Taught by renowned instructor
Arie Vardi
In this lesson, Israeli pianist Arie Vardi teaches you the difference between legato and cantabile playing. To play legato, you must connect your notes by pedaling with your fingers, i.e., releasing a note only after its sound has briefly overlapped with the next note. You must also touch the keys with the pads or “cushions” of your fingers, and your attack, you learn, must be slow. <br><br>Vardi encourages you to enhance the expressivity of your legato playing with cantabile (“singable”) phrasing. To achieve a cantabile style, Vardi explains, you must never play two notes at the same volume; rather, you must use dynamics to give your playing a constant sense of direction. Finally, you learn to imitate singers’ phrasing by taking time during large melodic leaps.
Arie Vardi on Legato & Cantabile
In this lesson, Israeli pianist Arie Vardi teaches you the difference between legato and cantabile playing. To play legato, you must connect your notes by pedaling with your fingers, i.e., releasing a note only after its sound has briefly overlapped with the next note. You must also touch the keys with the pads or “cushions” of your fingers, and your attack, you learn, must be slow.
Vardi encourages you to enhance the expressivity of your legato playing with cantabile (“singable”) phrasing. To achieve a cantabile style, Vardi explains, you must never play two notes at the same volume; rather, you must use dynamics to give your playing a constant sense of direction. Finally, you learn to imitate singers’ phrasing by taking time during large melodic leaps.
Prelude Book 2 No. 8 - Ondine
In this lesson, Israeli pianist Arie Vardi shares his imaginative perspective on Debussy’s prelude Ondine. As he explores the piece’s program (i.e. narrative or imagery), Vardi shows you how the mythology of Greek water nymphs and sirens informs his musical interpretation.
Guiding you through the watery world that characterizes much of Debussy’s work – a world where “each harmony has a temperature” – Vardi attunes you to similarities shared between Ondine and the composer’s famous orchestral pieces.
Though brief, this lesson demonstrates the value of approaching a piece with a storyteller’s curiosity and invites you to view every piece you learn in the context of its composer’s oeuvre.
Ondine (Performance)
In this video, Israeli pianist Arie Vardi performs Debussy's 'Ondine', the eighth Prelude from Book II.
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Unlock Course →Arie Vardi has received international acclaim as one of Israel’s foremost pianists, conductors, and teachers, whose students include the likes of Yefim Bronfman, Yundi Li, Yoel Eum Son, and Beatrice Rana.
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