Question: I'm currently playing a piece which requires big stretches of large intervals across the keyboard. It slightly hurts when I do so, and I am wondering if I should continue to practise like this.

[![Bartok Suite op14 - Allegretto](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6cfvl.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6cfvl.png)

My piano teacher suggests fingerings with a combination of 3 1 and 2 1 in the L.H.

Answer: 
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> It slightly hurts when I do so
> 
> 
> 

Huge cue! You should never ever insist with something that hurts and that could damage you in any way. If somebody recommends some kind of exercise, but when you do it, it hurts, the exercise just isn't right, or you are not doing it right, or the exercise doesn't work for you. Either way, you should never go through pain to achieve anything.

So, shortly:

> 
> I am wondering if I should continue to practise like this.
> 
> 
> 

No.
The best advice is, of course, to not cause any further damage to your fingers. The object is to discover what the source of the pain and attempt to alleviate the pain. One definitely does not want to aggravate an injury if it exists. It could be that the pain is caused by developing stronger muscles; that is normal. Pianists are much like athletes in that respect. The pain could also be caused by other factors.

I have a specific example of my own personal pain that was alleviated by better technique. I would get terrible cramps in my left wrist when playing the first movement of Beethoven's Pathetique Piano Sonata. The left hand (my weaker hand) must maintain a tremolo in the bass for most of the movement. The solution was to work on playing without letting my left hand get tense. The tension was the cause of my pain. It was more of a mental fete to keep the left hand relaxed. But, gradually, the pain subsided and I was able to play without pain.