Left hand etudes recommendations?

[lani]

Does anyone have any suggestions for some energetic (level 7-8) and lyrical etudes for my daughter (age 11) to help her left hand technique?  Thanks, Lani

[ayahav]

Chopin - 10.4, 10.8, 10.9, 10.11 (really hard, but might help), 10.12 (definitely), 25.1, 25.3 (probably too difficult, but just practising the left hand slowly can help), 25.12...


Czerny's Schule der Gelaeufigkeit (School of Velocity could help, but it's quite redundant and mostly boring I find. So is Hanon's "The Virtuoso Pianist" (I believe that's what it's called).


The Chopin are very difficult, but attempting them really never hurt anyone, so long as your daughter can handle some frustration...

[ayahav]

I forgot to mention, you don't necessarily have to have etudes to help a certain technique. Playing a certain work might help. If you specify exactly what the weakness is, we can probably be of more help.

Cheers. Amit

[lani]

Thanks Amit.  She does not enjoy the Czerny (or Hanon pieces at all), and finds them pretty boring. Will look into above pieces. Regards, Lani

[lani]

P.S. She just completed Chopin, so it would be nice to have another composre perhaps. Regards, Lani

[bernhard]

A very good exercise (for both hands) is to try and play a two-hand piece with just one hand. There are many pieces that allow this. Two that come to mind are J.S.Bach Prelude 1 of the WTC, and C.P.E. Bach ‘s “Solfeggietto”. Just play these pieces (and other similar ones) using only one hand.

The pieces below all have challenging left hands, and at the same time are all worthwhile additions to one’s repertory. In another thread, Ted asked a most relevant question: “What do you do with your Czerny study after you master it?” With the pieces below you never need ask such questions. (And these are just a few)

Mozart: Variations on “Ah vous dirais je Maman”. Variations 2, 4, 6 and 12 are excellent for the LH. (Grade 5/6)

Mendelssohn:

Song without words Op. 30 no. 5 (grade 7/8) – Fast LH runs throughout the whole piece.

Song without words Op. 53 no. 3 (grade 6/7) – Very fast arpeggio figurations on LH with a powerful melody in chords on the RH. Good preparation for Chopin Op. 10 no. 12 (Revolutionary), which it reminds one of.

Schummann – Novelette (Bunte Blatter, op. 99 no. 9) – After a chordal introduction, the second part has a mist of sound created by a fast chromatic figuration on the LH.(Grade 6/7)

Shostakovitch - Prelude Op. 34 no12 – Fast LH figurations (not dissimilar to Czerny) in a “moto perpetuo” setting. Modern harmonies and “wrong note” writing. (Grade 5/ 6)

Alexander Tcherepenin - Bagatelle Op. 5 no. 6 – Very fast, repetitive arpeggio figurations on the LH. Modern yet tonal and with a minimalist idiom. (Grade 6/7)

P. D. Q. Bach – Prelude and fugue no. 1 in C from the “Short-tempered clavier”. A hilarious fugue with chopsticks on the RH and very fast scales over two octaves on the LH. An excellent encore. (Grade 4/5)

Chabrier – “Idylle” from Pieces Pitoresques. Contrary to the other pieces above, the RH is almost as busy as the LH in this delightful piece. The LH mostly plays broken octaves, skipping over two octaves. Excellent for skip accuracy. And it is a wonderful, hauntingly beautiful piece. (Grade 7/8)

Best wishes,
Bernhard

[lani]

Once again, thank you, Bernhard.  DD has already played two Bach WTC preludes 1 and 24 from Book I, and Solfeggio, so we will look into your other recommendations.  Any one you could suggest might be a nice contrast to the Scarlatti piece posted earlier?  Best regards, Lani

[bernhard]

Once again, thank you, Bernhard.  DD has already played two Bach WTC preludes 1 and 24 from Book I, and Solfeggio, so we will look into your other recommendations.  Any one you could suggest might be a nice contrast to the Scarlatti piece posted earlier?  Best regards, Lani

Ths Scarlatti is a dazzling, brilliant piece, so if I was looking for a contrasting piece for myself, I would probably go for the Chabrier which is exactly the opposite in many aspects:

1. It is a delicate, lyrical and hypnotic piece.
2. It is pretty much a "modern" piece (Chabriere revolutionised French music at the time and paved the way for Satie, Ravel and Debussy)
3. Its texture and structure is completely different.

However all the other ones are so differnet that any of them will probably do.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[poernomo]

You can try etude from  johannes brahms and this adresss sheet https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/multimedia/music-scores/freemusic/

[lani]

Thanks again for the above replies.  Do you happen to know a site that might have a midi file of the Chabrier piece?  Could not find it in the classical midi sites we are familiar with. Regards, Lani

[thierry13]

The beggining of the rach concerto no.3 can be done with one hand  to a certain point...but it is a little too difficult for a 11 year old pianist  .But she can try the fast part it could be very good! But the two hands are needed after 10-20 bars...