Rebecca Penneys - Ask me anything!
Professor Emeritus at the Eastman School of Music, Rebecca Penneys is a recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, educator, and adjudicator, known for her unique pianistic vision.
Ask any questions you might have about piano playing! Rebecca has taught a number of CHOPIN lessons on tonebase. If you don't know where to start, watch these videos and ask questions about Chopin!
COURSES ON TONEBASE
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
- Ask your questions until Sunday, January 22nd!
- Rebecca will answer questions February 1st!
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hey! hope your doing well and to everyone reading this. Anyway. My two questions are. 1 do you think sometimes (depending on the piece) do you think vocing the lower voice makes the top more colorful? 2nd question: i love practicing without pedal and can get it smoothly without pedal, but when i put on the pedal i cant play as smoothly so my question is should one practice slowly with pedal?
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Mathias Regenberg So, I answered this already but here goes again. Voicing: One cannot make such rules because each situation is different --the piano, acoustics, style, goals, etc -- even if we are talking about just you and your piano the answer would vary from piece to piece and day to day....about smoothness: Its great you can play smooth without pedal. It may be that you might need to learn how to pedal better --pedaling is an art form for sure, and takes a lot of refinement to work well.
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I have really small hands. After an injury a few years ago, I've been considering purchasing one of the new "narrow key" digital keyboards to supplement my practice on my normal piano. Do you think this would be a bad idea?
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Gail Starr Excellent idea! You would feel much better and learn a lot about how to approach a normal keyboard. It is important for you, or anyone, to play with ease, and a smaller keyboard would help you for sure.
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Rebecca Penneys Thank you so much, dear Rebecca! I love your videos, BTW. I have always felt like I "could" play more advanced rep (like Rachmaninoff, Balakirev, etc. and even more of the Chopin etudes) if only I didn't end up in pain from trying to stretch or roll large chords.
Now, I just need to work on my budget to get a narrow keyboard...the one I am considering is about $5k, LOL!
Thank you again for your videos!
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Gail Starr What you need to remember is that when you are playing a smaller keyboard and can reach big chord etc., this is the way these pieces felt to the composer, and it is a feeling for you to cultivate
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Rebecca Penneys Great point! Thank you!
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Hi Rebecca. I first want to say how much I enjoy your playing and all your content on tonebase. Your course on the Berceuse was especially enjoyable to me and made me think of it and Chopin’s music in a completely different way. What are your thoughts on using the score vs memorizing when performing- does it take away from the interpretation/emotional experience to play with the score? Thanks in advance.
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Vidhya Bashyam Thanks for your kind remarks. For me, playing/performing with music is like driving with parking lights instead of regular head lights -- I don't have the same transporting experience. But that's me. I know many people for feel the opposite because memory is not so easy for them. Either way works. You need to do what feels right for you! The bottom line is to take a trip!
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Rebecca Penneys Great analogy. Thank you so much!
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Hi, thank you for this opportunity! I am an adult player and, like@Gail_Starr, have really small hands - although I've managed not to injure them so far! My question is - in works where there are large chords (e.g. Rachmaninov) I try my best to reorganize the chords between both hands, but sometimes it is simply not possible. As a general rule is it better to roll the chord or leave out some notes, and what considerations should I keep in mind when deciding which notes to leave out? Or in different situations when is it better to roll and when to leave out notes? Or is it better to just avoid such pieces altogether, even though I love them? For example - I am currently learning Rachmaninov's Op 16 no 5, but would love to learn all of Op 16, if possible!
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Great questions! I'm in the kinda small hand crowd too: an octave is easy but compromises the utility of the remaining digits, and a 9th is reachable only at the tip of the key.
Sometimes in the left hand I need to reposition the entire hand or flip the index finger over the thumb to reach the highest note in a chord. That can result in a decision about whether I'm even going to play that last uppermost note in the normal time sequence. More generally damper pedal solutions present themselves, but risk a muddy sound or are made undesirable because of right hand events in the passage. I'd welcome any and all thoughts you might have on this topic. Your technique seems so effortless that the notes seem to play themselves perfectly while you sit back, supervise and conduct.
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Gillian As you know, Rach is for BIG hands....you have stated all the answers above. Its a combination of all of the above --what sounds good, and what works for you, and what you think is stylistic and tasteful. You might consider these as transcriptions for slightly smaller hands. Good Luck
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Rebecca Penneys Thanks, Rebecca. I like the idea of “transcriptions for small hands”!
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What is the best way to develop speed (and virtuosity in general) without causing tension and stress? Is this even something that one should aim for specifically outside of general musicianship (sound, expression, understanding)? Thanks in advance!
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Harriet Kaplan I cannot answer this because there is no formula. I would need to see you and find out why you can't play fast without tension. Obviously something makes speed unnatural for you. Think of it this way. Is it necessary to walk, skip, hop and run? It all depends on who you are and how old you are. Good Luck!
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Hello Rebecca, I'd like to start off by saying how much I appreciate your playing and all of your Tonebase content. I'm a piano candidate for Grade 8 ABRSM. I'd appreciate your feedback on the following three pieces:
1. Prelude and Fugue in B flat BWV 866, J.S. Bach
I adore this piece, but as I record it, I realize that my tempo is off on the prelude. I keep using the metronome and hope that the tempo remained correct when I'm not using it. I noticed that when I played the fugue, my right and left hands sounds occasionally overlapped, so I tried playing extremely slowly to hear the difference. Although it felt practically flawless, I don't feel like I have that much stamina since I don't know precisely when to release my hands' tension.2. Arabesque No 2, Claude Debussy
I realize that this piece requires a really clean melody phrasing to produce a lovely and peaceful tune, but because it is quick and requires the fingering 3431 and 4541, I frequently unintentionally hit the wrong notes while playing it. I would appreciate some guidance if you could help me avoid this issue and release my hand tension.
3. Juin: Barcarolle, Tchaikovsky
I'd want to get your feedback on how to make this song sound incredibly expressive, emotive, and lovely. I'm aware of my dynamic controls and would need some advice from a pianist like you in order to improve my tone. Many thanks!
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Anastasia Aurelia Happy you like my stuff! This is a really complex question, and for me, impossible to answer in a responsible manner without hearing/seeing you. Very often solutions are quite different than one describes. I am sorry I cannot answer in a theoretical way!
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How to voice depends on many things: the instrument, the style, the acoustics, personal goals etc. Regarding the pedal and smoothness, its great that you can do smooth without pedal but it sounds like you may need some pedaling lessons. Pedaling is an art form!
