Debussy - Rêverie

[livvie]

Hi! I recently started playing Rêverie by Debussy. I'm having trouble with bar 19, specifically the octave c with the e flat. My hands are pretty small. Normally I don't have any trouble with playing an octave, but because of the e flat I can't seem to reach it.

Anyone have any advice? Thanks!

[bryfarr]

The fingering is 1-2-5, just to be perfectly clear.  Whenever you can't fit the chord under your hand, the solution is to roll the chord.  Also, I would suggest you keep trying - your fingers will learn to stretch more over time, make a little exercise of chords with fingers 1-2-5, play this going up and down for an octave or two in C maj, c min, D maj, d min, etc.  Let us know if you've made progress after a dozen practice sessions on this exercise.  Also apply this to the LH, for symmetrical technique development.

[lelle]

It's common for people with small hands to struggle with reaching a sixth such as Eb to C with fingers 2-5. If you can't reach this, it's healthier to roll the chord than to force your hand into a strained shape. Another solution since you can reach the octave fine is to play the inner voice and outer voice slightly out of sync.