Starting over

[lloyd]

To give you an idea of my skill level, here are some of the recent pieces I've played:
Chopin - Op 10 No 12
Schubert - Op 90 No 4
Debussy - Clair de Lune

Now I recently decided I wanted to try and learn some Chopin Etudes.  As I've sat down to practice, I realized that I don't really like my sound.  I went back and played some my recent pieces and realized they sounded similar.  They all are dull and a bit muddled.  So I'm wondering if anyone could recommend any easier pieces to go back to to try and improve my sound, or even any other suggestions.

[dan101]

I like the idea of Schubert Impromptus before Chopin Etudes. My only concern is that your technical difficulties may be due to hand position, wrist flexibility or finger attack on the keys.

Perhaps you should play for a teacher, as repertoire may not be the only adjusting that you hav to make.

Good luck.

[slobone]

I had a similar problem -- I'd gotten a little too far ahead of myself and wasn't sounding that great. So I looked for pieces that were a little more manageable -- not just easier but also shorter.

With Chopin, there are a lot of choices. I especially like the Mazurkas. Most of them are short, but they can be quite profound musically speaking. The technical demands are quite varied too.

Also, I think everybody should work on Bach. There's nothing better for learning about fingering and playing polyphonically. Plus they're always rewarding to play. WTC I might be a good place to start, or even the 2 and 3 part inventions.

I also like sonatinas from the classical era, again for fast turnaround. There are some collections out there I believe, or just do Kuhlau, who's charming and fun to play.

Then there are collections of short pieces from the Romantic era, like the Schumann Kinderszenen, Mendelssohn Songs without Words, and Grieg Lyric Pieces. Schubert can be tricky, because a lot of times his music is much harder technically than it sounds like it should be (the exact opposite of Chopin!).

[lloyd]

I actually burst out laughing when i read your final paragraph.  I actually performed Traumerei, Venetian Gondola Song (op. 30) and one of the pieces from Grieg's Lyric pieces a few years ago.  They were the ones I was actually thinking of going to.  Thanks for reading my mind.  I'll have to take a look at some classical sonatinas.  Thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated.