By Melanie Spanswick

Keeping the hand open and relaxed as we play an octave can cause much grief and for many, if not managed carefully, can develop into injury such as repetitive strain or tendonitis.  

The shape of an octave will feel different to each and every pianist, and is particularly challenging if you are smaller. Children must never be forced to play octaves, instead they should let their hand stretch develop naturally. But if you’re an adult and are still finding this challenging, here is a beneficial practice tool that I use with all my students:

1. Start by encouraging good posture at the keyboard. Try to ensure your whole body feels comfortable and not ‘locked-up’ at all – if it does, sit quietly at the instrument and ‘release’ any tension by relaxing your body. If you feel that the octave is too much of a stretch, begin by playing the interval of a sixth (six notes, for example, place your RH thumb on a C and fifth finger on an A), then move to a seventh, and gradually move up to playing the interval of an octave.   
2. To implement a relaxed hand whilst playing an octave, I find it helpful to ‘hold’ my thumb and fifth finger, or whichever fingers you choose to play the octave, with my other hand – in this case, the LH. Play your octave interval and hover your LH over the top of the RH; hold your RH thumb in place on the key with your LH thumb, and the RH fifth finger with your LH second or third finger, stretching the LH across the RH to hold the fingers in place. This might seem odd, but this practice keeps the fingers firmly anchored to the key and because the RH is being held in place, it won’t fall off the keys. Now, whilst staying in this position, allow the palm of the RH and surrounding areas  - both the fleshy part and tendons/muscles within the hand – to relax and ‘let go’ of the tension that is often manifesting as the hand stays open. This is an important step, as it encourages you to become aware of how much tension you’re holding, and as you keep the fingers on the keys of the RH octave held by your LH, try to eliminate this tension in the RH by relaxing, releasing, and freeing your whole hand of the often ‘tight’ feeling.
3. As your LH keeps your RH firmly in place, ‘drop’ your wrist and hand, as though they are going to fall on the floor – fingers should be placed fairly flat on the keys at this stage. As you essentially drop your arm, the hand, wrist and arm should now feel floppy, free and devoid of any stiffness. They must all feel loose yet you will still be holding down the keys – you are now learning to feel the necessary tension ‘release’ whilst the octave is being played – this is the crucial part of the exercise. Repeat this many times, so that it eventually becomes a habit.
4. When you become accustomed to the necessary relaxed wrist and arm needed whilst playing a wide stretch - it could take a while and might feel alien at first – the LH won’t be needed to assist in holding the ‘position’ of the RH anymore – the RH will be able to do this unaided. Once this has been achieved, move the wrist up and down whilst still holding down the keys of the interval.  ‘Wiggling’ the wrist up and down, as I call it, should be a confirmation of your new found relaxation within the hand, lessening the tight, uncomfortable feeling which frequently occurs.
5. As this feeling becomes more natural, the thumb and fifth finger (if you’ve chosen to use the fifth finger - some might prefer to use a fourth) can start to assume a firmer position, that is, encouraging the fifth finger to use its tip on contact with a key, whilst the thumb assumes a gentle but firm placement on its side, using the tip of the nail as the point of contact with a key.  As the engaged finger and thumb makes a solid key connection, every other part of the hand, wrist and arm must feel no tension at all. Now do this exercise with the LH. When you can play an octave in a relaxed manner using 1 – 5 fingering, you might try with a 1 – 4. Using this fingering is most useful when joining chords and octaves. It should feel comfortable after a while, if you’ve truly loosened and ‘released’ your hand via the exercise suggested here.

After consistent but careful practice, the so-called octave ‘stretch’ will feel increasingly natural, and you may find you can stretch further and further without feeling any tension or rigidity - I eventually extended my ‘reach’ to play the interval of a tenth using this method, and I don’t have a large hand. The key to this important practice tool is a consistently loose, relaxed hand, wrist, and arm.

Melanie Spanswick

© Sarah Barnes