Beethoven’s “Pathetique” Sonata Op. 13: left-hand tremolo practice - piano technique strategies

[@paulolopes9344]

I find putting an accent every 4 notes and then every 8 notes (on the fifth finger) also helped me to free the muscles and become more rhythmically aware

[@SC-549]

I was struggling on this part while practicing. Thank you very much for the helpful practicing tip!

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

It is my pleasure! I hope it helps!

[@PianistMarcusSukiennik]

Excellent advice throughout and very straight forward. I also appreciate the tempo in which you speak. Not to slow or to fast. Your video stays interesting

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

Thank you! I am still working on the overall tempo of my videos - I tend to speak way too fast.

[@PianistMarcusSukiennik]

@@pianoarticlesweekly Actually no. I think you had the perfect tempo in this video. Most of the time I have to use a 1.5 faster tempo on KZbin Videos. Sometimes even 2 😅 but this doesn't work well with music content

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

I do the same for most videos I watch 😊 but recently I realized that because of this my speaking tempo got faster too. I have to watch out for that.

[@ronaldonerheim4653]

What do you think about practicing the right hand with only playing repeated octaves in the left to keep it rested. When the right hand is performing well enough, the tremolo can be added.

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

This is an excellent idea and it is particularly helpful if it is the right hand that is the reason for problems with fluency and fast tempo.

[@arongach7241]

Very useful video! Thank you for your work with it! Are you planning to make other videos like this? I am a hobby pianist and right now I'm working hard with one of my favourite sonatas, the final movement of Beethoven's f minor sonata (Op. 2 No. 1). It has many technical difficulties in it, and I would really greatful some advices about this piece.

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

Thank you! Do you have any particular sections in mind which you find challenging?

[@arongach7241]

@@pianoarticlesweekly especially those fast triplets in the left hand; How to do it properly in the original tempo. And also the right hand's cords in the same place, and play it together with the difficult left hand.

[@TARO_INSTANTA]

Отличные рекомендации. Благодарю 😊

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

I am glad you liked the video!

[@cannetw123]

Really helpful, i have learnt a lot. Thanks for all the advices and sharing. May I ask how to improve the left hand because I have challenges on lower the sound of my left hand? My lefthand sound always greater than right hand. >

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

I am happy to hear that the video was helpful! The volume level of the left hand can be a big challenge in this place. I tend to first let students play the left hand at a comfortable dynamics, focusing on their physical comfort. Once they start feeling physically comfortable, we adjust the dynamics to be in balance with the right hand. It also might be worth checking if your right hand is not playing too gentle:)

[@cannetw123]

@@pianoarticlesweekly thank you for your suggestion.. i will try :)

[@yixinsong]

Another helpful exercise for me (since I have small hands): practice the tremolo with seventh instead of octave firstly in order to get a more stable and relax feeling of the wrist movement. -- Inspired from experience on narrowed keyboard :)

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

I remember learning Spanish Rhapsody by Liszt many years ago, and having to practice bars 613-620, (which are written in tenths) and thinking to myself: wow, that’s how pianists with smaller hands must feel when playing octaves! If one has large hands, it is easy to say that we should ‘relax’ our hands when playing octaves, but it is so difficult to do when hands are small 😞 When facing large intervals, I try to avoid holding an ‘open hand’ above the uncomfortable interval for a long time. I keep my hand in it’s natural solan till the last moment and then expand just for a short time. It is also useful to ignore long notes and play them shorter than written to relax (this is not always possible, particularly if we cannot use pedal to help). I also like to think that the piano keys expand our hand when we press them, rather than us having to expand the hand to attack the large interval or a chord. It’s a complex problem, but how we think has a great impact on how we feel. Good luck with your practice 🍀

[@yixinsong]

❤extremely helpful😇😇😇

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

I am super happy to hear it 😊 thank you!

[@ondaride777]

To be humble and honest, at what point you should practice Pathetique??? I believe when you're really mature and getting PHD. I also realized that lefty can do that job quicker and better than righty. I have PAIN holding it even a split minute whether using just fingers, wrist or combo-both even at slower speeds.

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

Ondaride777, my apologies for the late reply. Firstly, if you feel pain even at the 'split minute' when playing a section of a piece, you must stop, allow your hands to recover fully, and get back into practice only after that. I would also suggest talking to your teacher about the pain you are experiencing and asking for help. If they are not able to help, please search for another professional teacher who understands how to help you. Playing with such pain is a straight road into an injury. Practicing pieces such as Pathetique can be done successfully even at a relatively young age, provided a good guidance from a teacher is available and that the piece is not approached as a sudden jump in difficulty considering prior repertoire. Please let me know how I could help you. Best wishes, w

[@Pseudify]

I would think at the doctorate level you are attacking more difficult Beethoven sonatas like the Appassionata or Hammerklavier. This one is approachable by a good intermediate player. Basically if you can handle the tremolos I don’t think you’ll find any insurmountable challenges.

[@danielliang9266]

Thank you for the video, I'm finding it extremely tiring for my left arm to do this section

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

Please take your time working your way through the strategies shown in the video and solving the problem. It is best not to have an exam or a deadline ahead of you, at least not until you find the approach that works best for you. Caring about your hand's well-being is the priority. Please let me know if you need any further advice, good luck!

[@danielliang9266]

@@pianoarticlesweekly Thank you for the advice. Sadly, I do have an exam ahead of me, although it is in 3 months, so hopefully that's enough time to adapt. Will definitely work with the strategies in this video! I do have another question regarding the section with long jumps in the right hand. Do you have any advice regarding fingering or something in that section that can help the jumps be more smooth and accurate?

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

@danielliang9266 do you mean the jumps in the second theme (usually on page 3)? I might do a video on those as they can also be quite difficult. Three months is a good timeframe to solve the tremolo issue. Please let me know later how is the progress and if there is anything else I can do to help!

[@danielliang9266]

@@pianoarticlesweekly Yep, that's the one. And will do. Thank you!

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

Dear Danielliang9266: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqnLpn-pfKdmidE Enjoy!

[@bryanryan4504]

I honestly never knew this tremolo was even an issue w some people.

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

Dear Bryanryan4504, you must be doing well with your technique if you have never experienced any trouble with this tremolo. This section is notorious for causing tiredness among students. Thanks for commenting!

[@bryanryan4504]

@pianoarticlesweekly it is all in the wrist. I can do proper tremolo for few mins straight at proper tempo without any tiredness. I'm not advanced student and have other issues but not tremolo. Even one time my teacher told me that it is great I can do tremolo without issue and at that time I didn't know why she said that. Now I realize it is bc people have issue. Hmmm

[@pianoarticlesweekly]

For me, some types of piano technique are more accessible to execute than others. It seems to be quite common among students as well. We all are slightly different in our hand sizes/shapes and preferred motions, so there will be some degree of difference between what seems easy and what is difficult.

[@davidheemskerk466]

Then why did you watch this video?

[@bryanryan4504]

@@davidheemskerk466 what do you mean why I watched this video? Maybe I'm curious? Maybe it was recommended? Maybe I was looking for some info but didn't find it? If you can't answer that for yourself, I would question if you are even truly living a real life bc we all do what I just did.