looking for 2 chopin etudes to start

[prokanninov]

I am a Junior in High school, and I need to start preparing for college auditions for schools like Julliard, and my number one choice the North Carolina School of the Arts.  I figured I'd start with choosing two Chopin Etudes apart from the revolutionary and the winter wind, they are definately out of the question due to technical difficulties.  I was thinking both the Op. 10 no. 3 in E major, and the Op. 25 no. 1 in Ab Major.  any suggestions would be great, and also if you have a suggestion for a Bach Prelude and Fugue that would be great.

[comme_le_vent]

10/6, and 25/7 are the easist i believe(apart from 10/3) - but even easier are the 3 without opus.

[comme_le_vent]

my favourite bach prelude and fugues are -

book 1 - a minor
book 2 - d sharp minor

i LOVE these pieces, and will play them when i feel like tackling bach(not easy).

[janice]

I figured I'd start with choosing two Chopin Etudes apart from the revolutionary and the winter wind  

I know the Revolutionary Etude but I have never heard of one being nicknamed "Winter Wind"  LOL.  Sorry to sound so clueless, but which one is that?

[janice]

my favourite bach prelude and fugues are -

book 1 - a minor
 

Never worked on it, but I went and grabbed my book (I only have book 1 of Bach's WTC).  I'll mark it and give it a try tomorrow.  Thanks.  I'm looking at the fugue though, and it's a mile long--lol.  But I do like how the last measure is Adagio.  Should be neat!

[goalevan]

I know the Revolutionary Etude but I have never heard of one being nicknamed "Winter Wind"  LOL.  Sorry to sound so clueless, but which one is that?

I believe Winter Wind is Op. 25 No. 11 in A minor

[belvoce]

Prelude no. 12 in F minor from the WTC by Bach is good. I haven't played the fugue, as it is a little too intellectual for me at the moment.

[belvoce]

I haven't played Op. 10 no. 3 in E major by Chopin, but I've heard it and want to play it some day. I am primarily a singer who also plays piano, and I've sung a song based on the E major etude by Chopin. Very beutiful piece.  

[Logar]

That nr. 3 is a very good starter - it was my first Etude and after playing that you actually feel you have accomplished something   Although finishing an etude by Chopin is always an accomplisment

[ayahav]

my first two were 10.3 and 10.4..... but 25.12 is also very nice.

[ayahav]

woops... forgot to mention: they're all amazing and I love them all.

[comme_le_vent]

id actually recommend everyone to start with 25/12 - it was the 1st piece i ever learnt - and it boosted my technique amazingly.

[donjuan]

For the Chopin Etudes, I believe it depends on the traits you wish to show off for the auditions-
10/1 - arpeggios, similar in tone as Liszt- Transcendental Etude 1
10/2 - ability to do awkward chromatique scales with the 3,4,5 fingers
25/1- ability to project a melody over the wave of multitudes of other notes in the same harmony
25/5 - Grace notes; tricky arpeggio-like configurations with tricky fingering..
25/6- Thirsds
25/7 - ability to give the impression of complete sincerity on the piano (VERY difficult)
25/10 fast octaves- If you do it like horowitz, you will be accepted for sure
25/12 - Ability to Project a melody in a mess of arpeggios and create the feeling of violent waves- and POWER, CRUSHING POWER!!!
donjuan

[Sketchee]

The one I'm working on is the Ocean, Op 25 No 12.  It is a good one and it's not so hard to memorize considering it's just chords.

[Dave_2004_G]

What age is junior high school?
If that's the place you go to before applying to uni, you could be dreaming thinking of applying to julliard if you've ruled out playing the revolutionary because of technical difficulties...perhaps you've misjudged it's difficulty - it's actually one of the easier etudes
Anyway, I think the 'aeolian harp' etude is a good one to start with - very beautiful, but still tough to pull off

Dave

[ahmedito]

I think junior high is something like 12-15 years of age...

By the way, anyone here know that the Chopin etudes are actually intended to be progressive??? suposedly, each etude gives you the means to play the next one in each of the 2 opuses. Thats wierd though, since the ones considered the easiest are actually the hardest to master in terms of touch.
About the Bach, both d minor preludes in are good starters. The f# in the first book and de C minor are also good to start with.

Good luck

[belvoce]

By stating "Junior in High school," I think prokanninov is meaning the third year of high school, roughly age 16-17.

[donjuan]

By stating "Junior in High school," I think prokanninov is meaning the third year of high school, roughly age 16-17.

High school is grade 10,11,and 12.  A junior would be someone in grade 10. (Age 15-16)
donjuan

[ahmedito]

In Mexico, High School is grades 9 or 10 through 12.... junior high would be 7th through 9th.....

[donjuan]

In Mexico, High School is grades 9 or 10 through 12.... junior high would be 7th through 9th.....

and this adds to our conversation...??

[Hmoll]

In the US junior HS is grades 7 and 8.
HS is grades 9-12.
Grade 9 = freshman
Grade 10 = sophmore
grade 11= junior
grade 12 = senior.

From what the poster said, he/she is a junior in hs (grade 11).

prokanninov,
The link below  has audition requirements for what you said is your #1 choice:

https://www.ncarts.edu/ncsaprod/music_ug/admissions.asp

Look at the audition requirements of any school you are interested in. Juilliard requires a "virtuosic etude" not necessarily by Chopin - to paraphrase.
Mosr of the Chopin etudes are viruosic, and they cover different techniques. It's pretty much a no-brainer if you look/read through them. The three posthumous ones are not as virtuosic, so are less desirable for college auditions. Don't listen to us about which to use in your auditions. Ask your teacher who knows your technique better.

Good luck.

[Alp635]

I agree with the previous post...

Ask your teacher, but here is my advice for etudes.

I have played many of them, including both revolutionary and winter wind.  

Fist, op. 10 #3 is not considered a virtuosic etude and in some auditions schools actually instruct applicants not to use the slower Chopin etudes.  Juilliard from what I remember may be one of those schools.  

Aeolian harp (op. 25 #1) is an excellent starting etude.  This is the one that I worked first.  Also, the next one op. 25 #2 is not too tough...play it slower than the recordings, speed is not what makes or breaks this etude.  

You could also do the black key etude, op 10#5.  This one is considered one of the easier ones and it is a cool piece,though I struggled with this one for god knows how long.  IT's the kind of piece that either fits your technique or doesn't.  

If you like the revolutionary etude, you could also start with that one, I just learned it recently and it really isn't very hard.  With the right shapes in the l.h and pedal, the technical difficulties are no greater than op. 25 #1.  

But these are the only etudes in my opinion that are possible for a young pianist.  The rest are so difficult, I don't think you would enjoy the process of working on them atthis point.  I'm working on the first two right now...op. 10 #1 and #1 and let me tell you, it gives me insecurities about my worth as a pianist on a daily basis.  

[dgk88]

By Junior I meant I'm In the 11th grade not Junior high and I'm 17 years old at a performing arts high school here in FL thank you all for your suggestions I'm gonna go with op 10 no 1 and op 25 no. 12

[goalevan]

good luck with those and btw let me ask you all how long before you started learning chopin etudes after you started playing?

[Alp635]

Prokanninov,

Op. 25 #12 is great...

Let me warn you about op. 10 #1,

Ask your teacher and if he thinks it's a good choice...GOOD LUCK

I have played this etude now for 5 years.  I am 24 years old and started it at 19.  It is no joke.  If you know how to practice it, it will be a lot easier, but you CAN NOT stretch your hand to play this etude. In fact, every note is played a bit detached so that instead of stretching my fingers to play these huge arpeggios, I move my hand and my arm.  Practice the contraction of the hand, not the wide intervals.  IT is learning to contract and then opening and moving fast that is difficult.  

It is an etude that frightens the most gifted athletes among us...just getting through it is one thing, playing it accurately is even harder.  THere are some arpeggios that just don't work.  Give yourself plenty of time and think about how nervous you will be in your first set of auditions.  Do you really want to do this???
I have played it in recital, auditions and competitions many a time and I wonder each time why I picked it.  It's because I love it it and I love the challenge, but it is musically very sparse so there is NOTHING you can hide behind.  No fancy tricks, Lisztian octaves, lyric moments.  Just one arpeggio after the next, and when you're done, you're just so glad you made it in one piece.  

NOt to discourage you because I learned the most about piano technique from this one etude alone but performing it is absolutely horrifying even after 5 years, I break out into a cold sweat before attempting it.