Difficult passage- help needed fast please

[valor]

Hi, i've been repracticing a piece called Final Battle for a while and theres a certain section thats a bit difficult to play, here is what it looks like

I've been playing this by rotating my forearm, but it gets tired too quickly and i can't play it fast enough, and just this afternoon i thought of another way that i can't describe very well, like playing the first two notes quickly then jumping to the next set of octaves.

Can someone help please? I need to be able to play this by friday (i have a "mini recital" for my piano class and i want to play it perfectly lol). Thank you.

[amanfang]

What if you "regroup" it in your mind.  Think about the top note going to the bottom of the next broken octave note - so you're thinking more of 7ths in this case than octaves.  Maybe if your brain processes it a different way it will be easier when you go back. 

[mike_lang]

Or, perhaps, you can practice these broken octaves which the thumb only a few times, in order that when you add the upper voice, you will have the proper center of gravity in the movement, that the top can be slightly lighter.  Often times when people play broken octaves, the two voices are treated equally both conceptually and in articulation, however, one voice must lead.  To best take advantage of gravity and the natural position of the hand, this voice really must be the lower one, anchored in the thumb's movement.

Best,
ML

[ramseytheii]

Basically, all these passages ever need is an essential looseness of mechanism.  To that end, you should practice them in every possible way you can think of.  Creative practice is essential for passages like this.

To give an idea of how many different things can be achieved, I compiled just a few in this pdf.  Tell me if it helps, and invent your own.

Walter Ramsey


PS These only work if you follow the articulations, and always play beautifully and melodically, never forcing it, and never playing hard.

[thalberg]

Hi, i've been repracticing a piece called Final Battle for a while and theres a certain section thats a bit difficult to play, here is what it looks like

I've been playing this by rotating my forearm, but it gets tired too quickly and i can't play it fast enough, and just this afternoon i thought of another way that i can't describe very well, like playing the first two notes quickly then jumping to the next set of octaves.

Can someone help please? I need to be able to play this by friday (i have a "mini recital" for my piano class and i want to play it perfectly lol). Thank you.

If you're rotating only your forearm, then you will indeed get tired!

The solution is to rotate more than your forearm.  You must rotate in such a way that your tricep jiggles.  Practice jiggling your tricep away from the keyboard, then at the keyboard.  That should do it.

[pianistimo]

how about sort of locking the span of the octave and just rotating your hand from left to right slightly while you move your arm up the keyboard?  this may cause the triceps to 'jiggle' as well.  the correct fingering for each octave in a regular Ab major scale would be Db to Eb - 14 14  and Ab to Bb 14 14.  maybe the fingering depends upon how big your hands are and how comfy it is?  also, it is suggested in some scale books to start with the beginning pattern and play the start octave and only one other octave before going back to start and then playing one octave lower.  in effect, mirror playing above and below by one octave, two octaves, three octaves and so on.   

i see a pattern, also, of F G Ab Bb       and  C Db Eb  (the jump becomes more manageable)

[valor]

Thanks everyone, it all helped (especially changing the fingering), however my teacher postponed the mini recital to tuesday lol, well at least i'll be ready. thanks again.

[alpacinator1]

how about sort of locking the span of the octave and just rotating your hand from left to right slightly while you move your arm up the keyboard?  this may cause the triceps to 'jiggle' as well.  the correct fingering for each octave in a regular Ab major scale would be Db to Eb - 14 14  and Ab to Bb 14 14.  maybe the fingering depends upon how big your hands are and how comfy it is?  also, it is suggested in some scale books to start with the beginning pattern and play the start octave and only one other octave before going back to start and then playing one octave lower.  in effect, mirror playing above and below by one octave, two octaves, three octaves and so on.   

i see a pattern, also, of F G Ab Bb       and  C Db Eb  (the jump becomes more manageable)

That's exactly what I'd do. That looks like a pretty hard piece...

[valor]

Well the hardest part is the third and last page, the rest is pretty easy (especially the beginning, lots of chords though so it was difficult for me to learn). Thanks again guys.