Has anyone got helpful techniques for playing scales and arpeggios really smoothly and fast? I practise hard, use correct fingering (have Grade 8) but they still sound "fingery". So in a piece like Mozart's Fantasie in D min for example, the alarming presto passages which are basically variations on scale passages, played by me sound like PC Plod rather than marvellous avalanches of sound. When I watch professional pianists they seem to expend hardly any effort and are up and down the keboard in a breath. I'm sure it's to do with using my arms more freely.. or what?
My husband has just suggested that horse trainers put weights on the horse's feet so that when removed the animals can step higher and faster! Any more useful suggestions or do I have to tie weights on to my fingers?
Thanks

How did you get on with the Grade 8 scales? Because given the recommended minimum speed is 88 minum (where the notes are in quavers) it is already a very respectable speed if you acheived that, and at that speed they are starting to cease like individual notes and more like a torrent of sound.

I have heard of tying weights to the arms/wrists to achieve a firm touch on the piano, but unless you really know what you are doing, I would not recommend it, simply because you may well be adding extra strain and tension your wrists and hands and end up with a stress related injury or tendonitis etc because you have to use the extra strength to play the notes. For horses and runners (and gymnasts too), the weights are in the ankles but overall it is there to condition the muscles of the whole leg (and very possibly the rest of the body) to lift the weights. If you tied it to your fingers, it is only the fingers that do the lifting. I don't know enough about physics to explain this properly but from what I know of the body, the weight/impact is more direct with the latter, it quite likely is to do with leverage. You don't want to wind up with dystonia.

My piano teacher taught me several methods to get any playing, but especially scales and arpeggios, fast and even.

1) do dotted rhythems, group them in triplets, duplets etc. Take it in turns to group different notes in the triplets etc. E.g.
Take 1: C DEF GAB CDE
Take 2: CDE FGA BCD
Take 3: CD EFA BCD EFG

It is to get your fingering absolutely drilled in, also to get the notes played faster than before (playing quavers in triplets is obviously a speed faster than the notes with their designated time value). Even just 5-10 minutes or this a day you can see a marked difference in the playing.

As for eveness, I was told each time there is uneveness, chances are that it is your arm that is in an awkward position which restricts the freedom for the hands and fingers on the keys. Make sure you are not "clamping" your elbow to your side and it is just your hands that are moving left and right. When you are playing the low notes with the LH and high notes with the right, it should be your arm leading the hands up and down along the keyboard, not the other way round. Your hand should always be at a comfortable angle from your arm, and in general if the arm is leading the way, the whole feel is a *lot* looser and more relaxed, and the washes of sound can then be achieved. My teacher told me think of supporting the whole arm from the shoulder, and then think of moving the arm and creating a space in the armpit area.

I took me a while to drill in the technique so that it becomes second nature (I still need the occasional reminder) but once you get the hang of it, it works wonders.

Hope that all helps.

My piano teacher suggested me to practice Czerny Op.299, to brush up smoothness and speed in playing scales.

She also talked about the technique of arm movements, similar to what Chopininoff's teacher has taught her.

I agree with Chopininoff that your wrists will get injured if you put extra weights on them. It's too dangerous not even worth trying.

Sam

I had exactly the same problem with the Fantasy in D minor- I found the best way was to break these passages up into sections and practise them slowly, then speed it up and put them together.

Thank you for your replies so far. I really had no intention of going in for weightlifting but I appreciate your concern !
I passed Grade 8 quite respectably a good few years ago: as far as I remember scales were at a reasonable standard if not brilliant. You've just reminded me about practising different groupings, thanks. I feel that fundamentally my difficulty has a lot to do with the arm movement thing and being able to achieve that lovely relaxed feeling when everything works together as a unit. I like the image of the arms leading and keeping a space in the armpit area.
Will keep trying - am determined to do that Mozart justice!

Just an extra little tip:- for passages with some arpeggios, (esp short and fast ones) make sure your wrist is free, the beautiful waves of sound can be achieve by rotating your wrists in broad sweeps downwards, then upwards. You'll have to try it out many times before you feel more comfortable.

Relaxion could be the key - if you want to play fast scale passages, it's important that your fingers are relaxed - this starts from the bottom of your back, and goes through your shoulders down your arms - make sure every muscle is relaxed (normally the worst culprits for tension are your shoulders which cause tension in your forearms and wrists - make a conscious effort to lower them and ensure that you stay relaxed)

Uneven practice also helps (believe it or not!) to make passages more even! (dotted rhythms)

Dave

I've been working on the Fantasy for a while now and the cadenzas are parts I'm least happy with. This really is playing at the limit of my ability, although (after much practice) I can almost manage the first at a semi respectable speed, but the second .... well it's very hard. I've just been practicing the whole runs in a oner, but breaking it up sounds like a good idea. Any more tips would be appreciated.

I agree - hearing professionals play this piece is absolutely awe inspiring.

My teacher said that musical interpretation is much more important than absolute speed and that the important thing is to make sure that the tempo contrasts with the previous section and is *controlled* with no notes missed out (i.e. presto is a relative term). In the first cadenza I don't even attempt to play the ascending dim. 7th chords at 'professional' speed. If you really slow down the first one (I've got two scores with different performance directions - one has a 'rit.' at this point!!) you can gradually accellerate the others.

The other run of ascending minor thirds just before the allegretto is not easy either!

I found with the Fantasy cadenzas that once you wotk out the pattern (they do repeat) it comes a bit easier. Luckily I always liked dim 7 arpeggios anyway

QUOTE

The other run of ascending minor thirds just before the allegretto is not easy either!

I keep on getting caught out by that bit!

I'm interested to hear how people interpret the Fantasie. It has such a variety of contrasting sections. I have a recording by Uchida in which she plays the opening arpeggio theme very mysteriously and delicately yet with a wonderful build up of tension. Other recordings I've heard have the arpeggios played in a much stronger percussive way, very Bach-like. Also the Uchida version has a different ending to the one in my urtext (Henle) edition. Instead of playing the last line of the allegretto, at bar 98 she reverts to the opening D min arpeggio section with I think a little harmonic variation and ends on the low a. I like this better than the cheerful V-I ending of the allegretto. I'd like to know if that's her own improvisation or Mozart's own. I don't remember what I recorded it from so can't refer back to any source. Anyone know?

It says in the footnote in my book that Mozart left it unfinished and it is thought that one of his pupils provided the last 8 (?) bars. Therefore I would think it would be acceptable to play it either way?

There's a thread about the Uchida ending on here somewhere. I agree, it sounds wonderful and I've spent (wasted) too much time trying to play it by ear!!!

I think (and am prepared to be corrected) that she goes into D major (not sure how), plays a flight up the keyboard in that key which is like the A major flight in the opening. To me, she then seems to come down in the same key, but with each note in the chord 'decorated' by the note a semitone lower to finish on D. This again is directly anaolgous to the descent in the opening, which you can think of as the chord of A major with each note decorated by the note a semitone below it.

I'd love to see it written out - I may come back to it in a few weeks, but I was ending up playing around with the ending and not practising any of the rest!!!

The ending that is usually played was not written by Mozart. He wrote it as far as the chord about 10 bars from the end, and it was finished for publication after his death. Some people think ist was to be a Fantasie and Sonata like the one in C minor - which is *wonderful* but far to hard for me. My teacher played it for me on tuesday night!