Boss passage of Rach 2: completed!

Today, as I start stressing about Gold Medal prelims next week, something finally clicked and I managed to play the most difficult passage in the whole of Rach2!

The definition of being able to play something difficult is when you no longer find it difficult. Today I got to that stage with this nightmare passage which is the main theme of the third movement (pictured below). I usually stress out when I come to this passage and I tense up. I try to use a lot of wrist movement which in actuality is just compensation for lack of faith in my fingers; plus, they make my actions too sluggish for this passage which requires nimble fingers.

For some reason today my body just told me to let my fingers do their thang. And they really did their thang! It was so much easier once I let my fingers glide over the keyboard rather than forcing my wrist according to the shape of the phrase and thus actually making the whole movement of my hands tense and unnatural.

Today I was actually able to marvel at my fingers from an almost objective third person point of view, whereas I used to be so involved in the playing which is probably why I tended up when it came to that passage. I just told myself: let your fingers do the work, let them fly free!

I think there are stages to learning difficult passages, the final stage being able to play with ease. The first stage is learning the notes, then realising how hard the passage is, then trying to figure out how to get round this difficult bit by trying out literally every figuration for practice, wrist movement, rhythmic practice, finger isolation etc. All while feeling very stressed still. Then you leave the passage for a while, not touching it, to ferment, like fine wine, then you come back to it and voila! Something clicks! You release all the burden your stress, your seeing this passage as difficult, your trying hard to “conquer” the passage has put on your fingers and suddenly run like you’ve never seen them before. It’s like tying heavy chains to your ankles when you train for a sprint so that you’ll feel light as a feather when they’re removed.

I never know if all this hard work could be avoided or not. I reach the final stage and I think: wow this is actually not that difficult! Did I really have to go through all that trouble? Especially since viewing this passage difficult made it all the more an obstacle? It’s why I could never figure out whether my technique’s improved or whether it’s just my mindset.

But I have to say, that feeling of suddenly knowing what it feels like to be able to actually play that passage, that is an exhilarating feeling so great I couldn’t stop repeating that passage over and over today in practice.

Let’s hope I keep this sensation next week and not tense up during the prelims!