I'm looking for some information on how different people have played a particular section of Gordon Stout's Mexican Dance #1. The section is where the first theme comes back at the end but in a different rhythm. I'm having difficulty with the left hand in this passage. Ive tried playing this two ways: 1.) keeping the left hand spread at a 5th for the entire passage, or 2.) constantly changing the interval wherever the big jumps are. The first way is very hard for the big jumps where as the second way is very hard on my fingers having to quickly shift the interval back and forth. Either way, its something I have to practice, but I was wondering what worked best with people who've already played it. I'd really appreciate any comments...thanks.

-Ben

hi, i got your e mail and checked out your question. i change intervals mainly spreading to reach the lower notes and the ones that are higher than the g in the bass line. hope this helps. happy new year, greg...

Ben,
I am going to assume you are playing Stevens grip? I played that piece over two years ago, but if I remember right I kept a constant interval on my left hand and I want to say that it was bigger than a fifth. Email me and answer this question for me...If I remember correctly the actual interval on the first leap is a c octave right? then a g octave? If that is correct I want to say that I used something colse to a seven, but not quite. the thing I wonder is if you may be overrotating and that is why keeping a five is hard for you. My email address is kittyadia@bigfoot.com....let me know if you want to discuss this