In-between the black keys

[theodore]

When I encounter a passage where my fingers absolutely have to be playing one or two white keys within the black key area my finger tips touch and depress an adjacent black key. The index finger and the one next to it simply do not fit between two black keys.

Have any of you found yourself with this problem? In fast passages, I sometimes just leave out a note or two.

Theodore

[timland]

Have you tried playing with your finger tip at a 45 degree angle?

[Kassaa]

It totally depends on the piano you are playing on, unless your fingers are extremely thick. I suffer from the same problem, and it has troubled me at the times I had to play on a smaller grand, I have no problems whatsoever when playing on a concert-size grand, since the black keys tend to be smaller on those.

[slobone]

This may sound silly, but are your keys literally sticky? I find that after I've been playing for a while, gunk builds up on the keys, even on the parts of the black keys that are below the keyboard. I stop and clean them, and things seem to go better.

[alzado]

Also, are your hands damp at all?

At times years ago I would wash my hands thoroughly before a practice session -- I guess I didn't want to play my lovely grand with dirty hands.

Damp hands can cause that binding or sticking you describe as you must play between black keys.  Even just slightly damp.