Piano Forum

great advice from everyone.  chopin is my nemisis,too.  but, i decided a year ago to just try again.  people with longer fingers will never know the brain wracking frustration of those large leaps he put in.  having a method to compete with the low self-confidence certain people have with chopin (myself included) makes you feel like a real pianist. 

my teacher also showed me that with chopin etudes, if you have a large leap from a white note (bottom) to a black note (top) in either hand, you can sort of angle the straight line so that your finger isn't completely at the tip of the black key.  this was a revelation to me because of missing notes.  also, he said you can use more of the pinky - slightly crossed over (X) the black note for fuller sound.  i always tried to make my finger straight with the keys - but a slight x is helpful.

agreed so much about focusing on the left hand, too, with the jumps.  maybe practicing first with no jumps, as lostinidle said - and then working quantum's way.  this is very good advice for teachers because students can get frustrated trying to do everything the first week.  i look forward to practicing chopin now because i have some methods to use.