Chopin Etude op.10 no.4

[monotoned]

Hello, I'm new here, I found this forum searching for discussions on this piece (wiki didn't help much).
First a little intro (skip this if you want)
I've took lessons from when I was 6~14, and due to academic pressure I stopped my lessons and have been practicing on and off since (I just couldn't let go ).
My last performance from when I still had lessons was Rachmaninov Polichinelle, op3 no4, and after that I've been working on stuff that's easy and the pieces I like, and so far after 8 years (yeah, I'm 22 now) my accomplishments have been Beethoven Moonlight Sonata 1st mov., Debussy Clair de lune, Chopin Fantasie Impromptu, and some minor pieces here and there, I still play my favorite Bach Inventios 1 and 13, Sinfonia 3 (the only sinfonia I've learned) to keep my head sane. I also play plenty of easy Chopin pieces for fun.

My problem starts here (for people who skipped the intro)
Now I have some time on my hands, and want to get more serious about the piano again, after watching Richter play (

) my blood started boiling and I want to give this piece a go.
Unfortunately I have no teachers in the area I live, so getting help in real life is out of the question. I was wondering if anyone who have worked on this piece might give me some pointers, I've been through around 5 youtube vids trying to pin down the melody with a yellow marker (then I drifted off listening to other people play the revolutionary etude, much like I'm drifting off topic now). So, anyways, I was hoping people who played this, or is currently working on this might give me some advice, or any opinions at all would be very helpful 

[birba]

Whoa!  Slow down!   Your precedent repertoire doesn't really sound like much preparation for Chopin op. 10, no. 4.  But I know what you mean and your enthusiasm is catching!  It's a wonderful piece.  I remember years and years ago, I was going to tackle Beethoven's last movement of the "Moonlight" after having only played some Haydn and Bach.  No, I didn't do that well, but boy, did I love TRYING to do it.  So go ahead. Start out slow reading the notes doing a couple of bars at a time.  Push yourself and try to go beyond your current means.  Even playing it at a moderate speed can give you great satisfaction!

[peterjmathis]

I agree. Just keep working on it for as long as you have the enthusiasm and don't get discouraged by not doing it perfectly (or even well) yet.

[stevebob]

Chopin:  A Graded Practical Guide, by Eleanor Bailie, is a valuable resource for any Chopin enthusiast and the self-teaching amateur especially.  She discusses virtually every piece for piano solo, offering technical advice as well as interpretive suggestions.  I think she's very sensible for the most part, though there are times I disagree with her.  Concerning 10/4, for example, she says:

There is little to be gained except discouragement by attempts at preliminary study by players of less than a virtuoso standard.

Well, there's definitely discouragement to be gained from following such pessimistic guidance.   

My own personal experience with this etude has been valuable and gratifying.  Unlike the majority of Chopin's etudes, it distributes the technical challenges evenly between the hands.  It's also distinguished as one of just two etudes with a tempo of Presto, but it's possible to benefit greatly from studying this piece even if one never manages to approach the extreme speed of a professional performance.

I do agree with Bailie's observation here:

[W]hen all the preliminary practice is yielding results, the patterns have been learnt, and the parts are being assembled, be aware that, as the semiquaver patterns succeed each other in either hand, it is the other hand which controls the whole. . . .

[T]he tendency with relatively inexperienced players is for the semiquavers to 'take the brunt' and attempt to stagger along under their own steam, rather than being seen as subject to the guiding impetus of the chords in the 'other' hand.

Good fingering is everything (here and everywhere else, in my opinion), so consult multiple editions if you're not comfortable with your own choices.  I found this piece difficult to read because the chromaticism clutters the score with accidentals; once the notes were learned, though, I was surprised that some passages were easier to play than I anticipated (and vice versa ).

Take it slow and steady, and good luck!

[monotoned]

Thanks! Yeah I was wondering if I could handle this one, but I'll def. take it slow, probably 2 measures at a time, but 2 good measures 
I just printed this out, gonna try it tomorrow
will report back 

Are there any exercises recommended?
I do scales, appeggios and a bit other basic finger drills daily (except on weekends, the music room is closed)

[mousekowski]

Don't be put off by crusty old Eleanor Ballie!

I'm an amateur pianinst working on the last two Op.10 Etudes. I allocated 24 hours of practice over the last two or three weeks on Op.10 No.11 and I'm now at a reasonably satisfactory place where I know my way around the piece.

Why don't you allocate 24 hours of practice to Op.10 No.4 and then take stock?

[monotoned]

Don't be put off by crusty old Eleanor Ballie!

I'm an amateur pianinst working on the last two Op.10 Etudes. I allocated 24 hours of practice over the last two or three weeks on Op.10 No.11 and I'm now at a reasonably satisfactory place where I know my way around the piece.

Why don't you allocate 24 hours of practice to Op.10 No.4 and then take stock?

lol at "crusty old Eleanor Ballie"

thanks for the encouragement!
Are there any recommended exercises (aka awkward finger stuff) that I should do for this Etude?

[gyzzzmo]

lol at "crusty old Eleanor Ballie"

thanks for the encouragement!
Are there any recommended exercises (aka awkward finger stuff) that I should do for this Etude?

That depends entirely on what part you find difficult

[monotoned]

That depends entirely on what part you find difficult

I haven't got to anything particular I find difficult yet, that's good right?

Today went pretty well, baby steps baby steps that's what I keep telling myself (I'm really over enthusiastic right now)
Thanks for all the comments, you guys are great! I'll come back when I get stuck