How To Teach Mendelssohn Venetian Boat Song Op.19, No.6

Today we’re talking about how to teach the Venetian Boat Song, or Song Without Words Op.19, No.6, by Felix Mendelssohn. This is a beautiful, melancholy piece that intermediate students love to play. Check out my video discussing fingering choices in this piece here: • FINGERING ANSWERS - Ho...
Editions that I recommended in the video:
Alfred Masterworks - Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words (Maurice Hinson) Complete: amzn.to/3AKSRwe
Alfred Masterworks - Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words (Maurice Hinson) Selected: amzn.to/3wskyra
Masterwork Classics Book 8 (Jane Magrath): amzn.to/3AMr52g
Looking for more support in the area of intermediate piano teaching? Check out my Frequently Asked Questions page here: www.jannawilliamson.com/inter...
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0:00 Introduction
2:21 Key signature and accidentals
2:54 Texture
4:09 Practicing the left hand
6:15 Practicing the right hand
8:17 Shaping the phrases
9:50 Balance, voicing, and final comments

[@JannaWilliamson]

Do you have other pieces in the intermediate repertoire that you'd like me to cover in a future video? Leave a comment here!

[@nojohns1748]

Hector Villa Lobos Bachiana Brasilieras 4 No 1 (Prelude) would be nice.

[@dougblanding8791]

How about Schubert Impromptu in C minor (Op. 90)? Especially after the intro, where one hand has got the melody and the other has so many beautiful tonal modulations (probably not the correct terminology). I would love to hear your advice on how to get the most expression out of these 2 things going on at once.

[@edieamusic]

Thanks for the tips! I love the idea of encouraging the student to play the LH chords in both hands, and the RH thirds/sixths in both hands, so they can hear what the parts sound like harmonically without worrying about the technical stuff. There’s lots of other pieces that idea could be used for.

[@JannaWilliamson]

Yes, I use this technique all the time!

[@RobertMonroePlays]

Fantastic resource. Lovely to cover this! Just taught this piece earlier today.

[@JannaWilliamson]

Thank you for watching! Check out the rest of the videos in the series: kzbin.info/aero/PLyxlD3l1usT5XIe4QiPngmv8AYzy2gKGq

[@beverlychildress2281]

Many thanks!

[@JannaWilliamson]

Thank you for watching! More info here: www.jannawilliamson.com/blog/how-to-teach-mendelssohn-boatsong

[@seasidefoto]

I like this song. So romantic and poetic. Felix Mendelssohn, I immensely respect him.

[@JannaWilliamson]

Me too! When I was an undergraduate, I had the privilege of being a choral singer for a large production of Mendelssohn's Elijah. It was amazing! And I love teaching the Songs Without Words.

[@ag7830]

Would love to see a tutorial about using the pedal for this piece

[@JannaWilliamson]

Pedal is hard to focus on in a tutorial video because all pianos, pedals, and acoustics are different. I’d encourage you to consult multiple good editions - the Alfred linked in the video description has pedal suggestions. amzn.to/3AKSRwe Generally, a connected pedal that changes harmonically (on each new bass note) should work well. Do lots of practice with left hand and pedal only.

[@user-xu6mz6pz3h]

Thank you

[@JannaWilliamson]

Thank you for watching!

[@heatherknezevichpiano6825]

I love this piece! Thank you! Have you taught other pieces from the Songs without words? Just curious which ones are your favorites. I have the Masterworks edition and am working on playing through it. A suggestion for a piece to do... Golliwog's Cakewalk by Debussy. I'm considering teaching it soon.

[@JannaWilliamson]

Hi Heather! Golliwog is a great suggestion. I'm teaching it now and remembering just how difficult it is...I might need to up my game with my student and see if I *really* know how to teach this before making a video! 😬

[@JannaWilliamson]

Regarding the other Songs Without Words: Yes! I have several that I've taught. Easier selections: Op.19 No.4, Op.30 No.3 (those two are quite similar), Op.19 No.2, Op.102 No.3, and the other Venetian Boat Song Op.30, No.6. Harder but still upper intermediate/early advanced: Op.19 No.1, Op.38 No.6, Op.53 No.2, Op.102 No.4, Op.19, No.3. Jane Magrath has some of these in her Melodious Masterpieces books (book 2: amzn.to/3dltOqq and book 3: amzn.to/3S0qNe3) as well as Masterwork Classics (book 7: amzn.to/3S1wet9 and book 8: amzn.to/3RI3aXH) I hope that helps!

[@dannysaiz6072]

I'm a little late to this party, I think. I've just taken up the piano again (after years away) and have fallen in love with pieces I never would have in my youth. This piece scratches every itch for me. I'm now 62. I'm about 80% there on this piece. I can play the entire piece with maybe a couple of hitches. I just need to be even more familiar with the piece than I am. Getting up to tempo is the main challenge for me right now. My question for you, would be how best to play the right hand melody in measures 26-30? There's no legato sign. I sound awfully choppy. I try not to over rely on the pedal. I guess I'm just looking for some insight. Thanks for the link to the Alfred book. I've ordered it.

[@JannaWilliamson]

You know, it's funny - I thought I mentioned this in the video, but I must not have. My editions (including the Alfred - you'll see this once you have it) have "portato" on the first three eighth notes of m.26, 27, 28, meaning it should be slightly detached, so no need to do an awkward slur there. If you didn't see my second video discussing fingering on this piece, you can view it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGTaYmV7rNN4pa8

[@dannysaiz6072]

@@JannaWilliamson Thank you so much for your response! Cheers.

[@anatolygotlib7013]

Grieg Sailor’s Song, please

[@JannaWilliamson]

Good idea!

[@matthias741]

hi, very helpful video! i would suggest poudre d‘or by Erik Satie, i really like this piece

[@JannaWilliamson]

This piece is new to me! I'm looking at it now. I think you can approach this like most other waltzes. Have you played waltzes by Chopin or others? There are also a lot of octaves here. Kate Boyd has a great video covering octave technique: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2nUXnaNdpihn9U

[@matthias741]

@@JannaWilliamson thanks for the video suggestion! and yes, i did play some waltzes by chopin. but espacially at poudre d´or i struggle with the pedalling because there is no information about it on the sheets or in the internet

[@JannaWilliamson]

@@matthias741 I think you can just pedal harmonically - most measures could do one pedal per measure, listening for clarity of harmony.

[@matthias741]

@@JannaWilliamson okay thank you very much! i was just a little bit confused by the many pauses in the sheets

[@user-ks6bm8hf2c]

Thank you for this video! I'm a self-taught piano student at the early intermediate level and had no idea which hand should play which notes. I thought everything in the bass clef should be played by the left hand (which was proving difficult). Watching how you split the notes between hands was very instructive and makes the piece much easier to learn. A general question is, how would I have known to split the hands this way as traditionally the left hand plays the bass clef and the right hand plays the treble clef? Although much more difficult, would it be unacceptable to play without splitting the notes between hands as you have shown in your video? Just wondering how I would figure this out for other pieces when such a helpful video is unavailable. Thanks!

[@JannaWilliamson]

This is is one of the reasons to purchase a quality edition. Good editors will help you see the distributions. I have editions listed in the video description. Beyond that, this is one reason to study with an experienced teacher who can guide you in common practices in interpreting printed scores.

[@user-ks6bm8hf2c]

@@JannaWilliamson Thank you for the reply. I do have an Alfred Masterwork edition named Standard Piano Classics which contains the Mendelssohn Venetian Boat song. I'm not 100% positive but I believe that it is likely the exact same as what is in the complete works that you mention. It does have the pedal markings and fingering. I've watched your video carefully and I see that you play measures 1 and 2 with both hands and starting with measure 7 play the entire bass clef with your left hand. The notes in measures 1 and 2 and measure 7 are the same but the timing and dynamics are different. The G in measures 1 and 2 is held for 2 beats while the G in measure 7 is held for one beat and is staccato. I think these differences determine the use of both hands vs one hand. Unless you have a pretty large reach it would be impossible to hold the G in measures 1 and 2 for 2 beats while reaching to play the G, Bb minor 3rd on beat 2. Thus the use of 2 hands (or using the pedal to sustain and playing with one hand). In measure 7 because G is only held for one beat and is staccato using one hand becomes possible and is necessary to leave the right hand to play the melody. Still very confusing because it really takes some analysis to determine when using one hand vs two is acceptable or required. It is not so easy to just sightread this piece without doing some analysis. I was hoping there was some rule or marking that would make things more apparent. Thanks again!!

[@mariannegarcia2830]

Can you show us the differences in the fingering pattern for the right hand between editions?

[@JannaWilliamson]

Let me see if I can make a short video covering some fingering options. I will give it a shot!

[@JannaWilliamson]

Hi Marianne - I just published a video going over some fingering choices. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGTaYmV7rNN4pa8 I hope that helps!

[@mariannegarcia2830]

Thank you so much!!!