chopin nocturne op. 9 no. 1

[dj]

ok how do you recommend going about this piece if you have small hands? i learned the piece with relatively little difficulty, but i got a friend thats having some problems due to her only being able to reach an octave (and not comfortably at that).....i feel bad for her cuz she really likes the piece but i don't know any advice to give her because i have never had any problems with hand size. if anyone knows any techniques 2 help, she's not really that serious about pursuing a career in music so cheating methods are perfectly acceptable in this instance thanx

[chopiabin]

Her problem is in the middle section? I guess I would say that she should just practice a lot of octaves. If she wants to "cheat" I guess she could sort of play them as broken octaves which could be a cool effect.

[allchopin]

At the time I learned this piece, my hands were fairly small as well.  She may have to rely on the pedal a bit more than usual (as I did) because of having to jump around.  The beginning shouldn't pose too much of a problem- on the wider spreads (before the long grace note jumps), she may consider using her thumb more dominantly to 'hunt and peck' so to speak, rather than try to stretch the spans.
In the middle, the fingering I always use for the repetition of the arpeggiation is 121133 (yes, I know it seems... profound, at first).  This goes smoothly when the pedal is introduced.
That is really all I can find as being a possible problem.   Do tell the results.

[chopiabin]

Do ypu still do the arpeggiation that way? That seems like more trouble than you should have to go to (assuming you don't have small hands).

[dj]

In the middle, the fingering I always use for the repetition of the arpeggiation is 121133 (yes, I know it seems... profound, at first).  This goes smoothly when the pedal is introduced.
That is really all I can find as being a possible problem.   Do tell the results.

excellent! this is exactly the kind of absolutely horrendous fingering i was looking for (but y not 521133?) sounds funny but im dead serious. the brokesn octaves are also a possibility but there really isn't too much you can do about the octaves in the middle (aside from omitting the bottom note and that would probably take away from the musicality of the piece). anyway, thanx much for the ideas.

[allchopin]

No, I would never omit any notes from a piece, at all costs.  If she can't reach an octave securely, then I don't know what to tell you (her).  An octave is really a requirement for classical literature- I would suggest at least avoiding Chopin anyway.

Chopiabin: Yes, I do almost all of the repeated arpeggiation that way, pretty much because I originally learned it that way and it is engrained.  It works quite well for me, but it definitely would be better to do it the 'correct' way- I'm just too lazy to go back and work on it.

Dj: Sorry, that was a typo.  I meant 521133- but this is only for the first part (the part all on black keys).  Once you get into the C G# C arpeggiation, use normal fingering (532123) and just turn the wrist.  If this is too awkward after practice, probably convert to 521212.
Hope this helps.