THE MUSICIAN'S BOOKSHELF
EDITED BY CLAUDE LANDI
PEDALLING IN
PIANOFORTE MUSIC
THE
Musician's Bookshelf
(1) PRACTICAL SINGING, by CLIFTON
COOKE.
(2) MUSICIANS OF TO-DAY, by ROMAIN
ROLLAND.
(3) SOME MUSICIANS OF FORMER
DAYS, by ROMAIN ROLLAND.
(4) ON LISTENING TO MUSIC, by E;
MARKHAM LEE, M.A., Mus. Doc.
(5) COUNTERPOINT, by G. G. BERNARDI.
(6) PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC,
by A. H. LINDO.
(7) OUTSPOKEN ESSAYS ON MUSIC, by
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS.
(8) SAINT-SAENS : HIS LIFE AND ART,
by WATSON LYLE.
PEDALLING IN
PIANOFORTE Music
BY
ALGERNON H. LINDO
Examiner for the Associated Board R.A.M., R.C.M.
Author of Pianoforte Study, Modulation,
The Art of Accompanying, etc., etc.
With musical illustrations in the tet
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
EDWARD JOHNSON
MUSIC LIBRARY
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD.
NEW YORK : E. P. DUTTON & CO.
1922
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
TO
COLIN TAYLOR
PREFACE
IT has not been thought necessary to include the
time signatures in the musical extracts given in
the course of this work. As a rule, this can be
seen at a glance, but if not it is of little importance.
To avoid the unnecessary multiplication of
accidentals, key signatures have also, in many
cases, been dispensed with.
Acknowledgment is made to Messrs. Augener
for their kind permission to allow a few short
extracts from the chapter on pedalling in the
author's book on Pianoforte Study to be included
in the present work.
A. H. L.
CONTENTS
PART I. INTRODUCTORY
THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PEDALLING PAGE
Inadequate attention paid to this subject The three
main principles (or rules) of pedalling The present
cumbersome method of indicating pedal depression and /
release Other methods that have from time to time '
been adopted Difficulties in the way of accurate and
adequate pedal marking Comparison of pianoforte
pedalling with organ pedalling Knowledge of musical
theory necessary Inappropriateness of the terms loud
and sustaining as a description of the (right hand) pedal
Analysis of the word " sustained " as applied to musical
sounds The damper pedal The mechanism and action
of the hammers and dampers in a pianoforte The real
mission of the pedal -.--..-i
PART II. PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE
PRINCIPLES OF PEDALLING
CHAPTER I. PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD
The arpeggio (i) In Etude form ; (2) As accompaniment
Repeated chords Advice as to when pedalling can be
dispensed with in simple chords and arpeggios Five
rules of pedalling to be observed The rules illustrated
Two schools of pedalling ------ 23
CHAPTER II. PEDALLING FOR ISOLATED CHORDS,
AND FOR CONSECUTIVE, NON-LEGATO, CHORDS,
OF DIFFERENT HARMONY
Need for this too often overlooked Examples from Schu-
mann, Beethoven and Mendelssohn - - - - 40
10 CONTENTS
CHAPTER III. SYNCOPATED PEDALLING PAOB
Explanation of the term Two reasons for the application of
this method of pedalling Where syncopated pedalling is
inaccurate Some general advice - - - - - 45
CHAPTER IV. To WHAT EXTENT SHOULD PEDALLING
BE INFLUENCED BY THE PRESENCE OF PASSING
NOTES
The importance of finding accurate solutions to this problem.
Where the pedal should, as a rule, be used The registers
of the pianoforte and their bearing upon the question of
pedalled passing notes Illustrations from the works of
Chopin Influence of period upon pedalling The pedal
treatment of scales The octave bass in Chopin's A flat
Polonaise Some extreme examples of pedalled passing
notes .-----.---51
CHAPTER V. THE PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO
IN RELATION TO PEDALLING
1. The problem of rests. Pedal must often be sustained even
where rests are marked for both hands Reasons for this
and some illustrations ; a typical example from Beethoven
The F Minor Fantaisie of Chopin Klindworth-
Scharwenka pedalling and an alternative method The
conflicting claims of chord outline and phrase outline
An example Passing-notes in the concluding tonic
harmony Where passing chords take in the place of
passing notes.
2. The problem of staccato. Mistaken idea all too prevalent
as to the effect of pedalling upon staccato passages Some
general advice upon this subject - - - - - 83
CHAPTER VI. PROBLEM OF THE PEDAL BASS
Three methods of dealing with it La Cathedrale Engloutie.
Debussy All rules may be broken sometimes. Examples
from Bach, Tausig, Cesar-Franck and Schumann - - 102
CONTENTS II
\CHAPTER VII. HALF PEDALLING AND TREMOLO
PEDALLING PAGE
Curious neglect on the part of composers and editors to
indicate where half pedalling can be employed York
Bowen almost the only composer to include any directions
for this effect Some examples of half pedalling and
tremolo pedalling, and suggestions as to the occasions on
which they should and should not be resorted to - - 114
CHAPTER VIII. SOME LESS-KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS
Retention of chord notes by the hand, accompanied by pedal
release, in order to free passage from effect of passing-
notes. An effect used by some pianists in the " Appas-
sionata " A less-known effect from the " Moonlight "
Silent pressure of notes and chords Diminuendo improved
by silent pressure and pedal release A difficult problem
in Mendelssohn's F sharp Minor Capriccio ; solution
suggested by means of silent pressure of bass octave A
chord completed by silent pressure The recapture of an
octave by the same means Pedalling for single notes
An effect produced by the pedal with no assistance from
the hands Meyerbeer and the drummer The Godard
Mazurka --------- 120
CHAPTER IX. SOME VARIETIES OF PEDAL MECHANISM
Pedal Keyboards Bach's pedal harpsichord and Schumann's
pedal pianoforte Pianoforte with pedal keyboard made
by Pleyel Wolff and Broadwood The Steinway sustain-
ing pedal The Divided pedal, a new invention introduced
by The Chappell Piano Co. Some illustrations of effects
that can be produced by its adoption - 137
CHAPTER X. THE SOFT PEDAL.
Three varieties of soft pedal mechanism Results of
depressing the soft pedal : (i) Weakening the volume of
tone ; (2) Altering its quality Where the soft pedal
may legitimately be used Special effects - - - 141
12 CONTENTS
PART III. SPECIAL PEDAL TREATMENT
REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN PERIODS AND
CERTAIN COMPOSERS
INTRODUCTORY
SECTION I. THE PRE-BEETHOVEN ERA PACE
A. Instruments that preceded the pianoforte The Clavi-
chord, Dulcimer, Spinet (or Virginal) and Harpsichord
B. Music written for the early days of the pianoforte
A few examples from the Sonatas of Mozart An example
from Haydn - 152
SECTION II. THE SPECIAL PEDAL REQUIREMENTS
OF INDIVIDUAL COMPOSERS
CHAPTER I. BACH
A " Prophetic " composer Pedal effects not to be eschewed
in the works of Bach Very light pedalling needed in
the Fugues, but not to be altogether avoided Some
illustrations from the first book of the " Forty-eight " - 160
CHAPTER II. BEETHOVEN
Space only allows a few general hints being given Chief
subject of the typical first movement The Minuets,
Scherzos, etc. The slow movements and Finales
Beethoven's own pedal marking ; a striking example
from the " Waldstein " - 169
CHAPTER III. SCHUMANN, BRAHMS, LISZT
Certain characteristics of these composers and some special
advice with regard to the pedal treatment of their works 175
CHAPTER IV. SOME MODERN COMPOSERS AND THEIR
PEDAL METHODS CONCLUSION
" Atmospheric " music and the pedal treatment it requires .
Careful pedal marking by some modern composers
Concluding words of advice concerning the student's right
to exercise his own judgment with regard to the pedalling
of nearly every class of pianoforte music - - - 181
PART I
INTRODUCTORY
THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PEDALLING
THERE is no more subtle art in connection with
pianoforte playing than that of the correct manage-
ment of the pedals, especially the right hand pedal.
Yet this being so, it is strange that so few books have
been written upon this subject, and that the amount
of space devoted to it in most works upon pianoforte
playing is of a comparatively meagre description.
The professional pianist, although he studies the
majority of his pedal effects with great care, pedals
on the whole, instinctively. So does the amateur ;
but whereas the instinct of the former leads to the
production of very beautiful and delicate effects, the
instinct of the latter is not usually attended by the
same happy results. In his case the pedal is some-
times ignored altogether ; sometimes it is pressed
down mechanically at the beginning of each bar,
irrespective of the harmonic outline, and the method
is not infrequently resorted to of using the pedal
vaguely every now and then, either when the hands
are not very busy and a little attention can be given
2
2 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
to the feet, or for the very opposite reason, because
the hands are in difficulties and the pedal is called
upon to help cover up the mistakes.
It is not surprising if many teachers feel much
the same about pedalling as they do about fingering,
for although more attention is given to the former
than to the latter both in books of instruction and
in editions of musical compositions, it is only in a
minority of instances that this attention can be
deemed even approximately adequate. Therefore
the feeling is bound to exist that where instruction
is not given in the printed copy it does not seem as if
either of these subjects can be of sufficient import-
ance to demand any serious call upon the time of
either teacher or pupil.
This applies to pedalling even more than to
fingering, for whilst it is quite easy to play any piece
without once having recourse to the pedal, the
technical outline hardly being affected by the omission,
every note of every bar must be fingered somehow,
whether the responsibility for the choice of fingering
falls upon the composer, the editor, the teacher, or
is left to the experimental resources of the pupil.
Difficult as it is to draw up rules for the systematic
fingering of pieces, it is even more difficult to
indicate any beyond broad general principles upon
the subject of pedalling. These principles, honoured
INTRODUCTORY 3
sometimes in the breach and sometimes in the
observance, may be summarised as follows :
1. Pedal* to be used where the music seems to
need support and an added fullness of tone,
whether in loud or soft playing.
2. Pedal to be changed at change of harmony.
3. Pedal to be released where passing notes,
especially in the middle and lower registers
of the instrument, would be likely to act as a
disturbing factor by clouding and obscuring
the phrase outline in the endeavour to retain
the correct harmonic outline.
A discussion of the finer and more subtle effects
will be found in subsequent chapters, but the above
can be accepted as the bed-rock principles of simple
and effective pedalling.
That directions in accordance with these principles
can be found in several editions of standard works,
as well as in many modern compositions is true. It
is also true that many teachers are perfectly
conversant with them, and may wonder why such
pains are taken to point out what is already so
widely accepted. But let this question be asked.
* Unless otherwise stated, the word "pedal" always signifies
right hand pedal.
4 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
How many teachers turn them to practical account
by writing pedal directions into the pieces they give
their pupils in the very numerous cases where
adequate directions are not given in the printed
copy ? It must not be forgotten that if the rules
which govern the teaching of music, or indeed of
any subject, are not available for constant reference
in some printed work, the necessity for their appli-
cation is only too liable to be overlooked.
It is a paradoxical state of affairs which includes
accurate pedalling as one of the chief factors in
artistic pianoforte playing, and at the same time
affords the student so little opportunity of gaining
information upon the subject.
If one were to investigate the reasons for this it
would be found to be due to a variety of causes, one
of the chief ones probably being the clumsy fashion
in which directions for pedalling are given. In the
majority of instances the information that the pedal
is needed is conveyed by using the first three letters
of the word, thus, Ped, and the sign for its dis-
continuance is one not unlike a blend of a starfish and
a porcupine, at least that is as near as any composer
or copyist gets who tries to write it, and even in
print the resemblance exists. All this takes up a
great deal too much room on the page. In a series
of rapid harmonic changes the pedal constantly
INTRODUCTORY 5
becomes due at a place already covered by the
" d," the final letter of the previous " Fed," and if
any attempts were made to mark such a passage hi
detail and to include as well the present mongrel
sign for pedal release, it would result in such a
crowded mass of directions that it would tend rather
to confuse than to assist the student.
THE HANS SCHMITT METHOD.
Other and more rational systems have from tune
to tune been adopted, but the innovations have been
of a spasmodic nature and no attempt has been made
to arrive at any agreement with regard to the signs
to be employed. One of the most practical was the
one suggested by Hans Schmitt about 1860. It was
patented and an attempt made to get it officially
adopted, but apparently without success. Where
the pedal was needed he placed beneath the bass
staff a note equal in value to the length of time
during which the pedal had to be sustained, supple-
mented by a horizontal line which continued till
the point of pedal release was reached This latter
may seem superfluous, but the feeling amongst those
who recognise the necessity for some change of
method is almost unanimous in favour of the
continuous line. Its presence before the eyes of the
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
pianist is counted upon to remove any inclination
towards premature pedal release or delayed
retention.
An example of this method is given :
/Vocfurne //? B. Chopin.
r-
Syncopated pedalling (p. 45) he indicated thus,
p ^ , the stroke through the head of the note
signifying that pedal depression must take place not
with, but immediately after key depression. This
method, in spite of much influential support in the
author's day, never seems to have been utilised in
any editions of standard works, or in new
compositions of that period.
THE BENJAMIN CESI METHOD.
A system resembling the above has been introduced
by Signer Cesi into his edition of Chopin's works.
The chief difference is that an extra line is placed
below the bass staff, on which notes, equivalent to
the time during which the pedal is to be kept down,
are placed. The line is continuous whether pedalling
INTRODUCTORY
is needed or not, but no suggestion is given for
syncopated pedalling.
,,.. * -T -r
Another typical example pedal line only
3 j J .. -Tl J 1
THE COLIN TAYLOR METHOD.
In this, a short perpendicular line shows where
the pedal should be pressed down, and another,
where it should come up, the two being joined by a
horizontal line, so that the student has no chance of
forgetting at any point whether the pedal should
be in action or not.
8 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
It is a practical system and deserves to be more
widely adopted.
SOME OTHER METHODS.
A variation of the ordinary marking is used in an
edition of the works of Schumann and possibly of
some other composers. It consists of the first,
instead of the first three letters of the word Pedal,
and the sign for release is indicated by a simplified
form of the one usually employed, thus, p -f
If any objection can be urged against this, it is
that the P is the letter used to indicate "piano"
that is that the music has to be played
softly. Even with a difference in type it may
easily be overlooked as a sign for pedal depres-
sion, and the sign for release is still unnecessarily
elaborate.
The marks for down and up bow on the violin
11 V have been, at times, suggested as a
substitute for the present signs, but have not met
with much favour.
A universal method is badly needed, but in its
absence recourse will be had to the following for
the extracts quoted throughout this work.
iNtRODUCTORY 9
This, a slight variation of the Colin Taylor method,
is sufficient to show when the right pedal must be
pressed down, and how long it must remain down,
the final perpendicular stroke being dispensed with.
Half pedalling will be marked thus,
The signs for the soft pedal and for tremolo
pedalling will be found in the chapters dealing with
these subjects.
DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF ACCURATE AND
ADEQUATE PEDAL MARKING.
One of the most serious reasons for the neglect to
define more accurately where the pedal is to be used
is that no general agreement exists, even amongst
the greatest pianists, as to where a pedal effect
should be introduced or avoided. There exists
merely a consensus of opinion that, first, in a certain
type of passage (and there are very few upon which
opinion is unanimous) a pedal effect is desirable,
such, for instance, as a series of chords or arpeggios
unhampered by passing notes, and secondly, another
type where it is manifestly inappropriate, such as
any passage of intricate part writing in music of a
Contrapuntal or Fugal character.
10 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
It would be no more possible to give indications
for all the pedalling that is desirable than it would
be to give directions for every tiny crescendo and
diminuendo or for every flicker of rubato that can
legitimately be introduced into the rendering of a
musical composition ; the markings required would
be multitudinous. Also being printed, they would
become in time traditional and stereotyped and
would seem to preclude any variation in their
employment. Spontaneity is one of the chief
charms of interpretation, and a work would suffer
if the artist felt himself restricted to an exact and
mechanical repetition of all his effects at each
performance he gave of it.
COMPARISON OF PIANOFORTE PEDALLING WITH
ORGAN PEDALLING.
The cardinal error made in dealing with pianoforte
pedalling is that it has never been treated as organ
pedalling is treated, that is, it has never been looked
upon as needing separate and independent study
such as the technical difficulties associated with the
organ pedal board render obligatory. There are
no technical difficulties in pianoforte pedalling.
There are only two pedals in place of a whole
keyboard, and only one of these is needed with any
frequency.
INTRODUCTORY II
Anyone can press down either or both of them
without any trouble, and no violent discord is
produced unless the right pedal is held down con-
tinuously through a series of conflicting harmonies.
Therefore the difficulties are underrated or
unrealised, and teachers constantly omit to give the
necessary instructions because technically, at any
rate, pedalling is so easy, whilst composers and
editors also omit to give adequate directions for a
very different reason, because artistically at any
rate, pedalling is so difficult.
The difficulties of organ pedalling are so much
more patent than those associated with the piano-
forte, that were a question propounded as to the
relative degrees of difficulty of the two instruments,
the answer would almost invariably be that there
was no comparison between them, and organ
pedalling would be voted as infinitely the more
arduous and complicated of the two.
Nevertheless the popular answer would be an
incorrect one. The difficulties of organ pedalling
are purely of a technical character. Certain notes,
all of which are written out, have to be played with
the feet, and when the necessary facility has been
acquired, this can be accomplished without anything
having to be left either to chance or to the inspira-
tion of the moment. The performer has to do
12 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
nothing but what is printed in the copy, so that
perfectly accurate pedalling is within the scope of
anyone who gives the necessary time to mastering
the mechanical complications of the pedal keyboard.
It is by no means the same with the pianoforte.
Although no difficulty of a purely technical nature
is encountered, there are quite enough of other kinds
to compensate for this.
In organ playing there is never any doubt as to
where the pedals are to be used. In pianoforte
playing there is very seldom any certainty ; the
divergence of opinion amongst experts, the vagueness
of the results produced in the one case, as contrasted
with the very definite results obtained hi the other,
and the doubts engendered by the presence of
passing notes, rests, staccato marks, etc., as to the
wisdom of pedal application are all contributory
causes to this state of mental indecision.
KNOWLEDGE OF MUSICAL THEORY NECESSARY.
It is perhaps almost superfluous to mention that
appropriate pedalling can hardly be looked for from
anyone not possessing an accurate knowledge of
harmony, although a very sensitive ear can, to a
certain extent, be relied upon to correct the very
common tendency to blend antagonistic harmonies
INTRODUCTORY 13
This, however, is of more advantage to the performer
than to the teacher. Where directions for pedalling
have to be written in as a guide they must be based
upon some plan, and only a recognition of the chord
outlines of musical phrases will enable this to be
done satisfactorily.
INAPPROPRIATE TERMS EMPLOYED TO DESCRIBE
THE RIGHT-HAND PEDAL.
I. The Loud Pedal.
The tendency to call the right pedal the " loud "
pedal still exists, and is hard to eradicate, and when
it is not called so, it is still too often thought of
primarily as a means of making the music louder.
This is not to be wondered at, because if the left
is, by common consent, designated the " soft "
pedal, it is not easy to think of the other as anything
but the loud pedal, and to support this view, it
must be remembered that when big chords and
fortissimo effects are needed, the right pedal always
seems to be required, and, in fact, is required to
help to increase the volume of sound.
II. The Sustaining Pedal.
When students are corrected for misnaming this
pedal, they are frequently told that it should be
14 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
called, not the " loud," but the " sustaining " pedal.
Although the use of this term has, in a large measure,
been discarded in favour of the more suitable, but
not entirely satisfactory term " damper " pedal, it
is still employed in many works dealing with piano-
forte playing, and the idea exists all too prevalently
that the primary mission of the pedal is to sustain
the sounds created by the action of the hammer
upon the strings. It is, however, almost, if not
quite, as misleading a description as the word
" loud." Neither is totally incorrect, for the fact
that the pedal adds a certain measure of fullness to
a forte or fortissimo passage and produces what may
be described as " noise " when held down through
a succession of harmonies that do not blend, seems
to give a kind of warrant for terming it the loud
pedal ; the fact, on the other hand, that some kind
of sound continues whilst the pedal is held down,
even after the hands have left the keys, equally
appears to justify the title of " sustaining " pedal.
As this pedal is used quite as frequently in
pianissimo as in fortissimo passages, no time need
be wasted just at present in proving that loud is an
inappropriate adjective to apply to it. But the
inadvisability of the word " sustaining " as a
description of the effect for which it is responsible
is not so immediately evident.
INTRODUCTORY 15
THE TERM SUSTAINED AS APPLIED TO MUSICAL
SOUNDS.
A genuine sustained sound is one that exists
definitely and recognisably from the moment it
first becomes audible till the moment it passes into
silence. For instance, a note sustained on the
organ, violin, voice, etc., can be continued till it is
released, and therefore ceases to be audible, as firmly
and distinctly as at the moment of production. It
can, if desired, be increased in volume, and so at
any period of its existence, is recognisable as a
distinct, individual note. In fact, where the organ
is concerned, the sound cannot diminish in volume
unless recourse be had to fewer or weaker stops.
A comparison of the effect of sound produced by the
pianoforte and that produced either by the organ,
any wind instrument, the human voice, or a stringed
instrument played with a bow, will serve to illustrate
the difference between a theoretically and a practi-
cally sustained sound. If a note be played on one
of these instruments or sung by a voice, and if,
while still being held, a note below it is played by
the same or another instrument, or sung by another
voice, the upper note will still be the more prominent
(unless overwhelmed by a great increase in tone in
the lower note), whilst on the pianoforte the freshly
l6 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
struck note will almost completely overshadow the
one previously played.
It can be seen therefore, that the word sustained
or sustaining with reference to any effect obtained
or obtainable from a pianoforte is little more than
a mere courtesy title. With whatever power a
note or chord is sounded upon this instrument, and
however brilliant the instantaneous effect may be,
it is followed at once by a mere ghost of itself, just
a shadow or murmur, and even this immediately
sets about disintegrating and disappearing till it
fades away into silence.
Whenever sound is created by percussion, as in
the case of a pianoforte, a drum or a gong, it retains
very little of its original value after the moment of
impact. An illustration will make this clear.
If the above were played upon the organ, wind
or stringed instrument, or sung by voices, the
impression conveyed to the listener would be that
at the second half of the bar (a) the chief note had
become supported by the introduction of a lower
one. If played upon the pianoforte, the impression
would be that a new melody note, E, had been
INTRODUCTORY 17
introduced at the half bar, supported faintly by
something above it, which might or might not be
recognised as being the note heard at the beginning
of the bar.
III. The Damper Pedal.
Reference has already been made to the increasing
use of the word " damper " as a more fitting
description of the action of the pedal than those
previously employed. As the depression and
release of the pedal act directly upon the whole
body of dampers, the choice of the word seems
justified. It is not an entirely felicitous term for all
that. One naturally thinks of a damper pedal as
a pedal that damps. The damping, however, only
takes place upon the release of the pedal, its
depression ww-damps them.
There is no need in referring to this pedal to
employ any qualifying adjective at all. When
occasion arises to differentiate between the two
pedals, the term " right " and " left " pedal are
sufficiently descriptive. But with regard to the
latter, the words " soft pedal " can be substituted
if preferred. It is an appropriate designation as
the only effect it is capable of is that of making
the music softer.
18 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
THE MECHANISM OF THE PIANOFORTE.
The construction of the pianoforte must be
understood before the different effects of passages
played with and without the pedal can be appre-
ciated. Inside the frame are wires, commonly
called strings, stretched perpendicularly, or obliquely
in an Upright pianoforte, and horizontally, the
length of the instrument, in a Grand.
Modern pianofortes with few exceptions are
built on the trichord principle, an improvement on
the bichord mechanism of an earlier generation.
That is to say, that corresponding to each note of
the keyboard, from a certain note in the bass
upwards, are three strings tuned in unison which
are struck simultaneously by the hammer as the
key is pressed down. This does not apply to the
lower register of the instrument, where, owing to
the thickness of wire that is needed, the bichord,
or two-string principle still prevails, whilst in the
lowest register of all about the last octave and a
half the added thickness renders more than one
string superfluous.
ACTION OF HAMMERS AND DAMPERS UPON THE
STRINGS.
Resting upon the strings is a row of dampers,
one to correspond to each note from the lowest note
INTRODUCTORY 21
in the bass to a note in the treble varying between
C and E in alt
i
6
(the weakness of the vibrations in the notes above
this renders damping unnecessary), and resting over
or in front of the strings, but not touching them, is
a row of felt covered hammers, also one to each
note. Pressure upon any of the notes of the key-
board produces a two-fold result : it raises the
dampers from the strings that correspond to the
notes played, but from none of the others, and it
causes the hammers to strike the strings thus freed
with an equivalent amount of power to that used
upon the keyboard. So long as any of the keys
remain down after being thus pressed or struck,
so long do the corresponding strings remain free to
vibrate. It is not till the keys are released that the
dampers return to the strings and immediately shut
ofE the sound.
A curious fact in connection with the pedal action
of the pianoforte is that the blow of the hammer-
head upon the strings is so rapid, even when the
key is pressed down slowly, that the eye is quite
unable to detect the moment of impact. Young
students should be encouraged to look inside the
T o
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
instrument and observe the mechanism in operation,
both of the hammers and dampers, noting specially
how it varies under the influence, first, of the hands
upon the keyboard, and secondly of the foot upon
the pedal. It will be seen that whilst the effect of
depressing notes upon the keyboard is to release
merely the corresponding dampers from the strings,
the result of the pedal depression is to raise all the
dampers simultaneously, and this allows, not only
the strings which have been struck to vibrate, but
also those strings which are in sympathetic accord,
these consisting mainly of major thirds, perfect
fourths, fifths and octaves.
THE REAL MISSION OF THE PEDAL.
A realisation of the presence of sympathetic
intervals in all music played with undamped
strings will bring home to the student that the
actual effect of the pedal, if used with accuracy and
discretion, is to surround the music with an atmosphere
of appropriate harmonics and overtones, which though
devoid of the actual significance of recognisable
individual notes, yet serves to enrich the phrases
and to add colour and background to the musical
outline.*
* A fuller description of the mission of the pedal in relation
to different schools and periods is given in Ch. IV., pp. 60-62.
INTRODUCTORY 21
It is owing to the indeterminate character of its
effects that the pedal must often be held through
phrases in which occur diatonic and chromatic
passing notes (Ch. IV., p. 51). Also in certain
staccato passages as well as those where rests inter-
vene amongst chords of the same harmony (Ch. V.,
p. 83). It must, however, not be forgotten that
the presence of passing notes and the sympathetic
vibration of strings other than those actually struck
by the hammers, tend very quickly to create a
blurred sound and pedal release becomes imperative.
The moment at which the harmonic atmosphere
becomes so confused as to render the continuance
of the pedal effect inartistic and inappropriate is
the exact period at which its release is demanded,
but it requires considerable study to be able to
appreciate the psychological moment and to adapt
the pedalling almost intuitively to its harmonic
requirements.
PART II
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE
PRINCIPLES OF PEDALLING
CHAPTER I
PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD.
IF the student wishes to approach the problems
connected with this subject in the order of their
relative importance and progressive difficulty, he
must begin by learning to recognise the kind of
passage, that, by almost universal agreement,
demands pedal support. The type of passage
referred to is not one in which the use of the pedal
is optional, in which even the moment of depression
or release is optional, nor one wherein any subtleties
of half -pedalling or syncopation are needed ; but
just the plain passage where the pedal must be
pressed down with the first chord or note, and raised
definitely at a certain point usually the filial chord
or note. The form most frequently take^i by such
a passage is that of a simple arpeggio unencumbered
by any factor calculated to prove disturbing to the
harmonic atmosphere. It is found mainly, but of
course not wholly, in the technical and non-thematic
portion of a work. It is a device much favoured by
*3
2 4
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Beethoven. He uses it in its very simplest form to
conclude many of the last movements of his Sonatas.
Reference can be made to the Kreutzer (Piano and
Violin), the F Minor, Op. 3, and the one in A flat
Op. no, also to the opening of the E flat Concerto.
The final bars of the oft-quoted " Moonlight " and
" Appassionata " are not included in this category,
because, whilst no disagreement exists as to the
need for the pedal or the moment of its depression,
opinion is not entirely unanimous as to the place
for its release.
When a theme or subject is made up entirely of
the notes of the common chord, some other part,
the accompaniment, bass or counter subject will
seldom be found to be free from passing notes.
When only essential notes occur the pedalling is
usually simple and straightforward, as shown in the
next quotation.
pn ffe/ra/n afe Berceffu. .
The subject of the G Minor Rhapsody of Brahms,
is almost devoid of passing notes, and the pedalling,
PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD 25
though not quite as simple and obvious as in the
preceding examples, presents hardly any difficulty
in the opening section, and very little subsequently.
m.g.
THE ARPEGGIO.
I. In Etude Form.
A development of the arpeggio is its appearance
in Etude form ; a very characteristic example can
be seen in Chopin's Etude in C minor (Op. 25), where
the pedal is needed in every bar, and must be changed
with every change of harmony, this usually, but not
invariably, occurring at the beginning of each bar.
26
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Where chord changes take place in the course
of a bar the pedalling to be adopted is equally simple.
The same composer's Etude in C Major (Op. 10)
affords an almost equally good illustration, but in
this, the arpeggios are found only in the right hand,
the left being occupied with simple octaves, which
in most bars do not change till the new harmony
appears.
Many similar examples can be seen in the Studies
of Czerny, Cramer, Moscheles, and other writers.
II. As Accompaniment.
The next appearance of the arpeggio is as an
accompaniment to a theme or melody, and it must
be remembered that unless the music is to be played
piano or pianissimo in the lower register of the
Homr Swtrr Home _ Thfffitrf.
Jff f , J t>P_ * -^r:
PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD 27
instrument, the pedal is needed as frequently in
soft as in loud music.
As soon as passing notes appear in a melody,
individual judgment is required as to the moment
for pedal release. Where they affect the harmony
as little as in the following they can be ignored, but
the subject of passing notes is dealt with so fully
later that it would not be profitable to pursue it
further at present.
'5or>0 wMout wortb
Mendelssohn
Ttrfnnj 1&
+- n
fir '
H' *i *
^ IT
V 2_u r >_ .
B
_
12
REPEATED CHORDS.
The pedal is required just as imperatively in the
case of repeated chords when they are not broken
up intoVarpeggios.
All 6 .
Fan > fas/a t'n C.-ScAe/6erf.
28
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Concerto in Bbmi - Tsc/>aifc0n'jf<>
..t;f lit
EXCEPTIONS TO ABOVE RULES.
It is plain sailing so far, but difficulties begin to
arise, not only where divergences occur from the
pattern of simple chords and arpeggios, but
almost as frequently within that very restricted
area.
The pedal is needed with great frequency in
nearly every class of music. Where the chord
outline is definite and is not surrounded by an
embarassing number of passing notes, it will
generally be found to be appropriate ; at any rate
it will never create any objectionable impression
if changed with judgment. But because an effect
is unobjectionable and is often appropriate, it does
not follow that it is therefore expedient to summon
it to one's aid upon every occasion. The pedal adds
a species of colour to pianoforte music as the brass
or the wind do to orchestral music, but colour must
not be used indiscriminately. It is as necessary
PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD 2Q
to learn when to dispense with colour as when to
employ it. No higher compliment can be paid to
a pianist than to say that nothing becomes him in
his pedalling like his leaving it, its avoidance often
being more valuable as an artistic asset than its
employment. But as it should never be used
aimlessly, it likewise must not be avoided without
a definite reason.
The problem now under consideration is Under
what conditions should the pedal not be used
when the music is built upon the simple har-
monic basis illustrated in the previous portion
of this chapter.
FIVE RULES.
I. In music of the pre-Beethoven era it should
be used very sparingly.
II. It should obviously be avoided when marked
so by the composer.
III. A passage that has been pedalled on its
first appearance, can be played unpedalled (or with
a different system of pedalling) on its subsequent
appearance or appearances, the converse method
equally holding good.
IV. The pedal can be released for the mere
purpose of affording relief to the ear when
3O
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
continuous harmonic support threatens to become
monotonous.
V. When a theme or subject consists solely of
the notes of the common chord played either singly
or with the two hands in unison, no support must
be given to this by the pedal.
THE RULES ILLUSTRATED.
I. Illustrations to the first rule will be found in
Chapter oo, and need not be dwelt on here.
II. A composer sometimes desires that certain
passages in his works should be played unpedalled,
and to ensure this marks them " Senza Pedale," or
uses some indication of similar significance.
Ftnate. Sonata Op 27 - Beethoven
* f f
U-f CJJJ
In this the directions for pedal avoidance are
implied instead of being expressed. It is made
quite clear that no cumulative crescendo is required,
but a clearly articulated passage of an even quality
of tone, ending in an abrupt burst of sound on the
PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD 3!
fourth beat, the pedal being reserved, according to
the composer's marking, for this effect.
Brahms marked " Senza Ped " in the concluding
bars of his G Minor Ballade. He wished nothing
to be included but the actual notes played ; no
harmonic background, no atmospheric impression,
j ust the uncoloured architectural outline. Schumann
occasionally marked " Senza Pedale," as in No. 5
of the Carnaval, Etude IX. of the Etudes Sym-
phoniques, etc. Similar marking is to be seen in
some modern compositions where the composer
takes pains to indicate in detail the pedal effects
he requires, but it is not usual to find, as in the
Beethoven Sonata and the Brahms Ballade, passages
made up entirely of the notes of the common chord
with directions from the composer that the pedal is
not to be used.
III. In Schubert's Impromptu in A flat, the
figure of the opening subject occurs repeatedly
later on, first in the following simple form
32 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
and then as an accompaniment to a melody in the
left hand.
A thoughtless pianist would -pedal every bar in
each repetition in exactly the same manner, on
account of the simple chord outline, and the almost
total absence of passing notes. A thoughtful one
would realise that the continual recurrence of the
same figure offered an excellent opportunity for
varying the pedal colouring on the lines indicated
above.
The ordinary pedalling (a) which adapts
itself to the harmonic outline, may later on, be
omitted altogether (b) from some of the four-bar
groups, or can be deferred till the second beat ;
(c) which, in the former of the two extracts assists
the staccato effect in the bass, and in the latter,
helps to retain the bass note which the finger is
unable to keep down for its full value.
PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD
33
Chopin's Valse in A flat (Op. 42) affords another
interesting example.
This, or some slight variation of it occurs after
every section of the Valse, and although it will be
found generally advisable to use the pedal through-
out each bar, some welcome variety can be imparted
to one or two of its many repetitions by varying the
pedal treatment as suggested in the above marking.
Method a helps to accentuate the detached character
of the bass chords, b gives tone and support to the
whole bar, and c adds a little fullness to the accented
portion of the bar only.
IV. Sometimes the atmosphere becomes heavy
with an unchanged and long spun out harmony,
chiefly owing to the repetition of chords and
arpeggios in the lower registers of the piano-
forte, then pedal release (or half release) becomes
advisable.
34 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Beethoven, who had a predilection for chords of
close harmony in the bass, supplies several examples,
in one of which, quoted below, the four bass notes
of the chord of G Major are played twenty-four times
in succession, the variation from which it is taken
coming to rest with the same chord played as a
slow arpeggio. The rapid pedal changes (or half
changes) should take place at, or immediately after,
each of the right hand chords.
K>raru/fv0uf"' * SteS/mivsr
1 t m
i i
.
aecrt}.
J 4 S 6
or fc reJeaie (o
The pedal in the last bar should be released early,
the chord itself in such close position in the bass
supplies all the resonance necessary.
The alternative pedalling given in No. 13, p. 27,
provides another but shorter illustration, the option
being given of playing the arpeggio of C Major
without pedal after keeping it down for the previous
chords of the same harmony.
V. In announcing an unaccompanied theme
composed entirely of notes of the common chord,
architectural clearness is the paramount need, and
PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD 35
this cannot be attained if the pedal is brought in
with its disturbing atmospheric effects.
Jonafa in C mf-Mozarf
\ | ^>
J r mr: Jonafa //? f/nirtor
The staccato character of the theme in these two
instances may seem to explain why the pedal should
be avoided, but as an explanation it is inadequate,
because, were the bars quoted technical instead of
thematic, it is quite possible that the pedal would be
required. But if the student will look at the opening
bars of the Sonata Appassionata (Op. 57), he will
see that the subject, which consists entirely of the
notes of the common chord spread over a wide
compass, should be played with as pure a legato
as the fingers are capable of producing. Neverthe-
less, to surround this theme with an atmosphere of
harmonics and overtones would be inappropriate
and undesirable from every point of view.
It is not so easy to dogmatise with regard to much
of the music of a more recent date, but even in the
elusive and impressionistic examples of the modern
school it is as well that the announcement of an
36
absolutely unaccompanied theme should be
unpedalled.
l0////e ai/JC chereuz
n de fin . - 0e6ussy .
VQ
no fkd.
22
There are certain passages of chord outline, made
up either of single notes or with the two hands an
octave apart, which, though forming no portion
of the actual theme of a work, still possess some
individual and occasionally even melodic significance.
They are often found in the introductory bars of a
pianoforte composition.
not composerj mark/ty
The former is built upon the major chord of A flat,
with a passing note, B flat in each octave. The
37
latter has the dominant seventh of E flat for its
outline with a passing E flat and C. Some authorities
advocate pedal in the Chopin Ballade, with occasional
partial release, as shown above, and at least one
editor recommends it for the Rubinstein Valse.
Considering the free, cadenza-like nature of these
bars, and the generous pedalling needed during the
latter progress of both these works, they might well
be left free of any sustained chord effect, the latter
number particularly.
Two SCHOOLS OF PEDALLING.
It may not be amiss in this connection to call
attention to the fact that there exist two schools of
pedalling, with divergent and even somewhat
antagonistic aims. So little has this subject been
studied scientifically and systematically that it is
doubtful if the existence of two methods is actually
realised even by their respective exponents. The
chief points of difference are that according to one
method the pedal should at any rate in the
classics be resorted to mainly in order to add body
and colour to chords and chord passages, whilst
according to the other it should be called upon to
supply a harmonic background to nearly every type
of passage.
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
The difference of view is very clearly marked in
the next examples, one authority recommending the
pedal in the first one (No. 25) at the opening octave,
and another its postponement till the entry of the
chord passage ; and similarly with the little valse
movement in the second one (No. 26).
Mvace
26
Students must make their own choice of method,
but until greater unanimity has been reached upon
this subject, it will be found safer to err rather on
the side of caution and restraint than on that of a
too lavish resort to the colour scheme provided by
the pedal.
If so much freedom exists it may be asked why
time is apparently wasted upon giving such detailed
and complicated directions upon the subject. But
whilst there exists a considerable variety of
appropriate pedalling for an artist to select from,
there is also a wide scope for the exponents of
involuntary effects. Bad pedalling will spoil the
PEDALLING AND THE COMMON CHORD 39
interpretation of any musical composition, and as
it is advisable not to spoil musical compositions
needlessly, no apology is offered for the elaboration
with which a subject of such complexity as pedalling
is treated in these pages.
CHAPTER II
PEDALLING FOR ISOLATED CHORDS, AND FOR
CONSECUTIVE, NON-LEGATO, CHORDS OF DIFFERENT
HARMONY.
THIS effect, which is needed continually, is too often
completely overlooked, this being due almost
entirely to the inadequate pedal markings in even
the best editions. Even where general directions
for pedalling are printed in the music, or are written
into the pieces by teachers for their pupils, it is
seldom that these directions extend to the pedalling
of individual chords.
If the neglect only applied to chords marked p
or pp it would be more easily understood, as the
association of pedalling with loudness is hard to
eradicate from the mind, but as the use of the pedal
always adds something to the effect produced,
whether atmosphere, resonance or fullness be the
term chosen to describe it, it is all the more remark-
able that indications for pedal support in forte and
fortissimo non-legato chords are so seldom given by
composer, editor or teacher. Nothing that can be
40
4*
done to help such chords to vibrate and ring out,
to increase the impression of climax, when they
occur at the end of a work or section of a work, or
to obviate the short snappy effect of detached,
unpedalled chords, should be overlooked or neglected,
yet it is astonishing how rarely pedal instruction
is given. It is only another illustration of the same
vicious circle referred to previously neither the
composer nor editor puts pedal marks for these
chords, either because he does not think of it, or
if he does think of it he looks upon the necessity for
the pedal as so obvious as not to be worth the trouble
of marking, whilst teachers and students finding
no information forthcoming upon the subject,
often, in their turn overlook it, or if giving any
thought to it, decide that the absence of informa-
tion indicates either that the pedal need not or
must not be used.
It is not usual to find a theme or subject made up
of consecutive detached chords of different harmony,
although several instances can be found in the works
of Schumann, who has a predilection for chord
effects. When these are written to be played
arpeggio, and in either hand extend beyond the
compass of an octave, the pianist as a rule feels the
necessity for pedal effect, so as to enable the entire
chord, and k not merely the upper notes to be heard.
42 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
'tsck in F. 'icfiumann
1
r
27
The March movement from the Fantaisie affords
another example. For non-arpeggio, detached
chords within the compass of an octave, the student
is referred to the same composer's Novelette in F,
the Nachtstiick in D Minor, and the third variation
of the Etudes Symphoniques amongst many similar
instances. They are not quoted, because Schumann,
almost alone amongst composers whilst not giving
any detailed directions, wrote " Pedale " or " con
pedale " at the beginning of nearly every work, and
every number in a work.
It is a waste of effect to rob individual chords of
the resonance afforded by the pedal and the student
who learns to appreciate this fact will soon be able
to introduce appropriate pedalling into chord
passages, of which the following may serve as
examples.
The final chord is intended to create a sensation
of surprise by its unexpected fortissimo, and needs
all the resources of the pianoforte that can be
called into play, certainly comprising that of the
PEDALLING FOR ISOLATED CHORDS 43
Anc/tyc/osin0 barsjfivn
* OpW. i
tm
28
P^
.
opftona/
Compulsory
pedal, but this is seldom marked and very seldom
used.
n .. I
Jonofa /n Cm/ 0p /3 fendof/^/rtor?,
H
f
29
Fed on no account to be^omitted inlthese bars,
in spite of the absence of pedal marks in most
editions.
Innumerable instances could be adduced but to
little purpose. The student can dip into music of
any school almost at random, and find them for
himself. In nearly every case these detached
chords are enriched by the use of the pedal, but no
immutable law can be passed upon this subject.
44
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
The concluding chords of a work should almost
invariably be pedalled.
It is quite extraordinary how often this is dis-
regarded. In the Mendelssohn example the editor
(or composer) has gone to the trouble of marking
the pedal carefully for the long, preceding series of
arpeggio chords on the tonic, and has then omitted
to indicate it for the final chords. The sign for
pedal release being printed just before these chords
looks like an indication for them to be played
unpedalled, which would be totally inaccurate.
In a series of non-legato chords marked f or ff
the pedal may be dispensed with occasionally, for
the reason, previously alluded to, of affording the
ear temporary relief from the vibrations it sets up.
Monotony of tone colour should at all costs be
avoided in any form of musical interpretation, but
only sufficient exceptions should be introduced to
accentuate the rule requiring the pedal for detached
forte or fortissimo chords.
CHAPTER III
SYNCOPATED PEDALLING.
ALTHOUGH the release of the strings from the dampers
should in most cases take place at the exact entry
of the harmony that requires pedal support, absolute
synchronisation of hands and foot is not always
advisable. Recourse must then be had to syncopated
pedalling, which, as its name implies, means that
the pedal must be raised at the change of harmony,
and be pressed down again shortly in most cases
immediately afterwards .
The reasons for this are two-fold : first, that an
adequate legato may be secured, unobtainable
through the action of the hands, and, secondly, to
prevent the overlapping of antagonistic harmonies.
The former is usually required in a succession of
legato chords, and it will be found that some of the
fingers have to be lifted in each chord in order to
be able to strike notes in the one that follows.
Therefore, if the pedal is put down with, instead of
after, each chord a very unsatisfactory legato is
obtained, for the foot will come up simultaneously
4 6
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
with those fingers that are needed in the following
chord. Chopin's C Minor Prelude, which is
written thus
31
has actually to be played thus (the two systems of
pedalling being included).
1 f 3 (f-1 ,
N-^r-
J-
/: q 1
Any passage of legato chords affords an almost
equally good example. The student is referred,
amongst many that could be chosen to the middle
section of Chopin's Nocturne in G Minor (Op. 37,
No. i), and the theme of the slow movement of
Beethoven's Sonata (Op. 57).
SYNCOPATED PEDALLING 47
In Percy Grainger's Irish Tune, syncopated
pedalling is given in every bar throughout the piece
by the author himself.
The second reason for adopting syncopation in
pedalling is the exact opposite to the one given
above. It is not because the hands are unable to
accomplish the legato unaided, but because they
are easily able to do so that the change of pedal
must take place a shade later than would under
other circumstances be necessary. When the notes
can all be held down their full value it means that
the chords have been broken up into arpeggios.
Then the danger arises as one harmony glides into
the next, that the final note or notes of the one may
be caught as it were by the fresh pedal entry, if
effected at the very instant the harmonic change
takes place, and carried over into the next chord.
This can only be avoided by the syncopated treat-
ment as seen in the next illustration.
Jong without Hbrds A/?/
33
w ^
T. T
48 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Valuable as this method is, however, it must be
reserved for the types of passage given above, that
is where A, a legato is otherwise unobtainable, and
B, where owing to the accuracy with which the
hands can accomplish the legato there is a
danger of the intermingling of consecutive
harmonies.
Very strangely, syncopated pedalling has obsessed
the imagination of many teachers to such an extent
that they instruct their pupils to adopt this
system exclusively. They fail to recognise that
it possesses one or two serious drawbacks. For
instance :
(i) In detached chords of different harmony,
syncopated pedalling is almost useless, the sound of
the chord partially disappearing before the pedal
comes into operation.
A/ove/e/fe Schumann
34
/aaccurafe
Accurate I I !
(2) In any kind of phrase that has a staccato bass
accompaniment of the following pattern.
SYNCOPATED PEDALLING
fb/se in A 6 . _
49
(3) In wide spread arpeggio chords, where, as in
the above, the important foundation note is either
materially weakened or entirely lost before the
upper notes of the chord are heard.
CAora/e /ram
36
r
J J
This latter method would bring the pedal down
each time, with, or just before, the upper melody
note, and too late to retain the bass octave.
(4) There is another and final objection to a too
general use of syncopated pedalling. All notes gain
50 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
a certain measure of fullness of tone when supported
by the pedal, and, in inverse ratio, lose a corre-
sponding amount of value upon pedal release. Notes
deprived of pedal assistance at the moment of
sounding are therefore weaker in tone than if played
with ordinary pedalling, the added resonance,
coming between the beats or pulses, produces a
dynamic effect that is not required, and is only
resorted to in order to avoid an undesirable effect of
some other kind. For this reason it is often prefer-
able to risk a slight overlapping of harmonies than
to weaken the accented portions of the bar. In
the majority of musical phrases the overlapping,
when it occurs, is often so faint as to be practically
negligible. Syncopation in pedalling is, under
certain circumstances, both desirable and effective,
but, in others, no corresponding gain can be urged
to compensate for the weakness of tone engendered
by this after depression, and the music, often suffers
no detriment from the adoption of the simpler
method.
CHAPTER IV
To WHAT EXTENT SHOULD PEDALLING BE
INFLUENCED BY THE PRESENCE
OF PASSING NOTES.
THIS is the most important and possibly the most
difficult of all the problems with which a pianist is
likely to be confronted.
There are very few phrases in pianoforte music
unattended by passing notes, and, except in music
of the pre-Beethoven era, the pedal is seldom
dispensed with for any considerable number of bars
in succession. As no complete consensus of opinion
exists as to what phrases in music should or should
not be pedalled, or at what exact point pedal
depression or release should take place, it will be
seen that helpful advice upon this matter is not easy
to give. Whatever solutions are offered as the
various difficulties arise will admit of numerous
exceptions, but some general principles can be
enumerated which will furnish at least a working
basis in dealing with this branch of the subject
51
52 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
WHERE THE PEDAL SHOULD, AS A RULE,
BE USED.
The pedal should be used whenever the necessity
for sustaining the harmony more than compensates
for the disadvantage of allowing passing, or non-
essential notes to vibrate concurrently.
THE DIFFERENT REGISTERS.
The effect of the pedal upon passing notes in the
highest register of the pianoforte is so slight as to be
almost negligible. Towards the middle of the
instrument their presence makes itself more clearly
felt, but with a sustained bass, the pedal can seldom
be dispensed with. Passing notes in the lower part
of the treble and the upper part of the bass create
too disturbed an atmosphere to make pedalling
generally acceptable, the unacceptability increasing
in proportion as the music descends into the middle
and lower octaves of the bass. In every instance
the undesirable impression created by pedalled
passing notes is mitigated when they are of a
diatonic, and considerably accentuated when they
are of a chromatic character.
This supplies an example of a simple tonic
harmony which it is desirable to support with the
pedal whilst the passing notes of the most harmless
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES
AtocA/rne /trsfora/e -
53
37
diatonic character are safely out of the way in the
upper regions of the instrument.
SOME ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE WORKS OF CHOPIN.
One of the most characteristic patterns of this,
the most pianistic of all composers, consists of a
blend of chromatic and diatonic passing notes in
the treble over a simple harmonic bass.
Whilst every effort should be made to retain the
chord outline, no rigid and monotonous method of
pedalling must be employed, and relief must be
sought, when the right hand part remains too long
near the middle of the pianoforte or descends
below it.
THE BERCEUSE.
*
The passing notes in this composition (too well-
known to quote) are not only of a delicate, ornamental
nature, but they are placed mainly in the upper
54 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
octaves of the instrument. The pedal can therefore
be used throughout the work, if care is taken to
change it at the half bar whenever the tonic harmony
gives place to that of the dominant seventh.
A little welcome variety can be imparted to this
by omitting the pedal occasionally from the second
half of the bar. The late Walter Macfarren strongly
recommended this, and as he knew Chopin person-
ally, and had heard him play frequently, it is probable
that the suggestion was more than the mere
expression of his individual opinion.*
ETUDE IN F MINOR, OP. 25.
The pedalling of this characteristic number is by
no means easy. The right hand part consists in
about equal parts of essential and passing notes,
the latter on the whole slightly predominating.
Its phrases, which need no assistance from the pedal
seldom rise high enough to nullify its effect upon the
* He also mentioned the interesting fact that Chopin, in
playing this work, used to keep down the soft pedal from
beginning to end.
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 55
passing notes, the highest note reached in the course
of the work being
39
yet the chord figure upon which the whole of the
bass is constructed cannot well be left unpedalled.
40
One well-known edition marks the pedal to be put
down in accordance with the chord outline as above,
but suggests that at times it should be omitted from
the second half of those bars in which a change of
harmony occurs, exactly on the principle of the
Macfarren pedalling of the Be^euse just referred
to. Other authorities advise pedal depression for
the first half only of every bar throughout the work.
It does not require a great stretch of imagination
to look upon the pedalling in certain pieces as the
equivalent of shading in a drawing or painting. The
tone of this Etude would be too uniformly grey if
practically the whole of every bar was in shadow
through pedal depression nor can it be deemed an
improvement to have the first half of every bar, as
it were, overcast (pedalled) and the second half quite
clear and unclouded. What is needed is a fairly
56 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
equal distribution of lights and shades, relieved by
a flicker of light here and a shadow there, like
sunshine playing amongst leaves. To attain this
end, the student is advised in playing this number
to avoid the monotonous repetition of any pedal
effect. He should use the system either of whole
bar or half bar pedalling as a foundation, but
should not be afraid to leave occasional bars un-
pedalled (not necessarily always the same bars),
and should experiment in others with a touch of
pedal, sometimes at the lowest bass note, and some-
times just here and there as his fancy prompts him.
THE A MINOR ETUDE (Op. 25).
This Etude illustrates the advisability of releasing
the pedal as the music, embellished by passing notes
41
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 57
takes a downward course, the importance of this
being emphasised by its chromatic character.
RETENTION OF BASS NOTE.
The need for allowing the lowest note in a chord
to vibrate, often renders compulsory the retention
of the pedal through a series of passing notes.
/morotnpfo /n
Few of the decorative cadenzas which abound in
the works of Chopin are of so simple a diatonic
nature as the above. Most of the editions in which
pedalling is given in any detail mark the pedal to
be retained for the whole bar, however elaborate
the chromatic nature of the embroidery. It is not
easy to avoid this if the bass is to receive its full
harmonic value, but a good deal of latitude is
permitted to the executant. To avoid over-
pedalling in the two little ornamental passages in
the F# Major Nocturne, the pedal may be released
about half way through the bar ; if the very slight
58 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
alteration be made of retaining the notes at the
third beat till the end of the bar,
thus providing thefnecessary chord support hide-
pendent of the pedal. In the original version they
have only the value of a quaver, and must, conse-
quently, be released at the fourth beat.
WHERE THE PEDAL SHOULD NOT, AS A RULE,
BE USED.
(1) Where the theme and accompaniment con-
taining passing notes are both in the bass.
If the student will refer to the opening bars of the
Finale to Beethoven's Sonata in E flat (Op. 27,
No. i), he will see that although the passing notes
are almost entirely diatonic, JJie whole phrase is
placed too low down to render pedalling allowable.
(2) Where the bass is of a florid chromatic
character.
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES
59
In the next extract and any of a similar pattern,
the pedal should be strictly avoided on account of
the chromatic nature of so many of the passing
notes and their position in the bass.
A florid bass, mainly of a diatonic character, does
not preclude the use of the pedal if the treble is of a
sustained melodic nature. Such works as " Lorelei."
Seeling, with very few passing notes, and its general
chord outline. " Danklied nach Sturm." Henselt,
consisting of scale and chord outline in almost equal
proportions and even the G Major Prelude of
Chopin built on somewhat the same pattern, all
need pedal assistance, but judgment must be used,
and great care taken to avoid anything like excess
of pedalling.
(3) In contrapuntal music in general, and Fugues
in particular.
The pedal is not needed, or only very slightly and
intermittently hi music of a contrapuntal character
with its continuous passing notes. This applies
6o PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
particularly to Fugues, a form of composition,
wherein the clear exposition of the separate voices
is the main object to be achieved. It is essential
to remember this in playing Fugues of the Bach and
Handel period, but the restriction applies with less
force to modern fugal music. In this, the greater
freedom of construction, the reliance placed less by
composers upon continuous counterpoint, and their
more generous employment of arpeggios, call for a
judicious, and at times, a very considerable amount
of pedal support.
INFLUENCE OF PERIOD UPON PEDALLING.
The more one investigates the problems of
pedalling the more clearly the fact emerges that
period plays a very material part in their solution,
especially with regard to the pedal treatment of
passing notes.
There are three aspects of pedalling :
(a) The basic rudimentary mission of the pedal
is to add some sort of sustaining effect to chords and
passages of chord outline. In music of the Mozart
and Haydn school it is not needed with great
frequency in any type of passage, but and this is
the important point the presence of many passing
notes, or a change of harmony, is, if the pedal be
down, an almost unfailing signal for its release.
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 6l
(b) With the arrival of the next era in music the
pedal had its functions materially increased. In
Beethoven's day it began to be recognised that it
could be employed in a second capacity ; that is
with the mere object of strengthening the volume
of sound, to a certain extent irrespective of passing
notes. Most of the examples given in this chapter
are illustrative of this method.
(c) This aspect of pedalling naturally extended
its boundaries as instruments improved in tone and
resonance, coinciding with the technical and harmonic
development of pianoforte music, till the third stage
was reached. In this the pedal is used in addition
to its ordinary functions, for the purpose of creating
an atmospheric background, or adding to the atmos-
pheric colouring supplied by the character of the
composition. With this end in view the presence
even of chromatic passing-notes and the inter-
mingling of harmonies often becomes the signal, not
for pedal release, but for pedal depression or
retention. In modern pianoforte music of a certain
genre, this method of throwing a screen of vagueness
and mystery over the music by means of the pedal
is perfectly legitimate and results in some very
characteristic effects.
Further comments and illustrations of this
phase of pedalling are given in the chapter on
62 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
" Some modern composers and their Pedal
Effects," p. 181.
The student, when in doubt as to the advis-
ability of pedal employment, should reflect whether
the method he feels tempted to use is appropriate,
not only to the passage in question, but to the period
and school to which the music belongs. Other
times, other manners ; the methods of Corot are
not those of Canaletto, and the criminal code of
Clapham differs widely from that of Martaban.
THE PEDAL TREATMENT OF SCALES.
The majority of notes in any scale, diatonic or
chromatic, are passing-notes, and as pianoforte
music abounds in scale passages, their pedal treat-
ment needs very careful and special attention.
Beethoven made great play with the single-handed
scale, accompanied and unaccompanied. In his
chamber music and concertos he introduced two-
handed scales, but, curiously enough, there are very
few examples of these in his Sonatas. There are
probably more two-handed scales in the C Minor
and E flat Concertos than in the whole of the
thirty-two Sonatas.
Chopin and Liszt made extensive use of the
two-handed scale, and since their day every form
of scale in single and double notes, both in similar
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 63
and contrary motion has been exploited by piano-
forte composers. Schumann is the only writer of
eminence who eschews scale passages almost
entirely. It is difficult to realise in listening to his
pianoforte works that the brilliance and variety of
his technical effects are achieved without any
reliance being placed upon the almost inevitable
scale.
SCALES THAT SHOULD NOT, AS A RULE, BE
PEDALLED.
For the attainment of some special dynamic or
atmospheric effect, almost any form of scale passage
may be pedalled, but unless instructions are
definitely given to the opposite effect, it is advisable
to refrain from pedalling the following :
(1) One-handed scales, that have neither accom-
paniment nor preliminary chord.
(2) Descending scales in single or double notes
when they pass below the treble register, and
(3) The generality of scales in the lower octaves
of the pianoforte.
SCALES THAT MAY OR MUST BE PEDALLED.
Eliminating for the moment the music of the
earlier composers, it may be stated that scales in the
treble, particularly ascending ones, should be
6 4
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
pedalled if the bass has chords or figures of chord
outline, which independently of the upper part,
would suffer if left unpedalled.
For instance, the three ascending scales of
F Major, A Minor, and C Major, of which the first
is given below, in Chopin's Prelude in D Minor,
must be pedalled on account of the chord figure in
the bass.
In addition to these there is a right-hand
descending chromatic scale in thirds, travelling the
whole length of the treble, which must also be
pedalled. The bass figure, this time written fff,
renders this imperative.
The left-hand chords, plus the crescendo, make
pedal support desirable in the next extract, although
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 65
it is open to the performer to defer the pedal entry
till the second bar.
Optional
A discreet amount of pedal assistance can be
invoked for the ascending and descending scales in
the Finale of the E flat Sonata of Beethoven (Op. 91),
on account of the repeated chords in the bass. Each
one of the short descending scales in the Finale of
Op. 57 should also be pedalled, certainly those in
the right hand,
and with some discretion in the way of occasional
release, those in the left-hand also.
The right hand scale passages hi Weber's Rondo
in E flat should, in spite of the general chord support
66
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
in the bass, be very lightly pedalled, and only when
they are in the highest octaves of the treble. Weber's
pianoforte works, though romantic in character, can
hardly be said to belong in spirit to the school
typified by Chopin, Schumann and Brahms. The
construction, and harmonic scheme have too little
variety to warrant their inclusion in the same
category. A good deal of freedom is allowed in the
choice of their pedal treatment, but clearness in
performance is more generally appropriate to them
than the cloudiness produced by over much
pedalling.
LEFT HAND SCALE PASSAGES AND THE PEDAL.
It is sometimes necessary to pedal a bass scale
passage, in spite of the warning as to its general
inadvisability, either (i) to add resonance to a
fortissimo, or (2) to assist a crescendo and thereby
increase the value of a climax.
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES
6 7
These bars, in which the left hand is occupied with
an ascending and descending scale of C (ff), starting
in the bass, are almost invariably played with the
above pedalling.
In the next example the need for pedal sup-
port is hardly so evident, yet Liszt in his edition,
gives, as might be expected, instructions for
pedalling.
fan fas /'a in C.
The next illustration requires much judgment and
discretion in its pedal treatment.
It is a bar which demands all the resources of
tone and fullness of which the pianoforte is capable
to enable it to make its due effect.
Pedalling on the lines suggested helps to supply
this requirement, and at the same time makes
provision for mitigating as far as possible the
unavoidable blur produced by the pedalled passing
notes in the bass.
68
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
rf4i-
j
CAofim
^=
? =4
>
1,
y?7
* ^f
ofto rif
rfTfrffrrrffi
'*r
2 \ f f
f
T
Tr L
ff-^-f
!df
1
riThr
nJ
^L
>
"^'rrr
A*
V.^
i
f-ii
r Tffrf F^
J
Reference should be made in this connection to
Chopin's C Minor Nocturne, where pedalling is
usually marked to be retained through the
stormy octave passages, in order to preserve the
harmony of the chords met with during this
section of the piece.
53
Pedalling, from Klindworth's Edition.
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 69
Those who prefer it can rely upon the hands alone
to achieve all the brilliance required in bars like the
above. Their method possesses the merits of
securing a cleanly articulated bass, but the alterna-
tive method suggested has advantages which should
not be lightly set aside.
PEDALLING IN TWO-HANDED SCALES.
Very few of these are met with prior to the Chopin
era, those that are should not be pedalled.
In the above, which is repeated first one and then
two octaves higher, clear articulation is far more
necessary than atmospheric blur.
The same remark applies to the final bars Piu
Allegro of the solo part of Beethoven's Concerto
in E flat. They consist of a rising series of two-
handed scale passages in the key of the piece, lasting
for six bars and culminating in the seventh with the
orchestral entry on the tonic chord.
7O PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Even the two-handed scales in contrary motion
in the first movement of this work must not be
pedalled, though this injunction would hardly
apply in a modern work. In this case, pedalling
might be needed and would in all probability be
marked by the composer.
The type of two-handed scale which is most
usually pedalled and which is allowed by most
authorities to provide a legitimate effect, is an
ascending one, beginning in the bass, preceded
by a chord of the same harmony and played forte
or fortissimo. The continually recurring scale in
the A flat Polonaise of Chopin is one of the best
known examples. It is customary in these and
similar passages to press down the pedal at the
chord and to retain it till the last note of the scale.
A second example can be seen in the long scale
passage in tenths near the end of the Tannhauser
March as arranged by Liszt. To ensure this being
pedalled it is marked so in most editions. The end
of Chopin's A Minor Etude (Op. 25) is another case
in point. This two-handed ascending scale is almost
invariably pedalled, but if, according to a very
prevalent custom, the scale is played so as to embrace
the whole range of the instrument that is, begin-
ning an octave lower and finishing an octave higher
than it is written, a little relief will be experienced
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 7!
if the pedal, after being put down for the chord, is
released and rapidly pressed down again for the
first note of this scale, thus :
Rapid change of Ped. advisable.*
When the scale does not start below the level of
the preliminary chord, the pedal is recommended
even where the chord is placed as low down as in the
following.
//? B mmor . SroA/ns
* The Cotta edition of Chopin omits the pedal from the scale
in the Polonaise, and on each recurrence, indicates very clearly
that it is to be played unpedalled. But, at the end of the above
Etude the pedal is written to be held down from the chord to the
final note of the scale. It is difficult to account for this apparent
divergence of views in the same edition.
72 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Although the effect is less justifiable, the modern
pianist does not always confine his pedalling of
scales to those which are preceded by a chord.
Immediately prior to the one last quoted occurs
a two-handed scale of F Major, beginning on
the lowest F octave. No chord is written, yet
the pianist who pedalled the G flat scale would
almost certainly treat the one in F in the same
manner.
The two-handed scales in Weber's " Invitation to
Valse," should not be pedalled, but the Major scale
for two hands at the end of the same composer's
Polacca in E, may, as it is preceded by 'the tonic
chord, be pedalled or not at the option of the
performer.
A word of warning, is, however, necessary with
regard to all these suggestions concerning the
pedalling of scale passages. They must be taken
as applying only to pianists whose technique is
sufficiently developed to enable them to play all
such passages at an appropriately rapid tempo.
Nothing could well be more unmusical than the
effect produced by a careful student playing a
pedalled two-handed scale at about half the requisite
speed, the effect becoming more objectionable if a
scale in contrary motion be substituted, whilst a
pedalled chromatic scale, played at a conscientious,
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 73
instead of an accurate tempo, could easily become
a quite unbearable infliction.
The chord effects in a pedalled two-handed scale
are partly but not wholly illusory. When an
initial chord is played it is the mind rather than the
ear which retains the impression of the harmony.
When the chord is omitted, the imagination
supplies the harmony, the pedal assisting hi this by
seeming to sustain the thirds, fifths and octaves
more distinctly and to throw them into greater
prominence than the other intervals of the scale ;
an impression of the chord is therefore created almost
as distinct as that of the scale, although it is only
the latter that has been played.
In justice to the student it must be recorded that
some pianists shirk using the pedal under the above
circumstances. Some compromise in a long scale
by releasing it midway, some change, or half change
it during the progress of the scale, whilst others
considering, with some justification, that the initial
chord will be swamped by the confusion of sound
engendered, only pedal the chord and the upper half
of the scale. None of these methods are recom-
mended (though none are forbidden). For music of
a bold character, bold treatment is required, and the
pianist who retains the pedal from the initial chord
to the final staccato note of the scale, obtains a more
74
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
striking and quite as legitimate an effect as the one
who refrains, in the interests of technical clearness,
from pedal depression, or who experiments with
partial depression or some other form of compromise.
SCALES IN CONTRARY MOTION.
There are other exceptions to the rule concerning
the non-pedalling of descending scales in the lower
portion of the pianoforte, one such must be made in
favour of scales in contrary motion, which, especially
in the works of Liszt, may often be pedalled with
benefit to the glittering and bravura nature of the
music in which they are usually found. An example
(in abbreviated form) is included.
A few bars earlier in the transcription, the above
is preceded by the same scale in contrary motion,
but in double octaves. This, in Pauer's edition, is
also written to be pedalled.
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 75
For the purpose of creating a stormy, turbulent
effect, the pedal can even be used for two-handed
scale passages that do not rise above the bass
register. It was a favourite device of Liszt, whose
pedal methods are discussed later.
One authority recommends that in the well-
known scale passages in Mendelssohn's G Minor
Concerto it should be kept down for the whole bar.
If this were taken from a work of Liszt or Rubinstein,
or if the effect aimed at were that of a mere D Minor
noise, the wisdom of the advice would hardly be
doubted, but the neatness and elegance required in
the performance of Mendelssohn's music renders
such treatment somewhat inappropriate. It is
probable that the alternative marking would strike
most pianists as a preferable method.
Afttmafire
metJioa.. . .
GLISSANDO SCALES.
The rules applying to the pedalling of ordinary
scales apply in the majority of cases to scales played
76 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
glissando. The example in Weber's Concertstiick
should be played unpedalled, though performances
can be heard in which this rule is disregarded. The
treatment of the many glissando scales in Liszt's
transcriptions requires a little judgment. Those
with chord support, as well as those written
fortissimo can be pedalled legitimately, but short,
light passages are much more effective with clear
articulation.
Many examples of glissando are to be found in
compositions of the modern atmospheric school, and
these are usually benefited by pedal support. The
modern glissando is not confined in these works to
the conventional single notes and octaves, but
thirds, fourths and sixths obviously only on white
notes are written to be played in this manner, as
well as glissando in single notes on the black keys.
Ravel makes use of these effects possibly more than
any other composer, but although it is customary to
pedal the glissando passages in his works, he, in
direct opposition to many of his contemporaries, is
exceptionally chary with his pedal indications, and
when he does put a mark for pedal depression he
seldom includes the one for its release.
The example given below is from a work already
referred to. The pedal is marked by the composer
to be retained through a descending passage of
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES
77
sixths in the right hand, and a single-note
scale on the black keys in the left, both played
glissando.
A SHORT REPEATED BASS FIGURE PORTION OF A
DESCENDING SCALE IN OCTAVES.
An example of this is found in the middle section
of Chopin's A flat Polonaise. It is manifestly
impossible that the full value of the theme, the
chords and the long crescendo with its culminating
climax can be obtained without assistance from the
pedal. Yet the slightest excess in pedalling and
lack of judgment in pedal release can easily turn the
octave bass into a meaningless babel of sound.
Different pianists treat the phrases according to
their own individual views as to what is fitting and
effective. Over pedalling and under pedalling are
equally to be deprecated, but the following
suggestions seem adequate for the colour scheme,
78
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
whilst avoiding the undesirable falsehood of
extremes.
m
cres.
;o"u u_
i
Fed. not to be used (or only very lightly) in all
bars not quoted.
61
This octave section can be pedalled in exactly the
same way the second time as the first, but some
* To save unnecessary accidentals, this extract is written in
E flat instead of D sharp Major.
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES 79
pianists in the repetition leave few bars with-
out at least a touch of pedal, for the sake of
variety and an added fullness of tone. It is
a matter that can be left entirely to the
decision of the performer.
It must be repeated that the point to be decided
wherever the harmonic outline is interwoven with
passing-notes is just this :
Is it of paramount importance to maintain the
clear articulation of the individual notes, or can this
be advantageously sacrificed in the endeavour to
attain added sonority and something in the nature
of an orchestral climax ?
The more modern the music the more can
recourse be had to the second method, the
more distant the period, the less allowable does
it become.
SOME EXTREME EXAMPLES.
It is interesting to note that composers sometimes
give directions for pedalling which nothing in the
music, apart from the desire to obtain increased
tone, seems to justify. " Fed a discretion " is often
as sound an economic principle in music as the
" Pain a discretion " is at the cheaper table d'hote
restaurants in Paris and may often be applied with
advantage in spite of the more generous suggestions
8o
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
of composer or editor. In the extract given below,
nearly all the conditions exist which seem to render
pedalling not only unnecessary, but undesirable.
It is by no means essential for the dominant pedal
(F) in the upper part (though a touch at the first and
third beats helps to mitigate the effect of the
compulsory staccato), and it is certainly not needed
either for the short sections of Fugue subject,
inverted, also in the treble, or for the scales in the
bass, changing from single notes to thirds. But
the bars quoted are the first two in a long coda
which works up through an increasing crescendo to
the final chords, and presumably on that account
the composer wished pedal support to be given from
the first bar, and to be used with appropriate
changes till the end.
Co/ flee/
f Composer jmar/r/ngj
Later on when the scales are transferred to the
right hand and the octaves, etc., to the left, less
INFLUENCE OF PASSING NOTES
8l
discretion and more pedal can be used with perfect
safety.
63
One of the most remarkable examples of the way in
which passing-notes can be ignored in the endeavour
to obtain an increased volume of sound can be seen
in the next quotation. There is no chord or hint
of chord outline and the fortissimo octaves are
chiefly in the lower portion of the pianoforte.
A-esfo
7bcca/af/rom Toccata
&
64 *&
<fy %rusy
Whilst no one could be blamed for not pedalling
a passage of this character, the effect may be
accepted as a virtuoso device specially adapted to
performance in a large hall. It is not sufficiently
7
82 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
recognised that many effects are justifiable in a
concert hall that do not lend themselves to closer
and more intimate conditions. In the larger area the
lighter overtones are lost, only the most important
making their presence felt, and the outline conse-
quently appears much more clearly defined than it
could possibly do in a more confined space. This
does not mean that all these effects are to be
discarded except in the concert-hall, but the size
of the room or hall should weigh with the performer
and cause him occasionally to change or modify his
treatment of the pedal according to the acoustic
exigencies of the situation.
CHAPTER V
THE PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO IN
RELATION TO PEDALLING.
THE presence of rests simultaneously in the treble
and bass, denoting short periods of silence, seems to
accord ill with the use of the pedal which produces
some kind of sustained sound, and it is not un-
common to find a sign marked for pedal release by
a teacher upon the appearance of rests of even the
shortest duration for both hands in a passage where
the harmony remains unchanged. Sometimes a
break is actually needed to accentuate the phrase
outline, but a remembrance of the fact that the
pedal does not definitely sustain notes and chords,
but only fills up the space between them with the
correct harmonic atmosphere, should suffice to
dispel the desire to release it at the mere appearance
of rests when no harmonic change takes place to
render it necessary.
Rests for one hand only need not be considered,
as the pedalling then depends upon the construction
of the phrases played by the other hand.
83
82
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Chords and chord passages of the same harmony
separated by rests are not found nearly so frequently
in the melodic as in the technical portion of a work,
usually in the concluding bars of either the whole
work, or, less frequently, of some section of it.
Music of every school and period abounds in such
endings for which pedalling is seldom included in
even the best editions, and less seldom resorted to
by even the best of students. Where these chords
divided by rests occur at the end of a work, and not
merely at the end of an Introduction or a middle
section, some definite advice can be given. It is
less binding than the laws of Lycurgus, but where
doubt exists it can advantageously be followed.
(a) If the concluding chords are preceded by a
rapidly played passage of a harmony, other than
that of the tonic, or by the tonic supplemented by
passing notes, it is better to raise the pedal for the
rests that are found prior to and between the
concluding chords.
(6) If the harmony preceding these chords is
merely that of the tonic chord unhampered by
passing notes, there will seldom be any occasion to
raise the pedal. In the former case (a) it is seldom
wise to run the risk of catching an alien harmony or
unwelcome passing note with the pedal. In the
latter (6), it is inexpedient to break the harmonic
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO 85
continuity in spite of the intervening rests. The
student is referred to the end of Mendelssohn's
Spring Song for a simple but typical example. Two
others, less easily accessible, are given below.
'/tart Har/i fAe tor* '
65
If the pedal were raised for the rests the piece
would have a very broken and scrappy ending.
The atmosphere of the tonic chord of B flat Major
must not be allowed to evaporate, the rests in cases
of this kind denoting cessation of activity but not
cessation of sound.
//j/trmezzo > //7
*
66
86
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
SOME ILLUSTRATIONS FROM BEETHOVEN.
The student is referred again to the ends of the
oft-mentioned " Moonlight " and " Appassionata."
Both are too easily accessible to make quotation
necessary. Some pianists in these and similar forte
and fortissimo endings, release the pedal for the
rests and press it down again for the closing chords.
It is to a certain extent a matter of individual
taste, but there is much more to be said in favour of
retaining the harmony than against it. This
receives confirmation from those phrases in the
Sonatas, where the pedalling is that given by
Beethoven himself. In these he makes it clear that
he did not, as a rule, wish the rests between chords of
the same harmony to be regarded as periods of
silence. An Illustration from Op. 53 is given :
';^f ^
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l>jC >
SE
It is doubtful if pianists would retain the pedal
through the bars containing the crochet rests if it
were not sanctioned by the composer.
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO 87
FANTAISIE IN F MINOR, CHOPIN.
The Klindworth-Scharwenka edition of this work
affords several interesting examples of pedalling in
relation to rests, as is shown in the subjoined
extracts.
68
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6. d/fe/-star/'fe
Pf
^
It is only fair to add that agreement would not be
general as to the desirability of the pedalling as
quoted from this edition. In each of the above
extracts many pianists would prefer to indicate the
phrasing more clearly by making a break at each
88 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
rest, as shown in the alternative method given. But
that two such eminent musicians as Klindworth and
Scharwenka thought otherwise is sufficient argument
in favour of giving very careful consideration as to
the wisdom of retaining the harmony in all such
cases by means of the pedal in spite of the presence
of rests.
THE CONFLICTING CLAIMS OF " CHORD " OUTLINE
AND " PHRASE " OUTLINE.
This problem, which is one of the greatest
interpretative difficulties a pianist is likely to
encounter, is well illustrated in the above extracts.
The pedal should, if used in a legato phrase, be kept
down till the conclusion of such phrase. It also
should, when down, be kept down as long as the
harmony remains unchanged. But it happens often
that, first, the harmony changes in the course of a
phrase, or, secondly, that two phrases, or two
sections of the same phrase, separated by a rest or
rests, have the same harmony. The opening bar
of the Impromptu in A flat of Chopin supplies an
example of the former, the B Major extract
from the Fantaisie (No. 69) of the latter. The
pedalling suggested for the Impromptu is given
below.
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO
T one phrase I
Tiyo harmonies
Tbnrc , v 00m 7ffi
In the Fantaisie the edition quoted sacrifices
the phrasing in a measure for the sake of retaining
the harmony.
In dealing with phrases, broken by rests that are
encountered, not at the end, but during the progress
of a work, the claims of the phrase against that of
the harmony must be nicely weighed. The student
after careful application, should not be afraid to
trust his own judgment, and to ignore the pedal
markings in even the best editions if he feels
impelled by what seem to him adequate reasons,
to adopt a contrary course.
PASSING NOTES IN THE CONCLUDING TONIC
HARMONY.
With regard to the difference made by the
presence or absence of passing notes, many illus-
trations spring to the mind. In Chopin's Valse in
A flat (Op. 34, No. i), the pedal should be raised
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
before the two final bars on account of the presence
of passing notes in the preceding harmony, atid be
put down afresh for each of the concluding chords.*
In the same composer's Valse in F (Op. 34, No. 3),
the pedal need not be released, on account of the
entire absence of passing-notes.
.-Ra&ingnot*
F??
A similar interesting contrast can be seen in the
closing bars of the first and last numbers of
Schumann's Carnival.
i
i
i
* In the final bar a double octave, or an octave and single
note are often used instead of a chord. Nevertheless the words
" final chords " are always used for the sake of brevity.
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO 91
The presence of the passing-note B flat would
tend slightly to cloud the final harmony if the pedal
were not released as indicated. Apart from that,
as these bars form the close, not of the whole work,
but only of the Introductory section it is more
appropriate to accentuate the presence of the rests
in the closing bars than to conceal them.
In the much longer concluding passage in the
Finale of this work there are rests in every bar, but
no passing-notes. The value of the climax would be
seriously impaired if, owing to an exaggerated
respect for these rests, the tonic harmony were
continually interrupted by pedal release.
WHEN PASSING CHORDS TAKE THE PLACE OF
PASSING NOTES.
The presence of chords other than that of the
tonic, even more than passing notes, necessitates
pedal release for the rests in the final bars.
fantasia
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PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
'. fro/n for. &fu0ae
t_ L_
When the pedal is put down for the first of the
three concluding chords in the Schubert Fantasia, a
little of the chromatic harmony from the previous
bar is almost certain to be caught by it. This is
unavoidable if the pedal has been used in that bar
till the end, however rapidly it is changed. For
this reason the pedalling at b is not recommended,
nor is that at c any more desirable because if a
break is made after the first chord, a similar break
for the sake of consistency and accurate phrasing,
must be made after the second one.
The same remarks, but substituting " dominant
seventh " for " chromatic " harmony, apply in
every respect to the Brahms extract.
Incidentally it may be mentioned that the first
of the three bars of the Schubert extract (No. 74)
presents an interesting little problem on its own
account. Out of consideration for the rapid
alternation of the two chords which constitute the
bar, the pedal may be left untouched throughout.
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO 93
Out of consideration for the fortissimo and the
desire to achieve as striking a climax as possible,
the clash of alternating harmonies may be ignored
and the pedal be kept down through the whole
bar. If neither of these methods commends itself,
the pedal may, at the pleasure of the performer, be
pressed down for about the second and third beats,
producing a quite appropriate effect of a little added
volume of sound in the middle of the bar. A fourth
and quite legitimate effect is the exercise of the very
rapid repeated change (or half change) of pedal
(the tremolo effect, discussed later) the foot rising
and falling at about every half beat.
i.Mon/y
This digression has been purposely made to show
how wide a choice of methods in pedalling is some-
times offered, and how much the colouring of a
bar or phrase depends upon the one selected.
THE PROBLEM OF STACCATO.
The conviction that a pedal effect and a staccato
effect are so antagonistic that they should on no
94
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
account be used together, exists even in the most
unexpected quarters. The author of probably the
best work on this subject dismisses the matter with
a curt injunction that " the pedal must not be used
in staccato passages." This is not only unsatis-
factory but misleading. There are many staccato
pieces or phrases from pieces, where pedalling would
be manifestly inappropriate. The Scherzo from
Beethoven's Sonata in E flat (Op. 31, No. 3) requires
no pedal assistance except in the occasional
fortissimo chords,
nor is it needed in the subject of the slow movement
of the same composer's Sonata in G (Op. 14).
p L.H.
78 no flee/.
nor, in a much lighter vein, in the transcription of
the Gavotte from Mignon.
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO
95
79
Obviously less pedalling is needed in staccato
than in legato playing, but a great deal of the music
that is written to be played staccato needs back-
ground and the continuity of harmonic atmosphere
that the pedal supplies as much as if it were written
legato. A student whose mind becomes imbued
with the idea, perhaps delusion would be a more
fitting word, that the pedal sustains sounds so
definitely that it cannot possibly be used in any
but legato phrases is constantly being faced with
apparently insoluble problems. A legato phrase in
one hand may have a staccato accompaniment
in the other, the legato phrase claiming the
pedal support which the staccato accompaniment
apparently forbids.
g6 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
This, in accordance with all pieces constructed on
similar lines, needs pedal support, yet the student
would feel very doubtful about the wisdom of
applying it if he had assimilated the injunction
against using it in any form of staccato passage.
Chords in moderate or rapid tempo, whether of
the same or different harmony consecutive chords
or those interspersed with rests, as well as repeated
chords can seldom be played other than staccato.
A reference to No. 34, p. 48 (Novelette, Schumann),
No. 14, p. 28, Concerto, Tschaikowski, and the
chord endings given in the first part of this chapter,
prove how unwise it is to enunciate such a principle
as " The pedal must not be used for staccato,"
without reservation or explanation of any kind.
It may be urged that few of the above instances
afford a fair test as to the necessity for pedalling
staccato passages, because in some cases the chords
must be played detached, not necessarily because
a staccato effect is aimed at, but because their
performance at the correct tempo would be otherwise
impossible, and in one example, at least, legato
phrases are found which may influence the decision
as to the advisability of pedalling. Phrases, how-
ever, written to be played staccato in both hands,
written in fact as staccato studies, need just the same
treatment. Schumann, evidently enamoured of
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO
97
this effect wrote " Pedale " even into the fourth
variation of his Etudes Symphoniques, a number in
which there is hardly a forte, hardly a non-staccato
note, and in which even the left hand keeps mainly
to the treble and the upper notes of the bass clef.
Staccato Etudes like that in C Major of Rubinstein
and the Caprice in FJ Major of Vogrich, need a good
deal of pedal assistance. The opening bars of the
latter may be pedalled for the sake of the initial
C sharp, the dominant, although to get clear of the
confusion of passing notes, the pedal should be put
down afresh for the two chords of the dominant
seventh at the conclusion of this introductory
section. The subject on its first appearance,
9 8
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
and this applies to many pieces where both hands
play staccato and piano, may be given, as far as the
pedal is concerned in a variety of ways, either
without pedal (this being the method recommended,
but not insisted upon), with light pedalling, or
with just a touch at each accented bass note, or at
the first one in the bar only. Whenever the subject
reappears softly it is advisable not to employ
identically the same pedalling as that previously
used, but where the music is marked forte or
fortissimo, or where a crescendo of any importance
is introduced, whether it be in the principal or
secondary subject, or in mere episodical matter, it
will almost invariably be found advisable to surround
staccato as well as legato phrases with the harmonic
atmosphere that only the pedal can supply.
No pianist would attempt to play the Rubinstein
Staccato Etude unpedalled. Two extracts will
suffice to show how unsatisfactory such treatment
would be.
83
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO
99
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The advice given relative to the pedalling of
individual chords applies in a general way even
when they are written to be played staccato and
softly.
Fantaisie, Chopin.
Pedalling from the
KHnd Sch. edition.
PP
: yw
86
In spite of the staccato dots it is customary and
desirable to have a touch of pedal for this, the final
chord of the whole work and is marked so in the
best editions. A final staccato chord, however
lightly and delicately played, can seldom dispense
with this supporting pedal touch. The staccato
tap is distinctly recognisable in spite of this, and
100 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
the eye coming to the help of the ear, the impression
is confirmed by the sight of the raised hands of the
pianist, visible in any concert hall to fully three-
quarters of the audience.
It is not that a sustained effect is needed, but the
abruptness of the ending is mitigated if the aroma of
the tonic chord is allowed to permeate the air for
a few seconds before fading gently into silence.
A few general principles are added which the
student will find it helpful to bear in mind.
(1) Single, unaccompanied staccato notes do not
under normal conditions require the pedal, unless
they form the notes of a chord which it is necessary
to sustain.
(2) Many notes and chords require to be played
with an extreme detachment which would be marred
by even the lightest pedalling.
(3) It is not advisable to pedal continually
recurring phrases, either legato or staccato, in the
same manner at each appearance.
(4) With the object of accentuating the detached
character of the notes and chords, a portion of
every staccato piece should be left unpedalled,
however brilliant its character.
(5) But with these reservations, the pedal should
be applied to staccato phrases wherever the music
seems to need added resonance or harmonic support.
PROBLEMS OF RESTS AND STACCATO 101
Very little difficulty should be experienced in
applying these rules if the idea is once banished
from the mind that pedalling automatically counter-
acts the effect of staccato, when, as is actually the
case, the detrimental effect is often of the slightest,
and this is usually more than compensated for by
the increase in rhythm, tone, atmosphere and musical
colouring.
CHAPTER VI
PROBLEM OF THE PEDAL BASS.
A PEDAL bass usually takes the form of a single
note or octave, but pedal chords are by no means
uncommon. An absolutely satisfactory solution of
the problem How to pedal a pedal bass cannot
be found in dealing with a pianoforte of ordinary
construction, because if the pedal is pressed down
and kept down for the sake of retaining the bass
note, a mass of conflicting harmonies will also be
retained, and a more or less undesirable effect
created. If, for the sake of clearness, the pedal is
released, the drone of the foundation note, which
should dominate the situation, will be lost.
THREE METHODS OF DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM.
In a long passage some writers advocate that the
bass note should be sounded again at intervals of
two or three bars, giving an opportunity for rapid
change of pedal. Others try to achieve the same
end that of weakening the blurred effect caused
by the retention of antagonistic chords by partial
PROBLEM OF THE PEDAL BASS 103
pedal release. The third method is that of keeping
the pedal down firmly for the whole value of the
pedal bass, no matter how many harmonies intervene
and overlap.
THE FIRST METHOD.
The plan of repeating the bass note in a lengthy
passage is not recommended. Had the composer
desired such an effect it would have been perfectly
simple for him to have indicated it. A note when
struck, however quietly and unobtrusively, has a
definite, penetrating sound, totally at variance with
the calm of a long, sustained, unrepeated note.
If, however, the blur and overlapping harmonies
were definitely relieved by this expedient, it might
be worth while resorting to it, but the relief is of an
extremely slight and transitory nature ; before two
further bars have been completed, the harmonic
cloud has again descended upon the music, wrapping
it round in a mist of chords and passing-notes just
as definitely as if no change of pedal had taken
place.
" PAPILLONS " SCHUMANN.
One of the most interesting examples is to be
found in the Finale of this work. The character of
the music almost justifies the slight confusion
104 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
resulting from keeping down the pedal for a period
of twenty-six bars. The music depicts the con-
clusion of a Carnival. The revellers are dispersing
in the early morning. As the number draws near
the end the clock is heard striking six. The valse
is played in the right hand, the folk-tune in the
left, representing two groups of merry-makers ;
many others can be imagined on the scene, so that
the blurred effect produced by long retention of the
pedal rather helps than hinders the impression
sought to be conveyed of various groups meeting,
mingling together, then passing by singing and danc-
ing on their homeward way. The only harmonies
employed during the whole series of phrases are
those of the tonic and dominant so that the music,
though clouded through the effort to sustain the
tonic in the bass, produces no acutely jarring or
discordant result.
To accentuate the value of the pedal an octave
may, at the discretion of the performer be substituted
for the single note. To maximise its importance
it can be pressed down again silently.*
By a little manipulation the left hand can be
freed in order to accomplish this before the end of
the last bar. The pedal instead of being held down
* Silent pressure is> discussed and illustrated in Ch. VIII.
It is only included here to save quoting this extract from the
" Papillons " a second time.
PROBLEM OF THE PEDAL BASS
105
through the empty bar following, as is marked in
most editions, may be released and the D octave
retained alone. This will help to confirm the
impression in the minds of the listeners that they
have been conscious of the presence of a tonic pedal
from the moment it was first sounded till it is heard
vibrating alone after the intervening medley of
sound has ceased.
y
Oodbre retain ta'
PARTIAL PEDAL RELEASE.
This is seldom, if ever, suggested for any passage
the length of the above, but it is recommended by
some authorities in the well-known Prelude of
Rachmaninoff, where bass octaves or chords,
generally marked ff, are written to be sustained
through a short series of chords of different harmony.
Theoretically this seems to have much in its
favour, practically it will not be found to be com-
pletely satisfactory. The advice proffered here,
and it is only advice, is that the pedal should be
pressed down for the initial octave or chord in the
io6
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
longer as well as in the shorter phrases, and should
be kept down for its full value. If the partial
release of the pedal weakens the chords sufficiently
to eliminate the harshness of unrelated chords,
it also weakens the bass notes to a less, though to a
distinctly appreciable degree. One extract must
suffice.
LA CATHEDRALE ENGLOUTIE DEBUSSY.
This work is built mainly upon pedal notes, and
chords, not only in the bass but also in the middle
and upper parts. As no indications are given in
the printed copy, some doubt may be felt as to what
system of pedalling is likely to prove the most
suitable. It is very frankly recommended that in
every case the pedal should be kept fully pressed
PROBLEM OF THE PEDAL BASS IO7
down for the whole value of the pedal note or chord.
That, in some bars, a very considerable overlapping
occurs and a confused blending of harmonies ensues
is incontestable, but again the character of the piece
comes to the rescue and justifies a procedure that
under other circumstances might be deemed
unwarrantable.
The piece is a musical illustration of the legend
of the city buried beneath the sea.
There are many versions of this story ; the oldest
and best known being that of the city of Atlantis
first mentioned by Plato. Many countries have
similar legends, the idea of a submerged city still
carrying on its ghostly activities is one that has
seized upon the imagination of fisher folk in many
ages. Brazil, Portugal and Ireland all have their
variations of this theme, but the one most often
referred to in modern times and the one that Debussy
very possibly had in mind when writing this piece
is the story of Is, off the coast of Brittany, where
according to Renan, the fishermen believe that the
spires of the churches can be seen at times in the
hollow of the waves, and at eventide the bells can
be heard tolling, and the monks heard singing their
evening hymn.
In the earlier and closing portion of the
" Cathedrale Engloutie," soft harmonies at the
io8
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
upper and lower ends of the pianoforte are written
to be retained through a series of chords upon other
notes of the scale. The effect of double pedal,
the wide space between the sustained chords, the
softness with which it is directed that they should
be played, and the omission of the third in chords
in the earlier bars, give a most picturesque suggestion
of the vibrations of a distant bell, and render
essential the retention of the initial chords by the
pedal.
89
tarrrear end
PROBLEM OF THE PEDAL BASS
109
The middle section is a broad chorale with a per-
sistent tonic pedal C octave booming resonantly
in the bass. In the first phrase it is written to be
held on for more than four consecutive bars with
the theme played fortissimo above it.
One might under certain conditions, hesitate about
retaining a pedal bass through so many different
chords, all played fortissimo, but as in the Schumann
" Papillons" this action helps to create the local
colour. Absolute harmonic distinctness is hardly
needed in a chorale supposed to be chanted by the
spirits of departed monks, vaguely seen and heard,
or rather imagined, in their submerged cathedral,
the melody mingling with the clanging of a bell as
twilight darkens into night.
ALL RULES MAY BE BROKEN SOMETIMES.
Although the student was warned in a general
way against repeating a pedal bass note, there are
no
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
occasions upon which such an effect is permissible.
The harmonic indistinctness allowable in a compo-
sition descriptive of a group of revellers meeting and
parting at the conclusion of a carnival, or of a
ghostly chant welling up from beneath the waves,
is not desirable in a contrapuntal passage over a
pedal bass for any longer tune than is absolutely
necessary.
In the next illustration it is suggested that the
octave D should be repeated. This permits of a
change of pedal half way through the passage,
and is of great benefit to the music without
in any way running counter to the spirit of the
composition.
This work is merely an arrangement for the piano-
forte of an organ fugue where the D is sustained by
the pedal keyboard. The slight alterations involved
in its repetition is more than justified if any definite
gain in the matter of clearness ensues.
PROBLEM OF THE PEDAL BASS III
In a standard work written for the pianoforte, a
liberty of this kind needs careful consideration before
being adopted.
It often happens, especially towards the end of
a work that though the dominant (single note or
octave) is played at the beginning of a series of
chords, the actual harmony of the dominant seventh
does not occur till the penultimate chord of the
series, at which point it will often be found advisable
to repeat the bass note or octave and to change the
pedal.
snotfa rtf
If the F sharp in the bass is not repeated and the
pedal held down throughout the bar, as at a, the
dominant seventh chord at the fourth beat will be
so overlaid with the vibrations of the preceding
chords that no real climax will be obtained. The
idea of dispensing entirely with the pedal between
the first and fourth beats, and not repeating the
112 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
F sharp need hardly be considered. The octave is
written to last through the bar, and to disregard this
would be an unwarrantable interference with the
composer's intentions. Two alternative methods
are given below.
yj Si
|
One always approaches the suggestion of any
textual alteration, however slight, with the greatest
diffidence, but if the spirit of the music is preserved,
the somewhat sentimental objection to violating in
a slight degree the rigid letter of the text may
sometimes be disregarded. It must be remembered
that the majority of these problems would not arise
if it were the custom for composers to give adequate
directions for the pedalling they deem necessary.
A final illustration of a pedal bass is added which
will help to show that each example must be treated
on its merits and the judgment of the pianist be
relied upon to obtain an effect approximating as
closely as possible to the composer's intentions
whilst avoiding as far as may be the often discordant
PROBLEM OF THE PEDAL BASS
results of unrelated harmonies that would be blended
by pedal retention.
The effect of retaining the pedal through this
series of close chromatic arpeggios for the sake of
the pedal octave (E flat) would be particularly
discordant and objectionable. The advice offered
here, which is supported by the authority of the
Peters' edition, is that the lower E flat should be
sacrificed at the first chord change and the upper
E flat retained by changing from the first to the
fifth finger, the pedal to be changed (or if preferred,
half changed) at each new harmony.
J/fem. ? ,
CHAPTER VII
HALF PEDALLING AND TREMOLO PEDALLING.
HALF PEDALLING.
NOTHING shows how inadequately the art of pedalling
has hitherto been treated as the fact that in no
edition of any well-known composer's works, as far
as can be discovered, are any directions included for
the employment of half pedalling, nor does there
even exist a generally recognised sign to indicate
that such an effect is required.
All that the majority of students are ever taught
about pedal depression and release is that it must
be put down as far as it will go, where a pedal effect
is needed, and rise to its full extent where it is
necessary for it to come up. That it should
occasionally be partially depressed and frequently
partially released is a fact of which they mostly
remain in complete ignorance, although the majority
of professional pianists depend very largely, if often
intuitively, upon this device to produce subtle
shades of tone-colouring and atmosphere.
As has already been seen, the depression of the
pedal removes the dampers as far from the strings
"4
HALF AND TREMOLO PEDALLING 1 15
as possible, giving the latter a considerable space
in which to vibrate after having been struck.
When the pedal is only partially depressed, the
dampers remain nearer to the strings, and thereby
check, without actually stopping the vibrations,
and a much fainter blur or harmonic background is
generated than would be the case under the ordinary
conditions of pedalling.
There are innumerable instances of phrases where
the pedal as usually employed, or the entire absence
of pedal would be equally undesirable. The half-
pedal, whilst not creating an absolutely ideal
condition of affairs, constitutes a fairly satisfactory
compromise, and in fact provides the only means of
approximating to the composer's intentions.
Half-depression of the pedal is used but rarely,
although it is unequalled for the production of weak
vibrations and a thin harmonic atmosphere. But
what is generally understood by half pedalling is
complete depression and half release. This should
take place where the presence of antagonistic chords
or passing-notes makes it necessary to weaken even
the supporting harmony in order to avoid unneces-
sary discord.
The student who has read the previous chapters
will have noticed that several illustrations of this
effect have already been given. The type of
u6
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
passage into which it has been introduced should
make it reasonably clear under what circumstances
it should be resorted to, so that examples need not
be multiplied in the present chapter.
A few modern composers indicate definitely their
wishes as to the application of half pedalling to
certain phrases. Mr. York Bowen in particular
provides some characteristic examples in his
pianoforte works, from one of which a quotation is
given below.
As marked ly the composer.
One further illustration of this device must
suffice for the present.
fihapsoc/'e //> 3m/ nor- t
97
marked
dycampaser
HALF AND TREMOLO PEDALLING 117
The " murmuring of innumerable B's " should
permeate these bars, and it is not easy to suggest
this except by some corresponding murmurous pedal
effect such as is provided by half pedalling, with
its continual partial release and depression as shown
above.
TREMOLO PEDALLING.
This has also been referred to and illustrated in
an earlier example (No. 76, p. 93). It consists of a
very rapid series of movements of the foot upon the
pedal, pressure and release succeeding each other
as closely as possible. It is doubtful if the pedal
ever rises to its fullest extent. It may do so in
the case of a pedal capable only of very shallow
depression. But as it has to move up and down as
quickly as can conveniently be managed, the actual
distance that it rises is quite immaterial.
The aim in view is to produce little supporting
waves of sound wherever, as in the case of half
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98 . ^^~~~~L
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frimofo f. ]
"
Il8 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
pedalling, continued retention and complete release
would be equally inappropriate. Tremolo pedalling
is usually adopted in chromatic passages.
The above extract, simple and unpretentious as
it is, will yet repay a little careful analysis.
The need for pedal is felt instinctively, and the
adoption of the conventional method (a) will not
produce any actually objectionable result. But it
does not explore the pedal possibilities of these and
similar phrases to the extent obtainable by the
tremolo method (&).
Every time pedal depression takes place, a little
tonal wave is added to the music, and is checked or
weakened as the foot rises. A little wave of sound
added to each one of the quavers in the bars just
quoted materially accentuates the phrasing by
bringing into greater prominence the semi-staccato
character of the treble notes, whilst as the dampers
are never upon the strings long enough for the
sound to be completely cut off, the bass is not
deprived of its proper harmonic support.
Sometimes, even when the suggestion of chord
support is of the slightest, a passage that would
hardly stand the ordinary continued pedal depres-
sion, requires more resonance than can be imparted
by the hands alone. In cases like this tremolo
pedalling can often be resorted to successfully.
HALF AND TREMOLO PEDALLING
In this number this effect can be reserved, if desired,
for the crescendo, which starts a few bars later.
Many pianists employ tremolo pedalling very
successfully in the ordinary free Cadenza, especially
if it has chord support, the idea being to add a kind
of shimmering effect to the rapid notes of the
Cadenza and at the same time to give the proper
harmonic support without overweighting the music
with too strong a blend of passing notes.
It is not easy of accomplishment.
In a free, rapid passage of single notes, whether
supported by a sustained chord or not, the tendency
of the pedal gradations to become uneven and
spasmodic is thrown into much greater prominence
than when both hands are occupied with chords,
changing harmonies or chromatic scale passages.
A Cadenza, too, so often affords a welcome oppor-
tunity for relief after much previous pedalling that
one is inclined more to discountenance the device
under these conditions than to encourage it. As
in many other forms of human endeavour, complete
success is the only justification for its adoption.
CHAPTER VIII
SOME LESS- KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS.
THERE are many effects well-known to professional
pianists and much in favour with some of them that
are never indicated in the printed copy, and are
totally unknown to the average student. Some-
tunes a sustained or pedal effect is required, and
ordinary pedalling, owing to the presence of passing-
notes, or to some other reason, is not entirely
satisfactory then various devices are resorted to,
very often with extremely happy results.
One of the very simplest of these is the release
of the pedal after the hands have come to rest upon
a chord which concludes either a piece, a passage,
or a phrase. An example has already been given
in No. 19, p. 34, where pedal release is suggested in
order to relieve the heaviness of the vibrations in
the bass. It can be used with equally good effect to
free a passage from its incidental passing-notes.
n-Auuafaalt
SOME LESS-KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS
121
This is an effect that without any special thought
might easily be applied unconsciously and intuitively
by any pianist, but the elimination of passing-notes
is not always so easy of accomplishment. Some-
times a little technical adaptation is needed to
achieve the desired result. The final bar of the
slow movement of Schubert's Fantasia in C, is a
case in point.
\f 6 7
If the pedal is not used the bar will be lacking in
fullness of tone and harmonic support, whilst pedal
retention throws the shadow of a disturbing seventh
(D sharp) over the closing harmony of the tonic.
Retention by the fingers of the essential notes, and
of these only, provides a very simple escape from
the dilemma. If seven groups are played as
written, the eighth can be altered as follows :
fa//, e e//m.
122 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
As soon as the pedal, which should be pressed
down at the beginning of the bar, is raised, the
sound of the D sharp disappears, whilst the harmony
of the tonic is retained by the fingers holding down
the notes of the chord.
A DIFFICULT PASSAGE TO PEDAL EFFECTIVELY.
The problem of a continually recurring minor
ninth in the first movement of the " Appassionata "
is one that is not always solved satisfactorily.
Beethoven, who wished the harmony to be retained
at all costs, marked the pedal to be kept down for
the whole passage. This, on the very powerful
instruments in use to-day, tends to become a little
overwhelming. One cannot forbid any student to
follow the markings of the great composers, but it
is allowable to call attention to an alternative method
which sacrifices nothing essential, and at the same
time enables the very important diminuendo to be
more successfully accomplished. The alteration is
of the slightest, merely that of playing the first note
only instead of the first five, with the left hand, and
holding it down as long as the supporting harmony
is needed.
The pedal can be raised at or after the ninth
(D flat), at the pleasure of the pianist, or half
pedalling can be substituted if preferred.
SOME LESS-KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS
123
The chief point is that, by holding down C with
the left hand, some measure of pedal relief can be
obtained without sacrificing the harmonic support
or the root of the chord. The passage, which occurs
just before the " piu Allegro " at the end of the
movement, will be easily recognised, even from the
accompanying short extract.
The above effect that of the sustained bass note,
and appropriate pedal release is fairly well-known
in connection with this passage. The next, from
the Cft Minor Sonata (Op. 27), may be more of a
novelty.
opf/ona/
f The pedal has to be put down at the beginning of the
previous bar, but there is no occasion to include this bar in the
present extract.
124 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
A little harmonic support can be given to this by
holding down the bass chord till forced to release the
fingers one by one as the descending treble encroaches
upon the space they occupy. Rubinstein adopted
tremolo pedalling for this Cadenza, but reasons have
been given why students should be charry of
attempting it in this or similar cases, and the above
alternative is suggested for consideration.
SILENT PRESSURE.
Amongst all these unorthodox devices, none is
more effective, or by some pianists more fre-
quently resorted to, than the pedal effect obtained
by the silent depression of certain notes and chords.
But to appreciate this it is necessary to realise the
principle of the sympathetic vibrations of related
intervals to which references have already been
made.
If a bass note were struck powerfully enough on
the pianoforte, and all the strings left free to
vibrate, an abnormally keen ear might be able to
detect many of the notes of the natural harmonic
chord. In ordinary pianoforte playing a shadowy
echo of fifths and octaves is all that is added to the
music, too faint to be individually recognisable,
although they make their presence felt by adding
SOME LESS- KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS
125
richness to the harmonic atmosphere. When }
however, experiments are made with single notes and
chords, the vibrations from related intervals are
clearly audible.
MANNER OF INDICATING SILENT PRESSURE.
For the sake of convenience the mark for down
bow upon stringed instruments i 1 will be used to
indicate that any note or chord over which it is
written must be pressed down silently, that is the
strings must be freed from the dampers without the
hammers being allowed to strike them.
SOME ILLUSTRATIONS.
m
Gumf
I05 a # *
105
The upper note or octave, pressed down silently
will be heard quite distinctly after the note, or
octave, below it has been released.
The same result will be achieved if a fifth below
is substituted for the octave.
126 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
">' -
m
106
The experiment is equally successful if single
notes and octaves are replaced by full chords.
j^w.
107
This silent pressure can be transferred to the bass
and an ingenious pedal effect be obtained in the
following manner.
SOME LESS-KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS
127
A chord of the subdominant, a fifth below, is
equally effective. An example is given in a minor
key.
The effect is particularly grateful when the right
hand passage is played staccato, for whilst the silent
pressure of the bass chord provides adequate
harmonic support, the articulate detachment of
each right hand note or chord is far more apparent
than if that support were supplied by the pedal.
Although many beautiful effects can be obtained
by these means, it is disappointing to find that
composers have, with almost complete unanimity,
neglected to exploit the possibilities of the piano-
forte in this direction, and all attempts to utilise
them must, therefore, be a matter of individual
responsibility.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SILENT PRESSURE.
The same two reasons exist for the application of
silent pressure as for the chord retention and pedal
128
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
release already described in this chapter, the first
being to relieve a phrase or passage of some of its
heavier vibrations, and incidentally to assist a
diminuendo where required, and the second to
enable the harmony to be sustained unclouded by
the retention of passing-notes.
(i) Diminuendo Improved by Silent Pressure and
Pedal Release.
An example of the first is taken from the
concluding bars of the first movement of the
" Appassionata." It is often overlooked that this
is not a long drawn out diminuendo from ff to pp^
but whilst the first beat is played ff, the second
changes abruptly to p. To assist this the pedal
may be changed very rapidly at the second beat.
Even then and with the music diminishing in tone
from piano to as soft a pianissimo as possible the
ear will still be conscious of a considerable amount
of heavy vibration when the final chord is sounded-
Relief from this can be obtained, if desired, by
silently adding two notes to the third in the right
hand, and an octave to the left hand note, and as
SOME LESS- KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS I2Q
in previous cases, releasing the pedal as soon as the
hand is at rest upon the keys.
(2) An Alternative to Pedalled Passing Notes.
The second reason for adopting silent pressure,
that is the opportunity it affords of playing unpedalled
passing notes without sacrificing harmonic support,
can be illustrated by an extract from Chopin's
Nocturne in E flat. In the Cadenza towards the
end most of the notes in the right hand are in the
register not actually operated upon by the pedal.
Yet, if it be kept down for the whole passage, many
sympathetic intervals will be set vibrating. It is
usually only when this piece is played on the violin
or 'cello that it is possible to hear an absolutely
clean cadenza, the pedal effect, introduced at the
discretion of the accompanist, being kept quite free
of the passing notes played by the soloist. A similar
result can be obtained upon the pianoforte by the
silent pressure of a chord of the dominant seventh
of E flat in the left hand.
130
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
A very difficult pedal situation at the end of
the Andante in Mendelssohn's F sharp Minor
Capriccio can be relieved by depressing silently
an octave F sharp in the left hand before releasing
the pedal.
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118
The passage is much too long to quote in detail.
The original pedal marking, evidently by Mendelssohn
himself, has given rise to much discussion, and is
frequently ignored on account of the confusion that
would be created by holding down the pedal for
fourteen consecutive bars, through the harmonies
of F sharp Major, B Minor, F sharp Minor, and
incidental passing-notes.
In order to produce a sustained effect, and to
evade the confusion of pedalled passing notes over a
wide compass, a chord can be completed by silent
pressure after the foundation note has been played
in the ordinary way.
SOME LESS- KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS 13!
The retention by silent pressure, not only of
chords, but of single notes and octaves, was illus-
trated earlier in this chapter. The following affords
an example, not so much of the retention, as the
recapture of an octave by this method. Its value
is enhanced by doubling it, and its substitution for
the half-bar rest given by the composer is a liberty
that hardly needs an apology.
It is almost identical with the example given on
p. 105, where it was suggested that an octave should
be substituted for a single note in the bass, and after
132
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
being retained by the pedal should be recaptured by
silent pressure and allowed to vibrate through a
bar filled only by a rest. This has been used by at
least one well-known pianist in the Grieg Concerto,
and by another in the " Papillons " without any
consultation or interchange of ideas. There must
be something to be said in favour of any effect which
though not indicated in the printed copy, has
occurred independently to two well-known concert
artists. A variation of this effect can be adopted
at the end of the " Paganini " number in Schumann's
" Carneval."
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If the pedal be used as marked at b, the dominant
seventh chord of A flat will seem to emerge mysteri-
ously from the echoes of the F Minor chord just
previously played. The new chord must be pressed
down almost inaudibly. In fact, silent pressure
could be resorted to except that the G octave in the
right hand would not be heard. This, however,
can be played as pianissimo as possible, and the rest
SOME LESS-KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS
133
of the chord in both hands be depressed silently if
desired. It is of little importance whether or no
the pedal is put down again after the hands are at
rest upon the chord.
PEDALLING FOR SINGLE NOTES.
This does not refer to the pedalling of repeated
single notes, a favourite device with some pianists,
nor to the pedalling of single notes, which if sounded
together would form the notes of a chord, but to a
melodic or thematic phrase, where, if the pedal be
used at all, it must be changed at or after each note.
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Many pianists pedal this as marked, others
dislike the effect and refuse to acknowledge that
phrases of this kind need pedal support. The two
schools of pedalling mentioned on p. 37 are typified
by the divergence of opinion on this point. An
argument in favour of a perfectly clear performance
hi the present instance is that, previous to the bars
quoted, the music is of a type that needs pedal
assistance on a rather generous scale, and this phrase
134 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
of quiet single notes may be taken as an opportunity
for a little welcome relief.
There is one other effect favoured by pianists, but
hardly within the scope of any but a very well
equipped student. It is produced, not as in earlier
cases, by the hands with no assistance from the pedal,
but by the pedal with no assistance from the hands.
If a shake or any passage of rapidly repeated
notes is started f or ff, and played with a tone
diminishing to pp or ppp, the hands can, at the very
softest point, momentarily cease playing, and on a
good instrument, the vibration of the notes that
have been just played will be heard faintly, but quite
distinctly.
After a very brief interval the hands must resume,
naturally as softly as possible, and increase the
volume of tone according to the printed directions,
or the fancy of the executant. Those listening will
receive the impression of having heard a quite
remarkable diminuendo and crescendo.
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SOME LESS-KNOWN PEDAL EFFECTS 135
An opportunity for the introduction of this effect
occurs at the end of the Cadenza in Scriabine's
" Nocturne for the Left Hand," just prior to the
return of the subject, although in this case the trill
is not supported by a chord in the bass.
There is a story of Meyerbeer, who, when con-
ducting the rehearsal of one of his operas, kept
stopping the orchestra to tell the drummer he was
not playing softly enough. The poor player tried
several times without being able to satisfy the great
man, till at last Meyerbeer said, " Now you have the
exact effect I want, why couldn't you get it before ? "
The player said, " Well, sir, before this I only
played as softly as I could ; but this last time, when
you were quite satisfied, I didn't play at all."
The point of this anecdote is supposed to lie in
the fact that a musician as eminent as Meyerbeer
was unable to detect the fact that the drummer had
ceased playing. But it is often forgotten that a
kettle drum will continue to vibrate after being
struck, unless stopped by pressure upon the parch-
ment. The (possibly apocryphal) drummer was
unintentionally producing a kindred effect to the
one recommended above for the pianist.
This " not playing at all " can be used to some
purpose in Godard's Second Mazurka in B flat,
where, in place of a trill it can be applied to a repeated
136 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
group of four notes. As before, the pressure should
start fortissimo and diminish gradually to an extreme
pianissimo, with the pedal held down. If at the
very softest point the hands are lifted from the
keyboard, but the pedal is not released, the
impression will be created that the little four note
phrase, as in the case of the trill, is still being played,
and the hands can resume without their temporary
cessation of activity having been noticed. It will
be found necessary to take a slight liberty and
increase the number of repetitions of this group of
notes to avoid too abrupt a transition from f or ff
to an extreme pp, but in so free a passage this is of
little importance.
118
~ A " H^
CHAPTER IX
SOME VARIETIES OF PEDAL MECHANISM.
THERE are few pianists who have not, at one time
or another, experienced a slight feeling of resentment
at the tyranny of the pedal, which, in removing the
dampers from the strings, is compelled to do so
over the whole compass of the instrument. It
often happens that the notes or chords played by
one hand seem to need pedal support which is ill-
adapted to the notes or chords played by the other.
This is another problem with which pianists are
continually called upon to deal.
Pianoforte makers have, in one or two instances,
attempted to broaden the scope of pedal effects, but
so far the innovations introduced have not been
widely adopted.
THE PEDAL KEYBOARD.
Instruments with pedal keyboards have frequently
been constructed, and some have enjoyed a fair
measure of popularity. J. S. Bach used to play his
Trios upon a harpsichord containing two rows of
keys, as well as pedals.
137
138 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Pleyel Wolff et Cie invented a bass pianoforte
to be played by pedals only, and to be used with an
ordinary pianoforte.
A pedal keyboard was attached to a pianoforte
made for Schumann, who wrote for it a series of
Studies and Sketches.
Messrs. Broadwood also made an instrument of
similar design, a Pedalier Grand Pianoforte for
M. Delaborde, of Paris, who played upon it in London
in 1871.
All these inventions, however, merely added
another keyboard to the instrument, although as
they allowed of the retention of notes by the feet, a
pedal effect was procurable which did not embrace
the whole compass of the instrument.
THE SUSTAINING PEDAL.
This was the invention of a blind man, Montal,
of Paris, and was exhibited by him in London in
1862. It was afterwards adopted by Messrs.
Steinway, and is still fitted to their instruments.
The characteristic feature of this pedal is that it is
able to sustain any individual note or chord to
which it is applied without affecting subsequent
notes or chords played whilst it is held down. Its
only disadvantage is that a brief but appreciable
space of time must be allowed in which to depress
SOME VARIETIES OF PEDAL MECHANISM 139
this pedal, which must be accomplished after sound-
ing the note or notes which have to be sustained,
and before sounding the note or notes following. It
can be used in works like the " Prelude of Rach-
maninoff " and the " Cathedrale " of Debussy, but
not in the Finale of Schumann's " Papillons," or in
any work which does not permit of a short pause
after playing the note that has to be sustained.
THE DIVIDED PEDAL.
But the most serious attempt to widen the range
of pedal effects has been made by The Chappell
Piano Co., 50, New Bond Street, W., who have
introduced a " divided " pedal into their latest
instruments. This invention, which is of an
extremely simple nature, is, as its name implies,
a device by which the treble and the bass can be
pedalled separately or together, the division being
made at middle C. If one hand, especially the
left hand, has chords, or passages of chord outline,
whilst the other is engaged with passing-notes, the
chords can be pedalled and the passing-notes left
free of any pedal effect, except the slight vibration
of sympathetic intervals.
To find a practical illustration of this, the student
is referred first to the two little ornamental passages
in Chopin's Nocturne in F sharp Major. If he wishes
140
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
to try the effect of the divided pedal he should play
these bars (or any of similar outline) with another
pianist on two pianos, one performer playing only
the bass and using the pedal, and the other playing
only the treble and not using the pedal at all. No. 48,
p. 65, affords another example, the pedal effect
being quite inappropriate to the chromatic scale in
the right hand, but absolutely needed for the chords
in the left hand. It is impossible to spare enough
space to multiply examples, but two bars are given
taken from the first movement of the " Waldstein "
Sonata, which will serve further to illustrate the
possibilities of this invention.
L.pec/onty
CHAPTER X
THE SOFT PEDAL.
THE management of the soft pedal is a comparatively
simple matter the chief fault to be guarded against
is a tendency that some students have to fly to it
upon every indication that the music has to be played
softly. They use it frequently upon the mere
appearance of p, almost invariably for pp, and
relentlessly for ppp.
The soft pedal should never be called upon in
this indiscriminate fashion. Some teachers strongly
recommend their pupils to ignore it altogether, with
which advice it is possible cordially to sympathise.
But as it is affixed to every pianoforte almost
without exception, some attention must be paid to
it, and some suggestions offered as to its treatment.
To appreciate its capabilities and to know when
to employ it to advantage, it is necessary to under-
stand the mechanism by which it is operated, and
to realise the difference between the effect that it is
supposed to produce viz., that of merely making
the music softer, and the effect that it actually does
142 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
produce, that is, materially altering the quality of
the tone, in addition to weakening it.
The latter result is caused by the fact that in
spite of many experiments, no really satisfactory
mechanism has yet been discovered by which the
music can be made softer without changing its
quality.
There are three methods in use at the present
time, the " Celeste " pedal, the " Una corda "
mechanism, and the " Half-blow."
By the first method (the " Celeste " pedal) the
depression of the soft pedal raises a piece of felt
between the hammers and the strings.
By the second one (" Una corda "), it shifts the
keyboard slightly to the right, so that in the trichord
portion of the instrument only two of the three
strings are struck by the hammers one string
instead of two in the bichord portion, and the single
strings in the lowest register are struck by the side
and not the centre of the hammers.
By the third method (" Half -blow ") the hammers
are raised nearer to the strings, so that having a
shorter distance to travel, the tone when produced
is much weaker.
The first of these is the least satisfactory. The
thickness of the felt when new is sufficient to muffle
the sound to such an extent that it is sometimes
THE SOFT PEDAL 143
necessary to increase the pressure on the keys to
counteract it. Later on the felt becomes worn
more in some places than in others, the middle of
the pianoforte much more than the extreme ends,
so that it becomes impossible to procure a pianissimo
of even tone with the soft pedal down, and unexpected
and undesirable effects of crescendo and diminuendo
are introduced contrary, not only to the intention
of the composer, but to the desire of the performer.
The mechanism of the shifting keyboard, which
is fitted to many Uprights and to nearly all Grands,
is preferable to the above, but that is the best that
can be said for it. It produces an individual but
not very agreeable quality of tone, a counterpart of
the thin, misty, somewhat reedy quality that
issues from a muted violin. This severely limits the
opportunities for the introduction of soft pedal
effects, as in the majority of pianissimo phrases a
change of tone colour is either unnecessary or actually
inappropriate.
The third form of mechanism is the most satis-
factory, as it merely moves the hammers nearer to
the strings. There must naturally be some difference
between the character of the tone weakened by a
purely mechanical contrivance, and that in which
the softer playing is due to more delicate finger
pressure, but in the method under discussion at
144 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
present the change of tone colour is far less notice-
able than that produced by any other contrivance
by which the soft pedal is worked. A serious
difficulty is that only a proportion of Uprights are
fitted with this mechanism, and as far as can be
discovered it is not used at all in Grands.
WHERE THE SOFT PEDAL MAY LEGITIMATELY BE
USED.
This can be divided into two sections :
First where the , peculiar timbre _ associated _wiih
its operation may be ignored in the endeavour to
procure a softer tone than that obtainable by finger
pressure alone.
Secondly where_ it is used with the express
purpose of exploiting . .this, characteristic change of
tone colour.
Under the first heading come those non-melodic or
non-thematic portions of a work where something a
good deal softer than an ordinary pianissimo is
needed. Delicate arpeggios of merely technical
interest, as well as many of the little ornamental
cadenzas in the work of Chopin and other composers,
can be included in this category. Also where it is
desired to enhance the effect of a diminuendo, more
particularly in the closing bars of a piece. Under
either of the above conditions, the latter especially,
THE SOFT PEDAL 145
the unavoidable change of timbre need not be
considered. It would only be faintly recognisable
and would have no detrimental effect upon the
music.
SPECIAL EFFECTS.
Before describing some of the special effects of
tone colour for which the soft pedal is responsible,
it must be stated that, unless some such effect is
required, it is not expedient to press it down for the
enunciation of a theme or melody however softly
marked. The themes of the Nocturnes of Chopin,
the Lieder of Mendelssohn, and the generality of
pieces of this type need very clear articulation. It
is often overlooked that the notes of a melody
should never be played softly, at least on its first
appearance, though the accompaniment generally
must be.
But on its second, or some subsequent appearance,
if pp is marked by the composer or desired by the
performer, the soft pedal can legitimately be brought
into play. The music benefits by the change of
tone colour imparted to it, and the suggestion of an
echo effect a reminiscence of something previously
heard falls gratefully on the ear. It can also be
used effectively in the very softest passages of little
characteristic pieces like " Une vieille boite a
11
146
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
musique " of de Severac, or " The Little Shepherd "
of Debussy.
ECHO EFFECTS.
A genuine echo effect, that is the soft repetition
of a phrase, not necessarily in the same octave, can
often be assisted by the soft pedal.
I2ia
WEIRD OR MYSTERIOUS EFFECTS.
Any attempt to depict a weird, uncanny or
mysterious scene in music can be helped materially
by the soft pedal. Opportunities occur in parts of
THE SOFT PEDAL 147
the so-called " ghost " movement in Beethoven's
D Major Trio. But it is in modern music, chiefly
of the French school, that most of the examples
will be found. The " Cathe"drale Engloutie,"
already referred to, affords one illustration. Another
can be seen in " Le Gibet " of Ravel, where the
composer has written " Sourdine durant toute
la pice."
The soft pedal is also useful in helping to create a
suggestion of muffled drums and muted strings in
Funeral Marches and other music of a solemn and
impressive nature, but it should be employed
sparingly and only in the very softest passages.
All composers occasionally give directions for the
use of the soft pedal, but soft pedal effects are not
limited to those phrases marked " una corda," or
with some corresponding expression, by the composer
nor, if it may be said so without disrespect, the soft
pedal need not invariably be used, even when so
indicated. Sometimes the quality and condition
of the pianoforte render it inadvisable. Beethoven
very seldom marked the soft pedal to be used, but
he did so in the slow movement of the B flat Sonata
(Op. 106), and in the Introduction to the Slow move-
ment of the A flat Sonata (Op. no), taking great
care in the latter to mark the places for the release
of the soft pedal as well as for its depression.
148 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
A GENUINE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INTRODUCTION
OF THE SOFT PEDAL.
There is one class of composition to which the
soft pedal effect is peculiarly adapted that is a
piece which is supposed to be descriptive of a band,
first heard in the distance, then approaching the
listeners, and eventually disappearing in an opposite
direction. The Turkish Patrol (Michaelis), although
not originally written for the pianoforte, is a very
characteristic example. Another is Rubinstein's
arrangement of Beethoven's " March from the Ruins
of Athens." The former, when played on the
orchestra, begins and finishes almost inaudibly, an
effect unobtainable upon the pianoforte except with
the help of the soft pedal. The latter piece is only
marked to begin pp, and the use of the soft pedal
is optional, but there is a very long drawn out
diminuendo at the end. In passages of this char-
acter the application of the soft pedal should be
reserved till the fingers are producing the lightest
and most delicate tone of which they are capable.
Then the addition of the soft pedal becomes of real
benefit, increasing the value of the diminuendo, and,
by muffling or veiling the tone, helping to deepen
the impression of the music fading away into the
distance.
THE SOFT PEDAL 149
Schubert's little " Moment Musical in F Minor "
is sometimes played with this effect of gradual
crescendo, followed by gradual diminuendo. Even
if this liberty be not taken, and the original markings
for f, p, etc., are adhered to, it does not materially
alter the situation. The end is built on a rather
long drawn diminuendo, and the soft pedal may well
be brought in as a legitimate accessory to the fact.
It will perhaps be helpful if the advice given in this
chapter is summarised briefly thus :
(1) In the purely technical portion of a work
diminuendo and pianissimo effects can be aided by
a judicious employment of the soft pedal, but only
when softer effects are needed than it is possible
to obtain otherwise.
(2) In the thematic portions of a work, the soft
pedal should only be introduced for the purpose of
producing one of the special effects described above,
and not in any case unless the unavoidable change
of timbre is either desirable, or at least, not in any
way opposed to the spirit of the music.
PART III
SPECIAL PEDAL TREATMENT
REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN PERIODS
AND CERTAIN COMPOSERS
INTRODUCTORY.
THE chapters in this concluding portion must not
be looked upon as an endeavour to deal compre-
hensively with the pedalling required in the music
of any particular period or school, or of any special
composer. It would not be possible for instance to
give anything like adequate pedalling for the music
of Bach or Beethoven without issuing an edition
of their works marked in detail. Even to suggest
the main outlines of the pedalling that is desirable or
permissible, supported by a sufficient number of
quotations, would extend the scope of this work
beyond justifiable limits. All that will be attempted
will be to give as concisely as possible a few general
principles, illustrated by extracts from the period
or composer under discussion.
SECTION I
THE PRE-BEETHOVEN ERA
(A Instruments that preceded the Pianoforte.)
The music of this period must be divided into two
classes (a) that written for instruments of an earlier
date than the pianoforte, and (b) that written for the
pianoforte itself.
The chief points of difference between the ancient
and modern instruments are that in the former not
only was there no pedal attachment, but in very
few of them was there any mechanism by which the
strings could be operated upon in a manner which
would allow the vibrations to continue for any appre-
ciable length of time. There were two exceptions :
(1) The Clavichord. This was a keyed instrument
in which the strings were set in vibration by brass
tangents, and there consequently ensued a slight
but recognisable duration of sound.
(2) The Dulcimer. This instrument, which is
played by two wooden hammers, derives great
importance from the fact that it is supposed to have
first suggested the idea of modern pianoforte
mechanism. It was known many years ago, both
in Persia and Arabia, and is, or was until recently,
included in Hungarian bands.
THE PRE-BEETHOVEN ERA 153
But most of the earlier music that is now played
upon the pianoforte was written, not for either of
these instruments, but for the Spinet, and, later on,
for the Harpsichord.
THE SPINET (OR VIRGINAL).
The " spines " which plucked the strings gave
this instrument its name. It was in general use
for over two hundred and fifty years (1500-1760).
THE HARPSICHORD.
This first appeared in 1611. It was more elaborate
than any keyed instrument then in existence and
was responsible for the introduction of passages of
much greater difficulty than any that had been
previously attempted. This can be verified by
comparing the music written for the harpsichord
with those works composed for and restricted to
the capacities of the spinet.
Its construction. It had two keyboards, and a
mechanism which allowed the performer to play
either softly or loudly.
Its limitations. But it allowed of no gradations of
tone, nor could anything in the way of cantabile or
legato playing be obtained from it.
It seems then as if it would be totally inappropriate
to introduce pedal effects into music written for
154 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
those instruments, yet this is hardly the case
Music written for a spinet or harpsichord and played
upon the pianoforte undergoes a species of trans-
lation. Rapid passages that, owing to the construc-
tion of the earlier instruments, could only sound
staccato, now, subservient to the mechanism of the
modern instrument, become transformed into legato.
The actual atmosphere of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries cannot be re-created by
playing all passages with a detached touch, the tone
quality of the modern pianoforte precludes this, even
were it technically feasible. So that, having to
translate spinet or harpsichord tone into pianoforte
tone, and staccato phrases into legato and cantabile
phrases, one must not deprive an occasional
appropriate passage of the support afforded by the
pedal, although the greatest economy must be
employed in its application.
As had been pointed out earlier, the mere fact that
a passage is made up of the notes of the common
chord and is entirely devoid of passing-notes, is
not, in itself, an invariable justification for using the
pedal. But in the class of music at present under
discussion, chords written f or ff, especially at the
close of a work or of some portion of it, can usually
be pedalled with safety. An arpeggio marked f
or crescendo, can often be similarly treated, and
THE PRE-BEETHOVEN ERA
155
sometimes, but less frequently, a cantabile phrase
with a simple chord or arpeggio accompaniment.
In the compositions of the earlier writers such as
Couperin, ^Rameau, Byrd, Gibbons and Bull works
written mainly for the spinet, pedal effects can be
almost entirely eliminated or restricted to an
occasional judicious touch. In the music of Arne,
Purcell, Scarlatti and other writers for the harpsi-
chord, rather more freedom is allowed.
122
P
played
123
(B Music written for the early days of the
pianoforte.}
Of the composers for the pianoforte who preceded
Beethoven, it is only Mozart and Haydn whose music
156
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
still retains its hold upon the public, and is still
included in the programmes of recital givers. In
spite of the simple chord construction of the majority
of their passages and the comparative scarcity of
passing notes, the pedal should be used very lightly
and with much discretion.
A FEW EXAMPLES FROM MOZART'S SONATAS.
The notes of a chord passage in the bass pedalled
individually and not collectively.
In a more modern work the pedal would be
sustained for the whole of each bar. It might
justifiably be so treated in the present case, particu-
larly in the fourth bar, with a view to helping the
crescendo. But in the Franklin Taylor edition the
pedal is written as shown, to be changed for each
beat, with the object of preserving the clearness of
outline so essential to the music of this period. The
chord support supplied by the pedal always robs
notes of a little of their individual significance.
THE PRE-BEETHOVEN ERA
157
DETACHED CHORDS.
For detached chords marked f or ff, the pedalling
recommended in Chapter II., p. 40, is meant to
apply to music of all schools, but, like all pedal
effects, its need is far less imperative in music of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries than in
that of a later date, and may sometimes be dispensed
with altogether.
ARPEGGIO PASSAGES.
Arpeggios of the common chord may often be
played unpedalled, for no other reason than that
it is impossible to achieve the crystal clearness which
should characterise the interpretation of this school
of music if too frequent recourse be had to the pedal,
which wraps all phrases in a kind of harmonic
cloud. As against this must be placed passages,
also in arpeggio form, from which the pedal should,
on no account, be withheld. The following will
serve as an illustration.
125
158 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
MELODY WITH BROKEN CHORD ACCOMPANIMENT.
It is not always easy to decide how much pedalling,
if any, is required for the typical Mozart melody and
accompaniment, but it is always safe to err on the
side of caution and restraint.
The above need not be pedalled at all, as suggested
at a, but the other methods are all allowable, though
that given at d had better be reserved for a later
appearance of the melody, when a fuller tone is
desirable.
THE TRILL WITH SIMILAR ACCOMPANIMENT.
The right-hand trill over a left-hand broken chord,
usually the penultimate bar of a cadential ending,
should, as a rule, be pedalled, but invariably when
marked f or ff.
THE PRE-BEETHOVEN ERA
159
3 _
^
-^v \ &0\ _
0-
' " r _L ~l
7, i
THE PIANOFORTE SONATAS OF HAYDN.
Owing to their greater breadth of treatment, these
works, though resembling those of Mozart in their
main structural and harmonic outlines, lend them-
selves to a more generous scheme of pedalling. A
single extract must suffice for illustration.
SECTION II
THE SPECIAL PEDAL REQUIREMENTS OF
INDIVIDUAL COMPOSERS
CHAPTER I
BACH.
ALTHOUGH Bach lived prior to the age of Mozart
and Haydn, the interpretation of his works needs,
within limits, a certain freedom and modernity of
treatment. The same remark applies with almost
equal force to the works of Handel.
So much is this the case that no separate advice
will be offered with regard to the latter composer,
and this chapter will deal exclusively with the works
of Bach that are now played upon the pianoforte,
these covering a much wider field both in numbers
and musical interest than the works of his great
contemporary.
An idea that is all too prevalent is that no pedal
effects should be introduced into any work of Bach.
The reason for this probably is that in hardly any
edition of the Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues,
the works with which the student is brought most
BACH l6l
into contact, is there to be found a single pedal mark,
even in editions in which the greatest attention is
paid to all details of phrasing and of light and shade.
The student who feels that such drastic avoidance
of the pedal is unnecessary may still hesitate before
assuming the responsibility of introducing effects
which are nowhere indicated in the printed copy.
If one were to seek the most apposite expression, the
actual mot juste to describe a great deal of the music
of Bach, the word " prophetic " could hardly be
bettered. There is scarcely a technical effect in
pianoforte music, even in the most pianistic passages
of Liszt and Chopin, that Bach has not somewhere
anticipated, and what makes it more remarkable,
has done so in music written before the pianoforte
was invented. Therefore, many effects that seem
the exclusive prerogative of the more modern schools
will be found surprisingly appropriate in interpreting
the works of Bach. Amongst these effects pedalling
must be included.
But this must be remembered. As the modern
effects that he so prophetically introduced into his
works consist mainly of hints and suggestions, the
full fruition being deferred to a later generation, so
must the pedal support be chiefly restricted to hints
and suggestions also. Some advice as to the manner
in which this can be carried out is now given,
12
162
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
accompanied by a few quotations from the first
book of the " Forty-Eight."
THE PRELUDES, SUITES, ETC.
In these works the pedal may be used in the
non-contrapuntal passages, though not to the extent
that would be justifiable in compositions of a more
recent date.
In some of them considerable freedom is allowed
in the selection of bars for pedal treatment. For
instance, in the Prelude in C sharp Major, in the
first book, the pedal may be used from the first bar
or be postponed till the later crescendo and forte
passages.
There is less freedom of choice with regard to the
following bars from the same Prelude. In the
first extract it is recommended that the pedal
should be used only for the first beat, with a view
to accentuating the phrasing, whilst in the second
it should be retained for the whole bar in order to
give the tonal support that is necessitated by the
forte (f) mark.
BACH 163
In some cases there is hardly room for diversity of
opinion. In the latter part of the Prelude in B flat
(No. 21), pedalling in the chord and arpeggio passages
is not only advisable, but as nearly compulsory as
anything can be in a work of this school and period.
The final bar of this Prelude presents some
difficulty. Without the pedal the end sounds very
abrupt. Yet the harmonic support is a little too
heavy if the pedal is held down from the beginning
of the bar to the end. Czerny, in an endeavour to
find a satisfactory solution of this problem, added
an octave B flat in the bass. A simpler method,
that of introducing the pedal at the highest instead
of the lowest note of the tonic chord in the bass, is
here suggested.
THE PRESENCE OF PASSING-NOTES.
A figure of chord outline need not be deprived of
pedal support because it is interspersed with passing-
notes if the treble and bass are a reasonable distance
apart. (The passing notes in the next extract are
written in smaller type.)
164
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
It matters little at the start which of the above
methods is adopted, but the same pattern should
not be repeated for too many bars in succession.
When the hands draw closer together (bar 17 and
segue), a touch of pedal at the first and third beats
will suffice, and even this may be dispensed with.
The following suggestion is offered for pedalling
in the G Minor Prelude (No. 16). The passage
quoted differs in character from those already
dealt with.
tenfo /noc/erafo
This extract belongs to the same category as the
middle section of Brahm's B Minor Rhapsody
BACH 165
(No. 97, p. 116) as regards its suggested pedal
treatment.
THE FUGUES.
In these or other works in which each of the parts
has a separate contrapuntal existence, pedalling, as
has been already pointed out, is, as a rule, undesirable
but it is a rule that admits of many exceptions.
The pedal should be avoided
(1) In any piece or portion of a piece written in
strict Canon form ; and
(2) Invariably in the first statement of a Fugue
subject.
In this class of composition, very slight and
occasional pedalling are all that are needed, but,
with the exceptions just mentioned, many an accent
and many a crescendo can be assisted, and many a
legato, otherwise unobtainable, can be procured by
just a pedal touch at the right moment, although
the parts move contrapuntally and independently.
A passage of such simple outline as the following
may advantageously be pedalled as marked.
i66
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
In the next illustration, whether octaves or single
notes be played, a pedal effect is welcome on account
of the cadential nature of the phrase, the forte mark
and the almost total absence of passing-notes.
ft/(?ese //? Csnrnor M? 2 .
The smoothness of many of the phrases in the
Fugues, of which the following, from the one in
G Minor, may serve as an example, will be enhanced
by pedal support.
The closing cadence of a Fugue should generally
be pedalled. In the accompanying example the
BACH
167
chords immediately preceding those quoted also
need pedal support.
/TN
137
Judgment must always be employed in these
cadential endings, as to whether syncopated or
ordinary pedalling be the more appropriate.
THE LONGER WORKS.
No attempt can be made to indicate the pedalling
required in the longer pianoforte works of Bach,
such as the Italian Concerto and the Chromatic
Fantasia and Fugue, nor would a few selected bars
prove of much assistance. But in these as in the
shorter works :
(1) Pedal retention should nearly always be of
short duration.
(2) It should never be permitted to obscure the
clearness of contrapuntal passages ; and
(3) It is needed far less frequently than in music
of more modern construction.
l68 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
If the student bears these principles in mind he
ought not to have much difficulty in introducing
appropriate pedal effects into the chords and
arpeggios, and even into an infrequent scale passage,
if either a crescendo mark or chord support in the
other hand seems to justify it.
CHAPTER II
BEETHOVEN.
THE SONATAS.
IT is in the works of Beethoven that the pedal, for
the first time, takes an important place in the tonal
colour scheme of pianoforte effects. Unfortunately
in the majority of editions the pedal marking,
though not neglected to the extent it is in the works
of Bach, is still of a slight and often of a very
perfunctory nature, and although some sort of
agreement may be supposed to exist as to the
phrases that do or do not need pedal assistance,
it will be found upon investigation that the pedal
marking in one edition seldom corresponds with the
pedal marking in another. The student will thus
not only be thrown very largely on his own resources,
but will often find very confusing the dissimilarities
of the pedal indications in even the most authoritative
editions.
THE FIRST SUBJECT OF THE OPENING MOVEMENT.
It is often advisable to treat the chief subject of
the ordinary allegro development movement in the
169
170 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
same manner that one would treat a Fugue subject,
that is, to let it make its first appearance in as
distinct and clear cut fashion as possible by avoiding
the pedal, at least in the opening bars. Two
examples have already been given (Op. 2, No. I,
and Op. 57), both in F Minor. To these may be
added the first subject of No. 2 Op. 2. in A; No. 3
Op. 2 in C (although the pedal may be needed in
the third bar to sustain the lowest bass note) ;
No. 2 Op. 10 in F (very light pedalling permissible,
but hardly needed ) ; No. 3 Op. 10 in D ; Op. 22 in
B flat (pedal not required till fourth (complete)
bar) ; Op. 31, No. i in G (a touch of pedal at the
left-hand chord if desired) ; and Op. 31, No. 3 in
E flat (advisable in this to withhold pedal till third
bar). It must be thoroughly understood that only
the first appearance of the first subject in the
ordinary development movement is referred to.
The pedalling required for its subsequent appearances
as well as for the whole of the rest of the movement
must be governed by the ordinary rules of pedalling,
or by the composer's definitely expressed
instructions.
THE MINUETS, SCHERZOS, ETC.
These movements should, in nearly every case,
be introduced unpedalled. After the first appearance
BEETHOVEN 171
of the subject, pedalling is generally needed, but it
must be applied very lightly and tactfully. On the
other hand, the Trios must sometimes be pedalled
very fully and completely. The trio of the Minuet
from the Sonata in C, Op. 2, No. 3, is a case in point.
THE SLOW MOVEMENTS AND FINALES.
These vary too much in character for any compre-
hensive ruling to be offered, but this must be
remembered. The development that took place in
the construction of the Sonata in all its movements
in the hands of Beethoven must be accompanied
in their performance by a corresponding development
in all interpretative effects. The more nearly his
works approximate to the Mozart and Haydn model,
the more must all those effects, including pedalling,
conform to the simple methods applicable to the
works of those masters, a fuller scheme of pedalling
being required for the works of his middle and later
period.
BEETHOVEN'S OWN PEDAL-MARKING.
Beethoven wrote a few pedal directions himself
in the Sonatas, but only in those phrases where a
pianist would not be likely to use the pedal in
exactly that fashion unless with the composer's
sanction. A few examples have already been given
172 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
of the pedal being marked to be retained through
rests, which might normally have furnished an
opportunity for pedal release. But in one instance
he went much farther in the way of unexpected pedal
retention than anything previously quoted, marking
the pedal to be used entirely in accordance with the
phrase outline, with complete disregard of the
harmonic outline. This particular problem has
already been discussed in Chapter VI, but no more
striking example can be found than in Beethoven's
own pedal marking of the subject of the Rondo of
the " Waldstein " Sonata (Op. 53). So contrary is
it to what is generally accepted as accurate pedalling
that it is omitted, changed or very materially
modified in all but a very few editions.
The Sonatas are so easily accessible that quota-
tions are not included in the present chapter, the
student with a copy before him can easily verify all
references. In the movement now under discussion
Beethoven marks the pedal to be held down for the
whole of the first phrase of eight bars, then, for the
following short phrase of four bars, and immediately
after that for ten consecutive bars, putting the sign
for pedal release after the first beat in the eleventh
bar.
This adaptation of pedal support to the phrase
outline ignores not only the intermingling of tonic
BEETHOVEN 173
and dominant, but in the latter part, also that of
tonic major and tonic minor. In the days when
these Sonatas were written, the vibratory power of
the pianoforte was much less than it is at present,
and harmonies that would clash upon a modern
instrument would tend to mingle more amicably
upon one of weaker tone. But, taking every factor
into consideration, one could wish that the original
pedal marking were included in every edition, which
could be supplemented by any editorial emendation
deemed necessary. The suggestion offered here is
that a rapid change of pedal should be made between
the fourth and fifth bars, thus dividing the eight
bar phrase for pedal purposes into two phrases of
four bars each. The pedal should be held down for
the third group of four bars, that is as Beethoven
marked it. The blending of tonic and dominant,
especially when played pianissimo, will not be found
to be objectionable. On the contrary, it is a
characteristic Beethoven device used with much
effect in a well-known passage in the Eroica
Symphony. In the long ten-bar phrase the harmonic
situation can be relieved without absolutely losing
the foundation note G, by half-pedalling or by
occasional very rapid pedal changes. It is evident
that Beethoven wished the harmonic support given
by the pedal to correspond with the phrase outline
174 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
because on several subsequent appearances of the
subject the pedalling is carefully marked upon the
same basis.
It may be that the student will feel that the
resonance of a modern pianoforte is unsuited to
this system of pedalling, and will prefer to follow
the marking given in one of the standard editions,
but it is right that he should have his attention
called to the method that Beethoven in his own day
wished to be adopted.
CHAPTER III
SCHUMANN BRAHMS LISZT.
THERE are few problems concerning the pedal
treatment required in the works of Chopin, Schubert,
Mendelssohn or Weber, to which some part of the
advice offered in the previous chapters does not
apply, either in an individual or a general sense,
but there are characteristics in the three composers
mentioned at the head of this chapter which justify
a few supplementary remarks, sketchy and
incomplete as these must necessarily be.
SCHUMANN.
The direction " pedale," or " con pedale," found
at the beginning of so many Schumann numbers
must not be taken to mean continual pedal depression
throughout such numbers. It is more in the nature
of a suggestion which might be interpreted, " This
number needs some pedal assistance," or " Don't
omit to use the pedal during this number," not
necessarily bar after bar, or even for the majority
of bars, but either continuously, moderately, or
very slightly, according to the character of the music
175
176
PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
and what, in the judgment of the performer seem to
be its pedal necessities.
BRAHMS.
There are phrases in many of the pianoforte works
of Brahms of a peculiarly wistful, appealing nature,
very simple in construction and harmonic outline
which, for some reason difficult to explain, seem to
make a more intimate appeal if not surrounded, or
only as lightly as possible by the overtones and
harmonics generated by pedal depression. The
middle section of the Intermezzo in E (Op. 116)
offers one of the most characteristic examples.
138
A little pedalling is needed for marks of f, cres.,
etc., otherwise the naive, simple, typically Brahms-
like character of this theme seems to be accentuated
more by pedal avoidance than by pedal depression.
Many phrases of a similar nature can be found,
chiefly in the Intermezzi. But it is not only these
simple, wistful themes that benefit by pedal
SCHUMANN BRAHMS LISZT 177
abstention ; a careful student of Brahms cannot
help observing how often, even in the most important
works, only the very lightest pedalling is needed.
It is partly due to the fact that many passages are
written in two-part harmony with the hands often
widely separated. This is nearly always a sign that
the pedal can be dispensed with partially or wholly.
It is the fashion sometimes to compare musical
composers with their supposed literary prototypes,
to contrast, for instance, Beethoven with Shake-
speare, Bach with Milton, and Mendelssohn with
Tennyson. If such comparisons be permissible
Brahms certainly finds his literary counterpart in
Browning. In the works of both, the intellectual
element is as deeply marked as the emotional
element. In both are seen the same consistently
lofty standard, the same avoidance of the frivolous
and the meretricious, the same philosophic outlook,
but the occasional obscurity of the poet is hardly
reflected in the musician. Brahms wrote no
Sordello One can hardly help one's fancy playing
round the idea that it is partially on account of
the rarefied atmosphere typical of both the poet and
composer, that, in interpreting the works of the
latter it is better in certain characteristic phrases
to avoid anything so cloudy and disturbing as the
atmosphere created by the pedal.
13
178 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
The student must not conclude from this that the
pedal should be avoided through the greater portion
of most of the pianoforte works of Brahms. On the
contrary, the effect that these unpedalled passages
make is enhanced by the fact that, as a rule, the
remainder of the work in which they occur needs
ample pedal support. For instance, although the
tragic phrases of the first and last portions of the
" Edward " Ballade gain in intensity by the avoid-
ance of any but the lightest pedalling, the middle
section must be very fully pedalled, and has been so
indicated by the composer himself. Other works
in which these sombre, wistful, or reflective phrases
are not so prominent, and in which very little
two-part harmony occurs, such, for example, as
the Rhapsodies, Valses, the G Minor Ballade, the
Capriccios, etc., need just the same full and varied
pedalling that would be accorded to works of a
similar nature by Chopin or Schumann, the Valses,
Ballades and Polonaises of the former, or the
Carneval Scenes, Etudes Symphoniques, the
Noveletten, etc., of the latter.
LISZT.
It need only be pointed out that Liszt's instruc-
tions for pedalling passages of great technical
display such as rapid scales, both diatonic and
SCHUMANN BRAHMS LISZT
179
chromatic, in single notes and thirds, in similar as
well as in contrary motion, and his directions for
pedalling long Cadenzas written partially or wholly
in the bass clef, must be treated as special Liszt
effects, appropriate to a certain type of virtuoso
passage, but not generally applicable to the works
of other composers.
An example of a pedalled scale in a Liszt trans-
cription has already been given (No. 57, p. 74). A
typical passage can be seen in the series of descending
chromatic scales in double octaves marked by
Liszt to be pedalled in the Etude in G Minor
entitled " Vision." But for extreme examples of
Liszt's pedal methods the student is referred to the
Fantasia on Don Juan and to the Cadenzas from the
Fantasia on Lucia, and from the " Mazeppa "
Etude, the latter beginning in the following manner,
rising gradually to the highest F octave on the
keyboard, and then descending to the octave from
which it started, no sign for pedal release being
marked during the whole of its progress. In the
ISA.
l8o PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Don Juan Fantasia, the original pedal marking has
been modified in some of the later editions, and
some of the pedal marks omitted. The presentation
of a Bowdlerised version is, however, of doubtful
wisdom. In this type of music it is better in
performance to preserve all the effects marked by
the composer if the surroundings are sufficiently
spacious, although works of such technical difficulty
should never be attempted by any student whose
tone and technique are not fully up to the virtuoso
standard.
CHAPTER IV
SOME MODERN COMPOSERS AND THEIR PEDAL
METHODS.
CONCLUSION.
THE rule that the pedal should, in nearly every case,
be changed at a change of harmony has far less
force in music of the modern romantic school than
in that of any other school or period.
The effect of overlapping harmonies, which the
pianist usually does his best to avoid, is often needed
in modern music to create a tonal colour scheme,
otherwise unobtainable. When one remembers that
pedal depression always creates an " atmospheric "
effect by slightly clouding the technical outline of
all musical phrases to which it is applied, it is clear
that it is particularly applicable to works whose
atmospheric nature is proclaimed by such titles as
the following : Ombres (Florent Schmitt), Lunar
Rainbows (Leo Livens), Baigneuses au Soleil (de
Severac), Jardin sous la pluie and Reflets dans 1'eau
(Debussy), etc.
181
l82 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
In compositions of this nature the occasional
interweaving of harmonies is justified by the
character of the music and the pedalling needed to
produce this result is often indicated by the
composer.
So highly do some modern composers rate the
value of accurate pedal marking that they give
directions with a thoroughness of detail that relieves
the performer of all responsibility in the matter.
The pedal markings in the first three pieces mentioned
above will repay study as will those in the Allegro
de Concierto of E. Granados.
Musical examples will not be included in this
chapter on account of the elaborate technical and
harmonic character of the works from which it
would be necessary to quote.
The most remarkable of these from a pedal point
of view is the Baigneuses au Soleil (de Severac)
mentioned above. It affords an example of detailed
pedal instruction almost unparalled in pianoforte
music. Even without musical illustrations an idea
can be gained of the completeness of the system used
by quoting a few of the directions given by the
composer. These, which are found in nearly every
bar, include such varieties of pedal marking as :
Ped. Sourdine seule. Enlevez la sourdine. Ped d chaque
temps. Laissez vibrer and ne quittez pas la pddale.
CONCLUSION 183
In Ombres (Florent Schmitt) the author has added
to his other instructions : Gardez la ptdale and
Quittez insensiblement la ptdale.
Amongst English composers Mr. York Bowen is
almost the only one who devotes the same care to
his pedal marking that he does to the marking of the
light and shade, expression, variations of tempo,
etc. Nor does he restrict himself to ordinary
pedalling, which he gives in great detail ; but adds
with much care many instructions for half pedalling
and tremolo pedalling. The reader is strongly
recommended to take an opportunity of becoming
acquainted with his study on pedal effects in his
book of Twelve Studies recently published by Messrs.
Ascherberg. He has adopted in these a method
not wholly dissimilar to that used in this work,
but a little more elaborate, thus,
Fed. f
Apart from composers who give pedal directions
with the completeness described above, writers for
the pianoforte may be divided into two classes :
(i) Those who leave their compositions devoid of
all pedal marking ; and (2) Those who put occasional
pedal markings into their works.
With regard to the former, their omissions have
mostly been rectified by subsequent editors, whose
184 PEDALLING IN PIANOFORTE MUSIC
instructions, although they can usually be followed
with safety, do not preclude the exercise of the
pianist's own judgment and discretion.
With regard to the latter, who constitute the
majority of composers, it is hardly possible for the
student to help wondering now and then if these
occasional pedal markings should be treated with
reverential observance, or if, under any circumstance
they may be disregarded or modified.
It can hardly be deemed disrespectful to say that,
at times, the pedal markings given by the great
composers seem more prompted by the impulse of
the moment than by any reasoned and definite
desire for a particular effect. It is difficult otherwise
to explain some of the pedal instructions that they
have written in their pianoforte works. Schumann,
for instance, sometimes writes the direction " Con
pedale " in canonical and other imitation passages of
four-part harmony.* Brahms, in one of his Inter-
mezzos, marks the pedal to be changed in the course
of a slow concluding arpeggio of E Major, thus
sacrificing the foundation note without, as far as
one can see, any sufficient justification, and although
he very seldom marks the soft pedal to be used
even in passages written to be played ppp and
* A characteristic example can be seen in the "Paganini"
No. in the " Carnival."
CONCLUSION 185
sotto voce, he takes pains to mark it for the end of
the G Minor Ballade, which does not seem to require
either a veiled tone or any softer playing than can
be achieved by the hands alone.
Many other examples could be cited, but to little
purpose. The advice offered, and it is of general
as well as individual application, is this :
If the rules and principles of pedalling have been
carefully assimilated and the indications given by
composers and editors attentively studied, the
exercise of a little private judgment in doubtful
cases need neither be forbidden nor discouraged,
provided that no deviations are made lightly, nor
rules and markings ignored without what seem to be
firm and adequate reasons for the course adopted.
Printed in Great Britain by Beadle? Brother* 18 Devonshire Street E.C.t an* Athford Kent.
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227 Pedalling in pianoforte
L56 music
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