Chopin Etude op.10 #1

[arensky]

 Following up Thierry's op.10#2 poll, Inquiring mind is very curious!!!!

[stevie]

similar to 10/2 in that its quite easy to learn the notes, and equally similar in that its a complete pregnant dog to get up to tempo and smooth

[arensky]

Pregnant dog? How picturesque! A very apt description; I found this to be much harder than op.10#2, which took me 6 or 7 months to be able to play.(sorry Marik) Op.10 #1 took me 3 or 4 years, to be comfortable with it. This piece was very useful in developing my expand/contract motions in my hand, as well as wrist rotation and putting the two together. When I finally got it it was wonderful. It makes such a glorious sound at tempo...

[thierry13]

The beginning is easier, the middle is harder, the ending is middle. As a whole I don't know, I took a summer-break.

[chopiabin]

I heard it took Ashkenazy something like 3yrs to get op. 10 #1 to what he considered performance level, if that can put it in perspective.

[thierry13]

I heard it took Ashkenazy something like 3yrs to get op. 10 #1 to what he considered performance level, if that can put it in perspective.

Ashkenazy hasn't really fast fingers... don't shoot me for this, it is based only on what i've allready heard, I could very well be wrong.

[chromatickler]

similar to 10/2 in that its quite easy to learn the notes, and equally similar in that its a complete pregnant dog to get up to tempo and smooth

WRONG. 10/1 requires about a third of the endurance of 10/2. and in 10/1, wrong notes occur independently and seldom disrupt the flow of execution. in 10/2 if u mess up once on the chromatics you will not have the luxury to just "get on with the rest", it will be UGLY, and obvious. the only way to make these 2 etudes comparable in terms of difficulty is to demand absolute 100% accuracy in 10/1.

[da jake]

There is something mysterious and inherently funny with prefacing a response with the word "WRONG" all in capital letters. CG of the Wanger brand, I presume. 

[thierry13]

the only way to make these 2 etudes comparable in terms of difficulty is to demand absolute 100% accuracy in 10/1.

When comparing two pieces, you HAVE to expect 100% accuracy. If not, it doesn't count. The kind of tought : " you can hide your mistakes more easily, so it is an easier piece!", is completly stupid. It's like saying : you can play that wrong, people won't see it, but you HAVE to play that easier piece PERFECTLY, because non-musicians will see mistakes  ... SO stupid...

[thierry13]

By the way I don't tell I allways play with 100% accuracy ... but for god's sake, stop judging pieces from how much you can hide your damn mistakes >< 

[ahinton]

There is something mysterious and inherently funny with prefacing a response with the word "WRONG" all in capital letters. CG of the Wanger brand, I presume. 

There's something inherently funnier still in quoting
"The best discourse upon music is silence" - Schumann
when contributing to a forum thread...

Alistair

[thierry13]

There's something inherently funnier still in quoting
"The best discourse upon music is silence" - Schumann
when contributing to a forum thread...

Alistair

You have to see more far than mere words... in fact it is an extremely profound tought. I'll let you think on it yourself before posting my personal interpretation of it.

[chopiabin]

I'm pretty sure Ashkenazy has good technique (not to mention "fast fingers") since he's pretty much recorded the entire piano repertoire. True he often can seem a bit too staid and not spontaneous enough, but the man is a piano legend.

[chromatickler]

When comparing two pieces, you HAVE to expect 100% accuracy. If not, it doesn't count. The kind of tought : " you can hide your mistakes more easily, so it is an easier piece!", is completly stupid. It's like saying : you can play that wrong, people won't see it, but you HAVE to play that easier piece PERFECTLY, because non-musicians will see mistakes  ... SO stupid...

WRONG, and ignorant.

it is now CLEAR to me that you have not seriously attempted EITHER piece. because if you have, you would realize that technically: for 10/1, 100% accuracy is the ultimate goal approachable AFTER the attainment of evenness, while for 10/2 it is the starting point TOWARD the attainment of evenness. you wrongly assumed it was the ultimate goal for BOTH pieces, prompting your suggestion that my 100% accuracy demand for both pieces should have gone without saying and is merely 'leveling the playing field'. WRONG. if i had compared 100% accuracy in 10/1 to 100% EVENNESS in 10/2, THAT would have leveled the playing field, in which case there would be NO comparison.

[thierry13]

WRONG, and ignorant.

it is now CLEAR to me that you have not seriously attempted EITHER piece. because if you have, you would realize that technically: for 10/1, 100% accuracy is the ultimate goal approachable AFTER the attainment of evenness, while for 10/2 it is the starting point TOWARD the attainment of evenness. you wrongly assumed it was the ultimate goal for BOTH pieces, prompting your suggestion that my 100% accuracy demand for both pieces should have gone without saying and is merely 'leveling the playing field'. WRONG. if i had compared 100% accuracy in 10/1 to 100% EVENNESS in 10/2, THAT would have leveled the playing field, in which case there would be NO comparison.

If you would read all my posts you would see it is not the first time I post something saying to not judge piece by how must you must can hide your mistakes. I spoke not only for those two pieces, but for THE ENTIRE REPERTOIRE. I did not say that it was the main goal of learning. I said when judging two pieces, don't assume it's easier because it's easier to hide mistakes. Wich makes all you assumed I said... WRONG. BTW, it will seem badass, but I can play even without practice  So accuracy is my only goal. And, you may believe what I said or not, IF it is true, I'm right, and you're WRONG.

[stevie]

hahahaa, thierry

are you aware that if everything you say about your own skills is true, that would make you perhaps the most prodigously talented pianist EVER.

you cant blame ANYONE for thinking youre full of....

[maul]

Thierry, the only thing that's wrong here is you. It's obvious you haven't played any of these pieces (correctly at least), and it's obvious that you have no clue what you are talking about. It's obvious you lie constantly and it's obvious that you are trying to suck up to ahinton with the explosion of "hamelin is better than everything" posts. I can see right through you, and it's sad really, yet entertaining at the same time.

[thierry13]

Thierry, the only thing that's wrong here is you. It's obvious you haven't played any of these pieces (correctly at least), and it's obvious that you have no clue what you are talking about. It's obvious you lie constantly and it's obvious that you are trying to suck up to ahinton with the explosion of "hamelin is better than everything" posts. I can see right through you, and it's sad really, yet entertaining at the same time.

First of all, why would ahinton care for how much I appreciate Hamelin ? And why would I try to "suck up" ahinton?

[da jake]

There's something inherently funnier still in quoting
"The best discourse upon music is silence" - Schumann
when contributing to a forum thread...

Alistair

Well I haven't exactly contributed to this thread, have I? 

[chopiabin]

Can we revive this thread? I randomly decided to mess with this piece and ended up reading through the entire right hand. It seems difficult, especially to get to speed, but there weren't that many places where I had really major issues. I figure I'll give it a go - I'll probably work on it in the background for a while.

Any help???

[practicingnow]

hahahaa, thierry

are you aware that if everything you say about your own skills is true, that would make you perhaps the most prodigously talented pianist EVER.

you cant blame ANYONE for thinking youre full of....

Ditto

[chopiabin]

Yeah, I exaggerate my abilities so much!!

No, I actually want to work on this piece, but have found it more approachable than I imagined. What is wrong with that? Ever since I listened to the etudes, all I've ever heard is how difficult op.10#1 is - mostly from people who have never even tried it. I think that is part of why I was so scared to even look at it. Some pieces just fit certain people better and maybe slightly more easily than others. I can't play Bach or Mozart to save my life.

I mean, will I play it like Perahia? Probably not for years, but I really don't understand why it's so bad to memorize it and work on it starting now.