Scarbo from Gaspard de la nuit

[elevateme]

Is it REALLY as hard as everyones telling me?

[bennom]

yes

[thorn]

It's not really as hard as it's made out to be. The way some people go on about it makes it sound like it's something that will turn your hands inside out from playing it, and all the stigma surrounding it make people avoid it as if playing it causes the pianist to be possessed by the creature itself... 

I personally find Le Gibet harder than both Scarbo and Ondine

[elevateme]

is le gibet hard? sorry about all these questions but im just about to learn gaspard

[bennom]

sorry about all these questions but im just about to learn gaspard

What do you want to know precisely? It's different from person to person (as always) if this or that is difficult.

For me, myself and I it's like this:

Ondine is usually reffered to as "actually the hardest one". I don't think so, it demands a flexible right hand, but the emphasis is one the melody line, which kind of removes the strain.
Le Gibet is my favourite. It's difficult because it needs precise voicing and delicate accents in pianissimo.
Scarbo: I find it very difficult indeed to get it in the accurate speed, that is, ridiculously fast, because of those damn repetitions. But I have actually become better with repetitions lately, so I might have a go at the old hag again.

Finally, good luck, don't be scared of ravel, *whispers* be scare of the scarbo...he's an evil dwarf coming to get you.

[mikey6]

'Ondine' can only be referrd to as the hardest depending on the quality of instrument you're playing on.  Otherwise I think it's the easiest of the 3.  'Le Gibet' is freaking awkward (especially if you got a small stretch) and Ravel playes an even nastier trick by leaving the left foot on the damper all the way trough which rules out the possibility of the middle pedal (unless you want to lok like a dweeb and try and twist you're foot around to 2 pedals).  'Scarbo' besides it's original techical difficuties, needs so much devilish character.

[thorn]

is le gibet hard? sorry about all these questions but im just about to learn gaspard

Well i've learned the first two and am working on Scarbo at the moment, this is how I found it;

Ondine: The opening chords are a nightmare.. you need to keep it 'ppp' and keep as relaxed as possible, otherwise what happens is you bring out either the C#, E# or G# in the chord when they aren't meant to be.

unless you finger it correctly, patterns such as the one that begins at bar 15 are a pregnant dog. the part where it splits into 3 staves in the right hand is tricky. bars 67 and 68 have evil polyrhythms that many find impossible, and the ending bars are also nasty.

i can understand why some consider this more difficult than Scarbo... you basically need to have it technically perfect and playable with your eyes closed so that you are able to focus full attention on the expressive details.

Le Gibet: This is in my opinion the hardest of the three pieces. The opening directions "Sans presser ni ralentir jusqu'a la fin" and "Sourdine durant toute la piece" make it so; basically because it is a lovely, expressive piece; but the tempo restriction and lack of flexibility with the damper pedal makes it more concentrated.. almost like controlled expression if you will.

Technically... it has a lot less problems than Ondine or Scarbo... mainly just a case of chord decoding. The B flat bell sound is hard to get right... no matter what happens with the rest of the piece, this bell sound needs to keep a constant, steady, relentless pace.. which takes concentration away from other parts of the piece.

When I started learning it.. i basically learned the piece minus the bell sounds.. using the same fingers i would use normally, but not playing the B flats. I found it helped a lot. Then I played the bell on its own... incredibly difficult not to get bored of it, but it likewise helps immensely.

Scarbo: The reason I find this piece fairly moderate in difficulty is because it's such a great piece and really fun to play. Because of these qualities, it makes it easier to practise and therefore it comes to you quicker. Then the joy of getting on so well with it when it is meant to be a **** spurs you on even more 

It's basically double notes, hand crossovers and chord decoding at a very fast pace. I think the hardest thing about this piece is that it is 25 (?-ish) pages long... which puts a lot of people off. It's not the fact it's particularly difficult... just that the difficulties last for 8-10 minutes.

Right.. i think ive gone on enough now 

@ elevateme... if you're serious about learning it.. you should try and get a decent edition of it that includes fingerings and tips... it lightens the load  if you want the edition i use, i could send it to you if you want it- PM me