Piano Forum
Piano Board => Performance => Topic started by: sinspawnammes on July 20, 2006, 08:33:08 PM
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I've having trouble starting on measure thirteen. Pretty much, I don't understand whether you're meant to cross the right hand over the left, pass the right hand under the left, or just cheat. I figure, since this is an etude, it would be best not to cheat and play all the tenor voices with one hand, but it feels really uncomfortable to actually pass the hand over/under.
At the moment, what i'm doing is playing the A-E# with the right hand, then the A-C# with the left hand, withdrawing my left hand really quickly, and playing the A-E# and E#-C#, but I don't think that method will help bring it up to speed.
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One very important advice I learned is to not think too much in such passages where speed is necessary as well as control. Thinking slows you down, causes doubt, and puts too much of your mind in the playing aspect of it. More to the point, you really have to pay attention to how your body feels and what it wants to do naturally.
At bar 13:
There is no need to "cheat" (this concept shouldn't even exist in your own vocabulary in piano playing). (By the way, it's not A-F, it's A-E#, though physically it doesn't make a difference, theoretically, it took me some time to understand what F meant as I didn't see any F.)
At the left hand A-C#, do not "withdraw really quickly". This is a waste of effort that has made it difficult. The motion of the left arm guides the hand in a circular motion - clockwise, in this case - as it plays. This allows the hand to quickly move down out of the way for the right hand to play that A-E#, E#-C#. This clockwise circular motion continues and, because it's a circular motion, will take you back to play the A-C#. I would use fingers 4-2 to play these quick executions as they allow the circular motion to be easier.
This advice also assumes that you are neither sitting too far/close or too low/high from the piano.
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I don't understand why there would even be a circular motion. I'm away from my piano at the moment, but if the left hand plays the A-C#, then moves clockwise, it ends up running into the right hand. Unless you mean the left hand moves to the left and downwards, then up and to the right, giving the right hand room to execute while not wasting effort. I'll try it out when I find a keyboard.
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Imagine that at the moment you play those notes, it's 3 o'clock. The circular motion is much more of an ellipsis than any round ring.