Because I use them more, the 1st and 2nd fingers of my right hand are really strong, but my little finger is really weak. For the Arabesque (G8) there is still that quick bit (bar 34 etc) that I JUST CANT DO! Nomatter how I try, going slower then speeding up, hands separately, slowing down at random places, playing each voice separately..doesnt work. I think it might be a strength problem? So can anyone recommend any exercises i can do? Or any tips on the piece, would be appreciated.

Try looking in a book like "Hour a day" byGeoffrey Tankard and Eric Harrison. It has exercises for waek fingers as well as other techniques such as octaves and simple five finger exercises. Im sure once you've done some of those you could improvise something to suit your own needs.

Sorry no tips on the piece (im at G7 on piano at the moment and feeling rather uninspired-its like writers block for musicians!!!)

Regards, Hellokitty

Yeah I know what you mean, mine has only streghtened really from playing guitar.

Easy one... pick up a Gripmaster hand/finger exerciser from your local music store. Cheap and effective for whatever instrument you play. There are different hand sizes with four spring-loaded plungers for individual finger work. Very helpful.

I put off buying one until recently, thinking it was a gimmick, but have found my guitar LH fretboard finger strength and performance has improved dramatically. A good buy.

Richard
Hong Kong

PS. You can exercise anywhere and make no noise at all. But don't overdo it. Like all exercise, build up gradually.

There's a good book of exercises by Hinke. That's all I can remember, but they work well.
EDIT: no, Hinke is the oboe equivalent, I can't remember the piano exercises book.

If lack of strength is the problem, try practising the offending passage leaving the third out, so that you only play the melody note 'A', for instance, instead of both the 'A' and the 'F#'.

Then play the melody notes as loudly as you can through finger action - won't sound pleasant but will help to strengthen your finger.

When you play the passage as written, try leading with your wrist. This evens up the length of your 5th and 3rd fingers a bit and means you will be less likely to split the thirds; also your weight will be travelling towards the note that needs bringing out.

Try going up the passage playing each beat 6 times, then 5, the 4 etc. This gives you more time to work on the strength without having to worry so much about hitting the correct notes with each move.

To relieve the pressure of playing the passage, indulge in a bit of rubato - a rit from about half-way through sounds great and helps technically

Hope this helps. Enjoy the piece - nearly everybody who plays it loves it.

Steve

Thanks everyone!

Will try the tips Steve...I'm having problems trying not to split the thirds too. At the moment, the rest of the piece sounds ok, I just wince and shriek when i get to said passage.

I didn't get that far on that one... was really not working for me so we changed it.

i hurt my little finger yesterday and had to abandon my lesson because of the agony.

I have a competition with classes on march 12th and march 18th. I hope i havent done any bad damage, because its the same finger i broke when i was 9 and had to have operated on because it sprung out to about 90 degrees.

Ouch Scott Hope it gets better lots!

Both my little fingers bend slightly out. This was due to the things I got them to do on the piano when I was still growing. It means I can reach an octave, but was that worth deforming my hands to do so.

Hope the injury isn't too bad. RICE (rest, Ice, compresion, elevation) and build things up gently.

Get well soonjava script:emoticon(':rolleyes:', 'smid_12')