Mastering Tricky Passages with Jarred Dunn!
Welcome everyone – Jarred Dunn is here to help you!
Do you have questions about your playing, fingering, challenging passages, or musical hurdles you’re trying to overcome? Whether it’s a simple query or a complex issue, every question matters, and every solution makes a difference!
Join us live today for real-time advice and insights from Jarred Dunn—your guide to mastering music, one finger at a time!
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21 replies
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Might be trivial by comparisson, but I'm struggling with this. I can play it slowly, but this is supposed to be played at 147bpm. I have trouble with being accurate and it feels like I'm digging into the keybed and stretching. This is from a modern piano concert from a famous Swedish pianist. Any advice? I think the hardest part is all the tension that slows me down.
I can just about reach a ninth. Should I try and reharminize the left hand? It's supposed to be played with an orchestra, like any piano concert.
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I am having a real problem for the fingering on the top line of this tango by Strawinsky and also really appreciating what are the melody notes to this line. Any help would be greatly appreciated . To me this seems quite a tricky few bars
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I’m having a hard time playing this cadenza (bars 26-29) from the Rach Etude Tableau Op 33 in G minor evenly and up to tempo. I have practiced this hands separately, in rhythms, with a metronome, and in short spurts. But I have made only a small amount of progress compared to the rest of the piece.I want to feel confident as I approach this section and not worry about crashing and burning.
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With respect to Chopin Nocturne Op 27, No 2, et al, how does one settle the left hand down to play subordinate to the right? My left hand is way too loud, perhaps trying to compensate for not being as well educated as the right. Very much appreciate all your great tutorials on ToneBase. Thank you!
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Is it possible that the time is really 12PM PDT (not midnight)?
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Love these sessions...
Hope they become a standard feature to tonebase Piano 🎹 🙏
Learn so much from them
Thank 😊 you
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I am struggling with how to play Stücke II: Sehr rasch from Bunte Blätter Op. 99. Especially bars 3-10, 13-15 and 19-24. How do you play three against eight in the right hand and then add in the left hand keeping all the important notes rhythmically accurate? Also can you confirm, for instance, in bar three if you basically don't play the f# and g# from the group of 32nd notes since you play these as part of the triplet but technically before you'd play the 32nd note?
Ultimately, in order of importance and layering the voices, I would presume that the right hand triplets continue the theme from bars 1 & 2, followed by the bass octaves and the 32nd notes can be largely in the background? Yet, this is easier said than done. What is your advice in learning this with the aim of following the score as technically correct as possible?
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I am asking for help: Chopin Nocturne op.48-1 middle section, from bars 39 to 48. I have trouble counting the rhythm in this section. Slow practice is pointless when I don't get the count right. How to pick up the tempo is another problem. How to attack this section daily in a creative and inspiring way?
Another question is about fingering bars 46-48. My hands can reach octaves. I looked at the IMSLP Alfred Cortot- French edition, and he seems to suggest fingering 4-5 for the outer layer of octaves in both hands. Is this the most beneficial fingering? It feels strange. Is it bad practice to play with just the little fingers and thumbs?
What/how should I practice to get this section good? I`m sorry but I will not be able to attend real-time live streaming due to my work. THANK YOU Jarred and Tonebase in advance.
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Hello Jarred! I have still trouble with the left hand in Chopin Sonata 3, 4. movement - bar 207-253. How can I practise to get faster?
Thank you. 🙋♀️
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I have a question about muscle memory. Is it better to work on short passages for it? And how much repetitions you would recommend? LG Kerstin
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Hi, Jarred! I have a question about dynamics in Granados’ Epilogo from his (Chopin-inspired) Escenas romanticas. The piece is marked andante spianato, with the left hand played pianissimo. I am especially wondering how you would shape Measures 31 - 37. For example, when you play the sforzando with the right hand in Measure 33, is the left hand arpeggio also played more loudly, or does it immediately go back to the original pianissimo? Thanks for any guidance you can offer for rendering this passage as beautifully and evocatively as Granados would have intended.
Here’s a pdf of the piece and a screenshot of the passage:
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Hi Jarred!
I am currently working on Chopin's Fantasy op.49. Maybe you can help me with this passage (both hands) from mm. 87/88 and mm. 91/92 (and the parallel passages… they are all slightly different). I can easily reach a tenth in the left hand, that’s not the problem. But I just don’t know, where to look while playing 😵💫.
And maybe there’s a cleverer fingering for the right hand?
Any advice how to practice this passage is highly appreciated! Thank you! 🙏🏻 -
Hi Jarred!
I just started Debussy's "La Danse de Puck" to get ready for the August TB Challenge.
In measure 30 (and many measures afterwards) this dotted figure stretches my hand, even when I try to play the bottom 2 notes just with my thumb at the same time.
I'm trying to use a light rotation, and kind of "bounce" but my hand/wrist still feel tight.
Please help! I really like this piece!
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How should I practice polyrhythms to get them smooth? I am working on Debussy's first Arabesque.
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If there is still time, can you help with the beginning (measures 1-16) of Chopin's Grande Polonaise Brilliante in E flat major, op. 22? Many thanks!
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Can someone share those book names he recommended at the end?
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This entire section gets too messy. Any sugggestions as to how to execute it without becoming to muddled or overpowering? Rach cello sonata about mid first movement
