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.

"Bach's minuet in G major (114)"

I got back into playing the piano with this piece and now DS (8) is learning it. It's from Anna Magdalena Bach's Notebook but it's Petzold's piece, not Bach's (see photo).

I quite like the next one (BWV 115), as well - a play on the same melody, in a minor key.

Broken I think the scales are better for a shorter, concentrated learning time! I threw away some marks on my scales but I'm determined to conquer them at some point!
Luckily my sight reading is ok.
As for piano, it's worth keeping an eye out for people trying to get rid of theirs as you may pick up one cheap or for free - e.g. Gumtree. The main issue would be moving it!

Cote are you still looking for new pieces? How about Scarlatti? This was on the radio this morning: Scarlatti - Sonata in D minor, Kk 213]]

is also lovely.

I'm always looking for new pieces to play Thanks Never, I'll have a listen.

Thanks Never, I loved the F Minor - may buy some Scarlatti!

You can get most of these stuff on IMSLP. Actually is anyone a member? I feel that I ought to cough up for membership, seeing that I use it quite a lot ...

Now that I'm struggling with rising to the challenge of G & 6Ds, those Scarlatti pieces look too easy to me

However, I have one for you, Never. It's loud, it's bangy, and should be at least a bit challenging for you. Here is Handel's Passacaglia

I think a BBC young musician played the F minor Scarlatti in the finals. No such thing as too easy.

Will have a look at the Handel.

Allow me this moment of arrogance rightful pride God knows I worked damn hard for it - practiced for about 3 hours today, neglecting DC, DH, housework, work emails, etc.

I didn't mean to day the Scarlatti piece isn't worthy. It just doesn't sound challenging and I think I want to continue with challenging stuff.

I heard this on the radio this morning. Isn't it pretty?

That is pretty, Never!
Very ashamed to say I managed hardly any practice this week! Luckily I have another week to try and redeem myself before my next lesson!

I like it, Never. Purcell has done some very interesting stuff.

How did you like the Handel piece?

I am happy to report that I am doing pretty OK with the last two Doubles of the Gavotte I thought they were impossible! I'm not as fast as NK still convinced that she is a freak of nature with double-jointed fingers but getting there. My favourite is still the 3rd Double, "fiddly & pretty" as someone said downthread, with "weird hand technique" that allows two melodies to be played in one hand. Sigh. They don't make music like that anymore!

Cote vid please!

The Handel sounds nice, but I think I want a piano piece next. I'm either going to revisit Brahms Hungarian Dance no 1, or one of a couple of Schubert's pieces, or a Beethoven sonata, or I might go for something new... Haven't decided yet. I want to finish up the Rameau first.

Vid will have to wait until late next week - all I have at present is an electric keyboard and I would have to reproduce the "ladder thing" from downthread to put the phone on My new piano is unfortunately not yet tuned (the store says I have to wait another 3 weeks "for the piano to settle" )

And anyway, I want to make the recording on that lovely blue deep-toned two-keyboard harpsichord, which will be moved on Monday, to the church where our concert will take place next week. Hence, earliest I can do the vid is Thursday or Friday. Which gives me time to practice a bit more.

Also, what did your teacher say about how you were playing the ornaments?

Mine had unexpected comments about how the piece should be played. For example, I started playing the left hand staccato in the 1st Double like NK, and she was all "No no no, that's the Gavotte's melody. You should emphasise it."

We spent nearly an hour on the gavotte and didn't get to any of the doubles! Mainly we talked about how to play it on the piano as opposed to the harpsichord. And how one must concentrate on the structure without the ornaments obscuring it. How the ornaments were played changed over the course of the lesson but largely they were how I played them.

For the 1st double do you mean the first part (left hand crochets) or second part (left hand quavers)?

"We spent nearly an hour on the gavotte and didn't get to any of the doubles!"

I totally believe it Although it is the slowest part of the piece (Doubles are obviously "double" the speed), it's actually quiet complicated due to the ornaments. Especially the last line of the Gavotte took me a while to figure out!

"Mainly we talked about how to play it on the piano as opposed to the harpsichord."

What was the verdict? I'm interested, as someone who plays the piece on both the piano and the harpsichord

"And how one must concentrate on the structure without the ornaments obscuring it."

Very true!

One of the things was about how to give emphasis to notes - on the harpsichord you would give it time while on the piano you would play it louder, in general. And the acoustics are different - if you play an octave, on the harpsichord the low note will come through more while on the piano the high note will come through more.

After this I want to play a piano piece that's specifically written NOT to be played on the harpsichord. Perhaps it will have to be the Hammerklavier.

I haven't re-listen to the recordings to see how this works out in performance. I'll do that later ...

I meant the first part of the 1st Double. NK plays it staccato but my teacher was saying that no, it should have more emphasis because it is the Gavotte's underlying music although the right hand plays the more intricate (and arguably dominant) melody in this Double.

I definitely think the right hand should be more subdued, like a running commentary, while the left does the main talking. But it takes a bit of playing to get that to come through.

"how to give emphasis to notes - on the harpsichord you would give it time while on the piano you would play it louder"

Yes, absolutely. And I think this is what you meant by the Helsinki harpsichordist I linked to downthread being creative with the rhythm.

"acoustics are different - if you play an octave, on the harpsichord the low note will come through more while on the piano the high note will come through more"

This depends to a large degree on the harpsichord, I find. There are 4 harpsichords in the conservatory I go to, and they are all quite different in this respect.

Another difference (and the most important one, imho) is that you would normally play the right hand somewhat harder and the left had a bit softer on the piano, so that right hand's melody would achieve dominance. That is not possible to do on the harpsichord, so the melodies on both hands are meant to have the same importance in contrapuntal Baroque music