Revolutionary Etude in 2 Years

[revolutionaryetudein2]

Hi, sorry if this is in the wrong subforum; I'm new here.

So... I've been amusical my whole life and recently (that is, starting a couple years ago), I've had an urge to learn to play the piano. I just think it would be tons of fun. But I don't work well without concrete goals, so... I've taken it upon myself to learn to play the Revolutionary Etude over a timeframe of 2 years.

By this, I don't mean that I'm going to practice one piece all the time for 2 years. I would like to be all-around good at piano playing.

I've bought a digital piano for about a grand (I don't want to have to deal with tuning, and I'm a student, so I'll probably be moving a lot), and I have a teacher who I see on a semi-regular schedule. So this is something that I'm taking seriously (I have a tendency to start a lot of projects and not follow through).

Anyway, I've set up a blog to document my progress: https://revolutionaryetudein2years.wordpress.com/ I record videos with the webcam on my laptop and I upload them to youtube. Pardon the audio quality; I haven't really figured out how to record audio nicely yet.

Please share any comments or criticism you have, and advice on what I should be doing to achieve my goal. Thanks!


List of all my videos:

Week 3: Prelude 1-1 in C Major from Bach's WTC

Week 4: Menuett in G from the Anna Magdalena Notebook

Week 7: The Entertainer (easy arrangement from the Alfred book)

Week 9: When You Wish Upon a Star (from Disney's Pinocchio)

Week 11: Impertinence, by Handel

Week 15: Chopin's Prelude 28-20

Week 16: Cavatina (from Deer Hunter)

Week 24: Moonlight Sonata Mvt 1

Week 54: Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2

[etcetra]

are you expecting yourself to play revolutionary etude in 2 yrs from a begginer level?  I heard some of your recording, but frankly I really don't think learning chopin etudes in 2 yrs is a realistic goal.  I was in a similar situation when I was younger, It was my 1st yr of playing and I was working on Bach Invention. I really wanted to play chopin etudes in 2yrs, and I practiced 4hrs+.. in the end I was disappointed that i couldn't get there. 

Looking back, I realized how silly it was to expect myself to play chopin etudes in 2 yrs, and it was a shame because I did not appreciate the progress I made and instead focus on how I failed.

Every now and then people come to this forum with this great goal of wanting to play a very difficult piece in very short time. I think it's great to have that kind of inspiration, but often times people don't see exactly what it takes to play the piano well.  I am not an expert at this, but as a student, I realized how important it is to have a realistic goal you can be happy with, and how important it is not to have dead line like that, and instead enjoy your musical progress as a life-long process.

I am not saying its impossible.. but if you really want to do it you probably need a really good teacher, quit your job and practice for 10 hrs a day.. then you might be able to do it..

[loonbohol]

As a player and as a 15 years old person then I see that feat as good.
You see my first etude took me 9 months to learn.
Chopin Etude Op.25 no.2

[etcetra]

loonbohol

did you actually go from back minuet to chopin etudes in 9 months? and how well did you learn that etude?

[nyonyo]

In 1990, I was an advanced electronic organ players and competed nationally.
Before moving to the States, I started taking piano lesson. Of course, I progressed very fast, because I had played electronic organ for 12 years. I had the same dream like yours. I wanted to be able to play Revolutionary Etude (RE). I did not realize how difficult Revolutionary is.

RE is a very difficult etude. I can assure you that from your current level of playing, you will not be able to play RE decently in 2 years. In 10 years, you may be able play.

[gyzzzmo]

You probably wont manage to play it the way you would like to play it now, but maybe you can get it pretty properly at low speed. There's always a huge difference in technical requirement between play something 'pretty okay' and being able to put in that finishing touch, wich will probably take at least 6 years of INTENSE practising.

But like you said, its just a goal for you to keep practising, so it doesnt really matter if you're able to do it or not does it?

good luck,
gyzzzmo

[arumih]

Hey, that's quite a lofty goal...I've been playing for 2 years now and I can only dream of playing revolutionary! I don't want to say it can't be done because I think many people have done impossible things in the past, but I'd say this...start listening to A LOT of piano pieces. Find another, more realistic goal to accomplish in two years. It's always great to have goals and to have pieces you aim to play in a certain time frame, but the biggest thing to learn right now is patience! In my opinion so far you seem to be making excellent progress and I think in a few months you'll realise that you're not gonna be able to play revolutionary as you want in two years, but that eventually you'll be able to play it.

But seriously, listen to a lot of music and new goals will come to you. You'll definitely find other, much easier pieces that you love and that in a few months or even sooner you'll be able to play. Also, don't learn K545...yet! Sonata facile...that's the last thing it is, especially at this stage of learning. Right now be extremely proud of your progress, enjoy the ride and continue doing things the right way.

Also, read everything on this forum! It's years of experience packed into one place!

[nyonyo]

Hey, that's quite a lofty goal...I've been playing for 2 years now and I can only dream of playing revolutionary! I don't want to say it can't be done because I think many people have done impossible things in the past, but I'd say this...start listening to A LOT of piano pieces. Find another, more realistic goal to accomplish in two years. It's always great to have goals and to have pieces you aim to play in a certain time frame, but the biggest thing to learn right now is patience! In my opinion so far you seem to be making excellent progress and I think in a few months you'll realise that you're not gonna be able to play revolutionary as you want in two years, but that eventually you'll be able to play it.

But seriously, listen to a lot of music and new goals will come to you. You'll definitely find other, much easier pieces that you love and that in a few months or even sooner you'll be able to play. Also, don't learn K545...yet! Sonata facile...that's the last thing it is, especially at this stage of learning. Right now be extremely proud of your progress, enjoy the ride and continue doing things the right way.

Also, read everything on this forum! It's years of experience packed into one place!

Good advice!! Be careful of injury. Practicing RE before having enough technical ability can cause serious injury.  K545 looks easy, but it is not easy.

[loonbohol]

loonbohol

did you actually go from back minuet to chopin etudes in 9 months? and how well did you learn that etude?

good thing you ask that question. you see I am a student too so I do not practice 8 hours a day.I did it perfectly except that my playing sounded more like an MIDI because I did not give much justice on my playing that etude.

I laugh at those good times

[revolutionaryetudein2]

Thanks for the comments and advice everyone.

As for K545, I actually consulted my teacher on this, because I didn't know if I was ready for it, but he thought it was a good idea, because I'm learning scales right now, and told me to go ahead. It's definitely deceptively hard, but I'm doing OK so far.

[etcetra]

Well I guess my biggest concern is that you will feel disappointed about your progress by setting a goal that is too high.  I think you are making a great progress in a very short time, and you should be proud of yourself if you keep on improving at this rate.   you will be able to play the etude sooner or later and its better to do it when the time is right rather than rushing to get there.. also like others have said, taking on such a demanding piece too early may cause injuries.. and you defnitiely don't want that.

Anyways i think you will know when you are ready, and just enjoy every moment getting there.. there are so many great pieces of music out there.

[canardroti]

I went to your website and I can truly admire you for your organization and determination. I smiled when I saw your topic because I exactly had the same goal as you! Play the revolutionary etude in two years with not only 0 piano experience but also 0 experience as far as reading music. After a year of taking lessons and playing some clementi, kuhlau and other short pieces. I set a goal for myself to learn the Revolutionary Etude over the summer of 2004. I was very pleased with myself back then with the results, I had memorized the piece in 3 months. However, now when I look back, I really played it horribly and I grew sick of this piece. No control whatsoever, muddy, rushed, slowed down, missed notes , etc. I would not play this in front of people the way I played it before. It takes years of solid practice and most of all music maturity to play this etude and his others. I believe it is very good to set your goals high, but be ready to have the right attitude if you do not get the results you want. By that I mean, don't let it put you down, and keep working hard

[revolutionaryetudein2]

etcetera -- I am definitely not even thinking about touching the etude for a year & half. We'll see how far we get in that time.

canard -- thanks. What made you want to learn the piano, and the revolutionary etude in particular? I am curious to hear other people's motivations, too, if anyone wants to share.

[morningstar]

Sorry to disagree here but unless you are some kind of musical genius I can't see how you could learn the revolutionary etude in 2 years. I am a fairly experienced pianist and am still learning parts of it now, after about 14 months (with breaks in between). You're welcome to try anyway just you may be disappointed with the results.

[loonbohol]

I could agree with that

[db05]

Are you guys sure it can't be done? It is a fairly short piece, not a sonata or concerto. Of course it won't come easy, and might sound awful. But sheer study plan and repetition might just make it.

I assume you're taking into consideration all the time and effort to building up to Chopin etudes level. This person is an adult learner who may be able to find ways to cut the time and effort needed. He doesn't need to go through all of Alfred's book for example.

gyzzzmo, you posted some tips for learning Etudes, right? If your directions are followed, is this guy's goal feasible? Please clarify why or why not.

[gyzzzmo]

Are you guys sure it can't be done? It is a fairly short piece, not a sonata or concerto. Of course it won't come easy, and might sound awful. But sheer study plan and repetition might just make it.

I assume you're taking into consideration all the time and effort to building up to Chopin etudes level. This person is an adult learner who may be able to find ways to cut the time and effort needed. He doesn't need to go through all of Alfred's book for example.

gyzzzmo, you posted some tips for learning Etudes, right? If your directions are followed, is this guy's goal feasible? Please clarify why or why not.

I already replied in this post, go read that

[db05]

There's always a huge difference in technical requirement between play something 'pretty okay' and being able to put in that finishing touch, wich will probably take at least 6 years of INTENSE practising.

6 YEARS?  I think it's too much for intense practicing. I'd say that's the timeline if you factor in years of going through grades, different books and stuff. But if you dive right into intense practice, don't you think it would be less?

[gyzzzmo]

6 YEARS?  I think it's too much for intense practicing. I'd say that's the timeline if you factor in years of going through grades, different books and stuff. But if you dive right into intense practice, don't you think it would be less?

Ofcourse that depends on the 'talent' factor (and alot of other factors), so it ofcourse could be less. But the point was that it takes ALOT more practising to really be in control of a piece like that and being able to do that finishing touch, than only playing those notes.

[revolutionaryetudein2]

Hi all, I've got a new video. I also edited a master list of all my videos into the OP, which will get updated as more are added.

[richard black]

Well, I was something of a child prodigy (admittedly not the most dedicated one, but I started off rocket-fast) and was sort-of playing the revolutionary in about 7 or 8 years, as far as I remember.

Good luck to you!

[etcetra]

my first piano teacher started late.. but he was able to go to college and pursue a music degree.. he practiced 5hrs a day in college and he was able to play the etude in his 6th yr of learning the piano.  So I think it's possible for someone to learn the etude in 6-7 yrs I suppose..

[welcome1]

Hi, sorry if this is in the wrong subforum; I'm new here.

So... I've been amusical my whole life and recently (that is, starting a couple years ago), I've had an urge to learn to play the piano. I just think it would be tons of fun. But I don't work well without concrete goals, so... I've taken it upon myself to learn to play the Revolutionary Etude over a timeframe of 2 years.

By this, I don't mean that I'm going to practice one piece all the time for 2 years. I would like to be all-around good at piano playing.

I've bought a digital piano for about a grand (I don't want to have to deal with tuning, and I'm a student, so I'll probably be moving a lot), and I have a teacher who I see on a semi-regular schedule. So this is something that I'm taking seriously (I have a tendency to start a lot of projects and not follow through).

Anyway, I've set up a blog to document my progress: https://revolutionaryetudein2years.wordpress.com/ I record videos with the webcam on my laptop and I upload them to youtube. Pardon the audio quality; I haven't really figured out how to record audio nicely yet.

Please share any comments or criticism you have, and advice on what I should be doing to achieve my goal. Thanks!


List of all my videos:

Week 3: Prelude 1-1 in C Major from Bach's WTC

Week 4: Menuett in G from the Anna Magdalena Notebook

Week 7: The Entertainer (easy arrangement from the Alfred book)

Week 9: When You Wish Upon a Star (from Disney's Pinocchio)

Week 11: Impertinence, by Handel


[/quote  revolutionary etude is usually pre programmed in some digital pianos they are really great for practising you can slow the music down and mute either hand and play along. good luck by the way you'll probably need it

[andro]

I decided to learn the RE today and I hope I'll have luck with it. I play piano for 6 years now and my teaceher is ..hm..severe =) (russian)
I think I'll need about 6+ motnts to play it OK .
But I'm still not sure If I'll be able to manage it.
I think that etude requires very very very good technical skill and is very demanding for the left hand which is actuallly harder because it's easier to play with the right hand. (in my opinion)

[allegroz]

already learned Fantasie impromtu, bumble bee...
i learn that etude 12, only 2 weeks. and took 2 month to play it at full speed....
my suggestion: if you seems can't play it or have slow learning progression, it better for you to pick other song to learn for temporary (search song that little bit easier)... after that you will be surprised if you come back to that etude(it become easier)... and you didn't get frustated and stressed to learn that song ^^.....
sorry for my english....

[j.s. bach the 534th]

If you want to learn an Etude that soon, and you aren't able to practice a ton every day, I'd say pick an easier Etude. Lemme see, would Op. 10 No. 9 be too easy?

[revolutionaryetudein2]

So I've returned from vacation, and... I have 2 new videos! Let me know what you think.

[end]

Hi,

I liked your new videos very much! You're such a source of inspiration (even though my goals are so much easier to achieve than yours).

I'm happy for you you can play Cavatina, because you like it so much. Congratulations!!

[mefidys]

Hey just because someone who has been playing for 12 years can't play it, doesn't mean that someone who has only been playing for 2 years can't either.
I think as piano players, we should all know that time is irrelivant, because it really depends on the player. I know people who have to go over something 500 times to learn it and other people who only need to look at it 3 or 4 times. If you're really dedicated then you should be okay =]
I've been playing for less than 2 years myself and I've already moved onto grade 5, I don't have a piano, I have a keyboard. All I have is 1 half an hour lesson a week and I don't even practice that much (mainly because keyboards irritate me, but thats all i've got, so I deal with it) oh and I'm 15.
All I'm saying is there are pianists who are good, because they practice A LOT, for many years or whatever, and then there are pianists who are good because they are in love with the music, music is like their whole life. (or maybe you can just be one of those people who picks things up quick.) I mean, we've all heard of or seen one of those child prodigy kids who get talent from literally nowhere in the blink of an eye. either way, the only thing time is relevant for is experience, and maybe a build up of repetoire, Otherwise, quit kidding yourselves thinking that 'you know from experince its impossible' because this person could be a hell of a lot better than you. =]
so good luck ^^

[db05]

You play well.  Your blog is inspiring, thanks a lot!
And yeah, "sonata semplice" is a bunch of lies LOL.

[etcetra]

mefidys,

I started at the age of 16 and I was playing grade 5 pieces in 2 years too.  Having said that there is a HUGE gap between grade 5 piece and revolutionary etudes.  and keep in mind that a lot of the child prodigies started music very early.

Its kind of like saying I want to be a millionare by next year or lose 30 lbs in 2 weeks.. yes its possible, and some people are lucky or talented enough to do it, but in most cases, you're better off setting more realistic expectations and think more in the long term. 

Most people become good because they spent hours and hours practicing and they've been doing it for years.. its like that with sports, martial arts, and so many other things... excellence happens because of love and life long commitment to what it is your are doing.

having said that I am not discouraging anyone from having that kind of goal, but I think you should be proud of your progress no matter where you are.. really that shouldn't matter if you love music... unless there is something seriously wrong with your progress.

[hikky]

mefidys,

I started at the age of 16 and I was playing grade 5 pieces in 2 years too.  Having said that there is a HUGE gap between grade 5 piece and revolutionary etudes.  and keep in mind that a lot of the child prodigies started music very early.

Its kind of like saying I want to be a millionare by next year or lose 30 lbs in 2 weeks.. yes its possible, and some people are lucky or talented enough to do it, but in most cases, you're better off setting more realistic expectations and think more in the long term. 

Most people become good because they spent hours and hours practicing and they've been doing it for years.. its like that with sports, martial arts, and so many other things... excellence happens because of love and life long commitment to what it is your are doing.

having said that I am not discouraging anyone from having that kind of goal, but I think you should be proud of your progress no matter where you are.. really that shouldn't matter if you love music... unless there is something seriously wrong with your progress.

I don't know about this.. I'm a couple months into piano study and I'm working on Bach's first invention which is considered grade4-5 I think (Just a couple more bars and then the trills and I'll have it down). I started at 17 and I don't think I'm all that talented really.

I think it could be doable, but of course I'm no expert and yeah, I could be wrong.

Anyway OP, good luck on your progress.. I'm going to be keeping a sort of youtube log of my progress too, maybe I'll post it once I've done more than a couple songs .

[thierry13]

Usually 2 years is more than enough to tackle revolutionnary etude. But seeing your videos, I think you still need much much more time before you have what it takes to tackle that.

[etcetra]

hikky,

I played my first invention in my first year too, played 3rd movement on moonlight sonata in sometime in my 2nd-3rd year. ..I think moonlight is considered grade 8-9? i still think there is a big gap between 3rd mvt of moonlight and Reveolutionay etude. 

I don't know, if you tell yourself you want to compete in an Olympic Event, you might be able to, but what is the likelihood of that?  Everyone progress at different rate, some have early start, some are late bloomers, those expectation of playing a piece in x amt of years seems arbitrary..   its good to keep in mind as a general guideline but its better to focus on what you are doing now than having expectations about what you'll be doing couple of years from now.

[revolutionaryetudein2]

New video. Moonlight Sonata Mvt 1.

[aslanov]

very much to be improved on the sonata
i dont have time at the moment to go into detail, but maybe Mr. Schiff can be of help

[thierry13]

Your moonlight is actually 1/4 of the total progress? There's no way you're going to play the revolutionnary etude in 2 years at that rate. Your blog is a bit ridiculous, particularly your notes on the mozart sonata facile sheet music. The notes really ARE very easy, to play it like Richter is another thing. But if you really think the notes in the parts you circled are hard then there's no way you're going to be able to play revolutionnary etude in the remaining 1 year and a half. Mozart should technically be sight reading for somebody about to be ready to play revolutionnary etude.

[xmrbrightside89]

I think it depends on people and the amout of tim you put on music! First you need more than 2 hours a day, maybe 4-5 should be enough! Second thing, just don't play pieces! You should work on your technique..and that means lots of scales, Arpeggios, Thirds, Sixths, Octaves, Trills, and all those excercises that helps you to increase stamina, and endurance on your fingers!(plus it will help you with your accurancy) AND MOST IMPORTANT THING: SPEED, if you wanna play revolutionary etude you need fast fingers! use always methronome for that! and... improve your skills on reading the piano sheets and notes! 
Good luck with your mission! 

I've started the revolutionary too and learned the first page it's not that big deal afterall!

[rachopin]

yeah, you can:

[xmrbrightside89]

yeah, you can:

Aya's simply awesome! I love her performance of "La Campanella" ..................much better than Yundi Li's IMH

[dolly lo]

Maybe you can.. I don't know. You have to be very, very, very talent (I think). But you have to considerer than there's a great difference between play it well (only the sound) and play it as it must be (technical part). You know what I mean?

[csharp_minor]

very much to be improved on the sonata
i dont have time at the moment to go into detail, but maybe Mr. Schiff can be of help

Thanks for posting that link I found it interesting and usefull  .




I agree with what someone said about technical excercises, you will need to be doing them all the time to reach the level needed to play it, not just normal scales but all the other kinds and combinations.

I hope this is'nt getting you down, maybe you should set yourself another goal? and learn it in 9 / 10 years instead of two. Piano playing should be about having fun and being proud of the little goals you can manage now reather then setting them too high - at least to begin with.

If you manage this though you will be quite an inspiration , but I think you should be playing more chopin at this point. good luck

[scottmcc]

Thanks for posting that link I found it interesting and usefull  .




I agree with what someone said about technical excercises, you will need to be doing them all the time to reach the level needed to play it, not just normal scales but all the other kinds and combinations.

I hope this is'nt getting you down, maybe you should set yourself another goal? and learn it in 9 / 10 years instead of two. Piano playing should be about having fun and being proud of the little goals you can manage now reather then setting them too high - at least to begin with.

If you manage this though you will be quite an inspiration , but I think you should be playing more chopin at this point. good luck

a few thoughts...first, I agree with everyone else that the revolutionary etude is ridiculously hard, especially for an abject beginner.  just looking at the score gives me shivers.  but...if you are set on doing it, you can actually start doing some prep work now.  first, analyze the score thoroughly.  find out what key it's in (hint, it modulates about halfway through; other hint, I'm not telling you the answer because it's worth figuring out for yourself), then learn that scale and the associated arpeggios.  try playing scales in that key with your hands an octave apart, 2 octaves apart, a 10th apart (LH starts on Ab, RH starts on C), a third apart, etc. 

you should probably already be able to play the majority of the RH part without too much work--the difficulties of this etude lie primarily in the left hand (although there are certainly bits of the RH that are equally challenging).  try less challenging works in the same key to add to your familiarity with it (for instance beethoven wrote at least one sonata in the same key).  listen to several recordings of this work with the score in front of you, and try to follow along.

I agree that various technical exercises are necessary for you.  I won't advocate any specific set of them, but find one or several that you like and go for it.  even 10-15 min a day will help you.

good luck--you've set a rather lofty goal for yourself. 

[end]

Hi,

congratulations on your Beethoven. Super!

Don't give up your dream!!!

[freshhh1994]

excellent project! I'm a beginner pianist too (started in january) and i'm trying to follow your progress

[richard black]

Had a look at the video - not bad for a year, I'll grant you that, but you'd better do something about your wrists because they're as stiff as a piece of steel pipe. You can get away with that in a dead slow piece like Moonlight but you won't manage any Chopin studies.

[winterwind888]

Honestly... I have mastered and finished revolutionary etude... But I don't take the dynamics seriously... I got the tempo... But the dynamics is low... I have playing the piano 1 year now... and the pieces I have learned are... fur elise, moonlight sonata 1st and 2nd mvmnts., claire de lune, waltz in c # minor, minuets of bach, mozart piano sonata 16 1st and 2nd mvmnts, revolutionary etude.. What I am after for my piano practice is my ability to sight read and little by little I don't disregard the dynamics anymore, before I was after for the placement of the notes in the piano. Now I am learning 1st arabesque, nocturne, turkish march, butterfly etude  and all other pieces that are less of fame for my sight reading practice. I bet you can do what I did. You can master revolutionary etude for less than a year if you have the motivation to practice for 8 hours a day!

[db05]

How can it be "mastered and finished" when the dynamics aren't taken seriously?

Sounds like someone loves to hack piano pieces.

[antichrist]

However you can always foul around with the piece

[dimioa]

Honestly... I have mastered and finished revolutionary etude... But I don't take the dynamics seriously... I got the tempo... But the dynamics is low... I have playing the piano 1 year now... and the pieces I have learned are... fur elise, moonlight sonata 1st and 2nd mvmnts., claire de lune, waltz in c # minor, minuets of bach, mozart piano sonata 16 1st and 2nd mvmnts, revolutionary etude.. What I am after for my piano practice is my ability to sight read and little by little I don't disregard the dynamics anymore, before I was after for the placement of the notes in the piano. Now I am learning 1st arabesque, nocturne, turkish march, butterfly etude  and all other pieces that are less of fame for my sight reading practice. I bet you can do what I did. You can master revolutionary etude for less than a year if you have the motivation to practice for 8 hours a day!

You do realize that tha pieces you listed prior to the Chopin Op 10 no 12 are MUCH easier, right?

I have hard time believing that you have mastered the piece, and you will almost certainly be utilizing an incorrect technique. Going straight to a Chopin Etude after having played no other easier technical etudes(Cramer, Czerny, Moscheles) cannot be a good thing.