Rachmaninoff C sharp minor prelude

[lazlo]

About the agitato section. It's hard to explain the question sort of, I'll do my best... Is it best to play it all between the black keys with the hands as far in as capable, or is it just impossible to play it this way. Because I can play it without doing that, but it feels like a very inefficient use of energy, and feels as though I'm constantly moving my hands up and down (kind of like the opening and the ending). I ask because usually I would play inbetween the keys and far up to minimize extraneous movement, but since every other section in the piece inherently requires one to pull there hands fron between the keys, I was curious if this was just the case throughout. Hopes this makes sense...

[imbetter]

Yes, this made perfect sense.

I always used to use random fingering sometimes with my old teacher, but she always corrected me and gave me the "right" fingering. I, personally, did not agree with this, nor did my new teacher. My newer teacher and I both thought that whatever was easy/better for the performer was "the right way" (although many people might not agree with this statement).

What I'm saying is that you should do whatever works best for you but allows you to play the piece the right way. If you can play it the way you said without losing too much energy, enough that you struggle to play the rest of the piece, then play it the way you originally  did. But if you come across some difficulty playing like that, then try some new and easier ways to play it that are more convenient for you.

best of luck