Instrument players - come and chat!

[NeverEverAnythingEver]

I thought we could have a thread to chat about playing! I play the piano (not as badly as I fear but not as well as I hope) and have recently tried my hand at chamber music. Would love to hear what other people are doing.

CoteDAzur Here's a picture of the instruments they used in Rameau's Dardanus.

Cote I had another careful listen to the two vids. Bloody soloists never keep time! Both of them!

Anyway. Is it the penultimate bar of the Gavotte? I'll try to post a picture - though I haven't had much luck posting pictures ...

Here's what my score looks like and how I'm intending to play the penultimate bar.

Oh it works!

So another go at posting the picture I promised in the OP!

I haven't played the 5th double and have only sightread the 3rd. Will post when I've done the fingering.

Well done for the photos, Never

I'm now OK with the Gavotte, 1st Double & 2nd Double, actually. Except the last bar of the 2nd Double where left hand fingering is a bit tricky. I changed it twice and this is how it looks (see pic). How do you play it? (As in, which finger plays which note).

I would also like to see your fingering for 3rd & 4th Doubles, if you wrote them down. Here are mine:

Out of curiosity, do you always write out the ornaments? Do you then play the sheet that you have written?

I don't normally write them out at all!

Is that how you are playing the end of the gavotte?

I don't usually write out all the fingering either, just the tricky part.

2nd double: same fingering as you except I use 3 on the first A of the last bar.

For the 3rd double my instinct is to make the theme more legato, which means rather convoluted fingering. Let me try it out.

Well yes, 3rd Double will have to be Legato as you are holding down right hand's little finger (5) pretty much all the time

any room for a newbie learner?

My daughter (9), wanted to take up the violin but said she'd only learn if I did. I'm 41 (40 at the time), so took the plunge. My friend is a violin teacher (as well as many others), and conductor with his own Orchestra. It's so relaxed and friendly and I love it. My daughter gave up after 5 months, but 18 months later i'm still learning. I love everything about it, although finding it hard at the moment. I'm probably on the wrong thread as I only read the first few responses and it seems like you're all high grades. I'm doing it for fun and the love of it, so won't be doing Grades......then again i'm not sure I will have even made it to Grade 1 level yet.

Hello Hush!

Stay and chat! This is for everyone to talk about what they are doing. There's another thread on the extra-curricular activities board about what the children are doing - they are the high-achieving ones!

I want to take up either the violin or the cello too but realistically there just isn't time, so I'll stick to the piano until I retire. :)

Cote I was thinking you might want to make the transition between notes smooth too, but I notice that NK doesn't bother. Perhaps it doesn't matter when you get to a certain speed. Hmm. I'll make up my mind later.

Broken Let us know how you get on with Traumerei! I can do a ninth at a push, but that doesn't stop me attempting Rachmaninoff. Spread the chords, jump, and pedal.

Welcome Hush If it helps, I have no Grades not even 1.

thanks for the welcome all!

What do you play Cote?

Piano. Harpsichord. See downthread for damning evidence

Welcome Hush!

I have no grades either, and am certainly nowhere near any in ability these days. I played alto sax in school and quit when there was talk of putting me in for grade 5 as a first exam. I did guitar for a couple of years but did even less theory on that, my teacher just helped me learn to play various pieces. I've often dabbled a bit on piano but not learnt properly, which I am starting to do now. Also had a little go on flute and viola, might try viola (or maybe violin first, apparently it's best to start on that due to more cramped finger spacing?) in the distant future.

Just piano for the foreseeable future, and might consider grades at some point, but would definitely prefer to do it all 'properly', i.e. learn the instrument in a thorough and rounded fashion, rather than start trying to see if I can pass a given grade by leaning a little too much on the memorised pieces, while not being as good at scales/sight reading etc.

Never - Now that I'm on the computer (as opposed to the phone) and can see the notes you wrote clearer:

"Is that how you are playing the end of the gavotte?"

Pretty much, except that you have written out the grace note ("appoggiatura"?) as equal weight whereas it should be shorter, and it looks like you are repeating that last note of the ornament on the right hand.

"Cote I was thinking you might want to make the transition between notes smooth too, but I notice that NK doesn't bother. Perhaps it doesn't matter when you get to a certain speed."

Oooh - Sacrilege! Of course it matters! I just watched NK's Gavotte again and she clearly keeps her right pinky finger (5) down every time she should in the 3rd Double, starting at 3:46. In the harpsichord link I posted on Saturday, as well, you can see the same starting at 3:07. It can't be any other way. It has to be played the way it's written

I am definitely not getting involved in the Gavotte debate!
Back from piano lesson - going to start hands together on Waltz in A and make a start hands separately on the Chopin. Very exciting!

Cote Of course you must hold the note down the right length. The question of legato is in the transition - how do you move from one note to the other. I think she doesn't bother to do that smoothly, and it sounds fine.

I'm doing this appogiatura the same weight for this measure - it seems to be OK - but for the earlier ones I do them shorter. It's also easier to coordinate with the trill in the left hand. But I may change my mind later. I'm not sticking to the rules since neither NK nor Päivi Vesalainen did.