Ravel: Le Gibet

[thorn]

How do people cope with the section from bar 20 to bar 25 and when it returns at the end (bars 40-44)?

I can play the rest of this piece quite comfortably but always get stumped with these bits as it takes about half a minute to decode each chord. I wondered if anyone had any tips of getting around it- or is it just a case of memorising?

[lostinidlewonder]

From bar 20-25 you should aim to practice it without the repeated Bb.  You can see the Bb rhythm is usually tied with another note (or has a tenuto - or  accent > ), so ignore these to start with, master the chords THEN observe how the hands share this Bb rhythm (the bells tolling sound).

The chords themselves you should notice the shape created by each and memorise. The Fb, Cb and Ebb might confuse a slow reader as well, so highlight these and don't be encouraged to strike black notes when you come to them.  Also observe how some notes of a previous chord are also struck in the next chord, this increases your control if you notice them and anticipate which finger replaces the next.