How to play triplets & 16th notes together?

Question

First of all, I'm a beginner with only one year experience on the piano, I have studied musical theory on my own for 2 years prior to buying it, and I've been practicing a piece since I've gotten my hands on it, which is liszt's transcription of Beethoven's 7th symphony 2nd movement, and I've successfully memorized every single note in it, and can play most of the piece proficiently. The problem is, there are 9 measures (last 9 in the picture) where I can't even begin to comprehend how to play the two hands together (I can play each hand individually really well), it just seems like an impossible feat, basically too much for brain to take in as well as hard not to play inaccurately. How would you go about practicing them ? Should I leave something out for the sake of playability (like the 16th notes in the left hand)?

I am planning to release a video recording of the piece on Beethoven's 250th birthday on 16/12, so I am currently lost on how to get this part down in less than a month.

Answer 1

Its astonishing that you can even attempt a piece such as this after just one year of playing. I look forward to seeing your recording.

So to your issue. Many people like to work out the maths and get everything to line up and that is one way to tackle it. It must work because lots of people do it.

But there is another way which may help you if, as you say, you can already play the indivdual hands without difficulty. What you need to do is learn to subdivide the beats mentally without counting those subdivisions. Practice this enough and it becomes sort-of instinctive. So when you encounter something like this just keep the beat (in this case in quarter notes or crotchets) in your head and play the correct number of subdivisions required to fill each one. Its different in each hand which makes it harder but if you have put in the prep you will find yourself just doing it almost without thinking.

This sort of 3 vs 4 is actually quite a simple one compared with many that you will find, especially if you are interested in Romantic period piano music. Things like 5 vs 7 and 6 vs 7 and many other combinations are found fairly fequently in Chopin and Liszt among others. Theres a place in one of Chopins Ballades where there are three different rhythms going on at the same time all in the same hand, which is, I admit, a bit of a swine.

And as to leaving something out: - you could do that of course but please don't think of it as being for the sake of playability; its because your technique is not there yet and, like the rest of us, you need to do more practice.

Good luck