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Topic: Four hands or 6 hands  (Read 2220 times)

Offline shicheng

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Four hands or 6 hands
on: September 20, 2004, 06:35:37 PM
Hi

I'm an adult student. Together with my two kids (15 and 10 years old) we are learning piano 30 min. / person / week in the village's culture centre.  I've learned (piano) for 3 years, my son for 8 years and my daughter for 5 years.

I'm interested very much in playing the pieces for four hands or six hands. In this Summer, My son and I performed a 4-hands millitary march of Schubert in the village church as a kind of auditions for the parents, students and piano/instrument teachers of the village. My kids are exercising now a Serenade of Schubert for 4-hands.

Can anybody from the forum help to answer the questions:

1. How can I learn better the four-hands pieces? Any advice or instructions on a systematic way?
2. Please recommend a list of interesting pieces for 4-hands and for 6 hands?

Best regards

Shicheng

Offline rhapsody in orange

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Re: Four hands or 6 hands
Reply #1 on: October 23, 2004, 02:44:39 AM
Quote
1. How can I learn better the four-hands pieces? Any advice or instructions on a systematic way?
I'd think practising more with your partner would make it better. Get used to the way your partner plays etc. Listen to recordings. And know how your partner's parts sound like and know it well enough. And by listening, you can learn from the different interpretations how to improve on the piece. It would be better that each of you practise individually your own parts before playing together, this would save time trying to work on the technical part of the piece. So when both of you are practising together, you would be focusing more on the musical aspect.
Quote
2. Please recommend a list of interesting pieces for 4-hands and for 6 hands?

I personally like Brahms' Hungarian Dances. Quite lively and interesting. It's worth a try =)

when words fail, music speaks

Offline bernhard

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Re: Four hands or 6 hands
Reply #2 on: October 24, 2004, 07:18:57 PM
Have a look here:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2428.msg20981.html#msg20981
(four hand repertory)

There is also a thread about 6 hand pieces (but I am afraid it is a much more limited repertory). I will look for it and post it once I find it.

You may also be interested in these two books:

Howard Ferguson - Keyboard duets (Oxford University Press)

Ernest Lubin - The Piano Duet - a guide for pianists (Dacapo)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.
The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. (Hunter Thompson)

Offline bernhard

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Re: Four hands or 6 hands
Reply #3 on: October 24, 2004, 09:28:10 PM
Here is the 6-hand thread:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,634.msg36632.html#msg36632

Best wishes.
Bernhard.
The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. (Hunter Thompson)

Offline allchopin

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Re: Four hands or 6 hands
Reply #4 on: October 25, 2004, 01:04:51 AM
Visit https://www.bh2000.net/score/ for free sheet music for 2x hands
A modern house without a flush toilet... uncanny.

Offline DarkWind

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Re: Four hands or 6 hands
Reply #5 on: October 25, 2004, 01:26:48 AM
Ravel wrote Frontispice, a piece for 5 hands. Very odd sounding.

Offline bernhard

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Re: Four hands or 6 hands
Reply #6 on: October 26, 2004, 05:03:01 PM
Visit https://www.bh2000.net/score/ for free sheet music for 2x hands

Great site, Allchopin.

Thanks a lot. :D
The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. (Hunter Thompson)
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