Chopin Scherzo No2

Hi Alan In the coda section of chopin scherzo no2, there is a transition part where the left must play a leap from a black key Aflat with 5th finger and jump to E natural with 3rd finger. This section in the left hand is relatively fast and I have not been able to play this transition smoothly with the same speed as the previous section. Part of my prob is my short fingers but is there a way to overcome this? Much thanks. Abbie

Place your hand carefully on the note you are leaping TO (the E natural). Sense the shape of your hand in that position. Then leap to the A flat. Practice the leap going the wrong way first by leaping extremely quickly to the note but NOT playing it, just touching the key. Then leap extremely fast, just touch don't play, and when you have relaxed on key, play. Finally leap and play. Do all this going the wrong way, and then reverse it so you now practice the leap in those three ways, from A flat to E natural. What this does is retrain the neurology to have an image of the leap that is free from the anxieties that would normally plague it and screw it up... AFF

Hi Alan, Should this leaping practise be performed when I am looking at my hands or with eyes closed? I am trying to improve my sight reading and leaping is a big problem to me because I lose orientation, look down at my hands and break the steady beat. I know the original question is related to a different challenge - leaps at fast tempo, but I am wondering if the same technique would be helpful to assist in sight reading.

Absolutely. For reading I would add an element. First leap slowly without looking, in fact "crawl" down the keyboard feeling the patterns of three blacks and two blacks in a tactile way. Recognize by touch the pattern of black keys that tell you which key to play. Then speed it up so you don't touch the in between groups of blacks but still do recognize the distance to the group you need to orient to. Then as recommended earlier... The aim is to give the hands such a good tactile sense of the keyboard that they never feel lost even though you don't look... AFF