Trills and Tremolos


Rotation (8.1)

  • Imagine and experiment with “turning a doorknob” either in the air or opening an actual door, using a shallow movement that focuses on movement at the wrist.
  • Contrast this by generating your rotary movement from the elbow as demonstrated in the video and notice the difference.
  • Conceptualising rotation from the elbow is much freer and is integrated more easily with three-dimensional movement, including cycling up and down and in and out, as in the basic vibrato motion.

Farrenc: Mouvement de valse, Op. 50 No. 15

  • Consciously experiment with rotation in this repertoire example as demonstrated in the video.
  • Practise the passagework by isolating small groups of notes using three-dimensional shaping. Creatively apply overlapping practice of groups of three notes at a time.
  • Experiment with “doubling” practice of passages with larger intervals to fully sense the role that rotation plays in three-dimensional playing.

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