Left hand semiquavers in Mozart K310

[porcupine]

I'm playing Mozart's A minor sonata K310 (first movement), and it's not going too badly, except for the left hand stream of semiquavers (last 5 bars of the exposition and similar passages). I've practised them loads but cannot seem to get them even, and my left hand is always too stiff. I can manage it at a slow tempo but as soon as I try it at speed they just seize up and sound terrible! Any suggestions as to how I might solve this problem?

[brogers70]

That bit is such a great conclusion to the exposition and to the first movement; I love it. I'd suggest a couple of things. Play it very slowly or as fast as you can. Do not try to ramp up the speed gradually; at least for me that generates increasing tension and anxiety with each increase in tempo. Instead, try to play it at top speed right out of the box. Watch where you have trouble, then work on the trouble spots, usually where your hand shifts position. Try speeding up just the hand shifts until you find movements that feel easy. Then practice those movements very slowly for a bit, then try switching to top speed again and seeing whether it still breaks down in the same places. I don't find practicing in dotted rhythms that helpful, but lots of people do. At the end of a session, make sure the last time you play the passage, you play it quite slowly - it's tempting to try to go out in a blaze of glory at the end of the day, but playing it through one last time slowly really solidifies things, I find.

These left hand bits are also ideal for working on while you are giving your right hand a rest. You must be working on some other piece with a very demanding right hand part, so in between sessions of working on that with the right hand alone, work on the left hand from K310. Do that every time your right hand needs a break from whatever else your doing.

Finally, it may help just to keep thinking about relaxing once in a while. Look down at the keyboard and imagine its just a little bitty thing completely under your control, or whatever other stream of thoughts reduces anxiety.

Good luck - what a great piece.

[musicman99]

Thumbs up to the post above!
I especially agree with the bit about dotted rythms.
However, the way that worked for me best is to have a good fingering sussed out, and then really get to know the section. You can't play something fast when you're not sure of the notes!
From there I then (perhaps with a metronome) started slowly and gradually sped up VERY SLOWLY, so that the pattern got into my system. My piano teacher encourages me to find patterns in the music whenever a figure like this appears, so that I can absorb it and understand it better.

There are different ways of learning things for different people, so keep your mind open.

Carlos R.