• Store
  • Sign-up
  • Sign-in
Menu
Practising the Piano
  • Home
  • Resources
    • Multimedia eBook Series
    • Online Academy
    • Video Lessons
    • Annotated Study Editions
    • Repertoire Resources
    • Piano Technique Resources
    • Amateur Piano Groups & Clubs
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Online Events
    • London Piano Courses
    • Practice Clinics
    • Online Performance Workshops
  • Blog
      • Practising
      • Learning Pieces
      • Technique
      • Performing
      • Teaching
      • Archive
  • About Us
    • Help & Support
    • Contact us
HomeLearning PiecesBach, Trills & Creating a Singing Tone

Bach, Trills & Creating a Singing Tone

By Informance, 2023-03-16 Posted in: Learning Pieces, Practising

In this month’s practice clinic, Graham Fitch answers questions on fingering and executing trills, a Beethoven Sonata and creating a singing tone in Calme du soir by Moszkowski.

sinfonia in c bach trills

Practice clinic questions

Fingering for trills – In your tutorials you often recommend playing a trill using 3-2-4-3 fingering which I find difficult to get used to – I find using just 3-2-3-2 is much easier. Should I just practise the other fingering, till it gets comfortable or is it ok to use the 2-fingers-fingering? What is the benefit of the 3-fingers-fingering? I would also practise baroque ornaments in different scales, as a technique exercise. Is it a good idea? What fingerings can you recommend for playing / practising different ornaments?

JS Bach Sinfonia No. 1 in C, BWV 787 – I recently started this work having studied several of the two part inventions. I must admit to finding the trills a bit of a limiting factor with these pieces. E.g. It’s the execution particularly where the thumb is holding a note at the same time eg. bar 5 – I can only manage a triplet!

Beethoven Sonata in G, Op. 49 No. 2 (2nd mvt) – How should bars 67-71 (the one with the succession of chords with an interval of a sixth between the notes in the RH) be played? In my version, they look like they should be played kind of legato. When I play, they sound too rough, even with the suggested fingering on my edition. I listen to different versions on YouTube and many people play that passage staccato. Is it the right way to go?

Mozskowski Calme du Soir – In your recent workshop, you created a really lovely singing tone in Calme du soir by Moszkowski. Could you explain what you did to achieve this?

Upcoming Events

Jul 2
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM BST

Creating a Recipe for Performance Success

View Calendar

Next practice clinic

Our next Practice clinic takes place on 19th April 2023 @ 12:00 BST. Please sign-up to our mailing list here for updates on future practice clinic dates.

Watch previous clinics

Recordings of past practice clinics are posted up on our Facebook page and YouTube channel shortly after each event. You can also view our full archive of previous events via these links!

How they work?

Further information on how our practice clinics work is available here or please click here to find out more about the Online Academy.

Online Academy subscribers can submit questions for practice clinics up to two weeks before each session. This can be done using the link provided on the Online Academy dashboard under “subscription benefits” (click here to sign-in and visit your dashboard).

Further information on how our practice clinics work is available here or please click here to find out more about the Online Academy.

Tags: bachbeethovenfingeringMoszkowskiornamentspractice clinicsinfoniassinging tonetone

Related Posts

Trimming Down For The Holidays

Trimming Down For The Holidays

By Graham Fitch, 2012-12-20
Posted in: General tips

A family in my street has gone to absolutely no trouble with their Christmas tree whatever. It has virtually nothing on it, except for a few red ribbons and the tiniest string of plain white lights - not the usual dog's dinner of glitter, baubles, beads, and candy canes. From…

Read More

Tags: Heinrich Schenkerjs bachm preludeMozartornamentsskeletonsonataThe Well-Tempered Clavier
Trimming Down For The Holidays
Firm Foundations

Firm Foundations

By Graham Fitch, 2013-01-18
Posted in: General tips, Practice tools, Practising

A late, esteemed colleague who had amazing sight reading skills once told me he never read through more than once a new piece he was about to learn. It was just too risky for him - on a second reading he would already have been forming habits that would hinder…

Read More

Tags: fingeringlearning a piecememoryrepertoirerhythmsight readingtempo
Firm Foundations
There’s a Hole in my Bucket

There’s a Hole in my Bucket

By Graham Fitch, 2014-05-09
Posted in: Practising

Imagine a situation where you have to fetch water using a bucket. The problem is your bucket has a few holes in it, and on the journey from the well to your bathtub most of the water leaks away. You've got two choices - either make dozens of journeys before…

Read More

Tags: beethovenexaminationsinterleaving practicepractice toolspscyhologyquarantiningRobert BjorkSchumannThe Bulletproof MusicianThe Pareto Principle
There’s a Hole in my Bucket
Practise Smarter with the Feedback Loop

Practise Smarter with the Feedback Loop

By Informance, 2025-02-20
Posted in: Practice tools, Practising

Practise smarter rather than harder with the Feedback Loop, one of the most powerful tools for efficient and effective practising.

Read More

Tags: beethovenfeedback loop
Practise Smarter with the Feedback Loop
Warm-Ups Revisited

Warm-Ups Revisited

By Informance, 2020-10-27
Posted in: News, Practising

We’re delighted to welcome internationally noted pedagogue, performer and author William Westney to the Practising the Piano Online Academy.  William will be posting videos on many practical topics, expanding the content of his bestselling book The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self. William’s videos will cover well-being…

Read More

Tags: The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Selfwarm-up sequenceWilliam Westney
Warm-Ups Revisited
Crossing Hands, Automatic Fingering & Practising Ornaments

Crossing Hands, Automatic Fingering & Practising Ornaments

By Informance, 2025-02-13
Posted in: Practising

Our first practice clinic of the year features questions on crossing hands, fingering, ornaments and more in Prokofiev, Bach, Grieg and Scarlatti!

Read More

Tags: bachcrossing handsfingeringGrieginventionornamentspractice clinicProkofievScarlattistaccato
Crossing Hands, Automatic Fingering & Practising Ornaments

Previous Post

Stories, Images and Magic from the Piano Literature

Next Post

Piano Day 2023 Events & Offers

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

Sign-up To Our Mailing List!

Sign-up to our email newsletter for free resources, news updates and special offers!

TOPICS

  • Practising
  • Learning Pieces
  • Technique
  • Performing
  • Teaching

LINKS

  • Online Academy
  • Informance
  • Help & Support
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Practising the Piano All Rights Reserved

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Privacy Policy
  • T&Cs
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.OkMore Information