Online Piano Teacher wanted

[sallycake10]

Hello everyone, I am currently learning Bach's Toccata BWV 916 and Fauré's Nocturne Op. 33 No. 2, but I'm stuck in some places. Do you know where I can find an online piano teacher to help me with these two pieces? Thank you very much!!

[jonslaughter]

What are you stuck with? Maybe you can figure it out on your own with asking for help here? It is best to learn how to solve ones own problems because it is much more efficient.

The first bar of the first is literally just a G major scale. The fingering doesn't make sense to me. Those look like 4's in the RH. I suggest you ignore the fingerings and try to find something that works for you. The 2nd bar is just an arpeggio that repeats so if you can play it well once then it is just a matter of getting the transition down.

Basically one has A A' B B'. I'm using the ' simply to refer to a potential variation on the fingerings as the scales and arpeggios should be easily to play. How you finger it will be somewhat of a personal preference. It is something you should play around with.

You could do 4 3 2 1 ' 3 2 1 for the first run. Note this is different. I have no idea what those fingerings they gave mean. This puts the thumb on the D(not the C) and the 3 crosses over to the C(the ') which you finish off and end up with the thumb on A which you can then start the arpeggio back over because you now have the reach(if you end up with the 2 or 3 on the A it stifle the reach and be awkward).  You have a choice to play 5 4 3 2 1 2 1 where the 1 is now on C like it shows but this is not nearly as natural because you start with a the pinky and go to a black key(typically feels week for most people) and you have a "short crossover" which can feel awkward. It should feel less right than the first

You have a choice now for the 2nd run which is nearly identical but note that it lands on the G below so no octave fingering like before and you have to be in position to play the G arpeggio(which is most natural to have the thumb on the 1).

You can either do the 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 but now you have a problem as you will land on the A just like before, so you have to do 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1  which works but a better way is to leap to the first G with 5 the pinky rather than 4 like before. I said this was more awkward but since we are landing on the G it doesn't have the "short crossover" like before and only has the issue with the pinky which isn't that big of a deal.

So you can do
4 3 2 1 3 2 1 |  4 3 2 1 4 3 2 | 1 ... or
4 3 2 1 3 2 1 |  5 4 3 2 1 3 2 | 1 ... or maybe
5 4 3 2 1 2 1 |  5 4 3 2 1 3 2 | 1 ...

Try them and see which one works best. Play slow if you have trouble playing it faster. If you want, try other possibilities to learn how different fingerings feel and cause problems. Again,from what I can tell the fingering in the image seems wrong(maybe those are 5's but they look like 4's).

For the 2nd bar, there are also options.

1 4 2 1 A B C 1

Here A, B, and C has some options.

A = 4 or 5
B = 1 or 2
C  = 4 or 5

You can mix and match these in any order(almost, something like 4 2 is probably not going to work). Some will feel more natural than others. E.g., 5 1 5 works but is kinda awkward because of the the repetition in the fingerings produces a sort of rotational bouncing effect that does not flow that well. It is usable but if you try other combinations you will likely find some work better than others. In doing so you will figure out which ones work best and which ones don't. Some may seem to work better but may not in the long run. Hence why it's best to try them all and get used to messing around with different fingerings.

Then the only problem is repeating that arpeggio run. If you end up on the 1(the low G) you basically have no option but to use the 1 on the higher G(start of the 3rd beat). This may seem awkward but it offers two things: 1. You get to play the arpeggio exactly the same fingering so nothing new) 2. Everything else is going to be awkward and worse.

So the only thing to do is being able to make that transition smoothly. There is the option of playing the note with 5 or 4 and then moving the thumb to it while it is depressed but it depends on the tempo and it would probably just be better to use the 3 instead. You could use the pedal to bridge instead that if so desired.

As far as the other piece goes. My suggestion is to take it very slowly and to work hands independently. You will find it will be much easier.

The LH is relatively simple: B F# B+D# | B G# B+D#  | B C#+E  B  A#+C# | B  F# E  D#+F#

You see the F# B+D# as a 2nd inversion Bmaj chord. E.g., you are using the fingerings 4 2 1 or maybe 5 2 1 or 3's for the 2's.

The B note in the bass is acting as a peddle. It's the same note. You can ignore it if you want until you get the other LH part down. All that changes in the 2nd half of the first measure is the F# becomes a G#. This makes it a root position G# min chord.

For the 2nd measure just a 3 with a passing down to the third below it(outlining an A# dim chord, basically ignore the B in between). The 2nd half of the 2nd measure is a F# E D# F#. It's basically a repeat transposed down without the third at the start(since it would be a 4th) and it's held.

But if you go slowly you will see it is quite simple and what makes it complicated is simply the interspersed low B note that requires you to jump up(so you have to make sure you have your hand position down so you are ready to play the chord).

The RH is approached similarly and is basically a repeating figure. My suggestion is that you try to figure it out very slowly.

If these things are too hard for you it is better not to try them since you may need to work on more relevant things depending on your skill/ability. E.g., if you haven't practiced your scales and chords then it's not really effective to play pieces which use scales and chords since you likely will waste a lot of time trying to play it effectively.

If you take things slowly though anything can be mastered with enough effort.