Pedal to the Rescue

Is there anything more boring than pedaling?

It's one of those things you don't think about—until you need it to swoop in like a superhero to save your unintentionally choppy notes.

This morning I found myself thinking about pedaling in my "You Are My Sunshine" arrangement. So far, the only real pedaling I've used has been for the "stride pedaling effect" in the second playthrough, toward the beginning of the arrangement. But when I listened to my videos from yesterday, I realized I'm having to "cut short" some notes in the section where I'm crossing hands back and forth.

It makes sense. If I'm pressing a key in the bass and have to rush to get to the high treble, I'm going to have to pick up a little sooner than I might otherwise. The result is a short, rushed sound at the end of each phrase.

Hence the need for pedal—specifically the sustain pedal to do some connective work while my right hand is in midair. So in my brief piano session this morning, all I practiced was using the pedal in that one crossed-hands section. It doesn't feel as natural as the pedal usually does, as I have to press it for a full beat, pick it up immediately afterward, and then press it down again for a half beat, then pick it up immediately, just to press it down again for another full beat. Wash, rinse, repeat, throughout that whole section.

Not easy, but by the time I finished my 20-minute practice, I was playing it correctly at a slow tempo. It'll take some more work, but I'm confident it will start to feel natural before long.

See, that wasn't so boring, was it? If you're still awake, or if you'd rather see the possibly less-boring video, here it is! (CORRECTION: In the video, I refer to the middle pedal as the una corda pedal when it's actually the sostenuto pedal. Oops! Clearly I needed more coffee this morning!)

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