Well, after 2 months I can finally play the complete 1st movement of Moonlight Sonata. Now I want to begin to refine my performance. So far I have been holding the "pedal to the metal" throughout. I knew all along that this had to change, but not while I was focusing on memorizing the piece.

Have experimented a little with the pedal, but so far with terrible results. The contrast between full pedal (even half pedal) and no pedal is just too stark. I'm sure that's because I don't know when, where or how to engage/disengage the dampers. I have a P155 DP with a full/half pedal. Any general help in pedal use would be appreciated.

Are you by any chance using the FC4 pedal which came in the box with your P155?

If you are, this pedal does not support half pedalling. You will have to buy an FC3 before you can take advantage of half pedalling on the P155.

I wonder if you have gotten so used to hearing the smeared sound of full pedal that inching back toward the way it's normally played simply sounds off to your ears. The piece has a clear chord structure and you can release the pedal as the chords evolve. Pedaling with the phrasing this way is pretty standard.

By the way, the score calls for playing completely with the dampers off, but that is a direction that only works on a period piano.

I have the FC3 pedal. Find it difficult to hold it at half pedal since the range of motion in that area is very narrow. Don't believe holding it in any single position is the answer anyway. I've just got to learn to "work" the pedal. I'm just not clear on when to apply it and when to let off. Is it possible the slur notations are a good place to start?

You might try the Concert Performer Series which is available from Amazon. It is what I have and the pedal notations are indicated. It is a very good product and comes with a CD.
Also, you might find this article useful as you shape this piece.

http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.25.1

BTW,
Did you find the last page to be the most difficult to learn?

Thanks for the information Carl MC. I'll check it out.

I can see why you ask if the 3rd page was most difficult for me, but I found the 2nd page most difficult. Seems by the time I got to page 3, which does have some repetition, things became easier for me. Believe this is because when I started 2 months ago, I was just beginning on the piano. I knew nothing and learned most of what I know on this forum. By the time I got to page 3 I had a little bit of knowledge, and a "feel" for what I was trying to do. Thanks again.

Never mind - Guess I should have read all the posts first.

Did you think, from the title, that maybe this thread was about a romantic bicycle ride? I got a really nice picture in my head - calm, balmy, lovely evening, full moon, leisurely riding side-by-side with your sweetheart -

Sorry for the OT

Cathy

You know I did, Cathy.

Steven

Cathy

Nice picture, but no. I just posted a link to the Chang chapter on pedaling the MS, then saw someone already did that. I like your version better though!

My thought every time I see this title is that you pedal in the moonlight the same way you do in daylight or starlight - you pedal by ear.

I did it pretty much according to the bass chords. But my book didn't have pedal notations on it, so I did it how I felt it might have been done.

Piano*Dad, I believe Charles Rosen in PIANO NOTES wrote exactly the opposite: that playing the "Moonlight" on a modern piano required dampers off to achieve the sonic "wash" effect of early pianofortes.

I don't have the book, but can anyone check?

Surely you misunderstood. Doing that on a modern instrument would result in a muddy mess.

Possible, Horowitzian. Wish I had the book!

I'm a beginner so I don't really appreciate the damper distinction, esp. on my Roland 207. I play it with sustain all the way through and it sounds great to me.

What I find fascinating about the "Moonlight" is what a difference tempo makes. I play it quite a bit faster than most performances I've heard, though not as fast as Glenn Gould's (in)famous recording. I've never thought it was a "easy listening" piece; to me, it's full of tension and suspense. A faster tempo brings this out, IMHO.

I think you will agree with me that Horowitz's interpretation is by far the best ever recorded -- absolutely amazing!