pedal assignment final
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THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Piano Pedals and Their Effect on Composition
During the Romantic period
By: Kieran Dale
Teacher: Mr Hume
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HISTORY OF THE PEDAL
The inventor of the piano himself, Bartolomeo Cristofori, first integrated the
pedal into the piano in 1722, but this pedal was nothing like the pedals we areused to today. Firstly, it was operated by your hand, so that would mean a pianist
would have to stop playing one hand to use it, or hire an op erator who would do
it for you. This was an una corda pedal (see Three Pedals and their Uses). This,as he found, was very impractical and was modified to be operated by the knee.
The next alteration came in the form of the most significant pedal to Romanticmusic composers. Its rise to prominence during the Romantic period was
important because of the notable difference between Classical and Romanticmusic. This was the sustain pedal, invented by Gottfried Silbermann, and this
too was not a foot pedal. This was a contributing factor in its early stage of
development, as it was not very popular and not often used.
The middle pedal* was first featured in Boisselot & Sonspianos, during the mid-
1800s, and while not usually used, many Romantic composers saw the potentialin using this pedal to complement their music. These composers include Claude
Debussy, composer of the famous piece Clair
de Lune (See Figure C).
THREE PEDALS AND THEIR USES
On grand pianos, there are usually threepedals. They all have different functions, and
are used extensively in Romantic music.
Una Corda Literally in Italian this means one string, which probably is due to
the fact that it shifts the hammer which strikes the strings so instead of hittingthree strings as it would usually on a grand piano, it makes the hammer only hit
one, making a softer sound. On an upright piano, the
hammer only hits one string so pressing the Una Cordapedal doesnt shift the hammer to the left, but positions
it closer to the strings so the strings cannot be hit with
the full force.
To signify the use of this pedal, the words una cordaare placed above the stave, and to signify the release of the pedal, the words tre
corde (meaning three strings) are used.(See Figure A).
* The middle pedal that is being referred to is the Sostenuto pedal, which most Romantic
composers would have. Today, that pedal would most likely be a practice pedal, because that pedal is seldom used, and is only seen regularly on old American grand pianos.
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THE PEDALS EFFECT ON COMPOSITION
Composers in the Romantic period also brought about distinct changes in thebass part of a piano composition. While a Classical piece would use mostly block
chords, Romantic composers sought to spread out these chords the result was
increasing usage of broken chords. These provided rhythmic interest andenriched the harmonics of a piece. Why the pedal was important in this is
because the sustain pedal could sustain what couldnt be sustained by a single
hand. This is particularly evident in ClaudeDebussys Clair de Lune, Claude being a
famous late-Romantic to early twentieth-century music composer (See Figure C).
The pedal also created a resonant effect that
was not evident in the Classical period. Many
composers wished to create flowing sounds
imitative of something they are trying tocapture within their song. For example, Ludwig Van Beethovens Moonlight
Sonata. Beethoven includes very low bass notes and a melody that is a recurring
broken chord pattern sustained by the pedal. Beethoven wishes to create flowing
sounds, which he described as voices from a vault.
The sustain pedal is not the only pedal that was used during the Romantic
period. The una corda pedal, which wasnt used extensively in the Classical
period, saw a few uses by composers, one of the most notable of these being in
the Piano Sonata No.28, Op.101 by Ludwig Van Beethoven (See Figure A). This
pedal made nuanced dynamics softer sounds could be made easily.
The blurring effect was also used by composers tocreate unique tone colours, which wasnt seen in
the Classical or the Baroque period. (See Figure C).
THE PEDALS EFFECT ON MUSIC TODAY
These pedal effects are all due to the advancements of engineering and
technology, which is ironic, because it gives composers greater range to expressthemselves. The pianosinner mechanics developed and give way to a period
where the evocation of emotion was the aim of all Romantic composers, who
sought to create musical tension to achieve a corresponding intensification of
response through passionate music rich in dynamic and modulation. This was
helped by the effects of the pedals, which became instrumental tools in their
composition. The pedal was pivotal in the progression of Romantic music to
today.
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Fig
r ¡ A Pi Sonat a No. 28, Opus 101 by Lu wi Van Beethoven
Use of Una Corda pedal in this ex erpt .
Mezza v oce Subdued volu e
co¢ grand
expressione
with lots of
expression
Adagio
S ost enuto slow
and sust ained.
Appassionato e
con mo£
to
sent imento
passionat e with lots of feeling Highlight ed is
the use of the
Una Corda pedalt o sof t en thedynami s.
Pedal sign,
followed by anast eris t oindi at e release
of pedal.
Tutt e le corde The Una Corda pedal is
released (lit erally all the st rings
Low bass
not es played
by lef t hand
joining with
modulatingright hand.
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Fig¤
r¥
B Sonat a No. 14 Opus 27 oonlight Sonat a By: Ludwig Van
Beethoven. This ex erpt shows the use of broken chords and pedal throughout
the whole piece.
Senza S ordino Without the mut e.This meant play with sust ain
pedal throughout the whole piece.
Sempre The samethroughout .
pp played very
quiet ly.
Very low bass not es complementing
right hand melody.
Melody is consist ed of brokenchords, this being a C minor 2nd
inversion chord repeat ed.
Modulation in
melody adding
t o harmonies,
accentuat ed by
the blur effect
of the sust ainpedal.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Int ernet Sit es
Richard Fuller (2010) Romant ic Music 1850-1900 (online), Place of Publication
Unknown. Available from: htt p://www.rpf uller.com/gcse/music/romantic.ht ml
(Accessed 24thMarch, 2010)
Barbara A. Ehrlich (2010) Keyboard Technique Sust aining Pedal in Romant ic
Period Music (online), E ineArticles. Available from:
htt p://ezinearticles.com/?Keyboard-Technique---Sust aining-Pedal-in-Romantic-
Period-Music&id=3157919 (Accessed on 23rd March, 2010)
Brandy Kraemer (2009) Piano F oot Pedals: An Illust rat ed Walk -T hr ough (online),
Place of Publication Unknown, About .com: Piano. Available from:
htt p://piano.about .com/od/partsof thepiano/ss/3_pedals.ht m (Accessed 22nd
March, 2010)
David Robinson (2010) T he Bizarre History of the Piano Pedals (online), Place of
Publication Unknown, About .com: Piano. Available
from:htt p://piano.about .com/od/partsof thepiano/a/piano_pedal_hist ory.ht m
(Accessed 22nd March, 2010)
Wik ipedia (2010) Sust ain Pedal (online), Place of Publication Unknown,
Wik ipedia. Available from: htt p://en.wik ipedia.org/wik i/Sust ain_pedal
(Accessed 24thMarch, 2010)
Book s
Wade-Matthews, Max (2010), T he Enc y cl o paedia of Music, Southwat er
Publishing, Sydney.
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