Hey Guys,
I'm trying to learn Ludwig Van's Moonlight Sonata and on the second page there are a few bars of pressing both B and C, so one full octave plus one. It's really a big stretch and can only just hit both, but have to be careful doing so.
If I try to speed it up, I can't reach and end up slipping onto B,B.

Any tips to improve this or am I simply stuck with small hands?

Octave + 1 = Like it! Normally we would say a ninth.

Three pieces of standard advice:

1) Relaxed hands are more pliant; you are probably tensing up under speed and it contracts. Try to figure out how to get rid of that tension. It might just work.

2) If you can't get both notes together, you can always try rolling the notes. Whether that will work in this instance you'll have to experiment with. (Rolling the notes means playing one and then the other as quickly as possible).

3) If completely necessary you'll have to skip one. Probably the upper voice but only if absolutely necessary.

Sorry for my newbie language, I've still not quite got to grips with everything, a ninth, I'll remember that
Thanks for the advice, I think number one is correct, as I go quicker my hand seems to tense making it harder to hit the high note.

Appreciate the help!

A while back I was doing a piece that had chords with successive octaves and my hand got very tense. I learned to relax between each chord, almost as though my fingers were drooping melted wax in between that unmelted at the next chord. If you curve your fingers then you are fighting anatomy (another thing I learned). I'm doing some pieces with 9ths now and this has helped though it's still quite a stretch.

Relax your wrist; if you absolutely can't press both at once, then press the bottom one and quickly press the top one, like a slide. Good luck!