chopins etude (butterfly)

[matt haley]

     Hey guys...

         iv been learning this etude as i love it and im finding it ok to play,,apart from the pedalling.now im self taught over last four years so there probably techneques ive not learnt due to having no teacher..

but how does one tackle this piece,and how do you pedal the etude....

to me its a simple base accompanied by broken chords in the right hand and two octaves but to much peddalling gives a blur effect..

any tips please.. and for the peice alone   

  thanks all

  matt haley

 

[abe]

This was my first Chopin etude and I still think it is a charming one. I think this etude should be played with clarity, and following the markings given. I don't have the score in front of me but I recall the first two 16ths of each beat are slurred, while the last two are stacato (for the right hand). I think this figure pretty much holds for the duration of the peice, except at the coda. Thus, pedal can be used for the first half of each beat, but not the second half: in other words, don't slur the octaves, but go ahead and slur the broken chords. And I remember pedalling the entire coda except for the last two measures, where I separated the notes again, but sotto voce. This is just my opinion, not authority in the least. However, most recordings I have heard (like two or three total) follow a similar articulation. Good luck acheiving clarity!

-Abe

[steve jones]

You're correct abe, pedal the first two semi quavers, but not the second (which are to be played stac). Atleast thats what my edition says.

Also, I would probably learn this with no pedal to start with. Then once you have it sorted, start to introduce a little.

Oh, and dont forget that the LH is stac all the way through pretty much, so full pedally might be too heavy.

Heres what www.chopinmusic.net have to say about it:

"The basic motif for this work is sculpted out of the primary elements found in Op.10 No.5 and Op.25 No.4 – a profusion of black notes with leaping staccato in the left hand, a very subtle blend of staccato and legato playing in the right-hand figuration along with a complex web of delicate motif reversals in both hands – combined to produce yet another work of exceptional clarity, cogency and brevity – a mere 57 seconds when played at the correct tempo of q=112. Like No.8, this work also requires very accurate and articulate pedalling, which is not at all easy given the almost unbroken staccato left-hand figuration; the pedal must only be used where marked. Also like No.8, the divisions between sections are by no means clearly defined – this is another work that is best described as a moto perpetuo – and requires a very high level of concentration in execution.

The precise divisions between sections are as follows: an 8 bar opening section (1-8), followed by an 8-bar response and transition (9-16), leading to an 8-bar central section (17-24), followed by an 8 bar recapitulation (25-32) and 4 bar resolution and transition (33-36) into the coda (37-51). As far as learning this work is concerned, I would counsel you to master the opening section first, for this is where the real test of this work lies; you must perfect right-hand figuration with its two distinct melodic lines, along with the motif reversal in bars 5-7. Notice the slurred notes in the soprano and alto voices – these must be accurate and well defined; note also how these slurs change with the motif reversal. Also note that no pedal must be used in this opening section until bar 8. The next two sections refine and perfect the basic skills as set out in the opening section, but this time with the added complications of the sustaining pedal and a complex chromatic progression that lead to the recapitulation of the opening theme at bar 25. Note also in these sections that the stress marks (>) in the left-hand figuration of the first section are also absent; you will require a firm yet light touch in the left hand throughout this section. The recapitulation and transition into the coda contain nothing new in terms of the figuration, but notice how in the coda (bar 37 onwards) how Chopin reverses the left-hand motif (the reversal takes place in bar 37 itself) and in so doing, changes the pedal point to a dominant one in preparation for the close of the work and, once again, introduces an arithmetic anomaly in terms of phrase length; left- and right-hand phrases are at first out of synchronisation at the beginning of the coda, only to be re-synchronised at the very end with the change in pedal point in bar 45. Once again, it is this sort of detail within Chopin’s music that set his works apart from those of his contemporaries; it’s not just the fact that he did something much better than Liszt or Schumann ever did – it’s the clear consummate ease, skill and finesse with which Chopin did it that sets his music apart from all others."

[sweet91]

where 2 get chopin etude(butterfly),wad pieces is dat?Can any1 plz reply me....

[steve jones]

It is Chopin Etude Op25 No9. Do a search on Google (or if you're naughty, p2p  ), and see if you cant find an mp3. Or stream a performance from here:

https://www.chopinmusic.net/

[zheer]

Play this etude very softly and slowly at first, play it as though you are trying to put a baby to sleep, it still sounds good like that. Eventually you will be able to play it fast and with the correct dynamics. Good luck.

[smj9195]

you should almost not pedal at all. Just pedal to make it enough soft.