Piano Forum

You can disagree with me, but I can share from my training that, the "circular pivotal/rotational wrist motion" will tire you out even more than the "RH staying light", and even that is not desirable! Allowing the wrist to flex is detrimental to the sound quality and even dangerous to your physical health. Also, I know a lot of people (myself included) whose concept of "staying light" or "going pianissimo" is to lightly caress the keys instead of playing them, which will result in unprojected and shallow sound.

The last page of this etude is BEAST, I know There really isn't a trick to it. Most importantly your fingers must *play* the notes, aka you are still striking them, not caressing. It may sound loud while practicing but really you can make it quiet if you know what you're doing. Keep your wrists locked at an angle parallel to the keyboard without tension, and only moving left and right (like a hinge joint instead of a ball-and-socket), elbows relaxed and flexible. Practice slowly so you can get everything right. It took me 6 months no matter how many hours I grinded away, but I think you understand what i'm saying. Good luck!