Etude in C: A Section, Left Hand

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman.

Today we're learning how to add in the left hand for "Etude in C" by Albert Biehl.

Let's take a look at the score to get started.

So we're back in the score, and today we're learning the left hand part.

Notice these two note chords.

I'd like you to pause the video and figure out the interval.

These we can call harmonic intervals when two notes are played together at the same time

forms a harmonic interval. Let's do this first one together.

We see that we have an E to a G a skip apart,

which we would call a third.

So in your own music at home, write a 3 next to that interval to know that it's a third.

Can you go on and figure out the harmonic intervals for these next three chords plus one more

down in measure five. Pause to figure those out then press plane we'll check it out together.

Okay, this interval is a sixth from B to G, then we have a fifth.

Notice that the bottom note just stepped up. The top note stayed the same so that reduced the interval from a sixth to a fifth

bottom note steps again, which gives us a fourth, bottom note steps up again, which gives us a third. So six, fifth, fourth, third.

That's what you got as well, great job.

And notice that this entire time the left hand is playing whole notes.

How many beats in a whole note?

If you said four, you're correct. So we'll count 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, etc.

Let's try to play this on the piano.

All right, can you tell me the letter names for the first two notes the left hand plays.

If you said E and G you're correct.

Here's my middle C. So we're just a little below that on these two notes, and what finger numbers should I be using to play

these two notes?

If you said 1 and 2, you're correct it's written right in the music.

Now normally you might want to play this interval with a 1 and 3, but there's a good reason

that the music is asking you to do a 1 and 2.

So as we're getting to these more advanced songs I ask you to really trust the finger numbers you see.

Sometimes it may not make total sense, but they're always there for a reason.

Okay, so just trust it and follow them exactly as you see for now.

We're going to use the finger 1 and 2, and we hold that for 4 beats, so let's try that. Go ahead and get your hand in position,

and let's do it together, go.

1 2 3 4, good and now you'll see that the next interval is a sixth.

Does the top note change? No.

I think when you're going from chord to chord, always try and look and compare the two chords,

or sorry, compare the previous chord to the next one,

and I can see that that top note didn't change, so I'm going to use that as my anchor,

and then if I measure down a sixth from there, I know I've got a B on the bottom,

and now that helps me realize why we started with a 1 2 because my finger 5 is kind of already naturally falling on that B.

Okay, so let's try putting those two intervals together.

Can you play this with me? Go.

1 2 3 4, down to the sixth, 1 2 3 4.

Good.

Now, you'll see that the next interval is a fifth.

The top note once again stays the same. That G is going to repeat, so to make the fifth we've got to step up the bottom note.

And since my finger 4 is there, I'll use finger 4, but then you'll see this funny little symbol: a 4-5.

That my friend is a very fancy and advanced finger technique, which is called a finger substitution.

What you're going to do when you see something like that is you play it with the 4,

and then you're going to substitute without letting go of the note your finger 5.

Did you see how I did that without letting go of this note? I actually change from a finger 4 to a finger 5, and that is so these fingers can be ready for the next upcoming chords.

Okay, so once again we are down here on this sixth with finger 5, so I'm going to use finger 4 to play that next one.

Then I'm going to substitute without letting go of that note, my finger five, okay? Now that's

a little bit tricky, looks simple, but it may actually feel trickier than

than you realize. So I'd like you to practice this on your own a few times.

Go from this sixth with the G and the B,

and then go to the fifth with finger 4, and then try substituting out finger 5 without letting go of the note.

Let's pause, try that several times until it feels comfortable, then you can press play to go on.

Okay, so after you've done that finger s ...