Help on Rachmaninoff's op 23 no 5 please. Fingering

[karys]

Hello everyone, my first post here and I'd like some help on a few passages in Rachmaninoff's op 23 no 5. I uploaded the three parts I need help on. I'm not sure what fingers to use for the right hand, any advice? (you can see I tried fingering them for the first part, but am scared to learn with wrong fingers and make it a bad habit).

Thank you in advance!

[lau]

for the first one in the right hand use:

4 5 4  3  4
2 1 1  1  2
1           1

the rest are

4 5 4 5 4
2    1   2
1         1

thats what i use and it works well for me.

[perfect_pitch]

for the first one in the right hand use:

4 5 4  3  4
2 1 1  1  2
1           1

Are you mad??? You're asking him to use 1 & 3 to play an octave??? Rachmaninoff may have been able to do it, but he had freakishly big hands....

I'd personally use this instead...

5 4 5  4  5
3 1 1  1  3
1           1

I do agree with your second comment however

[lau]

Are you mad??? You're asking him to use 1 & 3 to play an octave??? Rachmaninoff may have been able to do it, but he had freakishly big hands....

go to the piano and play an e flat octave with 51 then 31 and tell me if one is harder than the other. I can't imagine not being able to do that

[karys]

I can play 1 3 very easily I have big hands lol. I will use the fingerings given to me by you thank you. I'll let you know how it goes soon. Within the next two days. Thank you.

[lelle]

Are you mad??? You're asking him to use 1 & 3 to play an octave??? Rachmaninoff may have been able to do it, but he had freakishly big hands....

I can barely reach a 9th on the piano and 1 & 3 octaves are no problem for me

[perfect_pitch]

I can barely reach a 9th on the piano and 1 & 3 octaves are no problem for me

Freaks...   

For me 31 is truly harder to play than 51... I mean c'mon, you have more reach between your pinky and your thumb than your middle finger and thumb.... THAT'S A FACT!!!

[iroveashe]

I have barely half a centimeter more of reach with the 5th than with the 3rd.

[perfect_pitch]

Mmm... I have just over a full centimetre more reach with 51 than 31....

odd...

[karys]

for the first one in the right hand use:

4 5 4  3  4
2 1 1  1  2
1           1

the rest are

4 5 4 5 5
2    1   2
1         1

thats what i use and it works well for me.

I like the 2nd one, that's what I felt like too. The first one though, it seems awkward to play in fast tempo, feels sort of clumsy and unsafe. Then

5 4 5  4  5
3 1 1  1  3
1           1

Feels alright but it doesn't match up with the recommended

4
2
1

Fingering. Any comments regarding that?

You did not like my original opinion on

4  5  5  4
2         2
1  1  1  1     ?

PS: I can reach an extra 2.7 centimeters with 1 5 compared to 1 3. =] (regarding reach conversation)

[perfect_pitch]

You did not like my original opinion on

4  5  5  4
2         2
1  1  1  1     ?

I didn't quite like it because if you use yours, you have to lift both fingers off the C octave to play the D octave, whereas if you use my fingering, you play the C octave with 4 and can smoothly play the D octave with finger 5, although you lift the thumb, it gives it a smoother and more connected sound (and can still join the C and D octave).

[makeanote]

Hey there Karys,

I play this from the Boosey & Hawkes edition which doesn't have any recommended fingering printed.

The fingering I use at the first of your 3 parts is:
4 5 5 4 5
3         3
1 1 1 1 1

I find using the 3rd finger instead of the 2nd for the first chord gives me better balance for the octave runs at speed.

I found the 1 - 3 octave combination interesting from the perspective of a purely legato upper line, but quite difficult to balance at speed, particularly with the momentum of the hand changing back again.

Trust this helps,
Ian