arpeggios

How do you do em fast and clear???

 

practice them slowly and clearly.

 

When playing fast, do not even attempt to play legato, and do not turn the thumb under at all. Does this help? There are also many different ways to practise them.

 

is it necessary to use the pedal in order for fast arpeggios to be legato?

 

the wrist and hand can not be locked down and must move as one
yet independent parts... i once took a master class... and the teacher
said... "think of your fingers as wearing different types of shoes...
in this case you want nice light touch like ballet shoes... the fingers
should barely touch the bottom of the key like a foot barely
touching the floor, the leg bends as a shock absorber, so too
does the wrist..."

He was teaching me a Chopin waltz at the time however the same
rings true with arpeggios... and active finger tips always...

 

thats what i do but it doesn't sound very clear =-[

 

No. Just the opposite, in fact. When practicing arpeggios, do so without the pedal, to make sure the legato is not broken. Good wrist flexibility will facilitate legato arpeggs. A common error is to try to span the intervals with the fingers, an impossible task. The wrist must lead the hand into position, before the note is played. Reaching with the fingers is never correct.

 

Practice.

Slowly.

 

Yes, that's right, but don't forget to also practice quickly! Slowly and quickly. The difference in practice speeds from day to day will break even the most stubborn plateau. Practice differently.

Pete

 

oh yes, the much loved arpeggios... i suggest taking a thirty minute or even fifteen minute interval of time to practice ONE apeggio only and starting with triplets on 60bpm and play that ONE arpeggio scale OVER and OVEr and OVer(i kno it will sound babyish or stupid, but u'll be suprised) then use ur own opinion to determine when u feel it is perfect, perfection and clarity is key, thats what u want rite? then once u decide u have mastered 60bmp then increase tempo to 72bmp then 80bmp then 92 then 100 etc... It does wonders for me, hope it helps u. keep a consistent, continuous motion, try not to break sound and scale!!! :wink:

 

Good work. You must be the arpegio king...... :lol: ...You have the patience.

 

Continuity.

Pete

 

Plural of arpeggio is arpeggi, not arpeggios.
I think..

 

Learn Chopin Etude no.1 op.10

 

Advice in the books by Josef Lhévinne and Abby Whiteside, when put together, helped me the most. IMO, try not to purposely reach with the tips of your fingers, that makes playing bumpy and forte almost impossible. Fingers alone are not meant for such acrobatics. Instead I make my chord formation by spreading the palm muscles, and I found that this technique allows for a supple wrist. The fingers simply become a bony structure, which you will play against. Upon Whiteside's advice, I use mostly the upper-arm (and some forearm in co-operation with upper) to apply the power and the distance. With your chord formation in the palm, your wrist should be flexible enough to fling your arm to the next position, like cracking a whip. Playing them this way, I do not turn my thumb under unnaturally, but I find that nature does it slightly for me. I could say more, but I recommend checking out the authors I mentioned.

 

I agree Abby Whiteside's take on arps is most helpful!!!

Pete

 

I think a good way to prepare for arpeggios (which are more difficult than scales) is to play 4 note broken chords slowly and clearly, using the metronome at a slox tempo, say crotchet (quarter note) = 40 (or even slower). Play with precise downward motion of each finger. Then when you feel comfortable with the tempo and can play in time, increase the metronome speed a few notches. Over a period you will become more fluent. My experience is that this is beneficial with playing arpeggios. By the way don't strain your thumb crossing it under the fingers when playing arpeggios is an effort to get a perfect legato. With many hand sizes it's just not possible.

 

I agree with romanza's post on this one... I didn't read past that post, so I don't know what was said after it.

Except, instead of playing them as triplets, play them as 16ths. This helps to make them not "lumpy" and makes them a lot more smooth.

Also, just a minor difference, but instead of bumping up 8 or 12 bpm each time, I only do 4 (I practice everything this way... start out at half tempo or slower, and then once it's perfect at that tempo, bump up the metronome 4 bpm. I guess the 4 bpm thing only works if you have a digital metronome come to think of it... if you don't have one though, you should go out and get one anyway :lol: )