I need help with La Campanella

[jej]

How to improve my skills to do better on La campanella-i have recording but i can do  much better.AAny scales,books???


thnx alot

Bernard

[alpacinator1]

I say practice your accuracy when jumping from note-to-note when playing octaves.

I'm not quite at the level to play such a difficult piece, but I do know that piece pretty well and I think that seems like one of the biggest challenges in it.

[lau]

how long have you been blasting at this etude? cuz it if it's been more than a month i would extrude your way out of this etude channel to something less delicious. as soon as the theme arrives it gets a bit lardy.

[eric_wong1387]

First things first - I don't know if this is just a practice thing, or if your keyboard has limitations - but the right hand is supposed to be an octave higher at the beginning of the theme - it is marked with an '8va---------,' indication in the score. 
It is written that way most likely to assist sightreading - and if you don't play it an octave higher, the right hand often clashes with the left hand!

Second of all - you're not bringing out the melody well enough.  The upper notes on the jumps either sound too loud or they're not sounding at all, and the jumps themselves seem very labored.   The jumps are supposed to be very relaxed - don't stretch your pinky too much to reach for that upper note, move your arm in a gentle motion so that your hand actually gets there comfortably.

I don't know how long you've worked on this piece, but to me it sounds like you aren't ready to take this on.  I don't mean to sound harsh, but this piece requires a very fine-tuned technique.  It gets much harder than just the jumps at the beginning.   There are the chromatic runs and the tricky trills in the middle, as well as the intense octave variation at the end.

I don't mean to discourage you - but charging into a piece you're not ready for is not very helpful to your development.  Take up some Czerny, Mozart, Bach, etc. before you venture too deep into advanced Romantic repertoire, especially that of Liszt.  It's very tempting I know - but its really not worth it to spend too much time working on a piece and in the end you're not able to do it justice.

[xpjamiexd]

First things first - I don't know if this is just a practice thing, or if your keyboard has limitations - but the right hand is supposed to be an octave higher at the beginning of the theme - it is marked with an '8va---------,' indication in the score. 
It is written that way most likely to assist sightreading - and if you don't play it an octave higher, the right hand often clashes with the left hand!

Second of all - you're not bringing out the melody well enough.  The upper notes on the jumps either sound too loud or they're not sounding at all, and the jumps themselves seem very labored.   The jumps are supposed to be very relaxed - don't stretch your pinky too much to reach for that upper note, move your arm in a gentle motion so that your hand actually gets there comfortably.

I don't know how long you've worked on this piece, but to me it sounds like you aren't ready to take this on.  I don't mean to sound harsh, but this piece requires a very fine-tuned technique.  It gets much harder than just the jumps at the beginning.   There are the chromatic runs and the tricky trills in the middle, as well as the intense octave variation at the end.

I don't mean to discourage you - but charging into a piece you're not ready for is not very helpful to your development.  Take up some Czerny, Mozart, Bach, etc. before you venture too deep into advanced Romantic repertoire, especially that of Liszt.  It's very tempting I know - but its really not worth it to spend too much time working on a piece and in the end you're not able to do it justice.

Yeah, I tried this and I know it can be hard when you really want to learn a song but sometimes it's best to just leave it and work at something you're going to get pleasure out of playing, and in the nicest way possible it's just not there yet. But don't give up you're obviously a talented player.

[fredericfrancoischopin]

Yeah, I tried this and I know it can be hard when you really want to learn a song but sometimes it's best to just leave it and work at something you're going to get pleasure out of playing, and in the nicest way possible it's just not there yet. But don't give up you're obviously a talented player.

thnx,soon i will have video of La campanella on youtube ,my account is KEUDER

[eric_wong1387]

I haven't heard a reply from the original poster yet.  But I do hope that we're not discouraging him too much here, it is really for the better.

I've played piano for maybe around 15 years by now, albeit not as a career (I'm 22).  And the La Campanella is one of the hardest works I've ever played.  Its just not wise for someone to jump into it without knowing what to expect from it.

You'll have so many wonderful works from the piano literature to enjoy on your way up.  If you keep working on those, one day you'll gain the skills you need and suddenly when you return to La Campanella, you'll realize that you can actually play it well and it will feel MUCH more satisfying that way.