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Emily C., California

HS for sure, then you can play a duet with your student (could use phone and mute voices and computer volumes if doing online lessons, so u can hear each other), then HT only if student can play HS smoothly with steady rhythms

Joan H., Canada

Not sure how much detail you’re asking for Lauren – it would be a TR throughout the bar with the RH high D being the T with each LH note. In between each T, the RH plays E. So they could practice just the RH playing DEDEDEDE and then slowly BH. Does that help?

Lauren C., Australia

Yes, thanks Joan H., that helps, and that is what we tried but it felt too mechanical and I wondered if the trill would be more loose over the LH.

Gabrielle B., Iowa

Sonata in C right? Definitely practice trill as a separate event from the left hand. While BH are together throughout, IMO it’s not necessarily always a calculated BH together type of scenario and do think the ability to play that trill separately with confidence will allow the focus to shift to the LH. That’s where I feel I need it most when I play. Listen to recordings for detail. Hope that helps!

Lauren C., Australia

Thanks Gabrielle B., thats helpful too. I guess it’s finding what works for the student. He’s fine with the trill – in this case I think he will need to master the LH confidently to play the trill over the top of it.

Mark M., New York

Joan’s strategy seems like a potentially good/simple place to start, but in the end I think Gabrielle’s strategy is closer to the truth. The trill is not necessarily rigorously made of 32nd notes alternating between the D on the 16th note moments and E in between. The trill will be what it will be, independent of the tempo at which the whole piece is played, so in the end it needs to be independent of the LH rhythm.

I’d encourage getting LH involved away from piano. The following steps can be gradually moved through, with each hand at each step gradually building its own speed:

1) Separate hands on keyboard — but when attempting any of the below BH steps, don’t push for what had been the highest-RH-only trill speed
2) BH with LH away from keyboard (e.g., lap) clapping 16th notes — this is the heart of building the independence of rhythm rather than rigorous RH 32nd notes
3) BH with LH away from keyboard doing proper 16th-note fingering
4) BH on keyboard

Lauren C., Australia

Thanks Mark M., your insight is helpful too. I appreciate how you have broken down the steps and in the case of this student, I think working away from the piano is going to be key (no pun intended 😆)

Thanks for your thoughts all, so so helpful! I feel much more confident to work through this with my student at the next lesson.