Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 39 No. 15

6.9 Clear the sound with half pedal

Study Brahms’s Waltz in A flat, Op. 39 No. 15. The right hand sings in sixths and thirds (C over E flat, A flat over C in bar 1) over the left hand’s waltz bass and chords. Hold the pedal through each bar’s harmony and lift it only part of the way where the melody’s passing notes would blur: a half pedal clears the top and keeps the bass. The double-notes card shows how to keep the sixths even and joined. At the keyboard: change pedal depth while holding a chord.

Ideas

• Half and flutter pedal
• Thirds, sixths and double notes

Theory cards

• Half pedal and flutter pedal
• Practising octaves and double notes safely

Technique

• F major half-pedal: let the sound thin without stopping, hands together
• A-flat major scale, hands together, 2 octaves