I understand that this might seem a little strange, especially when I so often advocate that practice will equal progress. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe this – I know that this is true but there are circumstances when some things are impossible, or very much close to it.
Let me explain. For as long as I have known about this particular technique, I have never been able to do it successfully because it causes too much physical pain. What I am specifically referring to is a technique called a glissando where the piano player literally runs there hand up or down the keys, rather than playing all the notes as individual notes. I don’t know why it has always caused me pain, it just has, so I decided a long time ago , that I was never going to play them again. For me, they were just not worth it. Even though I made a decision essentially, I have always known that I can’t do them properly, because of the pain it produces and no matter how much I practiced them, I would not ever be able to do them successfully.
The other instance where no amount of practice will make a difference, is playing the interval of a tenth, which is the distance of an octave and two notes. Playing an interval of a tenth is impossible for me because the size of my hands. My hands are not exactly large and my fingers are quite short. No matter how hard I try, my hand cannot physically reach that distance. It is just not possible. It’s also not that unusual to not be able to reach a tenth, so playing one after the other in very quick succession, is considered an acceptable alternative.
While I am quite an experienced piano player, I do understand my limitations and I’m quite okay about it. I know that I’m never going to be a world class piano player, but I don’t want to be either. Besides, just because there are two things that I can’t do, doesn’t limit how much I can still play.
The point that I want you to understand, is that sometimes, on a rare occasion, something may actually be impossible. If that is the case, like me, then I would encourage you to accept your limitations, find ways around your difficulty and enjoy the countless other pieces of music that you would be able to play.
Just for the record, most things that people declare are impossible, are actually quite possible with more effort and more piano practice. Make sure you know what the difference is between possible and not possible, because in my experience, some will think that a technique is impossible before they have ever really tried.