Ondine on an upright

[theholygideons]

Has anyone played ondine by ravel on an upright?
Are those repeated notes even possible, or is my upright piano just in need of maintenance?

[david456103]

im assuming you're talking about ravel's.
yes, i've played it on an upright several times. its not really possible to get the tremolo to pp-ppp on an upright because of the action, i usually played them closer to mf on an upright. however, if you can play it mf on an upright, then im sure you can play it the correct dynamics on a grand.

[thorn]

Don't worry too much about pp-ppp dynamics on an upright or you will just get very tense and then when you get to the various runs later on in the piece your hands will be like blocks of wood and you'll be making a right mess of it all. (I speak from experience >.<)

Play the accompaniment at a volume that's comfortable for you and then just make the melodies louder. Dynamics are all relative anyway.

[gearmenta]

It's actually a little easier on an upright, in my opinion, if you have a good sense of touch, as is needed for the entire piece, then you'll be happy with your performance