In this month’s practice clinic, Graham Fitch answered questions on works by Chopin, Mozart, Clementi and Grieg. Topics discussed included practising trills and runs, achieving evenness in the left hand, tone production and addressing problems with coordination and tension.
Practice clinic questions
- WA Mozart – Sonata in F Major, K332 1st mvt – I’m having trouble with bars 86-89 as I’m finding the trills tricky to coordinate with the left hand. I would love some practice suggestions for bringing this section up to speed.
- Chopin – Nocturne in B-flat Minor, Op. 9 No. 1 – Please could you help me with the runs in bar 4 and the similar run near the end.
- Clementi – Gradus Ad Parnassum, No. 1 – The tempo is marked Veloce or a half note = 80. What speed should it be played at?
- Chopin – Waltz in B Minor, Op. 69 No. 2 – I’m having a little trouble with keeping the left hand even in terms of tone and was wondering if you had any tips on technique to produce the soft, even tone I’m looking for throughout the piece?
- Grieg – Butterfly, Op. 43 No. 1 (Bars 7 – 9) – I’m struggling to coordinate my fingers in Grieg’s in bars 7 – 9. I end up feeling very tense, and dissatisfied that my playing is lumpy and out of control. I would appreciate any help you can give me here.
Next practice clinic
Our next practice clinic takes place on Wednesday 20th October on our Facebook page at 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?
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.