Asturias lesson - Fingering different in score than in video?
Has anyone noticed that the left hand (right hand for me, I'm a lefty) fingering noted in the score is different from how Ana Vidovic plays it? Specifically she stays in the 7th position when transitioning to the 16th note triplets (Measure 17). She doesn't address it in the video lesson. I've observed this in watching her live performances too. Most other players descend down the neck and play the high B with the 4th finger. She plays the B with the 1st finger. It seems to be WAY harder, at least for my novice hand. That being said, I believe Ana plays Asturias better than anyone. So, do I learn the piece the simpler way which the score suggests, or do I embrace the struggle and work on playing it the way the Maestro plays it? Any suggestions or insights are welcome. Thanks!
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Hi Dan! Here are my two cents:
Aiming for the highest-quality performance and best possible solutions at all times, despite the technical difficulty, is exactly how we become the best players we can be
However, it can be tempting to think that harder always = better. In most cases, if something feels hard, it will sound hard. The essence of good technique is not to do what nobody else can, but to simplify things down to the point where it becomes trivial to play them
Now, having played and taught this piece for longer than I can remember, and also having just checked Ana's version against the more ubiquitous 7th-fret solution, I can tell you that if you play this section well, the fingering you choose won't have an effect on how the passage sounds.
Therefore, I would suggest going with whatever feels easiest for you. You can always go back, compare versions and make changes later, when you're happy with the general level of the entire piece.
It's easy to get hung up on details that actually won't make too much of a difference in the long run. "Falling in love" with those details is beautiful, so if you derive value from it, then great! - but in this particular case, Asturias is a long piece. Plenty of places to fall in love with the music!
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Mircea,
Thank you very much for the the very thoughtful reply. I will "tinker" with both ways to see which one ultimately makes the most sense for me. I can revisit the other approach every now and then as my skill and understanding (slowly) advances. Thanks again!
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Dan My pleasure, Dan!
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Mircea, I PRAY you'll tinker and let us know. I'm slowly working on getting this one back under my fingers and eventually mastered and I noticed the same thing as Dan pointed out.
