Chopin Etudes and the 80/20 rule

[darla]

I am interested in the Etudes primarily to develop technique and I thought the old 80/20 rule might apply here.

Are there 4 or 5 (20% of 24) that would encompass the majority (80%) of technique that would be needed by a pianist?

Which ones would those be?

Thanks

[steve jones]

I dont know about that, but I think that 10/4 covers quite a bit. You have past, tight passage work and scales, fast and wide spread arpeggios, arpeggiated wide chords and probably a whole lot more.

Infact, 10/4 and 10/3 would probably cover quite a bit of technique imo. Atleast, if you can nail these two, then you have done alot! No where near everything ofcourse, but alot of the usually problem stuff.

SJ

[kriskicksass]

5 to cover the entire technique? That's a challenge, but...

25/6 - thirds
25/8 - sixths
25/10 - octaves
25/11 - beat up the RH
10/12 - beat up the LH

If I could add another couple I'd throw in 10/8 (extended arpeggios) and 10/10 (variety of touch).

[psaiko]

Infact, 10/4 and 10/3 would probably cover quite a bit of technique imo. Atleast, if you can nail these two, then you have done alot! No where near everything ofcourse, but alot of the usually problem stuff.

What technique is 10/3 about really? I heard it is for legato playing, but is there also other things.

I am learning Chopin ballade no.1 now, and want to learn an easy etude on the side. I think I will go for 10/3 since I like this most.

[richy321]

Excellent question.  If you want the maximum gains from a handful, my choice would be:

10/1    For learning to throw the hand in arpeggios (but be careful not to push the shoulder muscles too hard -- I recently got tendonitis from overdoing it).

10/8    Similar idea to 10/1 but mixing scales with wide intervals, including the LH.

25/5    Focuses on the weak fingers:  2 and 5.  It may seem odd to call these the weak fingers, but I mean only in terms of control, not in strength.

25/6    Obvious.

25/12  For sychronising the two hands.

25/11  For all-around kick-ass fun!

Richy

[cloches_de_geneve]

10/2
10/4
10/8
25/6
25/8 (Bülow called it the "most useful" etude in piano literature)
25/11

[steve jones]

What technique is 10/3 about really? I heard it is for legato playing, but is there also other things.

I am learning Chopin ballade no.1 now, and want to learn an easy etude on the side. I think I will go for 10/3 since I like this most.

I think of 10/3 being a good test of touch and voicing. Its probably quite easy to play BADLY, but very difficult to play well.

In someways, I see it like a more advanced Pathetique Mvt 2. You have to bring that upper voice out, while keeping the inner voice steady and in the background. Oh, and there is that rough bit with the jumping 6ths in both hands.

So while this may appear one of the easier Etudes on the surface, I think it has a wealth of hidden depth. Quite a contrast to the 'all guns blazing' of 10/4!

SJ

[darla]

Thanks for all of the great feedback.  There seems to be at least some consensus with:
10-4
10-8
25-6
25-8
25-11

Looks like a modest challenge!

[tompilk]

What technique is 10/3 about really? I heard it is for legato playing, but is there also other things.

I am learning Chopin ballade no.1 now, and want to learn an easy etude on the side. I think I will go for 10/3 since I like this most.

the op 10 f minor is very nice... ive started playing it about a week and a bit now and have the notes... really nice too...
Tom

oh and 10/2 does a great deal for technique i heard... my organ teacher said he once played it... badly... but i bet he played it really good knowing how good he is...
and my piano teacher played 25/1 (husband of organ teacher)... i bet well too