Clair De Lune - Debussy

[_mewzik_]

I'm 14 and I do music in school. I don't do piano lessons though. I sat a Grade 1 exam when I was around 9 but that's about it. I've taught myself how to play Grade 5 and 6 pieces out of my sisters piano books though. I would love to play Clair De Lune for my junior cert so I got the sheet music and I started learning it yesterday. I can play up untill all the arpeggios, I think it's around measure 29. My hands are pretty small and I'm struggling to reach those arpeggios while still carrying the melody in the right hand. Does anybody have any tips or any advice on how I could reach them? I noticed alot of the rest of song has loads of arpeggios in it too so I'm not sure whether or not I should continue trying to learn this song or just give up. I would love to be able to play it though so I'd prefer to keep going. Anyone have any helpful tips or advice?

Also, does anybody know or could estimate around what grade or standard Clair De Lune would be considered?

[j0seph]

When they first start in about measure 27 some of those notes are played with the right hand.  Measure 29 and 30 though you have to do all with the left.  You don't need huge hands, especially if you have no problems with the beginning of the piece.  My best advice is work out the fingerings.  It's just an arpeggio, but you have to cross over several times, just work out the fingerings otherwise I guarantee you'll trip over that section every time.  I think those two measures are about the worst though, later on you use the right hand for some notes, and the rest that don't use the right hand aren't as hard.

I just played through it again and the farthest you'll have to reach is a 9th or 10th, but even then the bottom note is released before the next, so you don't need to reach that far (you'll hate the last chord though...).

I looked at what my piano teacher and I penciled in under that measure.  Basically just use your thumb to play the only white keys (F in 29, and G natural in 30).  That is what I did anyway, it's just a suggestion.  Just a note, that only really works for those two measures since in the next couple there are arpeggios with no white notes so you will end up playing black keys with the thumb in the next few measures.

[go12_3]

Oh, on those sweet arperggios,  I have little hands...just move your arm(from elbow to hand) as you go up or down, makes the striking each note abit easier. That's what I do anyhow