Thank you so much for your reply. what I meant is that the chord sounds either too loud or too soft ( the pitch of the sound).
Try practicing just the top two notes of the chord until you get the sound that you want in terms of dynamics... then add notes to the chord, one at a time. Practice REALLY slow so that you get what you want without worrying about speed. Again, make sure the top note gets slight finger emphasis: you might try playing just that top note so that your ears hear what needs to be retained when the chord is played.
I'm learning Debussy - Clair de lune and I can't make those 7 notes chords sound right (starting from the second sheet music at the 15th measure)any tips for practicing this part of the piece thank you
1) Regardless of the score, block chords were regularly arpeggiated/rolled (when appropriate) in both hands. Debussy was no different than any other composer/pianist who matriculated at the Paris Conservatory at this time.
How anyone continues to take you seriously is beyond me.@OP your problem lies in voicing. To help fix this, practice playing all the voices except the ones you want to bring out staccato and pp. Play the voice(s) you want to bring out ff and legato. You won't actually play it this way, but it helps train your hand to bring out certain lines (this can even be used to bring out lines in the middle if you so desire).
Specific to the OP, I proffer a particular link, (which has aspects that are far to fast in later sections), but do accurately reflect the true wishes of the composer in regards the OP's initial inquiry:
And, if you listen very carefully (or have the ability to louden the sound) all of the chords (in the OP's questioning section) are both very gently rolled, and then also VOICED!
But, "Chopinlover1," why don't you tell the world who taught this piece to the performer?
Any Wikipedia search on this particular very famous Concert Pianist, will reveal the answer.
Re: Chopinlover01:My composer/pianist friend, Ramon Sender (ramonsender@comcast.net) is the only living student of George Copeland. George Copeland was the only American to have ever studied under Claude Debussy.Therefore, I do not have to explain myself to you or a suggested recording.And, hopefully you will contact Ramon, and then report back to us!
"There's a guy who was taught by him therefore I'm not responsible for posting all kinds of misinformation and leading people on with said misinformation"Riiight...And, to top it off, you try to end the debate by saying "contact this guy and get back to us!".Ten bucks says the email is either fake, or you don't have authorization to post it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Copelandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Sender
"There's a guy who was taught by him therefore I'm not responsible for posting all kinds of misinformation and leading people on with said misinformation"
And, I really hope you are stupid enough to contact him because then you will be speaking to a man who learned this piece from a student of the composer.A man whose teacher (George Copeland) suggested that he study composition under George Elliot, which he did (counterpoint at the age of 15).Have a nice day!
I play this piece, and unlike others, I both voice and arpeggiate the chords in the "B" section. Other so-called Debussy specialists mimic recordings of pianists with no direct ties to the composer.The point is that you cannot cite one single human being who is a living student/composer of the composer himself that was selected by same to premier several of his works.I can, and I spoke to him today!
@Ian:If I read your email correctly, it seems you are making a leap in reasoning that is not there... wanting some information about how a composer intended his music to be played should not lead to an assumption of playing like an automaton. The combination is composer intent and part of yourself in the music. Therefore, composer intent is an important part... but not the only part to really playing great music. I play Debussy and Chopin because they speak to me... and omit other composers that do not... no matter how much I appreciate their music played by someone else. Look at the Chopin competition -- those who really shine are faithful to the intent of Chopin.. but don't stop until there is part of themselves in the music.
As a huge Debussy fan, I would really like to know what instructions George Copeland gave his students regarding playing chords in Debussy. Therefore, I wrote Mr. Sender asking if he could take a few minutes to provide that information... and no reply. I am hopeful that I will still receive some feedback. Even if not a direct link, it is an important one for information. I am not finding a source for ' George Copeland was selected to premier Debussy's work?' This is certainly a new topic to me, but from what I read, George Copeland did premier Debussy, but did not meet the composer until many years later, at which point he received a few months of lessons. I am not diminishing how special this is..... but ..... It would be a shame if this direct link and the information from it were lost. It is a shame that many composers taught students but there is no written communication about the training. Maybe they just didn't realize how very special that training was. Debussy, from what I have read, was very difficult to please, and his instructions were sometimes contradictory. Fascinating composer (at least to me)
Topic: How to make thick chords sound right? 