Go try it!

Can't now, everyone is in bed! I will tomorrow if I get chance!

You're nearly right - but the original is in Gflat major, so you cancel all the flats and add one sharp - F# - and play it in G major.

But you're right - it does lose something. I reckon it's worth persevering with the original!

Anyone who has the Classics to Modern with this piece in, have you tried the next piece in the book, Horsemen by Kabalevsky? It's a great piece.
And only 5 flats !!!

No I'm still trying to get my head around Debussy...If I'm feeling ok I'll turn over the page and look!!

I do that sort of thing quite often with hymn tunes.. almost everything written in E gets played in Eb an A goes to Ab too. As you may have guessed I am more comfortable with flats than sharps.... but doing that usually makes it better for congregational singing, bringing a top E down to Eb (that's my excuse anyway ).

I discovered that quite by mistake when I was about 10 - shocked myself by confusing A major and Ab major. I was accompanying something at a church meeting, and suddenly found I was playing in the wrong key - it was most weird. I must have read the chords and mentally given them a key signature without checking what the real key was. I panicked and tried to change back for the next verse, but of course it didn't work because everyone kept on at the original pitch, so I had to keep going as I'd started. How silly!

lol! A boy who is really good on the piano and accompanies us in choir once started a piece a tone lower than what was written, played the introduction, then just went straight back into the original key a bar before we came in. We managed to keep going, except we got told off for laughing! Our teacher hadn't even noticed! He was just doing it coz he's a show off lol

Lol

I've looked at that Horseman piece and it looks far too hard! Gosh I can't play anything

I once had to transpose in a church service - I suddenly realised the next song was in D and the F sharp key didn't work (well, it did, but it was playing F and F sharp simultaneously!) and as the opening of the melody was 5 F sharps in a row I decided I should do something about it. In the end I had to transpose everything into Eb major - I was hoping for C but as I ran through it in my head there was another F sharp as the original modulated partway through. So Eb it had to be - and all on the spur of the moment! Anyone else find that church pianos are usually terrrible????

By Tuesday I'll have learnt the girl with the flaxen hair. That's my aim for half of this week! Next aim, Results day!

Blimey! I think I'll learn a grade 1 piece...might just be able to manage that

How fast do you play it? Coz I was playing it quite slowly, but I've looked at them tempo marking and it seems a bit quick now.

I keep a list of pieces I've used at various grades with my pupils and wonder if you've thought of trying some 'list C' type pieces - some of my pupils have enjoyed the ones I've listed below:

Grade 6
Christopher Norton Prelude IV from Latin Preludes
Christopher Norton Lavender's kind of Blue from Lavender's kind of Blue
Grieg Poetic Tone Picture Op.3, no. 1
Pamela Wedgwood Voyage from After Hours 2
Satie Gymnopedie No 1

Grade 7
Christopher Norton Prelude II (Homecoming) from Country preludes

Some of these have actually been set by ABRSM for grade 6/7 exams (Lavender's kind of Blue's been set as one of the alternative pieces for Grade 6 in the 2005/2006 exam period). I think the Grade 6 pieces set for the 2005/2006 exam period are nice - how about any of those?

I've got the grade 6 pieces for this period, and I had a look at the Lavander thing, but I can't find it

I could have a go at the Satie though, coz that doesn't have too much of a left hand does it?

The left hand is chords; notes not difficult to learn but it needs careful pedalling.

It is quite a slow piece. Imagine relaxed, unhurried poise.
The idea of day-dreaming on a sunny window-seat might give you the right sort of mood for the opening.

Thanks

I have another question: You see the bar after the cedez bit? Am I allowed to split that chord masively, then come in with the melody, or am I supposed to do it all at once?!

Do you mean the first cedez at bar 12 ? - you can spread the chord - in fact the middle part of the chord is marked with a wavy line in my copy.

The chord that hast about 50 notes to play at one time!?

I've got a spread chord mark I think!

ok. It's a bit small and blurry, but yes I think there is a split chord mark!

Is it supposed to sound arpegiated (like you can hear every note in the chord) or just a quick run up?

Am I making sense?!

I don't think it sounds right at all! Am I right in saying that the RH plays Db, Ab, Cb, Db, and Eb and LH Bb, F, Bb

I'm doing this from memory but I think that's it....

In the left hand I think I've got Gb, Db Gb?

But like said it's small! And many ledger lines!

Maybe that's why it doesn't sound right- I can't read music!!

MAGGIE!!!!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees ?? !

lol yes! Where is she, since she's the fountain of all knowledge on this piece?!

LOL - trying to think through what I usually do here ...
Try playing the lowest three notes (not spread) with your LH, and at the same time play the lowest note (Db) of the spread bit with your RH closely followed by the Ab and the other two notes. Include the Eb (the first quaver) in the spread part of the chord - if you use all your RH fingers you can just about manage this - then swivel on to your RH 2nd finger on the Gb and you're away.

I THINK that's something like how I do it. It doesn't take up much time - but at the same time nothing about this piece should sound hurried. You can hold the LH chord through the bar, but the RH spread chord will rely on a bit of pedal I guess.

Don't know if that makes sense - there will be more than one way of doing it!

So you play the chords at the same time, but stagger them a bit?! Coz there's more notes in the right hand?!

I have to miss out some notes coz my hands aren't big enough, so I miss the lowest note out the RH coz it's repeated up the octave. Should I try and fit them in?

There are 5 notes in the RH aren't there?!

Maggie- what are the notes for RH and LH of that chord!?

My hands are quite small too, one reason I don't play much of the big romantic repertoire stuff - but I can manage this piece! Can you play :
Db with RH thumb, Ab with finger 2, Cb with 3, Db with 4 and Eb with 5? See if you can do this slowly, practise it on its own without any of the other things in the bar. Spread them slowly to start with (sort of quaver speed) and build up a bit when it starts feeling a bit more natural.

When you put it together, - bit of a rethink here, on reflection the spread bit comes slightly ahead of the LH chord. The LH chord could come together with the RH Eflat. Slightly too many notes - but it does get easier with familiarity.

Just looking up another edition here - RH is marked with a 2 over the Eb and a 1 over the C on the second beat. The pedal is (helpfully) marked in this edition, and is marked to go down at the same time as the bass 3-note chord.

Hope this is n't even more confusing!!

I can't quite reach that comfortably. What I'm doing at the mo is thumb Db, Ab with 2, Cb with 4 and Db with 5 and then shift quickly to put thumb on Eb. It sounds a bit disjointed when I switch, but I don;t know if it's just coz I'm practising it?

Rightho *thinks and tries to take it all in*

Well - that's almost there. If you spread slowly, can you get your 3 on to the Cb?
If not, what you're doing will sound less disjointed with practice.

If you really feel you need to miss out a note, I'd perhaps opt for the Db at the top of the spread chord, so you can put 4 on the Cb and 5 straight on to the Eb - maybe. But try it slowly and see if you can gradually include the whole 5 notes - using all RH fingers.

Nat - there are various possibilites for dividing up the chords between the hands. The way I think I normally do it is to play the three lowest bass notes with the LH and the whole of the spread chord (5 notes) with the RH.

Ok thanks maggie, I'll have another try tomorrow ...but I have this feeling that this piece will just be one of those pieces I get nowhere with no matter how hard I try

Hey now - don't be defeatist! If parts of the middle seem too much to sort out at the moment, try picking up at bar 20 and learn the chords there.

I can't count the amount of times I've felt like that, and for much less difficult pieces than that you speak of, you've just got persevere and believe that you are better than were when you started the piece!

elmo- it is Gb chord in the LH on that bit! No wonder it didn't sound remotely right, I've been playing Bb's! Maybe I really should give up!

I automatically see a bass clef sign and a low note on a line and guess I wish for it to be a Bb so just play that anyway hehe!

lol What a weird habit!

Thanks for the help maggie

You're most welcome. Hope it really did help !

Nat - that chord is Gb Db Gb - guess you've worked it out by now.