Which pieces to train left hand for arpeggio passages

[sandracb]

hi everyone,

I would like to ask if anyone has suggestions for what easier pieces I can use to train my left hand for big rolling arpeggio passages. I am working on my ARCT repertoire but my big nemesis is those danged arpeggios, especially if they incorporate big leaps too.

An example of what I mean is the left hand in Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op 23 No 2.

I'm getting really irritated at having to avoid pieces with arpeggios, as they show up a lot especially in the more impressionistic advanced works, and I don't like having a black hole in my technique!! And yes I practice my arpeggios when I do my scales, I usually run 3 major scales and their associated minors ( so 6 total scales) per day and rotate through the keys - I do scales, the main arpeggio for the key, and arpeggios in dominant fifths and diminished sevenths. But I don't want to endlessly play scales, so boring!!

So if anyone could suggest some easier pieces to help train up my left hand for big rolling arpeggios would be great? Fun things to play that aren't advanced difficulty and I can learn pretty quick but would serve basically as practice etudes for my left hand. Maybe like RCM grade 7-8 level.

Thanks!!

[adodd81802]

Hi Sandcrab, possibly consider Czerny's 24 Piano Studies for the left hand.

It's online and freely available to download / print. As the title suggests, it's progressive pieces that focus on different left hand performance techniques, and while not the most imaginative pieces, it's probably a lot better than repeating scales and arpeggios.

I personally do not like "practicing" in the form of, do these scales, these arpeggios every day etc. My thought process is that doing these mindless practices over and over with the expectation of results is both mindless and de-motivational (is that even a word?)

Studies in the form of songs and short pieces give you that burst of energy and results in the improvement of technique (assuming you play correctly) being acquired with completion of the piece rather than focusing on certain aspects of practicing.

Separate to this - A lovely piece by Debussy: Claire De Lune, I am sure you're well aware of, has a nice Arpeggio-style left hand which isn't too fierce.

[visitor]

https://csokabeata.hu/Kottak/Gyakorlatok/Macfarren%20-%20Scale%20and%20Arpeggio%20Manual.pdf

in particular , all keys maj minor diminished 7 and dominant 7 in all inversions, parrallel and contrary motion, then also mixed ie different inversions in each hand also in par and contrary motion.

[sandracb]

adodd, thanks - I forgot to say earlier that I'm already working my way through the Czerny left hand studies. I was hoping to find more 'lovely' pieces to play through, LOL.

I forgot about Claire de lune though, I'll look it up.


visitor - thanks. I actually already have the RCM technique book which has all that stuff, but at most I can maaaaaybe stomach 20-30 min top per day running through really dry technical exercises like that. Doesn't really help I think because, well, every exercise is in one key at a time. It doesn't make me think. I can easily do all of those exercises in each key, it's when all the chords are all mixed up in a piece and shifting keys that I tend to have a hard time.

I dunno, maybe it's just a matter of grinding it through and muddling and repeating until a piece gets comfortable......

[roncesvalles]

Have you tried the Nocturne by Bizet?  The arpeggios start off shared by both hands but start getting into those wide arpeggiations for the left hand.   It is also quite the beautiful piece, which is extra motivation for learning a piece.

[visitor]

visitor - thanks. I actually already have the RCM technique book which has all that stuff, but at most I can maaaaaybe stomach 20-30 min top per day running through really dry technical exercises like that. Doesn't really help I think because, well, every exercise is in one key at a time. It doesn't make me think. I can easily do all of those exercises in each key, it's when all the chords are all mixed up in a piece and shifting keys that I tend to have a hard time.

I dunno, maybe it's just a matter of grinding it through and muddling and repeating until a piece gets comfortable......

understood. i think your best results will be from not mutually excluding both types of work. so keep at the patterns then as you specify add works in that exploit those. etudes are fine but something like thiss will be much more enjoyable.

https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0090440

[sandracb]

roncesvalles - no I haven't tried the Bizet. Thank you! I don't think of Bizet as a piano composer, LOL, just opera. I will look it up - beautiful definitely helps!!


visitor - thanks!! Definitely I will keep up the technical exercises, I always think I will. I usually practice 1.5-2hrs per session and right now am doing about 3-4 sessions per day. The first session is my 'warm up' and technical bleh session.....so scales, arpeggios, czerny, all that rather boring dull stuff. I might hopefully do less of that as time goes on but I don't think I'll ever able to drop my daily technique warm up, it's too ingrained.

Pieces are definitely far more enjoyable! Plus it's a lot more fun to work on stuff I can play for others!

[sandracb]

So just by total coincidence, I picked up this book on a total whim:

https://www.amazon.com/Coates-Complete-Advanced-Professional-Series/dp/076929264X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

And it was PERFECT for left hand arpeggio practice! For some reason this composer loooooooves arpeggios and it's all fun popular songs to play. Awesome.  A nice change of pace from classical stuff and I'm sure my neighbours are appreciating the more recognizable tunes.

The arrangements are truly beautiful too. A pleasure to play, plus the very recognizable chord progressions makes it easier to predict so it's not as difficult to learn as many classical pieces.