Description

Dew Drops is a sparkling piano ballad in G major for beginners at the Grade 1 level, and is a great piece to introduce the sustain pedal.

To begin with, learn the piece without using the sustain pedal. It comes with a play-along backing track (and a slower tempo practice backing), so even without using the pedal it will still sound great.

Then, once you can play it all the way through, try adding some sustain pedal. Each time you see a  marking, depress the pedal. The extended lower line "___" then tells the player to keep it depressed and the "∧" shape indicates that the pedal should be momentarily released and then engaged again. However, it can be useful - and fun - to try experimenting without worrying about the pedal markings to begin with.

The melody in Dew Drops is played by the left hand, so keep the hypnotic right hand accompaniment quite light and distant so that the melody gets a chance to sing.

This piece can be played with lots of expression - there are crescendo and diminuendo markings to enjoy and plenty of scope to add your own interpretation. Once you can play the piece through with sustain pedal, you may like to introduce a little rubato - literally 'stolen time' - letting the tempo ebb and flow as the feeling takes you.

I hope you enjoy Dew Drops and have fun with the sustain pedal!