Debussy Images I - third movement

[pianissima]

I've been trying to learn this and am looking for advice on how to practice it. Is it just a matter of starting slowly and notching it up, or are there any other tips that would help?

Thanks for any comments!

[skari123]

I've been trying to learn this and am looking for advice on how to practice it. Is it just a matter of starting slowly and notching it up, or are there any other tips that would help?

Thanks for any comments!

Im guessing by your question that you want to be able to play it more technically fluently. I would say that starting to play the difficult parts slowly in the hope of getting it is not very beneficial in most cases. What you need to be able to do is analyze your own movements. If you are having much difficulty with this you could for instance find a performance on YouTube and slow it down while watching the pianists hand and arm movements. Don't just pay attention to his fingers, as they are only a part of the whole movement that goes on in the playing apparatus.
You should definitely look into the Taubman method. There are dozens of videos available on the web so you should not have any difficulty finding it. If you have the means, you could buy the Taubman tapes but they are pretty expensive. I personally bought Neil standards books ''Piano technique Demystified'' that dives in the same topics, as he was taught by Taubman himself. The Golandsky institute will also release a book on taubman named ''The Taubman approach to piano technique'' that might be more comprehensive than Stannards books, but I don't know anything yet.
I might be sounding a little bit like a Taubman fanatic, but that's only because it has helped me so much in my technical development.
Regarding the actual techniques in this movement, there is a lot of rapid notes that require good control of rotation and hand shaping. You should look into that if you already don't possess any knowledge of this.
Sometimes there are certain fragments in a passage that don't work and need to be singled out to realise the difficulty.
It is hard to judge what difficulties you are having with the piece unless you post a video of your playing, so I hope this general answer is of any help to you

[pianissima]

@skari123 - thank you. I actually am studying a bit with a Taubman-trained teacher now but haven't brought this piece in to him because I can hardly play it at all (yet). We did just have a long lesson on technique, rotation, etc. - good idea to apply some of that and see if it helps.
I was wondering though if there is some strategy to use for a piece like this that is basically a lot of repetitive gestures - playing small fragments up to tempo? Or something like that?

[skari123]

@skari123 - thank you. I actually am studying a bit with a Taubman-trained teacher now but haven't brought this piece in to him because I can hardly play it at all (yet). We did just have a long lesson on technique, rotation, etc. - good idea to apply some of that and see if it helps.
I was wondering though if there is some strategy to use for a piece like this that is basically a lot of repetitive gestures - playing small fragments up to tempo? Or something like that?

You have to realise what fragments are difficult and why. When you can do it with fluid movements correctly under tempo only then can you start speeding. If you can do it perfectly fine with each hand separate but not together, that means that the coordination between the hands is the problem. It is hard for me to advise you with other than general principles as I have no idea about your competency as a pianist.
A characteristic that contributes to pianists talent is the ability to be your own teacher. Your teacher will never be able to teach you everything that you need to be taught, so it's good to be resourceful. Reading books about musicality and piano technique has helped me much. I wouldn't necessarily recommend YouTube videos since the content creators are not always concerned about whether their videos are helpful.
You could for starters find all the spots in the piece that are difficult and write it down. You don't need to specify what makes it difficult at this stage of learning, but knowing that it is difficult solves a good amount of the problems you face when learning the piece. When you have found all the difficult spots, organise them from the least difficult to the more difficult. Now you know what you need what spots need the most work. Then you can finally specify what makes it difficult (jumps, double notes, rapid passages etc.). After that you try to come up with solutions for those problems depending on the technical difficulty you are facing.
If you feel that every measure of the piece is difficult or that there are very few easy spots in it, I would not suggest that you tackle this piece yet. It will only be a frustrating experience that leaves you questioning your pianistic abilities.
I find it difficult to advise you without any reference to your current level at the piano, as my advice could not be helpful to you and your problems. I am however happy to help if you could specify how experienced you are with music and the piano