Playing Staccato with Pedal

[the_fervid_pig]

How do I play this? I only have one pedal on my (digital) piano, but it does allow for half pedalling.  It's from Schubert's Serenade. Cheers.

[brogers70]

I'm just an amateur, but here's my two cents. There's more to legato than just overlapping the notes. Using the pedal guarantees that the notes overlap, but does not guarantee that they will be legato. To be legato the volume of each note should match the decayed volume of the previous note (with the common sense exception that you have to find ways to avoid a decrescendo to complete silence in a long legato phrase).

So, if it takes more than a pedal to create legato, then you ought to be able to do staccato in spite of the pedal. So I'd make identical attacks on each of the staccato notes; don't match each one to the decay of the preceding note, just hit them all at approximately the same volume. That should create a staccato effect in spite of the pedal.

[j_menz]

Staccatto as marked, pedal as marked. It will sound different than if you didn't use staccatto, surprising as that may seem.

[the_fervid_pig]

So I just play it as written and don't need to do any weird pedalling technique or anything? That's great, cheers!

[ajspiano]

So I just play it as written and don't need to do any weird pedalling technique or anything? That's great, cheers!

The staccato markings are telling you the physical touch that is used, perhaps more so that they are the sound it will create...    atleast until you develop and understanding of and recognise the idea of different tone qualities such as the one produced by this combination, and others...  rather than just detached or legato and loud or soft.

[the_fervid_pig]

Thank you, I've seen this sort of thing a few times, it's in a Mendelssohn piece I'm learning.

[rmbarbosa]

The notes with de signal of stacatto are also tied with a line, arent they?
So, one must play them lifting one`s hand gently after the key attach, I think.

[the_fervid_pig]

Thank you for the replies. On the same piece, looking at the second bar, would I play the last triplet of the 3 at the same time as the first quaver of the group of 5, or just slightly after as it appears on the score? (If that makes sense).

[j_menz]

Thank you for the replies. On the same piece, looking at the second bar, would I play the last triplet of the 3 at the same time as the first quaver of the group of 5, or just slightly after as it appears on the score? (If that makes sense).

The triplet against the two quavers is a polyrhythm.  If you count the triplet as "1 and 2 and 3 and" then the quaver you mention (the first of the group of 5, but the second one in the bar) falls on the "and" after the 2.

Do a forum search on polyrhythms and you'll get lots of useful advice.

[the_fervid_pig]

Thank you, that makes sense, that's how I was playing it. I did a search and I think I'm beginning to understand how they work. I'm finding there's often more to these "easy" pieces than meets the eye!