# Technical Difficulties



## Gaspard de la Nuit

Is there any particular technique or facet of playing the piano (or whatever other keyboard instrument) that you find especially difficult or challenging? Is there any composer whose music you find frustrating to play (in spite of presumably wanting to)? Is there any piece you could say the same for?

Hmmm, for me, I'd say left-hand octaves, if they are whole step, I can't really make it legato, even though I have average-sized hands. Though for me the most difficult thing is trying to make the music sound beautiful and not just like a bunch of buttons that are being pushed. I also rarely if ever get the music up-to-speed, it just doesn't seem like a priority to me most of the time, since I'd rather hear a piece be played beautifully than fast.

As far as frustrating composers, Ravel is my favorite piano composer, and in spite of the fact that his music is definitely pianistic and overall natural to play, I think it presents more of a difficulty than a Romantic composer because the contour of his melody and counterpoint is different than the music that the keyboard originally served to facilitate - there is less step-wise motion, the harmony is extended and not just common-practice triads, etc., so I feel justified


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## BlackKeys

Gotta love those octaves. I have pretty small hands (8th-9th reach) and I struggle with songs with repeating octaves. For instance, Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca was a bit of a nightmare. Personally, I have a great difficulty with long trills with my 2nd and 3rd fingers in my right hand. I was telling my mom about how my fingers really feel weak and tense and she remembered that I had slammed those fingers in a door when I was 5... you learn something new every day haha. It makes me so sad because Chopin is one of my favourite composers and we all know his love for trills/quick scales/anything else to make your fingers exhausted. But hey, at least some of the time I can pull off those with my thumb and 3


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## KenOC

BlackKeys said:


> Gotta love those octaves. I have pretty small hands (8th-9th reach) and I struggle with songs with repeating octaves...


From a contemporary review of a Beethoven piano sonata: "Hr. v. B. should not so often subject the lovers of his compositions to passages that can only be executed by extremely large hands. The composer can rightly demand study, diligence and toil-but who can add an inch to his reach, even if he tries to do so?"


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## Ilarion

Gaspard de la Nuit said:


> Is there any particular technique or facet of playing the piano (or whatever other keyboard instrument) that you find especially difficult or challenging? Is there any composer whose music you find frustrating to play (in spite of presumably wanting to)? Is there any piece you could say the same for?
> 
> Hmmm, for me, I'd say left-hand octaves, if they are whole step, I can't really make it legato, even though I have average-sized hands. Though for me the most difficult thing is trying to make the music sound beautiful and not just like a bunch of buttons that are being pushed. I also rarely if ever get the music up-to-speed, it just doesn't seem like a priority to me most of the time, since I'd rather hear a piece be played beautifully than fast.
> 
> As far as frustrating composers, Ravel is my favorite piano composer, and in spite of the fact that his music is definitely pianistic and overall natural to play, I think it presents more of a difficulty than a Romantic composer because the contour of his melody and counterpoint is different than the music that the keyboard originally served to facilitate - there is less step-wise motion, the harmony is extended and not just common-practice triads, etc., so I feel justified


And with your forum nickname you have chosen a quite difficult piece, no offence ok?

Generally speaking, the struggle to balance being faithful to the composers intentions and yet giving the audience a feeling of
one's art and craft. I personally have no difficulty with any composer - I give every composer and his/her work(s) their fair share of attention to details. As for any particular piece? None that come to mind in all honesty.


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## Azol

True atrist makes you forget about technical demands of the piece.

Here is one of the best examples:






Many pianists turn it into Olympic games, Berman plays music.


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