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Topic: Debussy Suite Bergamasque, Prelude--big reaches  (Read 17755 times)

Offline scottmcc

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Debussy Suite Bergamasque, Prelude--big reaches
on: April 23, 2009, 10:39:11 AM
I'm currently working on this piece as my main focus.  My trouble lies in the numerous very large chords for the left hand.  I can reach a tenth, and don't have trouble playing measure 3 (F C A), for instance, but when I get to measure 28 (F# B A then E B G#), my fingers don't make it.  clearly at least some of the chords in this piece are unreachable, like measure 78 (Bb F G D), and hence rolled, but my question is, how are people managing the other big ones?  are they using their right hand to supplement (impossible for measure 80 though)?  Are they using one finger to hit 2 notes (ie measure 79 G C D Bb)?  or are they just omitting notes?

thanks!
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Offline allemande

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Re: Debussy Suite Bergamasque, Prelude--big reaches
Reply #1 on: April 23, 2009, 04:33:13 PM
I don't see too big of a problem with those chords. There's really no need to use the right hand and in no way does not reaching a chord mean you have to omit notes. Just roll them. You could separate them as well, play the bass note and immediately play the rest.
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Offline scottmcc

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Re: Debussy Suite Bergamasque, Prelude--big reaches
Reply #2 on: April 23, 2009, 05:40:23 PM
your reach must be bigger than mine if you don't find those to be a problem.  I worry a little bit about rolling them because some of the chords are specified as rolled vs not, and that would defeat the purpose of that notation, right?  by the way, all the chords I mentioned span a 10th, sorry if that was unclear before.

out of curiosity, did debussy have particularly large hands?  I haven't seen any mention of that before.
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Offline allemande

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Re: Debussy Suite Bergamasque, Prelude--big reaches
Reply #3 on: April 23, 2009, 06:32:03 PM
I didn't mean to imply that I have an enormous reach and chords that span a 10th are easy for me, not at all. What I'm sure my teacher would tell me to do is to roll them, regardless of there being chords specifically marked as rolled and others not, merely because it is the most pianistically (?) comfortable way of resolving the issue. You see this type of thing in Chopin a lot, Schumann as well, and whether it's indicated as a roll or not, it's a roll or you'd have to separate the chord and play it in 2 parts.

As for Debussy having huge hands... I've never heard anyone mention it..
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