playing between black keys

hi,

Let me begin with an example, the first 2 measures of http://www.8notes.com/school/scores/piano/satie_gymnopedie_no11.gif, is b/d/f# - a/c#/f#. to play these with my left hand i need to place my fingers between the black keys to hit the white ones, like halfway up the key, as otherwise i have to twist my wrist at a very awkward angle. I am having great difficulty doing this. Is there a technique to it? When i say great difficulty it's not that my fingers are too fat, i just find the position very awkward

thanks

I can't see the score, as the 8notes-link isn't working, but if I was just playing b/d/f# - a/c#/f# as you mentioned, I would be using the fingers 4/2/1-5/3/1, and yes, in order to play that comfortably, I would have my left hand stretched over the keys pretty much all the way back and would play in between the black keys. I don't find that awkward. You just need to get used to it, that will come with practicing the piece.

I don't know how long you've played, but for any newbies reading this: it has been my personal experience, that when we start to play we are very focused on the "curled fingers" on the keyboard in order to get used to playing. That works well on white keys only, but as the pieces we play get more complex, we need to learn to use the whole arm in order to "turn" the wrist comfortably and the "rocking" or "rolling" motion of the hand as well (Andrew has a video on this, can't remember the number of the lesson at the moment). In order to play a lot of things we need to have the hand "stretched" rather than "curled" (as in this case to be able to play white keys in between black keys). This can be awkward in the beginning, but is not that hard to get used to. It all comes with practice, as we slowly move on to more and more complex pieces to play.

As an example, on this video, watch how the hands have many different positions (and are very relaxed)

thanks for the reply, the link had a trailing comma, it should have been http://www.8notes.com/school/scores/piano/satie_gymnopedie_no11.gif I haven't been playing for long really, and i thought my problem was due to lack of experience, the same as with my pinkie, i can barely use it for piano as it's weak but over time i expect it to get stronger with use and my hands to get used to strange new positions such as between the black keys.

thanks