Ocean Etude

[•ÇØM]

How would you go by putting the fingers for the 12th - 13th bars and 40th - 41st bars, especially for the last 8th beat of 12 and 40?

For 12 I use RH: 1 3 5 and LH: 5 2 1

For 13 I use RH: 1 2 5 and LH: 5 2 1

For both 40 and 41 I use RH: 1 2 5 and LH: 5 3 1

[mukubella]

.

[dana_minmin]

this many give you a little insight

[•ÇØM]

I probably should have presented my question visually...

[general disarray]

How would you go by putting the fingers for the 12th - 13th bars and 40th - 41st bars, especially for the last 8th beat of 12 and 40?

For 12 I use RH: 1 3 5 and LH: 5 2 1

For 13 I use RH: 1 2 5 and LH: 5 2 1

For both 40 and 41 I use RH: 1 2 5 and LH: 5 3 1

Your fingering choices are standard for these passages.  To make this etude playable, you have to bring out the tune in the RH thumb and the corresponding ringing high notes at the end of each "wave."  This is all clearly marked by Chopin in the score.  Do exactly what he calls for.  In between these high points, make sure you are not tensing.  Use "tension" (better words:  "muscular contraction burst") only for the arm weight needed to bring out the tune and the, well, "breaker crashes" at the top of each phrase.

If you concentrate on the music in this wonderful etude, you will find that it is much easier to play.  if you concentrate on the technical challenge, you'll sound like a cement mixer at the bottom of the Mississippi River.

The choice is yours.  Have fun.  I don't think any of Chopin's Etudes are more pianistic and fun to play.  Work it up very slowly and make sure your movements are fluid.  Move your body (right, left, right, left) with the rising and falling passages.  Keep your trunk behind the notes.  Don't sit stalk still and just move your arms.  Really feel as if your riding those waves, sailor!  You'll never get it up to speed if you don't.

Hope this helps.

p.s. to the poster who thinks the spans in this piece are so large, look again:  they're only octave spans. 

[thierry13]

this many give you a little insight

Worse playing and worse advices ever. The playing is ESPECIALLY bad.

[nyonyo]

I agree the playing is ugly. So far, I have never heard any non professional who can play the Ocean Etude well.

[•ÇØM]

Your fingering choices are standard for these passages.  To make this etude playable, you have to bring out the tune in the RH thumb and the corresponding ringing high notes at the end of each "wave."  This is all clearly marked by Chopin in the score.  Do exactly what he calls for.  In between these high points, make sure you are not tensing.  Use "tension" (better words:  "muscular contraction burst") only for the arm weight needed to bring out the tune and the, well, "breaker crashes" at the top of each phrase.

If you concentrate on the music in this wonderful etude, you will find that it is much easier to play.  if you concentrate on the technical challenge, you'll sound like a cement mixer at the bottom of the Mississippi River.

The choice is yours.  Have fun.  I don't think any of Chopin's Etudes are more pianistic and fun to play.  Work it up very slowly and make sure your movements are fluid.  Move your body (right, left, right, left) with the rising and falling passages.  Keep your trunk behind the notes.  Don't sit stalk still and just move your arms.  Really feel as if your riding those waves, sailor!  You'll never get it up to speed if you don't.

Hope this helps.

p.s. to the poster who thinks the spans in this piece are so large, look again:  they're only octave spans. 

Thanks it helped a lot, especially about the concentrating on the  technical challenges. I just got threw posting myself playing it at the audition section.

this many give you a little insight

And yes this wasn't played so well. Even I believe my post of it in the Audition section was better.

[concorde331]

I don't think any of Chopin's Etudes are more pianistic and fun to play.  Work it up very slowly and make sure your movements are fluid.  Move your body (right, left, right, left) with the rising and falling passages.  Keep your trunk behind the notes.  Don't sit stalk still and just move your arms.  Really feel as if your riding those waves, sailor!  You'll never get it up to speed if you don't.

These are all true.  In addition, I heard from a particular teacher that you must SHIFT your hand positions across the octaves.  Don't squeeze your hand together to cross octaves.  I found that this helped me GREATLY when I did this piece.