Practical Chopin Tips

[lizz93]

Dear all,

After a while, I decided to try the Chopin Etude op 10 nr. 5.
To say, honestly, it wasn't that horrible (speaking technically) compared to the others.

I'd like to get some good advice/tips regarding speeding up the etude, without injurying my hand or fingers....

Greetings, and thanking you!
Lizz

[cloches_de_geneve]

I would play it slowly, softly, once leggiero, once legato in alternance, until you really have it under your finger tips. Play it blind or in the dark. Then it should feel safe and you can play it at almost any speed.

[vaunce]

Thank you , good advise. I will take under concideration

[jgallag]

Try Abby Whiteside's essay Mastering the Chopin Etudes.

[lizz93]

Thanks a lot for the tips!

Greetings,
Lizz

[claude_debussy]

Here is what will actually work:

- Practice hands separately, and learn and memorize hands separately

- Practice at all times with the fingers *as close to the keys as possible* - even resting on the keys.  This is a great secret, particularly in this piece - if you're shooting from mid-air, the keyboard suddenly becomes mostly big white valleys between the little narrow black keys. 

- Starting with the first figure RH, as you put it together analyze where there are small hesitations or uncertainties - ie, where you tend to play a wrong note when you push the tempo.  The placement of the 5th finger when shifting the hand position, is a common issue.  As the hand shifts down, that 5th finger has to find the right black key very quickly, without hesitation.  Practicing will develop that radar. 

- After you identify the gap, hesitation or place where you tend to play a wrong note, still always practicing hands separately, isolate the problem down to its simplest, most atomic form - down to 2-3 notes, zeroing in exactly where that gap or hesitation or uncertainty occurs.  Practice this fragment separately until it becomes as strong as ( or stronger than) the rest. 

- Then, hands still separate, integrate this gap into the longer figure, increasing speed only when feeling utterly secure.

- Isolating problems this way is a great secret for this piece, or for any other piece as well.   

- Look carefully at Chopin's pedaling indications - they are different for different iterations of the main theme - first time no pedal, second time connecting the staccato LG groups. 

With pedaling indications in front of you, plan in advance what is staccato and what is connected - very important here, and a big musical help as well.  With the score, plan and check pedaling everywhere - pedaling must very precise in this piece, a benchmark of a superb performance.  Poor pedaling blurs everything together and makes the music desperate rather than airy, and ruins the articulation and wit of the left hand phrasing.

- Also play close attention to dynamics: every phrase has contrasts from f to p, and p in this piece is often surprising, deeply embedded in the phrase structure.  Dynamics are critical just before the return to the main 'A' section, which rises from nothing on octave c#'s to a wonderful climax preparing the return, making a gorgeous pianistic effect.

- The coda is particularly difficult, even for concert pianists, but is also very beautiful if you create the rising crescendo from a hush to a brilliant top.  Don't worry about slamming the octaves too hard - no one cares if they're slightly out of tempo with the rest of the piece (and they always are).

- Practice difficult sections several dozen times a day, carefully.  Set a number of repetitions you will practice and stick to it, religiously until mastery is fully realized.

- This is also a piece that tests tempo control - the urge to rush is everywhere, but musically the best performance is *not* always the fastest.  The piece can be played slightly under tempo and be very effective. 

Better to go for a graceful performance than a make a failed attempt at bravura.  Most in the audience will respond to the inherent grace, humor and drama of this superb etude which is always a scintillating showpiece, a perfect encore, and a decisive demonstration of high pianistic skill. 

Good luck!  Follow these instructions and success will be yours - opus 10 #5 is actually a bit more difficult than it first appears, but it's one of the most ingratiating and satisfying of the Chopin etudes in performance - a good performance will always bring down the house.

peace,  Claude

[lizz93]

Thanks A LOT:) Claude, you really helped me out (the mess!)
Greetings,
Lizz

[claude_debussy]

You're welcome!  & thanks for the nice reply - keep us posted on your progress and/or problems.

Analyzing problems to find out *exactly* what's wrong is an essential skill for any pianist - boil it down to the problematic two or three notes - with one hand - and start practicing that.  Then put larger pieces together.

It's amazing how simple and powerful this strategy is, but a lot of players simply 'go through' the piece and never practice for the details.   Op. 10 #5 has lots of places to focus on, and it's beautiful to listen to when you're working on it, even hands separately (I've been playing it recently myself).

Good luck, and remember, play this piece beautifully and all the world will rightly consider you a virtuoso pianist at the top ranks of the art!

Of course, the beauty of the music is far more important than that -

peace,  CD

[jazzyprof]

Great advice, Claude!  I am going to apply it to the Revolutionary Etude, which I am working on now.  Any extra tips on speeding up this particular etude?