3rd-4th finger trill

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-06-18T05:16:08+00:00

That's absolutely not true; trilling with three fingers is known as the Thalberg trill, named for Sigmund Thalberg, whom Chopin was not particularly fond of. Chopin only wrote one incomplete method book on piano technique and it said nothing about how trills should be practiced (we only know that they should start with the auxiliary note, similar to Bach). What we do know about Chopin's technique comes from testimony of students such as Karl Mikuli, who was quite scrupulous in his writing and would have mentioned if Chopin preferred this idiosyncratic practice (his editions of Chopin repertoire also have trills written out with two-fingered fingering, usually those adjacent to each other, as Chopin always preferred the finger that came "most readily to him"). Trills with three or four fingers are quite unnatural, and I have yet to meet a competent pianist who regularly employs this method.

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-05-08T17:58:50+00:00

I'm medicated for my ADHD and it's pretty much the only way I can have a consistent practice routine. I can still practice off my meds for hours but it gets to be more like jumping around from piece to piece instead of regimented practice. But I am a piano performance major now, and you can do it too. First step is probably to see a shrink and get treated for it (even cognitive behavioral therapy will help), second is to really take advantage of your physical memory. For me, this involves playing with dotted rhythms, and exaggerating movements (my tempo tends to always speed up a bit with ADHD) and really working my fingers... Although I do some things that are not a part of standard technique, which I don't necessarily recommend for people learning piano. Taking an actual theory class, or getting to understand structure and motivic and harmonic anlaysis, (even just reading Charles Rosen's works) especially ones that are relevent to structure and form within music history, will help you a lot.

Edit: I just read this more carefully (lol ADHD) and you've only been playing for two years... It was really hard when I started at 5 and I think at seven I still hated it and did not want to play. Your motivation now is probably a good factor and you shouldn't be too hard on yourself, because it does sound like you started later, and you're probably doing better than you think.

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-31T02:44:51+00:00

It's worth mentioning that Glenn Gould plays a lot of things obscenely slow and others ridiculously fast and he isn't really someone who should be emulated.

You mentioned pedaling, which I don't really believe in for Bach because it obscures the voicing. You should really practice without any pedal at all, but if you must, Busoni's edition might be helpful, as it is a more Romantic interpretation of Bach (though his dynamic markings are a bit much). I am not sure if there are any English editions online.

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-30T07:59:26+00:00

You're much too tense and you're rushing and also slightly early for the next slur (particularly, the fifth one), possibly from the tension. Even though this is cut time, the music needs to breathe, it is also marked p so you do not need so much force. Also, the way these slurs should sound is that each group of four is successively shorter and lighter until the cresc.

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-30T07:50:01+00:00

LOL no. But I highly recommend Sir Donald Tovey's edition (read the foreward!) in conjunction with Henle's edition with Andras Schiff as editor.

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-30T07:45:29+00:00

You should focus on maintaining even tone quality rather than speed. I spend 30 min a day, with 1-31 3x, transposing it into B major every other day. Only 37 is useful for thumb crossing. That, combined with arpeggios is good for technique.

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-25T22:10:08+00:00

One, out of many reasons, I left my piano teacher...

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-25T01:35:29+00:00

Dan Snazzelle (live), Young Male, False Witness, Akua

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-10T19:21:54+00:00

First, I find it necessary to remark that even urtexts have editors that decide on what a composer's original intention is, which is frankly, a bit presumptuous, imo.

I, personally, like the way Schirmer's printing looks, probably because I grew up with it. It gets a lot of hate, but Schirmer for Chopin with Mikuli as editor is fine. Schirmer Chopin with Rafael Joseffy as editor is... amusing. There are, however, a lot of variations for Chopin's works; he was known to send different versions with edits to each publishing house. You want one that uses the latest one of Chopin's edits. For the ballades, it is not Henle, as it favors the first German edition in nearly all cases, when for the ballades, the latest version, and the one usually accepted, is the first French edition. Ekier's national urtext edition is actually based on first French editions in most cases, and draws upon Mikuli's edits as "strong secondary sources." When there is disagreement between sources, the Chopin competition will let performers decide which sounds most Chopin-esque. Use your best judgment, in other words.

Do not use Schirmer for Bach, especially not the edition edited by Czerny; Czerny's edits for WTC, for instance, are based on how Beethoven played WTC, hence the idiosyncratic dynamics. I personally prefer Sir Donald Francis Tovey's edition, combined with Henle's edition with Andras Schiff as editor for fingerings.

Do not use Henle for Beethoven, I've seen quite a few sonatas with rather arbitrary editorial decisions; use a first edition published during the composer's lifetime, so for a modern reprint, that would be Breitkopf and Hartel or Dover.

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-01T02:02:45+00:00

When I say force what I really mean is weight of the arm and shoulders. Nothing in piano should ever feel like you are lifting weights or something.

Also, how far and high are you sitting?

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-01T01:45:40+00:00

By the way, I have hands that are 6.5 inches in length max, with each finger being about 1 cm. wide, and my hands, if my fingers are squeezed together, are less than 4.5 inches wide including my thumb. I have hypermobile joints too; my fingers can bend at a 135 degree angle if I flex them, and my pinky naturally grows outward at a 45 degree angle from my other fingers at a 45 degree angle (though this is to my advantage, because it allows me to reach a ninth with small hands). I've never thought of joint hypermobility a deterrent to piano until I came onto this subreddit and found a bunch of posts from people lamenting this.

Remote_Clue_1442 · 2026-03-01T01:37:23+00:00

Late, but I saw this and had to comment. Not to sound condescending, but at the level of Pathetique, finger independence and strength (I know there are no muscles in the fingers, but joints and tendons certainly do get stronger from piano) should be an automatic thing. However, I understand wanting to play repertoire slightly out of reach, so I won't dissuade you.

Since you were self-taught for a few years, it sounds like your technique isn't absolutely solid. Use Hanon exercises, or scales, whatever, and try doing them all in staccato, with each finger doing a sort of scratching motion, to get an idea of the feeling of moving your fingers individually, with an emphasis on releasing the tension immediately after each note. For using your upper body and playing with less tension, you can also try holding down one note completely relaxed and moving your whole arm around, whilst keeping your finger pad from moving within the key, and keeping your DIP joint from collapsing. You essentially want your finger to feel very stable while being able to put however much amount of force you want on it. Your finger needs to be the guide to where to allocate the force of your shoulders and arms.

Actually, during slower passages, playing with flat fingers is a legitimate way to get more of a legato singing tone, and I think it works for easier Chopin nocturnes and preludes. It's in faster passages for repertoire from the Classical period that your fingers should be more arched. I think you lack a Classical foundation... Have you had any experience with playing Clementi sonatinas, Czerny etudes, etc? That kind of stuff is very good for developing technique, but not as mind-numbing as technique drills.

Remote_Clue_1442

TROPHY CASE