I recently began working on My Lady White. I use Stevens grip and am having difficulty with the large intervals in the left hand. Has anybody played this and NOT locked the mallets with their thumb? Or do most people fudge it and lock the thumb?

Darin

in the beginning, yes i had difficulty

just practice, and i do not suggest fudging it... because that could lead to greater technical problems in the future...

Ana

Since you're a Stevens player, always look to Method of Movement when you have a technical problem, chances are that it is addressed somewhere. In this case, check out the section on 'Shifting Intervals' or something similar (I don't have my MOM on hand...)- he addresses the changes that must be made for extended intervals. With these changes made, it will become easy to reach intervals wider than an octave in the left hand.

Hope that helps-
Dustin D.