An acciaccatura with the chord
Hi there,
I have a question about this. I heard some different playings whenever there's an acciaccatura with the chord in any piece. Is there a rule on this? or based on individual's interpretation?
For Example, Nocturne Opus 72 No. 1 in E Minor , Bar 52 as shown.
Do you play the F# first, then A major chord (as what's written)?
Or, F# with the bottom two notes (A and C#) then slur with E note ?
Appreciate if someone can advise this. Thank you!
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An acciaccatura with a chord is a peculiarity of Chopinâs notation. This means to play the acciaccatura before the main note Eâbut not before the lower notes of the chord.
Importantly, the acciaccatura in this case is not played before the beat.
Most typically in Chopin, this should be arpeggiated, with the bottom chord note in the right hand played on the beat, together with the bass note.
In this case, it would be played E (left hand) simultaneously with the A in the right hand thumb, then C#, F#, E. The arpeggio should be played quickly.
Hope this helps!
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Thank you!
8 Valses Poéticos by Granados : How do you play the acciaccatura (circled)? I heard there are recordings are played as right hand notes : C and half note D together, then eighth note B flat note quickly, while holding half note D.
Or any right ways to play it?
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This example by Granados is definitely an acciaccatura. Acciaccatura literally means âcrushed,â so itâs meant to be played very fast and be unaccented. Technically, acciaccaturas are played before the beat, but theyâre often played so quickly that this is pretty much indistinguishable from playing them on the beat, simultaneously with the main note, in which case the acciaccatura is released and the main note is held. The main note (B-flat in this case) should be played on the beat in any case. (The interpretation you mentioned, with the grace note played on the beat together with the lower note, would be akin to an appoggiatura rather than an acciaccatura.) Hope this helps!
I donât wish to confuse anyone, but itâs worth mentioning something that often causes confusion: The notation of acciaccaturas as slashed grace notes only came about after Mozartâs and Haydnâs generation. During their time, they always wrote individual (i.e., non-beamed) 16th notes as slashed eighths, including grace notes. This means that a slashed grace note in Mozart and Haydn is not necessarily an acciaccatura. Modern-day publishers with their excellent musicologists know to print these as 16th notes with two flags and no slash as is now customary. This in turn means that 16th note grace notes in modern Urtext editions of Viennese Classical-era music are not necessarily appoggiaturasâthey could be acciaccaturas depending on context.
(I was a Badura-Skoda student and assistant for many years in Vienna and worked extensively on Paulâs and Evaâs books that covered ornamentation in great detail. They were world-renowned experts in this area and you couldnât call yourself a true Badura-Skoda student without mastering the subject!)
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Albert
I appreciate your time to explain these. This is extremely helpful ! Thanks so much for the great tips! Can you share the title of the book? Would love to read more.
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Magicradler Thanks so much for your kind words. The book is Interpreting Mozart by Eva and Paul Badura-Skoda. Paul also wrote a 600-page textbook, Interpreting Bach at the Keyboard. They were world-renowned scholars on historical performance practice, in addition to Paul being a legendary pianist and teacher. It was truly a blessing to get to work so closely with them. (They were also chess masters⊠Eva once drew against then-world champion Karpov in a live televised game!)
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