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Pedal trills?

rojo

(Ret)
Ok, just a question I thought I`d throw out here. Does one ever have to do trills with the foot pedals? And how would one go about doing that?
 

NEB

New member
Yes - I use both feet, but no matter how much I might practice these - They still sound clumsy to my ear... :(
 

falcon1

New member
Yes, it's possible and it's done with both feets (toes). I think it works best to do them ad lib, then I mean don't count the trills out - specially for long trills like in the "wedge" fugue if I remember correctly. :)
 

DMac

New member
There are a number of pedal trills in Max Reger's 'Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme' that lend themselves to playing with the left foot only, as the right foot is busy operating swell pedals or crescendo pedals.

Bach's 'Toccata' BWV 564 requires some short trills, as well as containing three written out 7 note, minor 3rd trills.

I found that trilling without stopping until my legs relaxed (as much as possible) then stopping and trying a short trill while keeping the same level of relaxation was helpful in preparing for trilling in pieces. It is also very useful to listen carefully to ensure that the trill is not so fast that pipes don't have a chance to speak.
 
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rojo

(Ret)
K, thanks guys. :)

Gosh, hard to imagine doing a long trill with one`s feet! And how does one trill with only one foot? It can`t be a very fast trill, I guess; going from one pedal to the other with the same foot...
 

Simon Jansfort

New member
Probablt be using the heel don't you think? I don't know, I haven't gotten that far yet, but if you can with you're fingers it's just a matter of practise to be able to do it with your feet.
 

tom

New member
Yes - I use both feet, but no matter how much I might practice these - They still sound clumsy to my ear... :(

One thing to make sure is that your legs are relaxed while perfoming them, and that you don't trill faster than you can control it - one is tempted to simply letting the feet trill as fast as possible, but first of all it sounds very muddy in the low register, secondly it's not very musical, and thirdly, it tires out the legs very fast. Slow, controlled trills is the way to go!
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Hmmm, fast trill with one foot ... it would have to be toe/heel - that would take lots of practice to perfect, not to mention superb ankle control.

The Ellsasser arrangement of The Lost Chord has a one measure pedal trill in the last bars of the piece of D & C# ... the tendency is to trill too fast, but as Tom & DMac have pointed out, slower is better, and I quite agree with that :grin:.

Bach has good amounts of trills and mordents for sure.

Not only trills, but chords for the feet, too ... 4 note chords at that, too. In the organ piece Variations de Concert of Joseph Bonnet, there is a Cadenza for the pedalboard alone !! I have to grip the bench with both hands when playing that part.
 

rojo

(Ret)
Hmmm, fast trill with one foot ...that would take ... superb ankle control.
Yeah, that`s what I would figure...

Bach has good amounts of trills and mordents for sure.
Actually, when this question occurred to me, a Bach piece I once learned (and have since forgotten :p) came to mind. Prelude No.16 from his WTC, where the trills stretch for the entire bar. (And yes, I learned the fugue as well. ;))

Not only trills, but chords for the feet, too ... 4 note chords at that, too. In the organ piece Variations de Concert of Joseph Bonnet, there is a Cadenza for the pedalboard alone !! I have to grip the bench with both hands when playing that part.
Sounds pretty crazy; would love to see/hear that! :grin: I assume the chords are broken, somehow. Or some of the notes are close enough together that thery are playable at the same time by the foot/feet.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

Here`s a related question: What is, or who does the fastest trill (with the feet/foot) that you have ever heard? What piece and/or what artist?
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
On pedal chords:
... would love to see/hear that! :grin: I assume the chords are broken, somehow. Or some of the notes are close enough together that thery are playable at the same time by the foot/feet.

Here`s a related question: What is, or who does the fastest trill (with the feet/foot) that you have ever heard? What piece and/or what artist?

Here's a little video of a piece for pedals. Don't know who is playing and the audio is not too good (the 'clacking' seems to be the tracker mechanical action). Half way through, there are block chords being played, and just before the end, there is a trill, and the piece ends with a D minor chord.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEqIbWpX2hY[/youtube]

Notice the heels on the organ shoes ... interesting :grin: Those must be 1-1/2" - mine are 3/4" :crazy: What do the rest of the organists here use?
 
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rojo

(Ret)
Now that is cool. A great view of how it`s done; and not at all how I pictured it. I didn`t know the 'white keys' were so long. And the touch is obviously so light. The trill is actually much faster than I imagined possible. I see the heel of the shoe is an important element, for chords etc.. Great example, Kh. Thanks.
 

Soubasse

New member
Interesting topic. I too would site the Bach Toccata, Adagio & Fugue - the long pedal solo in the Toccata has a couple of trills and written out ornaments which aren't that difficult using alternating feet (toes of course).

Reger's Introduction & Passacaglia in d min has a variation with some rather serious pedal trills, but again they're manageable with alternating feet.

I'm certain that others here have played the finale of Langlais' Hommage a Frescobaldi - plenty of four note chords to keep the feet happy (or not) in that one! I've often had requests about dancing lessons after performing it.:) Speaking of which, I actually do use dancing shoes for playing.;)

Matt
 

NEB

New member
Now that is cool. A great view of how it`s done; and not at all how I pictured it. I didn`t know the 'white keys' were so long. And the touch is obviously so light. The trill is actually much faster than I imagined possible. I see the heel of the shoe is an important element, for chords etc.. Great example, Kh. Thanks.

I've never seen a view like that before and it's a real eye opener. Very cool indeed!

If you do a search of the net, there's a few places selling organ shoes and they all seem to have about 1 1/2 inch heels. I had wondered why they were so, now I know. :)
 

Albert

New member
I've never seen a view like that before and it's a real eye opener. Very cool indeed!

If you do a search of the net, there's a few places selling organ shoes and they all seem to have about 1 1/2 inch heels. I had wondered why they were so, now I know. :)

I prefer my organ shoes with a heel of 1 1/8" - probably because my first pair, made in Vancouver BC were 1 1/8". Makes for easy thirds.

If you wnat some pedal exercises, look for pieces by Walter Dietrich. I have several of them in Ernst Kaller's Orgel Schule. The first piece in book 2 is a pedal solo that ends on a chord in G major: GGG (Left foot), BB.D (right foot). That's the lowest G and highest B and D on the pedal board.

Healey Willan has some pedal exercises also, and they use the full 32 note compass. Dietrich's music uses the European 30 note compass. I first learned on a 30 concave parallel - and still find it easier to use than concave and radiating.
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Finally figured out the organ in the video:
Mataró Basilica, Barcelona - Spain ... IV/87 (4,575 pipes) - Sorry, the photo is copyrighted so I can't post it here :bawl:
 

Gedackt

New member
Finally figured out the organ in the video:
Mataró Basilica, Barcelona - Spain ... IV/87 (4,575 pipes) - Sorry, the photo is copyrighted so I can't post it here :bawl:

But it's not forbidden to post the LINK to that photo and to other COOOOOOOOl videos in Raùl Prieto's website!;)

This is the organ in S. Maria de Matarò (look at that "trompeterìa"... SLURP! :p ):

http://www.raulprieto.net/pictures/organos/mataro/mataro-grande.jpg

This is the disposition:

http://www.raulprieto.net/ENGLISH/Organs/Mataro/Disposicion.htm

And here are two videos you MUST see... simply :banghead:

http://www.raulprieto.net/videos/Danza-macabra.wmv

http://www.raulprieto.net/videos/Reger46.avi

I wish to start a new thread on both the performer and that instrument... comments welcome!
 
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