Gargoyles and Etudes

[Ktari]

Strange combination, no? ^^ hey, I'm new here, and I have two questions:

1. I'm a sucker for obscure music and I heard someone play these things called "Gargoyles" once (I think there were 5?) they were kinda creepy and VERY cool, and I've always been wondering who wrote them! Does anyone know?

and.. 2. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good virtuosic etude? Preferably unconventional, not too common (*cough* no Chopin) and fingery, since I have baby hands that can reach an octave and no further, and that with pain too! (Anyone else have that problem?   ) Suggestions please please?

[allchopin]

actually *cough* chopin is your best bet for etudes. and really if youre scared of his etudes, they are not ALL insane as you might think. i would suggest the #2 Op. 25 because it requires no stretches and is a good one for speed. it is faily uncommon and is cool! but other than that, try liszt's 'campanella' - this etude has no stretches, and should be perfect.

just kidding dont even think about it  :-/

[Ktari]

Hehe, thanks for replying!!! Actually, though, I've played through most Chopin etudes is the thing, and I performed La Campanella this past year (it's really not that hard =P just try it, honestly) so that's not exactly an option either *grins*

so... not too worried about technical difficulty (not to sound over-confident, but that's just not an issue i'm worried about)

[allchopin]

wait a minute, youre saying your hands are too small, though you can already play campanella? whats wrong witchu?

[Ktari]

Hehe, *hums innocently* well, it was done with a TON of rolling chords (but there's a lot he wrote in anyway, so it was okay) and a LOT of jumping... a lot... of jumping... and... pain on the last page, hehe

[zoolander]

As i've seen on the score on the campanella it looks like it can be played with small as well as with big hands.
The jumps so are so large that big hands wouldnt help (two octave as jumps as far as I can remember).

I got a theory that maybe smallhanded people have an advantage because they may have developed a good jumping technique to use, instead of streching the hands to reach. Could this be true?

[Ktari]

Some of the jumps are really large and wouldn't help -but then again, some places, with larger hands you really wouldn't need to jump (for example, lets see on about page 7, the right hand starts going d-# d#(octave higher) e d# and repeats with the melody, well I have to jump on that part, and I can't help but think, if only I had just a little bigger hands and didn't have to jump  every single time!! Other than that it's really the last page that is a problem. I dunno about jumping technique, I do jump pretty well, but I would much rather have both options (jumping and stretching!)

Also, I've noticed that people talking about being smallhanded often say it's a problem while reaching chords. But... I've began to notice that it's a problem even when playing single notes. Say a piece doesn't have a reach larger than an octave? but it needs to be fingered carefully (like, say bach), and the best fingering stretches the 2nd and 3rd finger farther than you can play (legato) -then you have to change fingerings! This is a bigger problem to me than chords (which you can roll or cut off notes), pieces are doable but harder, often I have to change the fingering the publisher puts in, or my piano teacher will work out a fingering and then realize it won't work...

I got a theory that maybe smallhanded people have an advantage because they may have developed a good jumping technique to use, instead of streching the hands to reach. Could this be true?

~~~

[eddie92099]

I suggest the Etudes by Einojuhani Rautavaara (op.42) - they are all etudes for different intervals but none very large. Also the Ligeti Etudes but these are extremely complicated!
Ed