Brahms 51 etudes - 16a

[visitor]

again recorded as a progress note/assignment. these 3 making 16 a b and c are my favorite of the whole set and so far I have not found a greater /better independence /strengthen weak finger study than these.
these 16 a b c also i believe are part of a group that have given these little studies a bad reputation. yes people have and do /will hurt themselves in there (and a few others more some than some), but that's not that the exercises are bad, they are almost always the result of pre existing over use injury being exacerbated , or bad technique/trying to force one's way thru them versus finding/working through or having coaching on a sound way to not strain the hand /fingers with the awkward reaches and stretches between finger 4 and 5 and finger 4 and 123, etc.
there will be some initial discomfort but slight and only from a conditioning standpoint early on w the stretch and exertion but it has to be tethered to keep it from becoming  a straining. I am constantly checking myself and resetting to fix it if old habits this is helping me  break free from begin to creep in. hence recording for my instructor.
without a score you might catch this is a study around notoriously weak /sluggish and depedent finger 4, so 4 is the struck whole note that is held while the pattern dances around and swaps around the held key 

[brogers70]

This is my favorite of the exercises, too. I found it really helped in getting my fingers to relax and letting me have the sensation of very passive, spaghetti fingers, and that it let me work on lateral flexibility of the wrists. When I do it I just use a lateral adduction/abduction at the wrist, not the rising and falling wrist circles that you use. I'll try it your way, too.

[visitor]

This is my favorite of the exercises, too. I found it really helped in getting my fingers to relax and letting me have the sensation of very passive, spaghetti fingers, and that it let me work on lateral flexibility of the wrists. When I do it I just use a lateral adduction/abduction at the wrist, not the rising and falling wrist circles that you use. I'll try it your way, too.

good stuff I can and should work to minimize some  of that movement you perceive as up down. It's more due to angle of the video you're approach is spot on and the  up and down ish compensation  is more due likely to my anatomy and my need the be able to strike some of the keys further up into the key closer to the black keys or narrower part of the white key  and other more shallow. and out further from the fall board  had I been able to shoot it w  a go pro you'd see that neccessary lateral moving circles as I think it's impossible to play it proper or it not sound like pooh without that motion but w short  fingers  over time w this study I made tweeks based on the sound. (ie were some not fully struck and into the keybed or uneven etc ) and those little adjustments are resulting in what seems like an up down but it's more like I took the cirlces and moved them some from mostly lateral to a little more diagonal or vertical  axis ,I gauge the success on am i relaxed , am I not tired , is there any pain or tension and does it sound better and even... so i think there is wiggle room or variance in how some of us are put together and some of the body english we'll adapt but you are correct and I'll keep working
Thanks for your feedback and taking time to comment, these are under utilized  and there's so much good to extract from a pretty intimidating number of exercises in this book 👍😯

Oh and for sonic goodness there's beautiful over tones and lush pooh lah lah harmonic bliss when it's  done w pedaling and some subtle dynamics shading for sure

[brogers70]

Definitely everybody's anatomy is different. My last teacher was very into almost totally passive fingers (almost, though, not completely) and also a flat finger position for legato playing. So when I do this exercise I have no arch or curve to the fingers (or the hand for that matter) and I play the notes almost entirely with the lateral movement at the wrists and just let the ends of the fingers curl up passively as they are pushed against the keys. And that let me experience the "spaghetti finger" sensation that my teacher was always after me about for legato playing. It's not the be all and end all, obviously, but it's definitely interesting to feel your fingers so relaxed in an exercise that initially looks really tension-inducing.

And your right about doing it with a little pedal and enjoying the harmonies just for fun. I love it.