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Practicing
Many di cult passages in the piano repertoire are based on recurring gures, or patterns. Such
patterns usually lend themselves to one general solution, which can be made into a small “practice
capsule”. Here we will propose “capsules” of this sort from the standard repertoire, referring both to
the general principles involved and to speci c ideas for practicing these passages.
 

 
Bach – Fugue in Ab+, WTC I (polyphonic playing)
 

This kind of polyphonic passage, typical of many Bach fugues, requires the pianist:
 
 1. to play two contrasting parts in the same hand (m. 9, m. 11), and
2. (more di cult) sometimes has the middle parts migrating, in mid-phrase or even in mid-motive,
between the hands (m. 10).
 
The rst di culty should be mastered before attempting the second one. To master the rst problem,
seen here in the RH of m. 9, and the LH of m. 11, requires the ability to “split the hand in two”. It is best
approached as follows (obviously, an appropriate ngering must be chosen in advance):
 
1. play the two parts (e.g. m. 9, RH) rst with two hands (i.e. one part played by each hand, leaving out
the music on the other stave entirely), sharply exaggerating the di erence between the two parts in
dynamics, articulation, etc.
2. imitate the sound of this exaggerated polyphonic playing, but now playing the two parts in
the same hand.
3. reduce the di erence between the two parts, playing more subtly.
 
Once this has been mastered, you can approach the second, harder, problem. Here (e.g. m. 10) it is a
good idea for beginners to actually rewrite the music with the correct hand distribution, as below.
 

 
Note that the part which migrates between the hands (here mainly the tenor part) is marked with an
exaggerated articulation, to better set it o from the other parts. To master this problem:
 
1. practice the migrating part rst alone, entirely with one hand,
2. practice the migratiing part, with the nal, correct hand distribution,
3. practice each hand separately, playing both parts – the migrating part will of course be incomplete,
4. practice both hands together, bringing out the migrating part very strongly.
5. reduce the exaggerated articulation, playing more subtly.
 

 
Chopin – Prelude in F# minor (awkward shifts between black and white notes)
 

 
The di culty here lies in the fast shifts and rather awkward positions.
 
Tips:
 
Do not hold the thumb notes (RH) for their full value; the pedal sustains them anyway.
Do not maintain either hand in the stretched positions required by the largest spreads any longer
than required. The moments of relaxation a orded by allowing the hand to retract slightly will make
a big di erence over the whole piece. In the left hand either; move the arm, to remain “centered”
For the movements between black and white note positions, required by the thumb (RH), begin the
shift in or out (drawer shift) a few notes early. For example, on the rst beat, by the time you are
playing the notes B-A, the hand is moving out slightly to prepare the thumb for its coming D. The
shift back in takes place as the high D is sounding.
Move the thumb with a slight slapping movement t bring out its notes.
Much variety of touch can result from the amount of nger action in the little notes (RH); they can be
played either as waves, or as clear ligree.
 

 
Chopin – Scherzo #2, m. 680  (fast arpeggio gure with wide extension)
 

 
The di culty here is a very common one in Chopin: a fast, wide cycling arpeggio pattern. This (pedaled)
guration sounds very rich. I have deliberately chosen the hardest bars here; if these are mastered
comfortably, the surrounding measures are easy.
 
The  wrong way to approach this passage is by stretching from the low Ab’s to the upper arpeggio
notes.
 
What is required here is a freely swinging arm movement (feel the swing at the elbow). It starts from an
outward position, with the 5th nger slightly on its side (on the the low Ab), and moves steadily to a
slightly lower, inward position, where the thumb can play the highest note, and then reverses. The
second note in each bar is played with either the 4th or the 3rd nger. What requires detailed work is
the exact sunchronisation of the arm swing with the inner notes, so that each one can be played
comfortably when it arrives. Given that there are many variants of the gure (changing with the
harmony), these local adjustments need to be closely and clearly sensed at rst. Finally, be aware that
the last bar will require a fairly marked in and out (drawer) movement, due to the white notes. (The
previous bar has the least drawer action, being entirely on the black notes.).
 

 
Chopin – Scherzo #2, m. 552  (frequent shifts from/into awkward positions)
 

 
There are two main di culties within this short passage:
 
1. the need to rapidly and accurately grab a handful of notes (in a chord, here) coming from a quick
gure in a di erent position.
2. the rapid shifts between the low and high register chords/octaves.
 
These two di culties are best worked on separately, and then chained together.
 
First, practice playing the triplet and then grabbing the following chord. Simplify by omitting the middle
notes in the right hand chord (see the musical example below). During the triplet each hand gradually
opens out to prepare for coming chord. A split second before the arpeggiated octaves there is a very
quick (arm) throwing movement to supply the requisite accent. Once this is comfortable, add the
middle notes (again, see the example below).
 

 
The next step (see below) is to practice the arpeggiated chord with a slightly exaggerated arm throw
and a strong accent; but now feel the followthrough as being “ripped o the keys” and arcing
rightwards in a sideways ellipse, landing on the high Eb.
 
 
Next start from the high octaves (again, thrown); once again there will be a slight but distinct new attack
before the accented arpeggio, as it is approached from the (now leftwards moving) ellipse.
 

 
Finally, chain all these mini-sections together in the actual passage as written.
 

 
Chopin – Scherzo #3, m. 39-41 (quick octaves in an awkward layout)
 

 
This quick octave passage is awkward due to its irregular layout and leaps.The rst four octaves require
only slight “drawer” shifts between white and black keys; if your hand is big enough, taking the (outer)
black notes with the fourth nger and the white notes with the 5th nger will help provoke this
automatically.
 
The large leap from F# to high E requires teaching the body to gauge the distance accurately. A good
way to do this is to play the F# normally, and then to just touch the E, without actually playing it, as
rapidly as possible. (This will feel less risky than normal playing.) After a few repetitions, you can play
the E, and then add the surrounding notes.
 

 
Liszt – Paganini Etude #4, beginning (leaps and repeated notes)
 

 
The di culty here comes from two elements (given the quick tempo):
 
the left hand is constantly leaping,
the repeated notes need precise timing, to avoid getting stuck.
 
The starting point is the LH leaps.
 

 
They should be played rst alone (see above) with a fairly high wrist (since the LH plays above the RH
throughout), and with a gently swinging arm rhythm. The arc described by the LH from note to note
is assymetrical: after falling rmly onto its note, the LH rises, already moving sideways towards for the
next note. The new note is played with a more or less vertical fall, and the process begins again, in the
opposite direction. Here is the arc from lower note to a higher one; in the opposite direction it will be
reversed.
 

 
Once you have absorbed the “mapping” of the leaps, and gotten used to the rm, bouncing rhythm of
the LH, next incorporate the RH as block chords, as follows:
 

 
Then practice the following rhythmic modi cation (to sharpen the feeling of a quick lift o the rst of
each pair of repeated notes):
 
 
Finally, you are ready to play the music as written.
 

 
Liszt – Transcendtal Etude #11, m.100-102 (fast leaps between loud chords)
 

 
The main di culty here is the rapid leaps in both hands.
 
A good starting point is the following two rhythmic variants. They should be played under tempo,
however with the shifts made at full speed: Throw vigorously,  stay on each chord until ready for the
next, and then shift rapidly to play the next.
 

 
The arc described during the shift is assymetrical: after falling rmly onto its chord, the hand rises,
already moving sideways towards for the next one. The new chord is played with a more or less vertical
throw, and the process begins again, in the opposite direction. Here is the arc from lower chord to a
higher one; in the opposite direction it will be reversed.
 

 
Given the very loud dynamic (  f ) you may lean in slightly on the outer (melodic) chords. It is also
useful to shape the phrase with a more pronounced lean into the peak chord on the third beat, and
follow with a slight backward lean at the cadence. These movements should not be exaggerated!
 
After this preparation, you are ready to play the music as written.
 

 
Scarlatti – Sonata K. 141 (fast repeated notes)
 

 
The di culty here is the rapid repeated notes in the right hand.
 
To play this kind of consistent repeated note passagework, it is useful to position the hand and arm
slightly outwards (to the right, in this case). This makes it easier to play the ngers quickly one after
another. The releases are just as important as the attacks; it is critical to get o the notes quickly. A
useful mental trick is to imagine that the descent of the new nger “causes” the withdrawal of the
previous one. It may even be necessary to practice a few times with a slightly exaggerated lift of the
withdrawing nger, although this should not be overdone; it can lead to strain.
 
The speed of the passage requires playing each bar as a group impulse. The left hand chords can be
very useful to give the sense of a freshly renewed attack on each downbeat. Throw them vigorously; the
RH will tend to follow the LH attacks.
 
Practice hands together, rst as follows. Again, this encourages a fresh attack for each bar.
 
 
Then play the music as written. but stopping momentarily between bars. Finally, practice in whole
phrases.

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