One of the greatest challenges in piano playing is being accurate when dealing with large leaps around the keyboard. String players also have similar challenges when going from low notes to very high notes traveling across the fingerboard without any hesitation – and you will want to execute them successfully as well. While this definitely is a challenge for any musician, there are a few things you can incorporate into your practice to make these large leaps seem seamless.
For this example – if you watch the video above – I am demonstrating with the B-Minor Scherzo by Chopin. This piece has leaps all over the place so it’s a great piece to use.
The trick is to practice getting your hands in the correct position when making leaps. So the ideal thing to do is to play your music right up to the leap – and stop just before playing the notes after the leap. Playing your passage as you normally would up to tempo, and when it comes time to play the notes – stop! Analyze where your hands end up. If they didn’t go far enough, repeat the procedure and make adjustments, Likewise, if you overshoot the leap, you can refine the process until you are perfectly over the notes.
As you practice, wait a moment after the leap and play the new notes. As you continue practicing, shorten the time in which you stop and then play the last notes. Eventually, you will be able to play the passage without any perceptible pause even though you may be thinking it! Over time you will be able to play it seamlessly and your hands will naturally fall on the right notes effortlessly.
Thanks for joining me this week and I look forward to producing more of these piano technique videos in the near future. Robert Estrin (949) 244-3729 Robert@LivingPianos.com
6 thoughts on “Piano Techniques: How to Handle Large Leaps in Music”
Excellent insight, thank you! will try this for Scriabin and Rachmaninoff preludes. Thank you for your work
Nice practicing technique. Thanks for all the info!
Another great video Robert! I’m also an advocate of learning by breaking things down into small components – this ‘leap finder’ approach is a great tool. Thanks!
Hey Robert! :)I’m Sami, I have a few questions I was wondering if you could answer:
-In some peaces, the left hand should be louder than the right hand, how do you do that? Is there a technique for practicing that?
-And also, as a professional pianist, what are the warm ups and techniques you practice on a regular basis?
Thanks Robert, keep the great videos coming. Thanks!;)
Thank you, Robert. I’ve had my students work on leaps by playing the key they leap to, but not playing the next. I plan to give this a try…it makes sense to me to get the hand into position first 🙂
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