Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Songs a one-armed man (left only)

So, my right hand has recently fallen on some tough times (I've displaced a bone and scarred my thumb), all of which will heal in good time but means I can't use my RH for a few weeks.

I don't want to stop practicing but also don't feel like doing Hanon and scales for a month, so was wondering if anyone knew of any good pieces to learn with one hand.

To give some perspective of my skill, I'm currently learning Ballade by Burgmuller and Arabesque by the same. I've been playing for about 18 months, but pretty inconsistently (only seriously, with a teacher, for 6 @ maybe 1/2 hour a day). That means that this is probably too hard!

Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Scriabin's prelude and nocturne Op 9 for LH are very beautiful IMO. Prob ABRSM grade 7/8...?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sY3G0UwhPE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJm-RY1xuvA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUFCfmyfNUg

There is a lot of repertoire for left hand only, largely thanks to Paul Wittgenstein (brother of philosopher Ludwig), a concert pianist who lost his right arm in the First World War. After the war, he revived his career as a pianist and commisioned many works for left hand (including Ravel's concerto). A lot of that stuff is very advanced however.

A modern composer who has written a few easier works for left hand is Howard Skempton. He won't appear in the IMSLP list because his work is still in copyright. If I remember right there are one or two in his 'Collected Piano Works' book. Looks like there is plenty to get on with in the IMSLP list though.

Good luck, and if you need inspiration look into the history of Wittgenstein, an amazing story of triumph against adversity. If you want to know what is possible with the left hand alone, track down a recording of Godowsky's arrangements of Chopin's etudes for left hand only. Some of them sound like three hands are involved, not one !

Thanks guys - I found a couple of good ones on IMSLP (which I'm just discovering) that'll keep me busy for a while. I'm amazed at how much LH stuff only there is out there... and you're right Keema, if there are one-handed pianists that are that accomplished then I have no excuses with two hands!

[video:youtube]LoudndiHjOY[/video]

Heard James Rhodes play this on sky arts, couldn't believe it was just one hand.

Here is a link regarding music written for the left-hand.

http://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_Piano_works_for_the_left_hand

As well, Boris Berezovsky plays Chopin's Revolutionary Etude with both hands, then with just the left hand - quite amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2nMUwdh1Wk

I hope this helps and I wish you a speedy recovery!

Glen

I don't know if your interest lies only in classical (sorta sounds like it), but you could spend the time learning how to comp jazz chords!

If music is scored for the left hand to facilitate left-hand-only pianists, and it is not an Etude, is it 'wrong' to use two hands?

After watching the movie "127 Hours" based on the true story of hiker Aron Ralston having to cut off his arm, I found out that he earned a minor in piano performance at Carnegie Mellon. Since death was his other option, obviously he didn't weigh the pros and cons of losing his ability to plan the piano when he cut his arm off, but I have wondered if he has tried to play any of these left hand pieces since his incident. Has this come up on the Forums before or has anyone heard anything else about his current status as a pianist?

Nancy