What are your difficult passages?

Hey Everyone, Let's talk about difficult passages.
What are you playing this week that is making you sweat and work hard?
65 replies
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The only passage that made me stop practicing a piece was in Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 in the latest section before the cadenza. To do these leaps accurately and at the right virtuositic speed required was just insane.
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Bach Chromatic fantasy, in the fugue bars 55-59 and 103-106.
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Rach Sonata 2 (1931) 3rd mvmt Presto up to the beginning of the cascade (which looks hard but isn't so bad). I can do separate hands but coordinating both hands at tempo is very difficult for me especially the four RH runs which are 3-2 with the left hand.
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Chopin nocturne d flat. The lengthy fioritura.
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I started the aeolian harp etude by chopin. I’m finding it quite tough. Although I’m using lots of arm and wrist movement it still feels like my hands and fingers are stretched and tense. I have quite small hands and short stubby fingers 🤗
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Hommage a Rameau. Not the showy bits. Just these three escalating chords. There just seems to be no way to play them without disrupting the surface of the pond.
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Liszt Spanish Rhapsody Difficulties
(1) In the Molto vivace section, I found the Interlocking octaves challenging to play evenly (wrist relaxation) and without missing notes. When try to play leapings and switching between Staccatissmo and marcato, l tend to rush after the chords.
(2) I found the Arpeggio Octaves both similar and contrary motion difficult to play (wrist relaxation) and challenging to play evenly and without missing notes.
(3) I found the wide leaps with left hand leaps in contrary motion difficult to play them accurately.
(4) P.12 - P.13 Semiquaver triplets (Wrist moving), Accuracy and relaxation, coordination with left hand chords
(5) P.15 and P.18 - P.19 Double notes with single notes (Wrist moving), I have adpoted your suggested fingerings and allocated some notes to the left hand. It definitely helps ease the burden a lot :). However, I tend to build up tensions when I play the whole passage and it becomes difficult to maintain coordination(and to not miss notes). -
I just started Schubert’s Impromptu Op 142 No. 3 - Theme is coming along… but I am sure… I will be acquiring more grey hairs… so far in the them there is only one measure that is giving my fingers a work out, but it’s been one day. I can’t wait to get to the minor variation… IF I can ever get it under my fingers. GOALS! Gotta have them!!
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Here, it's memorizing Debussys preludes book 1: (...Voiles) and (...le vent dans la plaine).
Not really difficult, but so rewarding to (finally) spend time memorizing (for an exam) because I always have trouble memorizing piano music while I can sing and conduct hours of choral music as a choral singer/conductor. But now my piano small grey cells are growing and this is very motivating for me!!
Difficult passage: In (...le vent dans la plaine) the E flat minor 6 downward right hand chord, and the crazy leaps in the middle of the piece - explosions! Practise slowly.
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chopin etude op.25 no. 11
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Dominic, re trills: I listened to your webcast of August 17, 2021 on trills. Wow! A phenomenal amount of knowledge you shared! As per your suggestion, I’d like your opinion on how many trills to play per measure, starting with ms 65 of Paderewski’s Menuet, Opus 14, #1. And especially how to coordinate the left hand’s 4-notes on beats 2 and 3 of measure 66, etc. Thank you.
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Everything is hard some days! Haha! My big technical challenge goals of the week - Chopin Etude 10/1 (aka Waterfall) from m.25-48. Schubert A major sonata d. 664 (early one) 3rd movement jumps and run sections smooth and accurate. Other stuff I'm working on is more just musically challenging - these sections feel like real labour!
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Since I'm a beginner, nothing is really that hard! But right now I'm working on JC Bach's Prelude in A minor, and the color matching (dynamics) that my teacher is having me work on is both challenging and delightful (when I get it right).
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Great topic! I'm currently working on Beethoven 109. The 2 spots giving me the most trouble are in the 3rd movement: 1) Variation III - getting the some of the left hand up to tempo perfectly (I made the mistake of changing the fingering several times. Ugh...) and 2) Variation VI - playing the section with triplets and trills in both hands (beginning in the 12th measure) up to tempo accurately. Otherwise loving the piece.
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I am having difficulty playing continuous multiple notes quietly.
For example, the left hand’s part of Chopin Prelude OP. No.4 is hard.
If I play very delicately, I miss some sound of the notes, or the volume of each note does not come out the same.
I wonder if there are any tips.
Eric Lu is doing a wonderful job on this video.
Eric Lu – Chopin: Preludes, Op. 28: No. 4 in E Minor, Largo (youtube.com)