Clair de Lune run fingering

[Grey Loki]

Hey folks,

I've been learning Debussy's Clair de Lune to get myself back into playing after a break, and I've hit upon a small snag concerning the left-hand fingering in bar 29 (the first left-hand run).

I've been trying to play it purely with my left hand, using 52132132 312324 212424, but this feels really awkward - trouble is, I'm not sure if this is because of a lack of muscle memory and practice, or if it's genuinely bad technique.

Do you guys have and thoughts on a more ergonomic fingering for this section (and, if you're feeling generous, a few bars afterwards... ;)?

Thanks

~Loki

[gylfih]

Hey Grey, I'm kinda confused about your fingering. I mean, the first left hand run (which for me is bar 27 btw) is in 3 groups of 6, but you have 20 notes there... Anyway, from the first left hand run (my bar 27, after the rolled chords and marked un poco mosso): when I play it I split it between both hands, so it goes b27 - (LH)5321(RH)12 (LH)521(RH)123 (LH)5321(RH)12, b28 - (LH)5321(RH)12 (LH)521(RH)123 (LH)521(RH)142, from here it's all left hand, so b29 - 532132 121235 123513, b30 - 532132 123123 532124, then b31 - (LH)5321(RH)12 (LH)5321(RH)12 (LH)52121

I hope you can follow that. It's as clear as I could think to make it. Let me know how it works out.

[Grey Loki]

Hi glyfih, thanks for replying - I didn't explain where I meant very well, I have the rolled chords from b27 (marked on my sheets as un poco piu mosso) down fine (I play the first three notes of each run with my left, then play the rest of the run and the melody with my right, much as you describe), so I did mean where you thought - thanks for your help!

[gylfih]

Anytime dude. Maybe someone who's better at all this classical stuff than me can come and try to clear it up I'm sure I've seen a few concert pianists introduce themselves on the forum every now and then...

[romanticshred]

If you try research on the fingering which Debussy was most familiar with.

Liszt as you know used a very un-orthodox fingering method to execute certain passages with ease.

[romanticshred]

I actually watched a old video of Jordan Rudess from 1999 and he actually slides his octaves smoothly. I guess Rudess knows more then just what he talks about in his instructional material.

[eric13579]

Aim for your thumb landing on white keys rather than black keys, it will save you from a lot of headaches, at least for me it does.

My fingering would go something like this:

29: 5 3 2 1 3 2 1 2 1 2 3 (or 4) 5 1 2 3 5 1 2
30: 5 3 2 1 3 (or 4) 2 1 2 4 1 2 3 5 3 2 1 2 4