Revolutionary Etude op 10 No 12 (Chopin)

[chopinmozart7]

Hello everybody! Ive started on my first etude by Chopin. Etude op 10 no 12.
I have heard it many many times and i decided to try it.
Im wondering: On a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it?
Is there anything you need to pay attention to in the piece?
How fast do you think you could manage to get trough the piece?
Are there any other etudes that you would recomend?

I started to study it 1 day ago and so far ive done 1 and a half page.

[nanabush]

Unlike [many] other people, these threads keep me amused

It's definitely not Chopin's most difficult etude, but not his easiest.  The right hand must sustain a melody over the left hand which has the very technical aspect.  I played this about 2 years ago and had trouble not banging out the right hand due to an over loud left hand.  The left hand must be nimble and is brought out a couple times; just make sure there's a good balance.

It's probably in the middle for Chopin's etudes, so like a 5 I'd say... compared to other etudes from Liszt and Rachmaninoff, it'd be somewhere around a 2 or 3...  other composers etudes have left hand scale passages among many other techniques in single etudes.

[pianisten1989]

It's one of his easiest etudes (Exept the two slow, and the three "new etudes")
And it's impossible to say How hard it is. The left hand is quite tricky, but since you don't need to streach your fingers in that many places, it's not that hard. uhm... It took me somewhere around a moth to be able to play it in concert.

Oh yeah, it's what I call a "quantity etude", learn the notes, then spam it from begining to the end 5 times in a row with each hand, then the same with both, and you'll learn it quite fast.

[thierry13]

It took me somewhere around a moth to be able to play it in concert.

What about a butterfly?

[lostinidlewonder]

Im wondering: On a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it?

On a scale to 1 to 10 is it 1 to 10. Compare it to your entire memorized repertoire, if it is the hardest piece it is a 10 it is the hardest thing you have ever attempted to learn so it's a 10.

Is there anything you need to pay attention to in the piece?

Fingering, musical expression, technique seem always constants in everything you play.

How fast do you think you could manage to get trough the piece?

A few minutes.

Are there any other etudes that you would recomend?

yes

I started to study it 1 day ago and so far ive done 1 and a half page.

That's pretty good but what do you mean by done? Mastered? Sight read? Memorized? Stumbled through?

[shinerl]

wow it is hard.

I surrendered playing it

[thierry13]

wow it is hard.

I surrendered playing it

..

[dnephi]

..

Keep in mind that it IS hard for people who aren't pianists. 

For the rest of us, it's quite a bit of a joke .

[pianisten1989]

What about a butterfly?

I don't get it..?
Do you mean the butterfly etude or what?
I really don't get it...

[thierry13]

Keep in mind that it IS hard for people who aren't pianists. 

For the rest of us, it's quite a bit of a joke .

Lol, of course you can't play it if you aren't pianist. But that applies to many things in life!

[thierry13]

I don't get it..?
Do you mean the butterfly etude or what?
I really don't get it...

Re-read your quote.

[chopinmozart7]

On a scale to 1 to 10 is it 1 to 10. Compare it to your entire memorized repertoire, if it is the hardest piece it is a 10 it is the hardest thing you have ever attempted to learn so it's a 10.
Fingering, musical expression, technique seem always constants in everything you play.
A few minutes.
yes
That's pretty good but what do you mean by done? Mastered? Sight read? Memorized? Stumbled through?

i have memorized it

[pianisten1989]

well, memorizing that etude is not that impressive...

[bachapprentice]

Keep in mind that it IS hard for people who aren't pianists. 

For the rest of us, it's quite a bit of a joke .

A Chopin Piece easy enough to be a joke.............You must be great LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tanman]

A Chopin Piece easy enough to be a joke.............You must be great LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just wait until you find out about fantasie impromptu.   

[j.s. bach the 534th]

compared to other Chopin pieces it is a joke

[chopinmozart7]

Do you need do use the pedal?

[cmg]

Do you need do use the pedal?

You don't need to.  And my teachers advised against it.  If you use it at all, it should be used sparingly.  Flutter pedaling, in passages where the left hand is outlining an arpgeggiated chord without passing tones.  You've got flying 16th notes you've been working on for weeks.  You don't want  them muddied and blurred beyond acoustical recognition by a heavy foot. 

[j.s. bach the 534th]

I guess I should answer your original post now.

Hello everybody! Ive started on my first etude by Chopin. Etude op 10 no 12.

Why this particular one? It isn't the easiest one

I have heard it many many times and i decided to try it.

I guess this answers my above question

Im wondering: On a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it?

It depends on what you are comparing it to. For me, it would be an 11. Compared to other Chopin pieces, a 5.

Is there anything you need to pay attention to in the piece?

probably the notes...

How fast do you think you could manage to get trough the piece?

at my current skill level, a year...

Are there any other etudes that you would recomend?

all of them.

I started to study it 1 day ago and so far ive done 1 and a half page.

yep, you are definitely way better than me. By "done" does that mean mastered and able to play at full tempo?

[gyzzzmo]

Hello everybody! Ive started on my first etude by Chopin. Etude op 10 no 12.
I have heard it many many times and i decided to try it.
A) Im wondering: On a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it?
B) Is there anything you need to pay attention to in the piece?
C) How fast do you think you could manage to get trough the piece?
D) Are there any other etudes that you would recomend?

I started to study it 1 day ago and so far ive done 1 and a half page.

A) 4 2/6 on the scale 1-10
B) look at the sheetmusic, not at your naked sister
C) its called the 'minute waltz' afterall
D) not really

Yeah, sometimes i'm not really serious.
I wrote a general guide about chopin etudes though, maybe you should use pianostreet's searchengine and have a look at it.

good luck,

gyzzzmo

[chopinmozart7]

I guess I should answer your original post now.

Why this particular one? It isn't the easiest one

I guess this answers my above question

It depends on what you are comparing it to. For me, it would be an 11. Compared to other Chopin pieces, a 5.

probably the notes...

at my current skill level, a year...

all of them.


yep, you are definitely way better than me. By "done" does that mean mastered and able to play at full tempo?

thanks,you told me what i needed to know.

[j.s. bach the 534th]

actually, the more I look at it, the more I want to change to 8 out of 10 compared to other Chopin pieces.

[healdie]

Are there any other etudes that you would recomend?

The Stravinsky ones (leave chopin well alone)

[marthasmart1431]

I've come back to the piano after 45 yrs of no piano, and this is my next assigned piece.  Playing again has brought me so much joy and is the highlight of my day as I battle a rare and incurable cancer and the side effects of treatment.   It's also my first time to read a thread on the PianoStreet message board.  I must say many of you "pianists" are arrogant with your opinions.  The people writing in with these questions are truly looking for some pointers that will help them rather than tear down their self-esteem. 

[adam2]

I found that 12 in op 10 is a cumulative review of the rest.  You could spend three years studying that one to perfection or you could spend four years studying the entire opus sequentially, learning more technique AND be able to play all of the etudes with confidence and accuracy and artistic sensibility.

If you are assigned that piece, then you must be ready but you could benefit from the etude from that opus that works your weakest aspect of technique.

And absolutely NO pedal throughout the opus.

Opinions are like anuses... Everyone has one, and they all smell like $&@*t.

[awesom_o]

And absolutely NO pedal throughout the opus.

Opinions are like anuses... Everyone has one, and they all smell like $&@*t.

I agree 100% about no pedal for op. 10.

Regarding your second point... I would have to say that not all opinions can be considered equal on the subject. If someone can play all 24 squeaky-clean with good style, that person's opinion smells much sweeter than that of someone who can barely struggle through through 2 or 3 with a blundering touch.

[gyzzzmo]

I agree 100% about no pedal for op. 10.

Regarding your second point... I would have to say that not all opinions can be considered equal on the subject. If someone can play all 24 squeaky-clean with good style, that person's opinion smells much sweeter than that of someone who can barely struggle through through 2 or 3 with a blundering touch.

I dont. Although it should be used sparingly, there are definitely places where you can use short pedal. (amateur) people indeed tend to use pedal too much wich makes it blurry, it doesnt mean you shouldnt use it all. Usage of pedal depends on the piano and accoustics anyway.

[awesom_o]

Although it should be used sparingly, there are definitely places where you can use short pedal.

Absolutely.... when it comes to performing or recording them. But, in my opinion, the only way to really understand what 'sparingly' means is if you've practiced them without pedal.

[j_menz]

And absolutely NO pedal throughout the opus.

Opinions are like anuses... Everyone has one, and they all smell like $&@*t.

Including, apparently Chopin's own.  See pedal marks in this manuscript.

But then, what would he know. 

[cometear]

But then, what would he know. 

Is it possible for you to be nice? You such a sarcastic person...

[j_menz]

Is it possible for you to be nice?

Possible, just improbable.

[gyzzzmo]

Absolutely.... when it comes to performing or recording them. But, in my opinion, the only way to really understand what 'sparingly' means is if you've practiced them without pedal.

You could say that, but also that somebody who doesnt know how to use a pedal properly, shouldnt try to play a chopin etude in the first place

[awesom_o]

[andrewkoay]

I agree that the pedal shouldn't be used too much, but it can be used to achieve really beautiful effects in certain places in this etude. I think one just needs to be a bit sensible about it.