An octave glissando is a glissando played on the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

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 ''Islamey: Oriental Fantasy'' (russian: Исламей: Восточная фантазия), is a composition for piano by Russian composer Mily Balakirev written in 1869. Harold C. Schonberg noted that ''Islamey'' was "at one time…considered ...

'', 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 Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major *

: Piano Sonata No. 21 (third movement) *

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

: '' Konzertstück in F minor'' * Johannes Brahms: ''

Variations on a Theme of Paganini Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35, is a work for piano composed in 1863 by Johannes Brahms, based on the Caprice No. 24 in A minor by Niccolò Paganini. Brahms intended the work to be more than simply a set of theme and variations; e ...

.'' *

Mily Balakirev Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (russian: Милий Алексеевич Балакирев,BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian: Miliy Alekseyevich Balakirev; ALA-LC system: ''Miliĭ Alekseevich Balakirev''; ISO 9 system: ''Milij Alekseevič Balakir ...

: ''

'' * Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor * Igor Stravinsky: Three Movements from ''Petrushka'' *

Georges Cziffra Georges may refer to: Places * Georges River, New South Wales, Australia * Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses *Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 19 ...

: ''Fantasy on

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

''; '' La Fantaisie Roumaine'' * Eduard Künneke: ''Piano Concerto No. 1'' *

Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...

: '' Cadenza for

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's Second Hungarian Rhapsody'' * Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté: ''Piano Sonata No. 1'' * Franz Liszt: ''Romancero Espagnol, S.695c''

Injuries

Due to the nature of this technique, over-practicing without awareness can lead to injury, which includes superficial wounds, bruises and

tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...

Variations

One-handed double glissandi are sometimes executed at intervals other than an octave, the most common being sixths. Franz Liszt's piano transcription of Hector Berlioz's '' Symphonie fantastique'' contains, in an

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". ''Ossia'' passages are ...

(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 upRavel in 1907 ''Miroirs'' (French for "Mirrors") is a five-movement suite for solo piano written by French composer Maurice Ravel between 1904 and 1905."Miroirs". Maurice Ravel Frontispice. First performed by Ricardo Viñes in 1906, ''Miroirs ...

'' contains glissandi in thirds and fourths in one hand.

References

Musical performance techniques {{Music-theory-stub