Chopin first etude

[walking_encyclopedia]

hey i'm a highschool student and i'd like to get some ideas for performing chopin's first etude. it's kind of a performer's nightmare just because it's so raw and exposed.

i've got it learned very well and pretty well worked out my interpretation. i just need to prepare for actual performance. any ideas for unusual ways of practicing, speed tips, and performance tips?

Thanks!

[pianistimo]

get yourself all wound up like a rubber band and then feel yourself lose the tension?  i don't know.  i've never played the etudes very well.  it's like swimming in the deep end.  you are either really comfortable or always looking for the side wall to hold on to.  the moments i've really let go have been at 12 midnight when no one is around.  and i just turn the lights down but use the music if i need it.  when i don't have the music up - i get worried.  if you lose this inhibition at your age - you'll be fine with the rest of the etudes.

[m]

hey i'm a highschool student and i'd like to get some ideas for performing chopin's first etude. it's kind of a performer's nightmare just because it's so raw and exposed.

i've got it learned very well and pretty well worked out my interpretation. i just need to prepare for actual performance. any ideas for unusual ways of practicing, speed tips, and performance tips?

If you have it learnt well then there should be no problem at the performance
Just don't try to play it too fast, esp. first time on stage and stay with cool head. Don't play too loud, either--the usual mistake. If you do then very soon you will find your fingers getting stuck in the keys, your hand dead tired, and there is no real escape on the stage. Keep it light.

This etude is not actually as hard as most people think. The main difficulty is psychological and mental. The most common mistake is wrong grouping of arpeggio figurations. People think of them as wide ones, i.e. CGCE-CGCE, etc. Shift your thinking of them as shorter ones, i.e. C-GCEC-GCEC, etc, and %80 of the whole problems will be solved. Don't try it right before the performance, though. It will take some time to get used to it. 

Good luck.

[thorn]

do you want me to send you the Cortot edition? it has like two pages preceding the etude of stuff to work on before you tackle it... only setback is it's all in French... but i could give you a translation too if you dont speak french

[solitudewithin]

Thorn hi, i have Cortrot's French edition too, but i was looking for a translation. Could you send it to me. alucard_b13@yahoo.gr. Thanx in advance!

[rimv2]

hey i'm a highschool student and i'd like to get some ideas for performing chopin's first etude. it's kind of a performer's nightmare just because it's so raw and exposed.

i've got it learned very well and pretty well worked out my interpretation. i just need to prepare for actual performance. any ideas for unusual ways of practicing, speed tips, and performance tips?

Thanks!

Listen to the music as you play it. Listen carefully. Hear the voice in the bass along side the arpeggio line. Focus less on hitting the right notes and more on listening.

Slow it down. Playing this piece at 176 sounds awesome only if done right, but playing at 120-150 while listening can turn this is piece into something beautiful and manageable by most.

Dont believe me. Listen to faster recording vs somewhat slower ones. You'll notice that the arpeggios no longer form a line and you can hear grouping in most fast recordings, while the line seems to glide up and down the piano in slower ones.

Listen to yourself, find a good speed, and keep it flowing.

[ramseytheii]

hey i'm a highschool student and i'd like to get some ideas for performing chopin's first etude. it's kind of a performer's nightmare just because it's so raw and exposed.

i've got it learned very well and pretty well worked out my interpretation. i just need to prepare for actual performance. any ideas for unusual ways of practicing, speed tips, and performance tips?

Thanks!

My advice for this piece which has been much aligned (and that still doesn't stop me from giving it again!) is to practice the piece slowly, and polyphonically.  Look for instance at Godowsky's first arrangement of this Etude, to get an idea of what is possible.  This piece which is normally played like a bat coming out of hell, and with very little definition except in the bass octaves, actually has a treasure chest full of small melodic details that can enhance endlessly your appreciation of the piece, and your ability to play it. 
For instance, the last "G" in the second bar, right hand, moving melodically to the first "A" of the third bar, right hand, and the last "E" in the second bar, moving melodically to the first "F" of the third bar.  There are two voices there, and two opportunities for different colorations.  That is the only example I will give now, but take my word for it, there are probably 100 opportunities for beautiful colorations.  Unfortunately most pianists make each arpeggio sound exactly the same, maybe some are softer, maybe some louder, but actually that isn;t very interesting, compared with what you can discover in the smaller, intimate, colorations.

Walter Ramsey

[krittyot]

Pls translate Cortot's comment to English and post it here. I'm sure this will benefit some people.