Octaves

Octaves are emblematic of the Romantic piano: Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Chopin (Étude Op. 25 No. 10, the "Heroic" Polonaise). They seem to require strength; in fact they mostly require a stable hand and a free wrist.

Hand shape

• Thumb and 5th finger form a firm but not tense "pincer". The hand is slightly rounded, as if holding a large apple.
• On black keys, use the 4th finger (or even the 3rd for large hands) instead of the 5th: this allows legato on the top line (5-4-5 or 4-5) and better grip on the black keys.
• The inner fingers (2, 3) stay relaxed above the keys, with no tension.

Three ways to play octaves

1. Wrist octaves: light and fast. The hand bounces from the wrist, the forearm stays calm. For p to mf passages.
2. Forearm octaves: the motion comes from the elbow, for forte octaves.
3. Arm octaves: the whole arm "drops" onto big isolated octaves, ff.

At speed you combine them: a small wrist motion guided by an arm motion that traces the direction of the phrase.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=80
K:C
[Cc][Dd][Ee][Ff] [Gg][Ff][Ee][Dd] | [Cc]2 [Ee]2 [Gg]2 [cc']2 |]

Practice plan

1. Thumb alone: play the line with the thumb only, hearing an imaginary inner legato.
2. 5th (and 4th) alone: the top line, aiming for a 5-4 legato.
3. Slow octaves, wrist staccato, checking for relaxation between each.
4. Groups: play fast groups of 2, 3, 4 octaves with a stop between each group, as in chunking.
5. Chromatic scale in octaves (5 on white keys, 4 on black) with the generator.