. It's because away from the piano such hand positions are never needed, so the necessary neurological connections haven't been formed yet. Once they are, you don't need to think about it anymore.
Of course, if it's because your hand is too small, forget what I said lol.

[riwa]

Thanks. I can play an octave with one hand without any problems at all. The problem is the big stretch on either the middle 2 fingers or the last two. I can just barely touch the keys so I guess I just keep playing the chord and eventually I will learn it.

Thanks again