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Monica, you play this piece beautifully, so the crossover obviously works for you.

I do the open hand with 5-3-2-1-2-3 fingering. You just sort of pivot around your wrist by moving your elbow slightly in and out. It's a swaying motion that should be very relaxed and never painful. It actually helps me keep a consistent rhythm. On that first F-C-F-Ab, you have to kind of walk up the keys to catch the Ab with your thumb. The other sequences are more natural. I do have rather large hands, so that makes it easier.

Many years ago when I had a teacher, I was told that I "grossly abused" the crossover technique. She made me work very hard to learn to open my hand up. It was a big issue for her, and I think it really helped my technique overall. I don't know if teachers still push that issue, but you might ask yours about it.

Well I wrote it down wrong, see I failed my first attempt (lol). Yes I was using 5-2-1-2-1-2 for the cross-over..

jlynne
I will continue to "give it a go" now and then but is was just too painful for me to do the after only a few mins.

Thanks for the help to you both (and AnthonyB via message) so I'll see how it goes..
- SC

Hee hee. The crossover wouldn't be at the top of the list of things I abuse on the piano (that honor surely belongs to the sustain pedal!), but you and Ttigg have got me curious about this open hand span method. I'll have to give it a whirl. I'm guessing that one could be more accurate using it than the crossover (because it can be hard to hit the proper not swinging that index finger over sometimes).

I found a pretty good example of what I'm talking about on youtube. No, it's not me,

Maybe this will help - sometimes a picture is far better than words. (edit: see video at 2:28)

EXACTLY just like that (I had also watched that video too). So yeah, that makes my bloody hands,wrist & forearm ache like not in a good way. I'll continue to give the cross-over some more work/practice and see where I go from there.

This is WAY more accurate for sure, decisions decisions
- SC

It shouldn't hurt, TTigg - even when just starting. Are you keeping your hand and wrist in line and moving your whole forearm, or are you just twisting your wrist to move your hand separately? If the latter, that would certainly cause pain. Don't do that, 'kay?

Cross-overs are good too, but there's a lot of music that can't be played that way, so don't give up entirely.

Hmmm yeah I may be "overly" moving the wrist outside of the arm/forearm moving also. I'll give it another shot on Thursday (Home Office day) and see how it is. I knew I was doing something wrong since it began to hurt after only a few mins!. Thanks for the details & tip..
- SC

I tried playing those arpeggios last night using the hand span method, and what a nightmare!! That 5-3 stretch was just too uncomfortable, and my accuracy sucked.

[Monica goes back to happily abusing the crossover technique. ]

Hey, jlynne. I'm working on Exit that has alt G-D-B-D-F#-D-B-D, which im playing 5-2-1-2. I was having the same prob as TTigg with pain in the wrist. Your tip help out a lot. I just have to smooth it out now. Thanks

Welcome to the forum, MartinJB, and welcome to the wonderful world of Einaudi in particular.

Thank you, Monica. I purchased the best of book and all of his CD's. I love his music. I just started playing in May and have a goal to finish Exit by the end of this year.

You probably already know this, but just in case you don't, Einaudi will be giving one of his rare U.S. concerts in L.A. on October 14th. If you're close enough, you definitely should try to go.

Went to the one he had back in March. It was great. Before that concert I was fiddling around trying to learn on my own, but after that I became serious and got a teacher.

We were there (Santa Monica) and are heading up to San Fran for the Oct one!
- SC

Hey TTigg, If I have the right person. How is Fly comming along.

You do and it's done. Just need to go through it like once or twice (along with Primavera) so i can get them both recorded. I swear I've got enough Einaudi to keep me going for the next 2yrs!
- SC

One month until the Milwaukee Concert...Woohoo!

Hi,

as I already wrote in my first post to the "Adult Beginners" section I am 41 and I have just started teaching myself to play piano (20 days of experience until now

All of my motivation comes from Einaudi music, so that's my starting point. Despite I am italian, I have just discovered Einaudi thanks to Inter Milan football club winning European Champions League last May (a YouTube video celebration of a crying Mourinho with Divenire soundtrack ), and decided to buy a DP to learn to play due to the impressive mfw 's (aka UKpiano, you all know, I assume) interpretation of Divenire and some others pieces of Einaudi.

I am trying Fuori dal mondo, Nuvole Bianche, In un'altra vita and few others. Is there anybody here who would like to suggest me a ranking of Einaudi pieces, from the very easiest to the very hardest?

Sometimes I start with a piece that I like and seems to be easy but then it goes on in some very difficult passages!

thanks a lot in advance,

A.

Hi ashat,

One of the downsides of a 48 page thread is that it can be hard to find things in it! I seem to remember that at one point we came up with such a ranked list. I am too lazy to try to find it, though.

The "Best of..." Einaudi sheet collection allegedly lists pieces in order of difficulty, and while that's generally true (easier pieces near the front, harder ones near the back), there's a couple of places I disagreed with the ranking. But that's one place to start.

I think there's universal agreement that Limbo is the easiest, along with Exit. Samba is pretty easy too. I due fiumi is harder than all three of those but much much prettier, imo. Questa Volta is not bad.

As for difficult ones, that would be almost everything in the Nightbook collection.

Hi Monica,

how would you rank Monday and Nefeli?
I would say more or less as Nuvole Bianche.

A.