Piano Lesson on the Una Corda and Sostenuto Pedals

Рет қаралды 51,962

9 жыл бұрын

Teacher Graham Fitch continues his in-depth lessons on pedalling, this time focusing on the left and middle pedals (Una Corda and Sostenuto). This lesson complements his full-length article inside Pianist No 85, which you can view here: pocketmags.com/pianist-magazi...
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◼️ LESSON BY: GRAHAM FITCH - Pianist, teacher, writer and adjudicator gives masterclasses and workshops on piano playing internationally. He is also in high demand as a private teacher in London. Graham is a regular tutor at the Summer School for Pianists in Walsall and also a tutor for the Piano Teachers’ Course EPTA (UK). He writes a popular piano blog and has launched an online piano academy. practisingthepiano.com/
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Пікірлер: 55

@spicecrop 2 жыл бұрын

Graham Fitch is like my piano Guru. So happy to have these videos.

@maxcohen13 9 жыл бұрын

My first piano was a spinet which had a middle pedal that opened the dampers of the lower registration while keeping the uppers intact. It was perfect for Rach's C# prelude.

@Tousanx 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for explaining how to use the middle sostenuto pedal. Very much appreciated

@YogevMontekyo 6 жыл бұрын

Excellent video. As always Fitch explains it so clearly and along the way educate the listeners.

@mikkonenyrjo 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent demonstration! Thank you, Mr. Fitch!!!

@MsEcstreet 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent demonstration on the sostenuto pedal. This lesson has inspired me to use it more--thank you for that! I look forward to practicing this new method of bringing the music to life!! MsECstreet :)

@ldxyz-s1e 8 жыл бұрын

Very informative. Thank you Mr. Fitch!

@johngoodman4368 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much - great lesson!

@douglashoffjr1362 4 жыл бұрын

Very informative. I love your videos and your playing. Thank You

@rordrom3234 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the lesson!

@robinharris3425 5 жыл бұрын

I think that the use of the sostenuto is too much ignored. I went to a fantastic piano recital recently where the recitalist was using it continually and at speed. So I am now practicing its use. Example; 2nd movement ( Andante) of Beethoven's Opus 28 piano sonata has a legato line against a bass pizzicato of quarter notes. So I now realize it's easy, at least on my Estonia studio grand, to maintain the legato for the whole upper line of chords instead of just the melody line and the necessary change of fingers to sustain the melody. Grateful for Mr. Fitch's presentation. Thank you!

@muhammadaqsathfaza9532 8 жыл бұрын

thx mate finally understand how to use it

@adultpianostudentofficial 11 ай бұрын

Excellent advice "let taste prevail".

@alanclarkeau 3 ай бұрын

Percy Grainger uses the Sostenuto Pedal extensively in some of his arrangements. GOOGLE: FIRST MOVEMENT of Grieg's Piano Concerto - Petrucci Music Library At the bottom of the first page of the score, Grainger explains in extensive detail about how to use it - and how to use UnaCorda at the same time!! Both with left foot together.

@maximecloutier1223 Жыл бұрын

Great video ! Very informative.

@jmt1335 6 жыл бұрын

Ah! I did La Cathedrale with Mr Fitch as my teacher years ago. I must agree that I think the chords can be done under one pedal or with some fluttering, ear dependent. It is all about resonance, allowing the whole instrument to speak.

@TheUnsureFox 5 жыл бұрын

Most agreed!

@franzlisztish 7 жыл бұрын

Bloody GREAT! Thanks Graham.

@luigipati3815 4 жыл бұрын

it seems to me that the sostenuto pedal's main use would be to very selectively play a 'pedal point' in the bass, middle, or even top part. Mr Fitch masterfully uses the half pedalling in the Debussy and then uses - dynamics technique - to obtain a similar effect (i.e. a pedal point). Excellent lesson, as always with him. Thanks for the video.

@franciscoacosta255 9 жыл бұрын

For many aspects this video is different from all the ones I have watched here. Like if " time is passing by", just to mention, I do not know if You changed the video producer, but the voice of Mr Fitch sounds stronger than the piano ( regardless that He has to talk a bit louder) in some segments and the piano softness volume is not that clear and strong as in previous releases. Just my perception. Thanks for allowing "comments" so We can thank .

@TheUnsureFox 5 жыл бұрын

I must say, I have never been a fan, per se, of the sostenuto pedal. For instance, in La Cathedrale, I personally like the fuller sound of the sustain pedal, to give the music that "underwater" feeling, while occasionally fluttering the pedal a bit. Gives it an almost ethereal feeling, which is rather what the piece is about anyway. A sunken cathedral which shows itself just long enough for you to question what you just saw, and yet, know it affirmatively. Beautiful piece, and a favorite. 💜

@xzzx4664 5 жыл бұрын

So happy to see a Dinu Lipatti photo on that wall!!!!

@Jenairaslebol27merde 7 жыл бұрын

thank you so much, i really like your videos! .. really got me to question my pedaling technique, even if half pedaling etc. was not new to me of course. there was another video somewhere about pedaling where i commented that i like using the sostenuto pedal in beethovens waldstein sonata, 3rd movement for holding the lower c and g at the beginning (and the later repeats). works out very well, but now i have to try out how i can get along with the very promising pedal fluttering technique to hold those lower "orgelpunkt" notes against the changing broken chords and melody. .. of course i suppose the results will be better on a concert grand like a steinway D .. in opposite to my baby grand yamaha (161 cm..) but i'll see ;) ... also curious how it's gonna work out on my electric piano (promega3) which i use for silent night time practice..... ;) - what is your opinion about use of the sostenuto in this piece?

@alanclarkeau 3 ай бұрын

Regarding the sometimes ineffective UnaCorda Pedal: If the piano has been voiced recently, it'll barely make any difference - mine at home, serviced 3 times a year - it's not particularly effective, particularly the week or two after service - because the entire width of the hammers are consistent - particularly if the technician does regular voicing. But I've played on some Church grands, serviced long ago, and the regular parts of the hammers is as hard as granite (almost) - but the UnaCorda section of the hammers is still soft - and it makes a HUGE difference - almost too much, though changes the sound from honky-tonk to much nicer.

@conormorton2563 8 жыл бұрын

Sostenuto got haters.

@m1ndsetstudio 4 жыл бұрын

🤣

@taythanhdung 3 жыл бұрын

This was great, I have been researching "best expression pedal for keyboard" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Ever heard of - Danilliam Illustrious Dominance - (do a google search ) ? It is a good one off guide for unlocking the secret to master the piano fast minus the hard work. Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my colleague got excellent success with it.

@nahimanafiston4739 7 жыл бұрын

I LIKE THAT

@ventascr9646 Жыл бұрын

What is the piece that sounds at the opening of the video?

@TheMayumusic 8 жыл бұрын

Beautiful demonstration. I would really appreciate it if you played a little longer in each examples and did not talk while you are playing (it's difficult to hear the subtleties) or talk softly or play the example twice with the second time without speaking.

@velcroman11 2 жыл бұрын

I have a Yamaha Spinet (1974). My una corda moves the hammers closer to the strings. It prevents a ‘hard’ strike of the string. Cheap but, effective. It has a sostenuto pedal. I don’t I have ever used it. My late aunty had an upright piano 1900’s not only did the piano have a sostenuto pedal and by pushing the pedal to the left, the pedal would lock, why? I don’t know I was 4.

@michaeldu3608 5 жыл бұрын

I don't think that the hand to the mouth analyzation thing worked because you had a microphone on your shirt *:D*

@luigipati3815 4 жыл бұрын

his point fully stands, because in general most people do NOT play classical piano with a microphone on their shirt. That is to say, he was speaking to people without microphones on. Let's say that I run marathons, and I am sitting in my chair and I am explaining how to run a marathon. Do I actually have to raise from my chair and start running a marathon, to explain how to run a marathon? No, it is sufficient to know that I have much experience in running marathons, and that I can expertly explain how to do it.

@mr.clasher-clashofclansboo7286 4 жыл бұрын

*:D*

@bluefire2308 3 жыл бұрын

I haven't used Sostenuto in any covers. It's overly complicated for me

@yukimister87 9 жыл бұрын

Admittedly I do have this magnificent Steinway Module D here :)

@HigherPlanes 5 жыл бұрын

Did you get it second hand?

@Zdrange03 3 жыл бұрын

"model"

@ChristianJoannes 6 жыл бұрын

What is the beautiful intro of the video ?

@ChristianJoannes 6 жыл бұрын

Smikkelbeer thks so much !!!

@smikkelbeer6352 6 жыл бұрын

Les Baricades Mystérieuses by François Couperin

@TheSunshinedreamer1 6 жыл бұрын

Smikkelbeer Thank you:)

@deusexmaximum8930 7 жыл бұрын

Does a song like Claire De Lune use all three?

@MinhVu-ef8qh 7 жыл бұрын

I was wondering the same thing. Especially those bass octaves in the tempo rubato section.

@sensei-sama903 6 жыл бұрын

Minh Vu no

@sensei-sama903 6 жыл бұрын

This piece needs the left pedal ‘’una corda’’and the right i mean the sustain but not the middle pedal

@ianclayton2365 5 жыл бұрын

Claire De Lune can in fact benefit from the sostenuto pedal. Take notice starting at measure 10, using the middle pedal allows us to hold the low notes for the appropriate amount of time, but keep the hushed, moonlit sound of the dampers down. Use proper fingering to achieve legato without sustain. Starting measure 15 I use the sostenuto pedal for the low E octave, and simultaneously use the damper pedal for the rest of the measure allowing me to blend the notes of the chords together but keep 'clearing' the sound at each chord change, but the low E rings out throughout it all. It really is a beautiful, subtle touch

@PianistTanooki 10 ай бұрын

@@ianclayton2365Eh, you could… but it’s really not necessary. Much of the piece is about moonlight and its reflection on the water. (There’s a lot of “water” in Debussy music) So having this “clean” sound might not sound right. The left pedal, though? Definitely. Though, I tend to save the left pedal for the “ppp” return of the main theme.

@ks3bigksudjoht180 3 жыл бұрын

So basically... I'v been playing the sostenuto the right way eversince and it's just broken on every single piano? What?

@pianoforte17xx48 3 жыл бұрын

You look like Rachmaninoff

@mU-wt6xl 2 жыл бұрын

the hammer uses 2 strings on the loudest sound register instead of 3..........

@worstpianist3985 3 жыл бұрын

I have a bad habit of overusing the Una Corda Pedal

@TorBruheim 5 жыл бұрын

This is not a good presentation at all. You should exaggerate your points instead of whispering them. One particular example; when demonstrating the sostenuto pedal, you lightly touched the piano instead of pressing it hard for demo purposes. Difficult to hear exactly what this pedal does. You should have given more examples from compositions on how to use those pedals instead of chit chatting, and interrupting your self. You also several times misspelled words, and yes you corrected them, but you should prepare your self in advance. Hopefully you will take this as constructive critique, and give us an updated video.

@Hk-uw8my 2 жыл бұрын

If you understood what is a sostenuto pedal,you dont need to play louder in order to demonstrate it.