Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Is it okay to re-divide the hands in piano playing? That’s the question today. There are many schools of thought on this subject. With Beethoven in particular, there are many people who feel that it’s very important to play the music exactly as it is written and not to redistribute the notes between the hands in a way that Beethoven didn’t write. Other people think as long as it sounds good, what’s the difference? Is there a difference? Should you divide the hands or not?
It really depends upon how you execute the music.
The question is, can you make it sound the way it is written while re-dividing the hands, or is it going to sound different? If it sounds choppy then that’s no good. If you know the sound that the composer intended and you divide the hands in a way that sounds the same, but it’s easier to negotiate, in my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing that. As long as the integrity of the sound is maintained based upon how the composer wrote the music, there’s nothing wrong with re-dividing the hands to be able to negotiate passages more cleanly and faithfully.
If somebody can hear the difference in the way it sounds, you should avoid dividing the hands.
Re-dividing the hands can be a lifesaver in a lot of instances. It can make the music sound better. It can help you play more cleanly. Just always keep in mind the intent that the composer had in the way they wrote the score. That’s my opinion. Let me know in the comments how you feel about this! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
9 thoughts on “Is it Okay to Re-Divide the Hands in Piano Playing?”
This seems like common sense. I don’t understand how anyone could disagree with this. In addition, there may situations where the original fingering is just too hard for one’s skill level, and the ultimate performance will be better if the hands are switched, even if some small difference exists. Obviously, this is not ideal, but many of us are not as skillful as we would wish.
Another consideration is that the piano was a far different instruments in Mozart’s and Beethoven’s time. So things that may work on a piano from that period may not be possible on a modern piano. For example, Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata, he has octave glissandi in one hand. Try that on a modern piano!
Oh wow! I had no idea! I wouldn’t DREAM of trying that on a modern piano. I prefer to keep my fingers!
Distribution of the hands is as important as finger selection and it depends on the physiology of the hands which is different for everyone. Bach provides no help to the performer. Especially important is this topic when it comes to playing tue Goldberg Variations. They were written for two manuals on a harpsichord. Playing it on one manual on the piano means hands must distribute notes as melodies criss-cross. In some cases the hands are literally atop one another so not only is one concerned with which hand plays which notes but which hand is supra. I know of no other example where distribution of notes between two hands is as important and as challenging as in the Golberg Variations: by the way, does anybody know where I could borrow a double-manual harpsichord for 6-10 months???
I think that if the teacher you have had was able to make you achieve equal strenght and dexterity in both hands, than which hand is used should not matter or sound different. The same goes with fingering. Having very small hands, many times I have had to re-write my own fingering for some pieces. As long as I stay consistent with my own fingering, there is no problem.
I am awed by your examples! You make it sound the same whichever hand you use when you want it to, and you make it sound noticeably different when you want to do so, to illustrate your point. That takes a lot of skill, to the point where my jaw drops to China. I can’t imagine being able to do that myself, like so many things you do to illustrate your points.
Personally, I think we have to accept that one thing we absolutely know about music, is that particular notes do convey and evoke very particular and individually, very specific, emotion. I must then accept that a given composer wrote a given piece with this understanding in mind and with the express intent to convey a very specific feeling, message, experience, if you will to the listener. Considering this, I feel that out of respect for the original composer, it best to play a piece as exactingly as possible to what was composed. That said, however, I do not feel it is wrong to alter or stray from the original composition, given the requirement is met that one announce to any listeners that this is in fact THEIR rendition of the piece. This maintains the respect due both the history and intent of the composer.
If a performer is able to achieve the sound the composer intended better with an alternate arrangement of the hands, I wonder how you would feel about that.
I think we as pianists have such a wide range of choices playing passages of difficulty and to be able to play it fluently ,you need to be an engineer.
There are no written ,strict ,rules of how to play and I would agree with you Robert that it all depends on the sound you want and the fluency .