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Topic: Etude Op. 25 No. 12 (Ocean Etude)  (Read 7410 times)

Offline •ÇØM

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Etude Op. 25 No. 12 (Ocean Etude)
on: July 03, 2008, 10:22:15 PM
Just got through learning this piece and would like to know how I can improve it.  Especially the ending... I was in control for the most part.

Thanks
"One of the marks of successful people is that they are action-orientated. One of the marks of average people is that they are talk-orientated" -Brian Tracey
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Offline general disarray

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Re: Etude Op. 25 No. 12 (Ocean Etude)
Reply #1 on: July 03, 2008, 11:32:24 PM
Well, you're braver than I am to post a work-in-progress! 

Really, not bad at all.  You've got those melody notes nailed and the tempo is quite respectable.

You got tired at the end, which is the biggest hurdle here.   The notes, in the final page, aren't that hard to get, but the fatigue gets in the way.

I suppose most people would say, just keep practicing slowly and you'll have the endurance to get to the  end cleanly, but endurance really isn't the issue.  If you bull your way through it, it will sound like all those awful performances on YouTube.

This piece became playable for me when I pulled the tempo and dynamics way back and just concentrated on SHAPING the melody line.  Oftentimes, you do shape it, but when the climaxes beckon, you kind of lose focus on the arch of the melody.  And when you do that, you bear down, tense, and your endurance goes out the window.

Practice now only for the tune.  Shape it from note to note and keep the interconnecting arpeggios very light and effortless.  Practice slowly and almost sotto voce and with pedal so you can hear the tune ring out at the slow practice tempo.  But, be VERY expressive.  Look for stuff you're overlooking within phrases.

Think of this etude as a "song without words."  Let it sing and micro-manage the climaxes -- let them happen within phrases, the way a singer does.  If you so, you will be able to husband your resources and get to the end without conking out.

You're going to play this very well.  Just sing it and it will happen.

Hope this made some sense.  It's very hard to describe how to practice this piece.   
" . . . cross the ocean in a silver plane . . . see the jungle when it's wet with rain . . . "

Offline sarrasani

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Re: Etude Op. 25 No. 12 (Ocean Etude)
Reply #2 on: August 18, 2008, 01:07:05 PM
Really nothing to add to general disarray excellent comment.
Bad audio, but robust and convincing playing, already very good and more good in persective.  Bravo!
All the best,
S.
 

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