Chopin Etude op 10 no 12

[dimioa]

Not my best try, mediocre sound quality.

[rachfan]

Hi dimioa,

It's been a very long time since I've played the Revolutionary Etude.  It brought back memories!

On the whole, I think you do a good job with it.  Something to remember though is that the melody is in the right hand throughout, and must prevail and dominate with its fiery statements.  True, the etude is aimed at developing velocity and control of articulation of busy passage work in the LH--but it is still merely accompaniment albeit with important harmonies.  So balancing of the hands needs to be a focus.  At the moment the LH is more often than not just as loud as the RH, even though the the RH should be in the foreground, while the LH should be kept in the background.  I would suggest that you tone down the LH dynamic.  It needs to sound more subdued, yet with fine clarity.  Less is more.

Recording: The piano is very very bright, I assume a Yamaha with Renner Blue hammers?  And, it sounds like this is a "close-in" recording with the recorder on-board mics or the exterior mics positioned very close to the piano.  So there is a lot of pings and pangs as the hammers strike the strings.  I suggest that you  move your recording process about 6 feet in front of the open lid of the piano.    Hopefully the mics are omni-directionals, not cartioids.  That way you'll achieve a rich, blended and finished sound.  Right now, recording close in, you're getting more of a raw-music-still-in-the-making sound before it has even fully left the piano case. You might also want to experiment with the shorter "singer stick" rather than the full lid prop if you sense the volume of sound is overwhelming the room.

I hope this helps.

[goldentone]

I would just add to let the last note not be so marcato, but give it a longer lifespan.
Dimioa, I have never heard a sound like yours before.  I feel your playing has a lot of "weight", and I'm not speaking of dynamics, but of a distinct quality you have.  Thanks for sharing, and keep playing!

[pianowolfi]

Quite good work so far . I would suggest you to work on the dynamics now. There are so many p and sotto voce and crescendo-decrescendos that are essentially important in this etude. Now it sounds almost all the same f.

[communist]

Your left hands runs sounded a little sloppy at parts but it may have been because of the sound qaulity and in them you start them off slower and then pick up speed which you should avoid doing. Good job

try making the left hand in octaves 

[dimioa]

On the whole, I think you do a good job with it.  Something to remember though is that the melody is in the right hand throughout, and must prevail and dominate with its fiery statements.  True, the etude is aimed at developing velocity and control of articulation of busy passage work in the LH--but it is still merely accompaniment albeit with important harmonies.  So balancing of the hands needs to be a focus.  At the moment the LH is more often than not just as loud as the RH, even though the the RH should be in the foreground, while the LH should be kept in the background.  I would suggest that you tone down the LH dynamic.  It needs to sound more subdued, yet with fine clarity.  Less is more.

Thank you for your comments, I'll be sure to take your advice into account. Actually, my teacher once told me that my left hand was "too soft". Heh, looks like I'll have to find a middle ground.

Recording: The piano is very very bright, I assume a Yamaha with Renner Blue hammers?  And, it sounds like this is a "close-in" recording with the recorder on-board mics or the exterior mics positioned very close to the piano.  So there is a lot of pings and pangs as the hammers strike the strings.  I suggest that you  move your recording process about 6 feet in front of the open lid of the piano.    Hopefully the mics are omni-directionals, not cartioids.  That way you'll achieve a rich, blended and finished sound.  Right now, recording close in, you're getting more of a raw-music-still-in-the-making sound before it has even fully left the piano case. You might also want to experiment with the shorter "singer stick" rather than the full lid prop if you sense the volume of sound is overwhelming the room.

Recording with a crappy digital voice recorder does have its problems. I tried recording with the device further away from the piano, and it did sound better. On the piano, it indeed is a Yamaha upright(U1).

I hope this helps.

It did help, thank you. 

I would just add to let the last note not be so marcato, but give it a longer lifespan.

I'm not too sure about that. I personally prefer the last two chords to be more, let's say "abrupt". I guess it boils down to personal interpretation.

Dimioa, I have never heard a sound like yours before.  I feel your playing has a lot of "weight", and I'm not speaking of dynamics, but of a distinct quality you have.  Thanks for sharing, and keep playing!

I'm not too proud of this recording, but thank you! 

Quite good work so far . I would suggest you to work on the dynamics now. There are so many p and sotto voce and crescendo-decrescendos that are essentially important in this etude. Now it sounds almost all the same f.

It does need to be a bit more controlled overrall, but I'm afraid that the device doesn't really have a good mic, something that doesn't leave much room for dynamic variation. Though the dynamics do need some work.

Your left hands runs sounded a little sloppy at parts but it may have been because of the sound qaulity and in them you start them off slower and then pick up speed which you should avoid doing. Good job

Well yes, I missed a few notes and slowed down here and there, but I wouldn't think it's much of a problem. In the arpeggio-like runs, I intentionally apply an accellerando of sorts. I just, uhh, like it more that way I guess. 

try making the left hand in octaves 

....lol

Either way, thank you all of your comments, I'll look to upload an improved version of this Etude the coming week, along with posting recordings of other pieces I'm working on currently (Chopin Etude op 10 no 3, Ballade op 23)

[go12_3]

That's a real work out of a piece!  My word!  Excellent octaves!  I don't I would ever attempt that though.  Great work, dimioa! 

best wishes,

go12_3

[dimioa]

That's a real work out of a piece!  My word!  Excellent octaves!  I don't I would ever attempt that though.  Great work, dimioa! 

best wishes,

go12_3

Thanks. But you do realize that the I posted that guy on the youtube video for fun, don't you? I'm glad I'm not him. lol

[go12_3]

Thanks. But you do realize that the I posted that guy on the youtube video for fun, don't you? I'm glad I'm not him. lol

got it!   

[chopin1993]

You play very good, the quality of the sound sucks, but that's not your fault.
Good playing ^^

[matthew from florida]

You play very good, the quality of the sound sucks, but that's not your fault.
Good playing ^^

I agree, except for the sound quality it is sounding great.