Improve your octaves!
Octaves are one of the most common technical challenge that we encounter in piano playing. Today we talk about how to improve speed, power, and comfort in your octave playing!
Find the start time in your time zone by clicking the photo or following this event link:
https://app.tonebase.co/piano/live/player/piano-octave-improvement
We are going to be using this thread to gather suggestions and questions!
- What questions do you have on this topic?
- Any particular area you would like me to focus on?
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How do you play a series of octaves (Eg Beethoven Op 54 first movement) without your forearms tensing up and hurting? I have small hands (barely can stretch an octave), so such passages tend to cause a prior practice-related injury to flare up. Yet, I can’t simply tell my prof that I can’t play any pieces with octaves, haha! What are some ways of managing and manoeuvring such passages? Are there any practices I could do to improve my technique? Thank you
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I would like to safely, fastly play Schubert-Liszt – Erlkönig (Elf King) in tempo.
Would you please provide as many ways to practice the octaves there? I wonder if the hard practice of the piece can cause any problem upon hand, wrist, arm, etc. ( Please suggest ways to practice. ) I wonder how to play it without the tiredness of arms if possible.
Thank you
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In Liszt Ballade No. 2, there are a few sections with alternating octaves between the left and right hands, do you have any tips on those? My hands seem to stumble against each other
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This question has been burning for 6 months now. Burgmueller's La Source (the Spring), opus 109, #5, features a series of octaves interspersed with melody notes. No matter how many arm rotation exercises I've completed in order to prepare for this piece, the muscles in my arm still become tense, even as soon as the second measure (bar). How would you suggest these octaves be played safely?
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Hi Dominic! I have a question for Rachmaninov op. 23 nr 5, second page, first three systems. What do you think of this fingering, and what fingerings would you choose yourself? Also, how much should we care about using our fingers to create legato in a passage like this?
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Hi, Dominic! I just watched this Livestream and I enjoyed it! Thank you! And thank you to all of you who asked such detailed, good questions!
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Dominic Cheli Thank you for this workshop. So helpful that these are recorded! I'm just starting Chopin Op 9, No 1, and the piece has 3 pages of octaves in the right hand. Octaves create so much tension in my hands me between fingers 4-5 (and I don't have small hands) that I have to be careful of injury. I'm planning on doing most of my practicing initially with just a single soprano line, so that I don't have any mental tension when I switch to octaves, but I like all your practice tips. I'm going to give them a try. Thank you!
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Excellent tips on octaves thank you! Could you please comment on the double octaves in the beginning of the Liszt sonata? I’m going to apply all of you advice, but are there any other specific tips for these double octaves with large leaps? Thank you again.
