Piano Forum
Piano Board => Student's Corner => Topic started by: commongnd on May 06, 2011, 07:41:08 PM
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Hi guys,
I've been practicing piano for a couple of months and was wondering how I'm supposed to play the following part in the red box. I find it impossible to put my fingers on all keys for those notes as my fingers are not long enough. Is it even possible to play it for anyone? Any advice?
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If you can't reach a chord you'll normally have to roll it. In some cases you can also leave out a note depending on the circumstances, but here it is better to roll I think.
I don't think that chord is really impossible, you just need big hands. I can almost reach it :P, and my hands are small... ;)
If you have only been playing for a couple of months by the way you will see that your stretch will increase with time. I can now reach a 9th, and at the beginning I could only reach an 8th.
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Hi amie,
Thanks for your reply. Are you sure you can almost reach it? Isn't the second chord in the red box D# F# B F#? I wear size large for gloves and I can't even get close to reaching all those keys. Am I missing something?
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Oh, I had only tried the first one.
Yes, the second one is more difficult.
On another board I once saw a discussion about a piece with really huge chords (really impossible to reach) and they said it was implicit that they should be rolled, even without the arpeggio indication...
I can imagine people with huge hands to reach the chord in your piece though. I can almost reach the E, and it is not really so far from the F#. I think with some practice I could play the first chord, but not the second... ???
One of the pieces I have left among my last pieces to learn (by my favourite composer) is the Nocturne Op.48 No/1, precisely because of the huge chords, but I want to try it very soon. ;)
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I can play this quite easily if I take the lower D# and F# both with my thumb.
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Thanks for your replies.
pianowolfi, the thought of hitting two keys with one finger didn't even occur to me! (Again, I've only been playing for a couple months) I can do this with the first chord but the second chord is impossible. :(
amie, I don't think rolling the chord is an option for me since it doesn't sound as good as the original.. I guess I will keep stretching my fingers until they get long enough to play that chord! :)
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Thanks for your replies.
pianowolfi, the thought of hitting two keys with one finger didn't even occur to me! (Again, I've only been playing for a couple months) I can do this with the first chord but the second chord is impossible. :(
amie, I don't think rolling the chord is an option for me since it doesn't sound as good as the original.. I guess I will keep stretching my fingers until they get long enough to play that chord! :)
Well sometimes there are chords that you just can't play. I mean with practise hands gradually become more flexible but there'll still be a limit. I'm not trying to be negative but don't feel bad if you can't reach it. Not all hands are the same size anyway. My teacher said that it's like a hair elastic compared to a long rope. You can stretch the elastic, but no matter how much you stretch it it can't become as long as the rope before it breaks! (Haha my teacher has the weirdest analogies!) So basically, don't hurt yourself over it :P