Hand size issues with Scriabin etude Op 8 nr 12

[zeger_b]

Hi! This etude is one of my favorite pieces, and I would love to learn it. The biggest problem though, is that my hands are not big enough to play an 11th. Since my hands do not permit it, is it okey to compromise and play it like a quick pedalised arpeggio? I don't really have any other suggestions

[wilmerguido]

I've played this etude before, and yes, I also can't reach an 11th, so yes, I think it's ok to just roll it

[omar_roy]

Scriabin himself didn't have very large hands.  I think the largest he could play was a 10th.  When I played this etude I had no choice but to break the 11ths.

[nystul]

I'm not a professional pianist, but I think to reach an 11th within the context of a performance like this etude would require quite a large person.  With difficulty I can play a 10th black to black or white to white without rolling it, and most average height male pianists seem to describe their span similarly.  If we were all about 7 inches taller, we could play the 11th with the same difficulty we now play the 10th.  How many people are 7 inches taller than an average adult male?  How many people were that tall 100 years ago when Scriabin lived?  Almost no women and only a small portion of men today and far less back then.  Just something to consider.

Of course some people may have unusually large hands, but there would be just as many tall people with unusually small hands.

[ekbaudouin]

yeah, you have to do things like that if your hands are too small. I am sure that all the anal people would frown upon it, but seriously . You can't just drop the notes you can't reach , right ?

E

[nagatomo]

ditto.
I have had to spread these large intervals, too...  Occasionally - not sure if this applies to this particular Etude - I use the other hand if this allows.

It is such a powerful and enegetic piece, I wished I had larger hands!!!

[werq34ac]

Also, in this piece, what do you do for that last chord? Obviously there aren't very many people who can reach that. Arpeggiating loses impact don't you think? And omitting notes is even worse. So blocking is the way to go right?

[49410enrique]

Also, in this piece, what do you do for that last chord? Obviously there aren't very many people who can reach that. Arpeggiating loses impact don't you think? And omitting notes is even worse. So blocking is the way to go right?

i played with several ideas there, i ended up finally deciding and going with (it is what I am practicing now for the close of the piece weeks before my performance of it),

on the beat:
LH-5,1 on the D# low octave
RH 1 on the inner voice A#
immiately after,

cross over with LH (YOU HAVE TO BE FAST ) and take the upper two notes of the treble  (D#- A#) with LH  5-2  
while the RH stays in position playing that upper inner voice F# with RH 5
you'll essentially hear 'two quick chords' on beat three.

[werq34ac]

i played with several ideas there, i ended up finally deciding and going with (it is what I am practicing now for the close of the piece weeks before my performance of it),

on the beat:
LH-5,1 on the D# low octave
RH 1 on the inner voice A#
immiately after,

cross over with LH (YOU HAVE TO BE FAST ) and take the upper two notes of the treble  (D#- A#) with LH  5-2  
while the RH stays in position playing that upper inner voice F# with RH 5
you'll essentially hear 'two quick chords' on beat three.

Seems like a bit of a hassle... Crossing over, a lot can go wrong.

I only played the piece for fun for a week and a half so I'm no authority but what i did was play the bottom 4 notes then the top 4 notes.

So
LH the D# octave RH the A# and F#
then
LH the A# and F# that the RH just played and D# A# with the RH

Playing the A# and F# again seems kinda weird but it made the most sense to me when I was playing it.