The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-03-13
MUSIC-V VOCAL AND IN
STRUMENTAL.
Continued from March 5.


Continued from March 5.
If there is one point on which music
teachers would be most likely to agree,
in regard to the omissions and short
comings of the profession, it is, possibly,
that the teaching of the proper use Of
the pedals is very much abused in piano
playing. 1t has been said that there has
been but one man before the public who
could be called complete master of
the pedals. refer to l.. NJ. Gottschalk.
The most that can be said of other
pianists is that they do not abuse the
pedals. They, therefore, produce no
bad effect by the use of them they use
them legitimately." But that is, how
ever. only negative praise after all, and
there can be no doubt that positive and
interesting effects can be produced by
the judicious use of the pedals, especial.
ly the damper and sustaining pedals.
The neglect with which this part of
piano teaching is treated runs through
all departments. The marks by which
the use of the pedals is indicated are
confused and inaccurate, and even the
name by which the damper pedal is
often mentioned shows the utter lack of
proper appreciation of its objects aud
powers. To call it the loud" pedal is
to say that its functions are still undis-
covered and that it is merely consider
ed to be not the soft pedal, which is
properly so called. The marks by which
the use of the pedal is Indicated are in
great confusion. The common mark is
the word "ped.," somewhere near the
point at which the pedal should be
pressed and followed by the sign at
the point where it should be released
but these marks are very coarse, and
cannot be written with sufficient accu-
racy in complicated passage to in
dictate any nice use of the pedal. Some
authors simply write "ped.," leaving
out the Indication for raising the foot !;
others again give the general direction
pedal In every measure" or pedal
with every quarter-note," and, perhaps,
a still better mark is that used very of
ten by Schuman, who simply writes at
| the commencement of composition
con-pedals" and leaves the application
of the mark entirely to the taste of the
performer. In compositions that are
beyond the reach of any but finished per-
formers this is certainly better method
of marking the pedal than any Of the
preceding, but the best mark is one that
has not yet come into very general use /;
it was invented by German teacher
whose name am unable to call at pres
ent. His mark, however, consists of a
perfectly straight misunderstanding
line which begins at the point where
the pedal should be pressed and ends
where it should be released. BY this
mark it can be shown whether the pedal
should be pressed just before striking
any note, just with it, just after it, or at
some time during its continuance. In
regard to the sostenuto pedal no mark
has yet come into use by which it may
| be directly indicated. The limits of the
present article will allow but the most
superficial and unsatisfactory hints on
the use of the pedals. And then, too,
there are some things that can hardly
be explained on paper, and, therefore,
can only be demonstrated by personal
instructions. The damper pedal may
be used to color tones $50 called, to COM
blne tones, to connect tones, to tighten the
touch, or to produce sound character
istic of itself. 1t will be seen at once
that it is matter of great difficulty to
say anything clearly on these various
uses without the aid of practical Illus
trations, but any one who has a piano
can satisfy himself in a moment that
the qualities of tone produced by strik-
ing any key with the damper pedal
pressed and without are very different,
owing to the fact that while the pedal is
pressed many strings that are not struck
are free to vibrate in sympathy with the
overtones of the string that is struck.
It was by making use of this tone-color-
ing power of the damper pedal that
Gottschalk is said to have made the
piano-fOrte sound almost like an organ.
The sound may be altered by raising
the danger just before, just after, OF
just with the stroke, ard of course
further modification is effected by the
different kinds of touch that may be
used. The combining of tones is the re.
suit most commonly sought for in or
binary use of the pedal to do this it is
only necessary to be careful not to allow
any sounds to be struck during the con-
tinuance of any pedal pressure that do
not belong, properly, in the prevailing
harmony. Connecting tones is diff
cult and artistic operation. To effect it
the pedal must be taken after the KEY
has been struck, and must be released
just as the next key is struck. The
series of chords just at the close of
Chapin's Impromptu in A aat are to be
treated in this way. 1t is often neces-
sary to connect melody notes 1ndepen-
IDENTIFY of their accompanying harmony
by means OF the pedal, as in Gottschalk's
Last Hope" Here the chord must be
struck and the fingers raised from all
the keys except the one that has the
melody, and after this has been done
and before the melody key is dropped
the pedal is to be pressed and held until
the next melody note is struck, which is
not till after the establishment in the
extreme treble has been played. Chop
ms Nocturne in F sharp minor, No. 5,
will furnish an example of where the
pedal may be used to tighten touch in
rapid and delicate runs see cadenzas
The sound chara cteristic of the pedal
itself is produced by dropping the pedal
suddenly and pressing it again instantly
thereafter. It is a thunder-like effect
approaching the tone of a kettle-drum
roll In solo arrangement of Beeth-
ovens Ruins of Athens, by List, where
a long chromatic scale is written e.
diminishing and with the damper pedal
pressed continuously, the passage is i'm
proved by letting the pedal drum, in the
manner just described. The use of the
sustaining pedal is to continue fundamen-
tai BASES while melodies and harmon
les change and the fingers are occupied
with the production of new tones which
have a relation to the sustained notes
but are foreign to the harmonies intro
duced simultaneously with the sustain
ed notes.
FRANCIS L. RAWsoN.
Ito be Continued