Mozart sonata KV 310

[morwenna]

I have been studying this piece on and off for a while now. It's still not going as it should...The first movement is nearly finished, but at certain points I keep struggling to stay in tempo. The last movement is going okay, but when I play Presto I keep encountering difficulties...I don't know why. It's very disheartening.😔 Does anyone have any tips on how to practise it in the best way??

[lelle]

Can you post a video or give us bar numbers? It's likely an issue with technique but your descriptions are a bit vague. What are the difficulties you are encountering except struggling to stay in tempo?

[morwenna]

Thank you for your reply! I'll give you the bar numbers. I can't  post a video, I don't know how 😳 One of the difficulties starts in Bar 21 (Maggiore) when I play it slow it all goes well but I find it very difficult to stay in tempo (presto) it needs to be clearly articulated and I find that a challenge at that speed. The notes aren't difficult but it doesn't sound as it should.

[lelle]

Thank you for your reply! I'll give you the bar numbers. I can't  post a video, I don't know how 😳 One of the difficulties starts in Bar 21 (Maggiore) when I play it slow it all goes well but I find it very difficult to stay in tempo (presto) it needs to be clearly articulated and I find that a challenge at that speed. The notes aren't difficult but it doesn't sound as it should.

You can post a video to youtube and then add the link to a post here using the youtube tags (there is a button that looks like the youtube logo in the post editor)

Often when you hit a speed wall you either need to practise more in a slow enough tempo that you get it right and feel comfortable, or you need to develop your technique further because things like tension can block speed and ease as well. Do you have any sense of which one of these are hindering you?

[morwenna]

Hi Lelle, thanks!
I suppose a large part of the problem is tension. I get all nervous when I hit the speedwall in this piece because I want to get it right so bad🙄 Do you have any tips, exercises for relieving tension? Thank you!

[lelle]

Hi Lelle, thanks!
I suppose a large part of the problem is tension. I get all nervous when I hit the speedwall in this piece because I want to get it right so bad🙄 Do you have any tips, exercises for relieving tension? Thank you!

Is it the place with the thirds? If I try to write advice it'll unfortunately be terribly generic but I'll try. Try it out, see if it helps, if it doesn't, ignore it.

The first awfully generic thing I'll say is that the best way to get to this goal is to hurry slowly. The more you try to force it the more problems with tension you're likely to have. So practise slowly and patiently and don't try to force the tempo, and you'll paradoxically make faster progress.

First of all, check that your hand and arm are relaxed when you are not playing; wrists, elbows, shoulders are all relaxed and fingers are soft like cooked spaghetti and that you feel comfortable and relaxed when you sit at the piano.

Next, can you bring your hand to the keys, and then press down one key to the bottom, keeping the non playing fingers and your wrists just as relaxed as before? Try this and check if you are stiffening up anywhere in your arm, wrist or hand. Figuring out how to be able to press down keys to the bottom without stiffening anywhere in your hand or arm is an important step in the right direction. Once you can do that, you can start stringing together multiple keys played with relaxation. Work slowly and check that you feel calm and comfortable.

Also if you get nervous and are anxious to hit your goal it might affect your breathing which in turn will tense you up. Are you breathing calmly and easily, like when you chill in the sofa and watch a relaxing video, or does your breathing get shallow and tense? if you can train yourself to continue breathing calmly and easily when you play, it'll also help a lot.

[morwenna]

Hi Lelle, thanks for your reply! It may be 'awfully generic,' ;)but it helps me a lot! And yes, it's the place with the thirds...

[lelle]

Glad to hear it was helpful!

[morwenna]

Thanks again. By the way, the trouble starts at bar 143 in the third part (presto) I find this forum very difficult to manage I've tried sharing the bits of the score I'm talking about but can't, sorry!

[morwenna]

Yes! I think it worked after all!

[brogers70]

Apart from the technical problem of those thirds, the interesting thing about that major section that sounds almost like a little mechanical music box is what the heck it's doing in the middle of all the stark desolation that is the rest of the movement. Is it ironic? A brief happy memory before death? What's it there for?

[morwenna]

I've often wondered the same! You're spot on by the way! It does sound like a little mechanical music box! I've always thought so too. Strange in the middle of that haunted, tortured piece isn't it??

[teresa_b]

This is one of my favorites! Odd that you are having difficulty with that A Major section of the finale. That seems the easiest part to play to me. I always find the jumps in the other sections to be the hard part. Maybe practice the A Major scale in thirds in R hand? Go slowly and gradually speed them up, and try to keep your wrist as supple as you can. Good luck!

[lelle]

This is one of my favorites! Odd that you are having difficulty with that A Major section of the finale. That seems the easiest part to play to me. I always find the jumps in the other sections to be the hard part. Maybe practice the A Major scale in thirds in R hand? Go slowly and gradually speed them up, and try to keep your wrist as supple as you can. Good luck!

Are you perhaps a natural at playing thirds?  Not everyone is.

[teresa_b]

I wish! No, thirds are not easy, in general. I just haven't had problems with this particular passage.  In any hard spot, try to see if you're tensing up or forcing it, making it impossible to play fluidly at tempo. Then relax your body, shoulder, arm, wrist, and think "organic," like "what movement of my body will let this flow?" In this case, a more relaxed "down-up" movement of your hand/wrist on the slurred thirds might ease tension and make it easier. Good luck!

[teresa_b]

P.S.  I just noticed the page you posted shows not slurred thirds, but grace note thirds! My edition shows them written out as two equal eighth note values. No matter, because the grace note and principal note are played as even eighth notes. So the "down-up" phrasing still holds. (If by chance you're trying to play the grace notes shorter, that could be your problem!  )

[morwenna]

Hi Teresa, thanks for your reply! It is odd, I know. I have no trouble playing it slowly, I just don't like how it sounds when I play it in tempo (presto) I must say it's going much better now thanks to all of you! Much appreciated! 🙂 But it is strange, because it certainly isn't the hardest part of this movement. Perhaps it's just me...😳