Chopin Op.10 No.1 help

[hamishscott4]

Hello,

I have been working on this etude for the past few weeks and I'm consistently struggling with bars 31 and 35-36 (the F major 7 and A major chords). I'm playing both with 1-2-4-5 and find my 4th finger gets trapped between the black keys when reaching for the next note. These bars are quite a stretch in both directions for my 4th finger as well.

My solution is to move my hand further into the piano (so my fingers are pressing nearer the start of the keys) but I'm still finding this hard. I don't have a teacher to check this with.

Are there any tips for playing/practising these bars?

Thanks

[comma]

Problems like this usually arise when the wrist is too low. Try to keep it a little bit higher (but still very flexible) and use your third finger instead of the fourth in bar 31.

[vladimir_ikhonov]

Like comma said, I would recommend 1-2-3-5 rather than 1-2-4-5 in M. 31. If it helps, I use 5-4-2-1 in M. 30 and 5-3-2-1 in M. 32. In M. 35, I saise my wrist as my hand goes from A->E->A->C#, then lower it for the next A. In M. 36, my wrist actually stays at a pretty constant height. You should exaggerate these motions when you practice slowly.

If it makes you feel any better, M. 30-36 are probably the hardest of the piece for everyone.

[oreno]

Hello
Try 2-4-1-4
You have to move your hand very fast, but it will solve your problem.
Oren

[oreno]

….going back down
5-2-1-3
Oren

[uncleal]

I know this is old but in both of those what works for me is 1-2-4-3 (I guess 1-2-5-3 is also possible). It feels funny at first in the middle of all the stretches but once you get used to it it is very reliable for me (and I also similarly do 1-2-5-3 on the F major in bar 11). You just have to learn to "throw" your hand quickly over 4 or 5 but then land relaxed enough on the 3rd finger to continue evenly and do it again. Hope this works if you still needed it.

Also FYI, bar 31 is F7 or you could say F dominant 7; F major 7 would be with E natural instead of E flat