Thread: Playing trills....

Is there anyway I can speed up how I play trills?

Just tips in general

When I say Jon Nakamatsu play the Rach 3, I saw how many there were, and how fast he played them, often with 3 & 4 th fingers...

Originally Posted by trojan rabbit

When I say Jon Nakamatsu play the Rach 3, I saw how many there were, and how fast he played them, often with 3 & 4 th fingers...

Those are the most comfortable trills, and your thumb is free to play some melodies. Also, 4-5 trills will set fingers 1-2 free to play something at the same time, but that needs a lot of additional practice.

How to play them fast? Exercise a lot. Ever seen that 1-2 trill + melody at the end of the Waldstein?

Originally Posted by YsayeOp.27#6

Those are the most comfortable trills, and your thumb is free to play some melodies. Also, 4-5 trills will set fingers 1-2 free to play something at the same time, but that needs a lot of additional practice.

1-2 trill + melody

Ouch....

I have trouble getting 2 and 3 fast ;p

Is there a recording on youtube of it?

Originally Posted by BuddhaBandit

4/5 trills are near impossible for me.

You just need to practice. A bunch of etudes from Cramer's set are a very good way to gain flexibility for trills (like the Nº 9, 10, 11 and 12 from the Bülow edition).

Originally Posted by BuddhaBandit

I often use 2/3 trills with a melody in the left hand when improvising, as it helps to build tension and drama.

Try this:
the tempo is 3/4
play quavers with fingers 4 and 3 (F and E respectively) (so... six quavers per measure)
when playing the first quaver of each bar play C with the thumb.

It's an easy exercise.

If you can extend your thumb a bit, I say you should try to play the trill with 4-3 and, at the same time, the Dies Irae tune with your thumb.

Originally Posted by BuddhaBandit

That Waldstein trill is almost ridiculous

Not as much as the octaved scales/glissando.

So, is there any advice out there other than Ysaye's?

Thanks