Chopin etude nr. 10 op. 10 in a flat major

[lava]

Hi!

Since two months I've worked on Chopin's etude nr 10 op. 10 in a flat. Now it reached a quite acceptable level to post it here, I hope.

This etude proved to be a challenge for me. It has a beautiful melody which undergoes different patterns, accents and modulations through changing keys.

The recording has a few minor mistakes but they don't really bother. I still have problems in the middle section jumping my left hand down to the low e flat.

Now I want to improve this etude to performing level.

So please comment!

Lava

[le_poete_mourant]

As I'm sure you know, this piece goes much faster -- however, it does sound good at this tempo, but for it to be taken seriously it must go faster.  I'm not looking at my score right now, so I'm not sure what tempo is suggested...

I would suggest to do a bit more with the dynamics in the middle part, especially where you've got those arpeggio-like passages going up a couple octaves....and throughout the piece, more dynamic range.

I think it was that page turn that messed you up there, you know what I'm talking about. 

Sounds like you're playing on an upright piano, yes?  I say this because the pedaling sounds a bit thin, if it's there at all.  If you're not playing pedal at the moment, that's good -- doesn't allow for faking -- but definitely think about what you're going to do with that later on. 

If you're having problems jumping with your left hand, try practicing left hand alone with syncopated rhythms; i.e., sit on the first note longer, then jump to the bottom note, and vice versa.  A strategy I use, especially in ragtime or something with large jumps, is just to practice the lowest notes first, because they may have a melody in themselves (again I am not looking at the score at the moment, but see Op. 25 No. 8 for more of a visual on this)

You're off to a good start!  I know it's a difficult piece -- how long have you been working on it?

[lava]

Yes it should be much faster. My edition says 120, the recording is about 60. I can play faster, until 100 but then I make too many mistakes. 

It's played on a upright, quite ok but not more than that. It plays a heavier than other pianos which limits the speed too.  I use pedaling, but I change more than there's written, for instance 2 or 3 times instead of one time.

I started this etude together with etude 10.1 in c major in february and study only at night after work, so pure hobby.

Agree with the lack of dynamics now I rehear it.