The piano and playing techniques

 Developed in the Romantic era so it became a much more popular


and important instrument
PEDALS – both the sustain pedal (that holds notes on) and the soft
major - Raindrop 

Ternary form – ABA with a short coda.
Section lengths are not equal. The longest section in the contrasting
pedal became more effective
 SIZE – it got bigger which meant it had a bigger dynamic range. Chopin middle section. When section A returns before the coda we only hear
8 bars of the original theme.
 HAMMERS – given a felt covering instead of leather, so the tone was Tonality and Harmony
made a lot softer and more rounded.  Keys outline the structure. Opens and ends in the major with a
 STRINGS – were made thicker, longer and more tense – creating a fuller Structure and Tonality contrasting minor middle section.
tone.  Ternary form – ABA  Raindrop notes are dominant pedals. We hear them at the start (the A
 Coda (ending) flats in the left hand). Also in the right hand in the middle section
 The dominant pedal is very clear in section B – repeated quaver G#’s.
Sustain pedal symbol. The first symbol means ‘press the Section Key Length  Passes through G# minor and F# minor in section B.
pedal’ and the second star looking symbol means ’release the pedal’. A D flat major 27 bars  When section A returns it is slightly more chromatic
 The middle range of the piano us used in section A and the more Timbre and texture
B C# minor (tonic 47 bars  Entirely homophonic, except for two monophonic bars at the start of
sonorous bass register is exploited in the middle section.
minor)*. Explores
Type of piece the coda.
other keys too.
 A prelude would have been played in the home, small concert halls or A D flat major 8 bars  In the A sections the texture consists of melody and accompaniment
in a recital room and is often quite thin. The melody is in the right hand with broken
Coda D flat major 6 bars chords and pedal note in the left hand.
 B section texture is more chordal and generally lower in pitch. Also
repeated pedal note is now in the right hand (=inverted pedal) and
*C# is the enharmonic equivalent of D flat – the same note the melody is in the left hand.
Style - Romantic Features
 The minor key sounds much more dramatic  In the loud sections the texture in thickened by octave doubling in
 Piano developed in the romantic period – became bigger. This meant it
 Raindrop notes in section B are the G#’s both hands.
had a large dynamic range and had soft and sustain pedals
 Exploring other keys is called modulation. Dynamics
 Richer harmonies
Similarities between section A and B:  Starts quietly (marked p) continues all the way through section A.
 Often long, slow melodies
Same tempo, metre (time signature), homophonic texture  Dynamics start soft (sotto voce = under the voice) and gradually build
 Rubato – not playing strictly in time but making notes longer/shorter
in section B. Reaches ff (very loud). Continues to drop to p then
with the feel of the music
crescendo (get louder).
 Rise of the virtuoso performer Three musical points about this piece that I like:
 Return of section A is p (soft). Also marked smorzando (means dying
 Musical structures expanded Justify your points and use musical vocabulary. away). The piece ends very softly – pp.
 Also, reduced musical structures became common (one-off shorter
Melody & Pitch
pieces of music, like this Prelude)
 Opening melody starts with notes from the tonic triad (Db chord)
 Greater use of Instrumental Colour than in Classical Period
 Melody is in right hand in Section A, swaps to left hand in Section B
 More intense expression of emotion than in Classical Period
Tempo & Rhythm
 Slow 4/4
 Rubato is used – expressive shortening of some notes and
Themes: lengthening of others. Accents used in section B
Section A  Notes lengths augmented (made longer – e.g. crotchet become
Three musical points about this piece that I don’t like: minims) making it feel slow and heavy.
Justify your points and use musical vocabulary.  Sostenuto = sustained, Rit.(ritentuo) = getting slower

Section B (Left hand melody and pedal note in right hand) Practice questions:
1. How did the piano change in the Romantic period?
2. What type of piece is this?
3. Why is this piece known as the Raindrop prelude?
4. What is the structure of the Raindrop prelude?
5. What key is section A in? What key is section B in?