Octave Glissando

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. 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 thumbs on the player''s hands, 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.... Mehr