Chopin etude op. 10 no. 5 left hand

[italianstllion93]

I am learning this etude and I am at the level to play it, but for some reason, I can not play the first three chords in the left hand without tensing up, because the notes they lie on feel really awkward and you have to play them stoccato. I've been trying to play the left hand alone really slowly and work up the speed, but I'm not getting anywhere. what can I do?

[nyiregyhazi]

There's a very simple movement that involves pulling backwards with the fingers from the knuckle and simultaneously extending the thumb forwards. It like a little flick. Any continuation should send the knuckles higher and into bouncing the hand off for the staccato- instead of compressing down into the keybed. I can't go into great detail here, but I'm going to write in some detail about how to achieve this very low-impact style of movement later in my blog. Adding a touch of this to extremely loud chords and octaves is also good for absorbing impact.