Tension Issues in Prokofiev's 3rd Concerto
Hi all, I'm playing Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto (just the 1st movement) for competition in a few days and I wonder what general tips you guys may have on tension/practicing.
A problem I'm having is that I can only practice for maximum a hour a day before I fear I might hurt myself. This shouldn't be the case, but it is far too late to fix tension problems from the ground up, though I do wonder what techniques you guys may have for specific sections. Most notably, consider this section:
When these octave sections begin (there are a few more like this), I build a lot of tension because the left hand on top doesn't allow the right hand wrist to move flexibly, so much of the motion is horizontal and my wrist is forced to be flatter. So tension in these sections increase exponentially, though I can find some times to relax usually. I cannot relax completely during these sections, however, so tension is still tiring my hand.
There is also a section here near the end of the piece
that I also have tension issues in. Indeed, by this point, my hand is already tired, and balancing the wrist motion with the jumps adds more tension than there should be. At this point of the performance, the tension is the highest.
I was wondering what tips you have on practicing before my competition - I feel I need more than a hour of practice, but maybe there are ways to practice completely tension free. Playing slow works, but I don't feel it's the most efficient use of my time.
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Hi Kevin! I don鈥檛 know this piece at all, only this two parts you have sent. Maybe in this octaves part you can play the left hand on the back part of the key, that gives your right hand more space. And for this second score you have sent , I recommend Robert Durso鈥榮 little course on Rotation Technic on tonebase. Sometimes I have a lesson with a Polish pianist and he recommend to relax in between when you are practicing. Play 1 bar and relax (relax mean: let your arm hang next to your body for a short time), play the next bar and so on. Than play 2 bars and relax - you understand.
Maybe it鈥檚 helpful. Wish you the best . LG Kerstin -
Hi Kevin! Noah from the tonebase team here. Kerstin's advice is good, especially considering the short time before your competition. A few thoughts:
- It sounds elementary, but I would recommend practicing with exaggerated down-up wrist motions in the right hand. Sink your weight into that first note of the group, and then on the second note your wrist rises, releasing tension and allowing you to glide to the next position (while RH plays the 3rd note)
Since the majority of the right hand is on the white keys, you can stay fairly far out of the keys, giving your wrist more room to move. Like with Taubman rotation, when you play at tempo, these motions will be minimized but your body will remember what it felt like to release in every group. You can see that I don't move my wrist very much, only hints of the bigger motion:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpbV0GcgGLE/
- This is the place I feel the most tension too! Two tips for that:
1. Conserve energy in the preceding passage (chords and grace note chords). Take every available opportunity to release, especially in the big chords.
2. In the 16ths, the only notes that are forte are the first notes of each beat, and they're not even that loud either, just sparkling. Almost "ghost" notes 2, 3, and 4, with a strong right rotation for note 1 of each group.
For the leaps themselves, two ideas:
1. Make sure you move the left hand down before you move the right hand up. The body hates moving both hands a different distance simultaneously, so create a micro-difference in when you initiate each hand's movement (easy here because the LH has 8ths). This is a tip from the fabulous UMich professor Logan Skelton.
2. Compress the rhythm slightly to allow you to arrive on time -- slightly rush the 2 or 3 notes before big RH leaps, both on the way up and on the way down. Great pianists do this, and will help you arrive on time without tensing as much.
Good luck, and enjoy -- it really is one of the most exciting pieces to play!
- It sounds elementary, but I would recommend practicing with exaggerated down-up wrist motions in the right hand. Sink your weight into that first note of the group, and then on the second note your wrist rises, releasing tension and allowing you to glide to the next position (while RH plays the 3rd note)
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I鈥檝e had success with slower-tempo metronome runs, then gradually speeding up, to let my hands find their relaxation moments. The strictly structured time environment helps. Also, make sure you know the sound and its movement as well as you think you do
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Can you make a video of that passage and send it to me? Maybe I can help you
