Help with Trills and Alberti bass
hello everyone! So, long story short, my trills are not the greatest, and I could use some advice on how to speed them up, and have them sound better (especially with playing Mozart). I can do short ornaments, but the longer trills that are in Mozart's pieces are what I am having trouble with, and this has also made it so I can't learn great pieces from other composers, such as Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt. So any advice and tips on how to trill better would be great! (and advice on how to practice as well).
And Secondly, how do I practice playing Alberti bass, (also focusing on Mozart), faster without straining myself?
Thanks, and have a great day!
JJ Tripp
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These and other details should be covered in a course. :)
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Both trills and Alberti bass are well explained and demonstrated in the Mozart courses presented by Sara Davis Beuchner -- one of the best teachers and concert pianists.
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Hello,
In addition to the courses JC1 mentioned, Dominic has a Trills: Beginner to Virtuoso course in which he discusses using rotation and specific finger combinations for longer trills that you may find useful. For a longer Mozart trill, my advice is to make sure you have it carefully measured out so that your evenness is not disrupted by changes in trill speed / terminations.
My general advice with Alberti bass for students is to practice it slowly with an initially exaggerated rotation. As the motion becomes more fluid, you can reduce your rotation down to a smaller gesture. I often find that when students play Alberti bass too quickly too soon, they abandon their rotary movement and have a tense forearm / wrist and loud fingers. Be patient because it is an important concept that takes everyone different amounts of time to develop fluency with.
I hope some of that is useful. Good luck!
