small hands... Liszt's pieces

[Lilo]

hi everybody

I've learnt Liszt's funerailles, quite a beautiful piece... but my hands are too tiny, I cannot reach some chords (for example F#, A, D,A, left hand). I don't know how to play them (broken chords? I do this but I think it's ugly... the chords have to be played fortissimo), can anyone help me?

is it not so bad to play with damaged tendons ? sometimes I think I stretch my fingers too far, and I cannot play the next day. Then I just  play pieces or exercices that don't need much stretching.

I was wondering whether not playing for 2 or 3 days could shorten the healing process (I remember when practising octave tremolos, I hurted myself, and couldn't play these tremolos for 2 or 3 weeks, it hurted too much)
thanks heaps for answering !

[maxy]

Broken chords.  It is fine.  It is heard in some recordings.  Don't worry.  Heh, De La Rocha  did play Rach 3.  Hard to find smaller hands out there...

[Ade1967]

is it not so bad to play with damaged tendons ? sometimes I think I stretch my fingers too far, and I cannot play the next day. Then I just  play pieces or exercices that don't need much stretching.

What ever you do don’t play if there’s any pain or stop playing whatever it is your playing if you feel any pain. DEFINATLY don’t play if you’ve got damaged tendons. Pain is a warning from your body and should be listened to. I’m no medical expert but I know from what I’ve been told that playing in pain will almost certainly lead to more serious conditions, e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis. Perhaps someone here more knowledgeable about this can give you more advise.

[xvimbi]

is it not so bad to play with damaged tendons ? sometimes I think I stretch my fingers too far, and I cannot play the next day. Then I just  play pieces or exercices that don't need much stretching.

Just to re-iterate Ade1967's post: Don't play if you are in pain!

Stretching is supposed to stretch muscles, not tendons. Tendons cannot be stretched. If you do, you will damage them. Therefore, stretching has to be done in a very controlled way, not in a haphazardous way. If you believe you have damaged your tendons because of stretching, you are in serious trouble. I assume it's something else. Why can't you play the next day? Is it because of muscle fatigue or because the area where the tendons are hurts? There is a big difference between stretching the tendons and causing inflammation because the tendons rub against something.

Everything you are saying points to a flawed technique. If you have problems for 2-3 weeks after practicing octave termolos, you are practicing way to long and in an entirely wrong way. Nothing you do at the piano should give you problems for 2-3 weeks!

Problems with octave tremolos almost always come from contracting muscles that don't need to be contracted, such as holding the middle fingers stiff and cramped (assuming you are playing the octaves with fingers 1 and 5), whereas they need to be relaxed, as well as fixing forearm, wrist and hand in a cramped postion whereas they need to relax a bit when you move from one position to the next.

I would strongly recommend to evaluate, or have evaluated by an expert, very carefully what you are doing!

[donjuan]

You will find Liszt very difficult to play because Liszt himself had very long fingers and great hand width.  Why dont you try less heavy works of Liszt like Andante Lagrimoso from the poetic and Religious harmonies.  It has similar impact as funerailles, and can be played with small hands.  

For the most part, however..Your situation is quite sad.  I feel bad for you, really. :-/
donjuan

[zippi]

Liszt himself had very long fingers and great hand width.

I heard it the other way around that Liszt had small hands.
Does someone know some literature/texts/books about this ?

[danhuyle]

To play Liszt pieces, your hands have to be able to reach an octave since all Liszt music contain octaves.

Pianists who can only reach an octave at the utmost stretch will have to work harder to learn the virtuoso Liszt repertoire. They experience challenges because of the stretches involved, however, I'm sure there's a way for pianists of this category to get over this hurdle.