4th and 5th fingers trilling : La Campanella

[road2pianist]

I have been practicing on the trilling and couldn't speed it up. The question is how do I practice it. Anyone here able to play it fluently. If yes, how did you practice it to play it fluently.

One more question, can we use 3rd and 5th fingers to trill these notes?

[iansinclair]

You can use 3/5 for that trill. 

But...

It's well worth the effort to get a decent 4/5 trill.  You will never know when you might need it and there will be no substitute!  The problem has to do with the anatomy of the hand muscles and tendons -- over which you have no control -- and the nerves controlling them -- over which you have some control.  The 4 and 5 muscles and tendons are very tightly linked; if you go talk to the average man or woman on the street, they simply can't control the two fingers separately!

The only solution is practice.  Practice. Practice.  You have to really think about controlling the two fingers separately at first, then with time, practice, and patience it will become more unconscious.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Which trills are you talking about?  Measure numbers plox

[stevensk]

I suppose that you are a virituos if you play that piece, and 4th and 5th fingers trilling should not be a problem

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I suppose that you are a virituos if you play that piece, and 4th and 5th fingers trilling should not be a problem

just because it's a problem doesn't mean that you're not a virtuoso.  It's one of the technical walls you'll hit when learning it.

Since the dude didn't answer my question, I'll just give him this.  When the right hand is trilling the SAME two notes, I do 35.  But if the right hand has the melody while trilling, I use 45

[stevensk]

just because it's a problem doesn't mean that you're not a virtuoso.  It's one of the technical walls you'll hit when learning it.

Since the dude didn't answer my question, I'll just give him this.  When the right hand is trilling the SAME two notes, I do 35.  But if the right hand has the melody while trilling, I use 45

Well you are right, 3-5 is often preferable, but I insist, La campanella is for those who consider 4-5 thrills  a childplay

[rachmaninoff_forever]

, but I insist, La campanella is for those who consider 4-5 thrills  a childplay

That's funny cause I played it for my college audition and I definitely had trouble with it.  Sure it can help BUILD your 45 trills but you don't need to have them on lock to be able to play the piece.  You learn as you go.

[j_menz]

You learn as you go.

And, given that it is, after all, an etude, that would seem part of the point.

If you come to these already fully loaded with all the techniques you need that is fine, but most don't and the PEs and the TEs do in fact have a didactic purpose, and it would seem disingenuous to ignore them as means of acquiring techniques rather than just showing off.

[diomedes]

Use 3 and 5, i recorded it and performed it and sweat over it many years ago. But i learned the Busoni edition, i'm not sure if it had any modifications that'd require 4 and 5. Either way, use 3 and 5 because you should put all reserves into all other places. My logic is why kill yourself over a 4 /5 trill when that effort can be put into generating stormy octaves or accurate leaps.