Practicing perfect octaves

[scubasteve]

Hi, I'm wondering how you guys would practice a song that has a lot of perfect octaves in it.  I'm currently learning a song that has a lot of these, and in order to learn to play the notes accurately, I play the keys slowly and while keeping my fingers in perfect octaves, it really brings a lot of strain to my hand after a short while, so how would you suggest to practice this efficiently without having to take breaks every 5 mins? Thanks

[quirky]

The way that I practice octave slike this is to keep my hand loose. I still hold the "shape" or the span of the octave in my hand (as in the stretch between the fingers) but I let my hadn sort of flop onto the keys, keeping the wrist supple an springy. This way you sort of bounce your hadn up and down on the octaves in question preventing your hands from seizing up on you.

[Bob]

Work up to it, very slowly over time.  Not quite an answer but it does work itself itself out eventually.

I remember taking easy method book pieces, two note pieces, and playing them in octaves.  That was interesting.  Or two line contrapuntal stuff too.

[Petter]

Bob you misspelled Vader in your sig.

[Bob]

Thanks.  Good to know.  Boy am I embrassed.