Octave glissando
Encyclopedia
An Octave glissando is a glissando
played on the piano
by maintaining a constant distance of an octave
between the thumb and finger used to execute it, and shifting the whole hand in the direction of the glissando.
Due to the positions of the thumb
s on the player's hand
s, octave glissandos are almost always executed upwards with the left hand and downwards with the right. However, exceptions include Balakirev
's Islamey, where players are instructed to execute the glissando upwards across three octaves with their right hands in the Tempo di Trepak section.
Due to the slight damage (and resultant pain) which octave glissandi may cause to the flesh of the fifth finger, they are infrequently used in the piano repertoire. However, their inclusion offers a rare and unique musical effect.
's piano transcription of Hector Berlioz
's Symphonie fantastique
contains, in an ossia
(optional replacement measure) in the finale, a glissando in sixths played upward with the right hand. The Alborada del gracioso from Maurice Ravel
's Miroirs
contains glissandi in thirds and fourths in one hand.
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
played on the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
by maintaining a constant distance of an octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
between the thumb and finger used to execute it, and shifting the whole hand in the direction of the glissando.
Due to the positions of the thumb
Thumb
The thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit...
s on the player's hand
Hand
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered extremity located at the end of an arm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs...
s, octave glissandos are almost always executed upwards with the left hand and downwards with the right. However, exceptions include Balakirev
Mily Balakirev
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev ,Russia was still using old style dates in the 19th century, and information sources used in the article sometimes report dates as old style rather than new style. Dates in the article are taken verbatim from the source and therefore are in the same style as the source...
's Islamey, where players are instructed to execute the glissando upwards across three octaves with their right hands in the Tempo di Trepak section.
Due to the slight damage (and resultant pain) which octave glissandi may cause to the flesh of the fifth finger, they are infrequently used in the piano repertoire. However, their inclusion offers a rare and unique musical effect.
Examples
Pieces which utilise the effect include:- Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C majorPiano Concerto No. 1 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15, was written during 1796 and 1797. The first performance was in Prague in 1798, with Beethoven himself playing the piano, dedicated to his student Babette Countess Keglevics.... - Carl Maria von WeberCarl Maria von WeberCarl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
: Konzertstück in F minorKonzertstück for Piano and Orchestra in F minor (Weber)The Konzertstück in F minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 79, J. 282, was written by Carl Maria von Weber. He started work on it in 1815, and completed it on the morning of the premiere of his opera Der Freischütz, 18 June 1821... - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
: Variations on a Theme of PaganiniPaganini Variations (Brahms)The Variations on a Theme of Paganini are a set of theme and variations for solo piano, written by Johannes Brahms .The theme that is the basis for the work is that of the Caprice No. 24 in A minor by Niccolò Paganini....
. - Mily BalakirevMily BalakirevMily Alexeyevich Balakirev ,Russia was still using old style dates in the 19th century, and information sources used in the article sometimes report dates as old style rather than new style. Dates in the article are taken verbatim from the source and therefore are in the same style as the source...
: Islamey - Johann Nepomuk HummelJohann Nepomuk HummelJohann Nepomuk Hummel or Jan Nepomuk Hummel was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era.- Life :...
: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minorPiano Concerto No. 2 (Hummel)Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 85 in A minor was written in 1816 and published in Vienna in 1821 . Unlike his earlier piano concerti, which closely followed the model of Mozart's, the A minor concerto, like the B minor Concerto Op... - Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
: Three Movements from PetrushkaTrois mouvements de PetrouchkaTrois mouvements de Petrouchka or Three Movements from Petrushka is an arrangement for piano of music from the ballet Petrushka by the 20th century composer Igor Stravinsky for his friend and pianist Arthur Rubinstein.-History:... - Georges CziffraGeorges CziffraGeorges Cziffra was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist. He became a French citizen in 1968.Cziffra is most known for his dazzling recordings of Franz Liszt's virtuoso works...
: Fantasy on William TellWilliam Tell OvertureThe William Tell Overture is the instrumental introduction to the opera Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement, although he continued to compose cantatas, sacred music and secular vocal...
; La Fantaisie Roumaine - Marc-André HamelinMarc-André HamelinMarc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ, is a French Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marc-André Hamelin began his piano studies at the age of five. His father, a pharmacist by trade who was also a pianist, introduced him to the works of Alkan, Godowsky, and Sorabji when he was...
: CadenzaCadenzaIn music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
for LisztLisztLiszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
's Second Hungarian RhapsodyHungarian Rhapsody No. 2Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S.244/2, is the second in a set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by composer Franz Liszt, and is by far the most famous of the set. Few other piano solos have achieved such widespread popularity, offering the pianist the opportunity to reveal exceptional skill as a virtuoso,...
Injuries
Due to the nature of this technique, over-practicing without awareness can lead to injury, which includes superficial wounds, bruises and tendinitis.Variations
One-handed double glissandi are sometimes executed at intervals other than an octave, the most common being sixths. Franz LisztFranz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
's piano transcription of Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
's Symphonie fantastique
Symphonie Fantastique
Symphonie Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste...en cinq parties , Op. 14, is a program symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. It is one of the most important and representative pieces of the early Romantic period, and is still very popular with concert audiences...
contains, in an ossia
Ossia
Ossia is a musical term for an alternative passage which may be played instead of the original passage. The word ossia comes from the Italian for "alternatively" and was originally spelled o sia, meaning "or be it" . Ossias are very common in opera and solo piano works...
(optional replacement measure) in the finale, a glissando in sixths played upward with the right hand. The Alborada del gracioso from Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Miroirs
Miroirs
Miroirs, or "Reflections" is a suite for solo piano written by French impressionist composer Maurice Ravel between 1904 and 1905. First performed by Ricardo Viñes in 1906, Miroirs contains five movements, each dedicated to a fellow member of the French impressionist group, Les...
contains glissandi in thirds and fourths in one hand.