What should one do?

[outin]

What do you think one should do when there's a just one run of pattern in a piece that one is physically not able to execute properly in the correct tempo?

- Play the whole piece slower (which does not always work that well)
- Keep the tempo and let the pattern or run be sloppy/leave out some notes
- Slow down the tempo for that section
- Not play the piece at all
- Something else?

[j_menz]

Depends on what you're playing the piece for.

I spend a lot of time on pieces I'm not really trying to bring up to performance standard, just enjoy or trying to understand. Not a lot of time on an individual piece, and not really studying it - more getting a decent feel for it.  Sometimes there's a bit of it such as you describe, or at least which I would have to spend a lot more time than I really want just to get a small section up to speed. I just come up with a fudge - leave out some notes, etc, so it kinda almost works.  Not performable, or enough to claim "I can play X", but suitable for my limited purposes.

That said, If your aims for a piece are more ambitious, you really need to spend the time to learn it as close to properly as you can. If that's rolling a few chords you can't reach, OK - if it's significant changes/omissions/fudges you probably should move on to something else.

There shouldn't be much you can't manage with enough work, the question is is that effort "worth it" for the piece and what you are hoping to achieve.  You should also bear in mind that many things are not nearly as impossible as they may first appear.

EDIT: I should add that anything which is going to be useful to have got down in a number of future pieces is probably worth spending the time on.

[outin]

There shouldn't be much you can't manage with enough work, the question is is that effort "worth it" for the piece and what you are hoping to achieve.  You should also bear in mind that many things are not nearly as impossible as they may first appear.

EDIT: I should add that anything which is going to be useful to have got down in a number of future pieces is probably worth spending the time on.

Yes, I did leave out the obvious option to just practice it more

But assuming one has already spent months learning a piece it would be frustrating to drop it if everything else seems to work and then there's just one spot where the accurate finger speed just isn't enough...or the hand span just isn't enough to pull off something cleanly.

[hfmadopter]

What I do first or try first is what I affectionately call stretch phrasing. I do this especially if I intend to keep the piece and work it up the rest of the way. It's a kind of rubato, rather than hide the obvious I stretch it out, play it slower and accentuate, much as you might do in practice but faster than that, works good to take a couple of notes before and after it to help it blend. This is assuming I just want to play it for myself for now or for my non musical circle of friends who really wouldn't know the difference anyway. Even if they know the piece they are likely to comment how they like that "effect". If its really complicated or just won't work that way then I will find a roll or omit notes. This is more dangerous if you intend to finish the work though. And sometimes I've done this and said "the heck with it" and played it like that with the intention of revisiting it at a future date ( mostly good intentions, could be years or maybe never !!).

Work arounds are not always bad things if it keeps you in a piece that you really love and it's just a phrase or two. I've heard recordings of pieces that have nothing any different done in them. I do agree that if this is something that is part of typical repertoire for a given composer then eventually you probably should nail it down. I've gone so far into hymns, gospel, New Age and my own pieces now that I really don't worry too much about it presently but I have a Mozart bone to pick at when I get back to it ! Hymns and New age have vastly improved my left hand fast runs and arpeggios but not done quite the same for the right and Mozart ( remember I'm one of those around here who actually likes Mozart) is loaded with them. I use bass fillers for color but also rhythm purposes in other forms of music besides classical and that really picks up the pace of my inherently lazy left hand. Even piano solo hymns to me need to be sung, just with the instrument vs voices. I don't want to bog down or muddy up the singing tone ( I do everything I can to enhance the singing tone in these), it ruins the piece for me, so I shifted that stuff to the bass if to do it.

Anyway, enough. Best of luck with this, keep playing it what ever you do, if you love the piece !