(35) Trills and Tremolos
For a 2323.... RH trill, start by practicing the 23 parallel set (PS), following the procedures described in (9) Parallel Sets (PSs), Conjunctions, Cycling, practicing in quads, etc.. To speed up this PS quickly, use the 2.3 PS #1 [(10) Parallel Sets Catalogue], the notation 2.3 means 2 and 3 played as an interval. Alternate between 23 PS and 2.3 repetition as speed is increased, and practice relaxation. When the 23 PS is sufficiently fast, practice the 32, then 232, then 2323, etc. Starting the first two notes fast is the trick to playing fast trills, and a 23 PS is the best way, even after you have become expert at trills. Other fingers are treated similarly.
Fast trills are fundamentally different from slow trills because momentum becomes important in fast trills. Therefore, expect a change in the feel of the trill as it is sped up. One consequence of momentum is that fast trills work best at resonance frequencies. Don't be surprised if some frequencies (speeds) work better than others — this is normal. At first, practice only at frequencies that work well; once you improve beyond a certain level, you will be able to change speeds more easily.
Relaxation is more critical for the trill than almost any other technique because of the need for rapid momentum balance; there are too many conjunctions to rely solely on parallelism to attain speed. The momentum of the finger motion must be counteracted by arm rotation. Stress will lock the fingers to the larger members such as the hands and arms thus increasing the effective mass of the fingers. Larger mass means slower motion: the hummingbird can flap its wings faster than the condor and small insects even faster than the hummingbird (the low hum of the hummingbird vs the high pitched whine of the mosquito). It is therefore important to incorporate complete relaxation into the trill from the very beginning, thus freeing the fingers from the hand.
Trilling requires constant maintenance. To be a good triller, it is necessary to practice trills every day. Learn a piece with lots of trills and play it frequently; for the RH, a good piece is the end of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata, Op. 53, third movement, starting at bar 176. Bach's inventions (#4, 7, 9, 10, 12) are good for practicing slow trills. Older methods of teaching advised matching the trill notes to notes in the other hand (by slowing down for practice) as indicated by Palmer (J. S. Bach, Willard A. Palmer Edition). The best method is to learn fast trills as discussed above and learn to trill independently of the other hand, at any trill speed.
The trill is not a series of staccatos. The finger tips must stay at the bottom of the keydrop between notes; i.e., the backchecks must be engaged after every note in order to hold the hammer still; if not, it will flop around and control over it will be lost, resulting in uneven or missed notes. But do not press down hard because that will slow down the trill; just the weight of the arm is sufficient.
Take note of the minimum lift necessary for the repetition to work. This lift distance can be almost twice as high for an upright as for a grand. Faster trills require smaller lifts; therefore, on an upright, you may have to slow down. Fast trills on less expensive electronic pianos can be difficult because their actions are inferior; this is one reason for purchasing the more expensive models. Thus, to test a digital, use a trill. As with every technical drill discussed in this book (especially those using PSs) always apply staccato practice for the final technique acquisition step, even for trills.
Tremolos are practiced in exactly the same way as trills; just substitute a 15 PS for the 23 PS. Tremolos are treated in detail in (57) Beethoven's Pathetique, Op. 13, First Movement.