Page 1 of 1

Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 30 Apr 2009, 20:15
by simplesimon
Are there any teachers out there who have an opinion about piano music for the left hand only? I have a few pieces that I play by Godowsky and Brahms. Left hand pieces stretch piano technique for the left hand and the sound produced is quite distinctive. If you play it using both hands it doesn't sound right.

Does left hand music have value for teaching?

Is there any other left hand only music that anyone knows about?

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 01 May 2009, 14:41
by Moonlight
There is a left handed piece by Scriabin, a prelude for the left hand Op 9 No 1 in the current issue of Pianist magazine I noticed. Its sounds nice but is for advanced players.

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 02 May 2009, 13:45
by emmac
There is a piano album for the left hand advertised on the following website, but I have no knowledge of the standard of the pieces.

http://www.fandmusic.com/lefthand.htm

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 02 May 2009, 16:50
by simplesimon
Many thanks to Moonlight and emmac. The Scriabin is quite something. I'm not so sure how to play some of the hand spreads so a bit of practice required.

For the contemporary works, it is good to know that there are composers creating this kind of music.

Does anyone have an opinion about left hand piano pieces and their value in teaching the piano?

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 25 Jun 2009, 10:59
by bluedianthus
I'm bad at producing good sound with my left hand, it's not synchronized with my right hand. As I play ear, sometimes the sound felt 'awkward'. i hope someone can help me by providing some videos how to play with left hand...thanks in advanced

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 25 Jun 2009, 18:19
by markymark
Use scales and finger exercises, focusing mainly on your left - you don't need a video for that!

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 11 Feb 2013, 13:18
by rocklandpiano
Often when I tell someone that I play piano music written for the left hand alone, at first I see a puzzled or even blank expression staring back at me. I imagine their brain whirling in an attempt to make sense of what I have said -- possibly trying to imagine that such a thing could be something anyone would want to listen to, let alone play.

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 11 Feb 2013, 15:57
by Gill the Piano
There is now a young concert pianist (trained at the Royal College of Music, I think) who only has the use of one arm. Fantastic player. Nicholas McCarthy (I just googled it), and he only uses his left arm.

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 20 Feb 2013, 12:21
by rocklandpiano
Often when I tell someone that I play piano music written for the left hand alone, at first I see a puzzled or even blank expression staring back at me. I imagine their brain whirling in an attempt to make sense of what I have said -- possibly trying to imagine that such a thing could be something anyone would want to listen to, let alone play.
So when someone is familiar with this piece, it does give me an ideal starting point to tell them about the wonderful, and surprisingly rich repertoire of piano music for the the left hand alone.

Re: Classical piano music for left hand only

Posted: 25 Feb 2013, 15:11
by NewAge
rocklandpiano wrote:Often when I tell someone that I play piano music written for the left hand alone, at first I see a puzzled or even blank expression staring back at me. I imagine their brain whirling in an attempt to make sense of what I have said -- possibly trying to imagine that such a thing could be something anyone would want to listen to, let alone play.
So when someone is familiar with this piece, it does give me an ideal starting point to tell them about the wonderful, and surprisingly rich repertoire of piano music for the the left hand alone.
This reply of yours - reference playing with left-hand only - is totally unconvincing, :x given that this is a direct copy of a posting on the blog of pianist Keith Snell some time ago!