Now I'm doing Grade 5 pieces I've started to come across the dreaded trills more and more frequently, but am having difficulty doing them. Anyone got any tips to tackle these. Also the repeated chords (you know the ones joined by the three black lines) are a problem too.

I'm not exactly an expert, but my teacher always say the best way to get nice even trills is to practise slowly and try and use fingers 1+3 or 2+4
Hope this helps slightly

Any pieces in particular?

Is it the Gigue??
I began to do that but then switched to Les Carillons because I found it a nicer piece. Are you following the finger numbering correctly??
I find them a bit challenging, but I just practise slowly and make sure I don't actually move my fingers to much. I also practise playing the trill for quite a while just so my fingers "get the feel".

As regards the trills - here's a method that has worked for me:

Set your metronome (if you have one, otherwise just keep a very steady beat in your head) and play quavers against the metronome's crotchet beat. After a few beats of that, play triplet quavers, so 3 notes per click. Next move onto semiquavers. Once you are happy that they are even, move onto either quintuplets (though they are difficult to keep even) or sextuplets. After them, try demisemiquavers, therefore playing 8 notes per click of the metronome.

When you are comfortable with the demisemiquavers at that speed, increase the speed of the metronome slightly, for example by 4 beats per minute.

Eventually your demisemiquavers will become so fast they will sound like a trill, and still (hopefully) be nice and even

An interesting viewpoint from someone who doesn't play an instrument.

Not trying to pick a fight! According to your past posts, latest, you are a non-instrument playing parent. Sorry if I've misread what you're saying.

Where did latests posts go ?

in a cave marked "trolls" (as opposed to trills!)I would think after last night

Excellent method Smiley - I shall try that tonight.

Thanks for all the advice. I don't have a metronome but should probably get one soon.


Yes it was the Gigue (A1) that was causing me the problems. I had a go at Les Carillions which I wasn't that keen on and have now switched to the Rondo (A2) which I like much more. I will probably go back to the Gigue for practice later on.

There's another method too - first play 2 notes as fast as possible - like grace notes - first up the way then down, then turn it into mordents ie 3 notes as fast as possible, then 4 notes, then 5 - in what you might call "splurts".

You should always try to trill, in my knowledge, on fingers 2+3, and NEVER on finger 5. That's what my piano teacher says every time I do trills.

2 + 3 are the best I find, yep. Had an odd trill between 1 + 3 once though

I've never tried trilling on my thumb... Is it easy?

I've actually had to trill on every other finger, including five.

It wasn't too bad. Thumb was on an E, and trilling to the D# below it with finger 3.

Try to practice them s-l-o-w-l-y first, or there is a practice just for that problem is hanon practice book

That sounds weird...

It's easier than a 2 + 3, I found.

My teacher always recommended 1 and 3, and I've found it works very well

i totally agree..
The key is to practice slowly at first..
Hanon exercises were so helpful to me...

I learnt playing trills by playing Chopin's Nocturne in c# minor Op. post.. It introduced me to Chopin and everyone loves listening to it.

Have a go at it!

Hehe, me too! There's still one trill that gets to me every time, and it doesn't come out right

On the subject of Grade 5 piano, and I've heard a lot of people had switched to Les Carrillons. Why?! I like the sound of it, but if you get a note wrong, boy does it stand out! I think thats what let me down in my exams... allong with the speed... I heard this recording of a Chinese girl playing it, she must only have been about 8 and I was sooo envious, 8 and she could play it better than I could after a whole year...

I am currently studying Gigue as well for my grade 5

Yes I found the trills tricky to so yuor not alone there...my teacher just kept on maing me do them and then when I kept forgetting them he made me trill for a minute using fingers 4 and 3 which is what you are supposed to use. Just keep practicng and i do like the method of starting slowly and then gradually getting faster.

Annetta xx

When you trill, are you sure that your arm rotation is working in unison with the notes you are wanting to hear. A common difficulty is that the student gets too tight because they are thinking that this is purely a "fingers" issue. When practising slow, I always train the ARM to rotate freely in the direction that the notes are to sound. When brought up to speed, the "movement" becomes more like a vibration. I suppose that is why a trill may be sometimes called a shake~!

Interesting - I struggle with trills and have never thought beyond what my fingers were doing! Will try this.

i did it the other way round - learnt A2 first and then my teacher changed her mind and i learnt A1! x

It really does work. I used to struggle with my trills until my teacher thought me to rotate the wrist and arm too and that made it so much easier!