How To Play Legato – Piano
Piano Legato
Have you ever wondered how concert pianists get that beautiful, smooth sound? Well, I hope so because I’m going to teach you one of their secrets today! I just happen to be a concert pianist. I’ve performed all over the world and I’m here to share some of my tips & insights with you on this topic. The technique I’m teaching today will transform the way you sound on the piano. I hope you’ll watch my video because I’m going to show you how to play legato on the piano and apply a special technique to a famous piece that you’ll want to learn (if you haven’t already).
FINGER TRANSFERRING
If you’ve ever played an organ (or a keyboard without a sustain pedal), you know how important it is to connect the keys with your fingers. If you don’t, the notes will sound choppy. On the piano, connecting the keys with our fingers and utilizing finger transferring is just as important and necessary.
You might be wondering what I mean by “finger transferring.” This is when you play a note with one finger and transfer to another finger while holding the key down.
Finger transferring can help us connect a melodic line and achieve a nice piano legato sound.
PIANO SUSTAIN PEDAL
I want to emphasize that the purpose of the damper pedal is NOT to connect the melody notes. We should be connecting the notes with our fingers to get a legato sound. Then if we add the damper pedal to our legato touch, our playing will sound even more smooth & beautiful.
PIANO LEGATO
Watch me demonstrate this important technique on the first 8 measures of Debussy’s Clair de Lune in this short video. I also perform this section of Clair de Lune so you can see and hear how important finger transferring is in achieving the perfect piano legato!
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By Steinway Artist, Professor Lenora Ford Brown of Brillante Piano Duo
