Tips for practicing the "Ocean Etude"?

[bonehelm]

Hi all,

I have been working on this piece by myself (without the guidance of my teacher) for about 3 weeks to a month now. From memory, I can play it at the performance tempo that I want, but I think I can still make improvements in overall clarity and evenness. Sometimes some notes in the arpeggios don't sound, and sometimes there is a tiny gap between them. Also, my whole arm (forearm in particular) becomes tense after playing the arpeggios over and over again. This doesn't happen when I'm playing at a slow tempo, so I'm wondering what is the correct motion to use, so that I can avoid tension playing at any speed.

Does anybody have advice for practicing this piece for me, so that I could fix as many of these as possible? Once again, when playing slowly, these problems are not noticeable, it's only when I speed it up that they really get in the way.

Thanks! 

[stevebob]

Your technique must be formidable if you've managed to bring this piece to the point you describe within a month's time, so congratulations!  I have no advice to offer from personal experience, but Abby Whiteside discusses the technical aspects of this particular etude in Mastering the Chopin Etudes.

Whiteside's title is somewhat misleading, as only a handful of the 27 etudes are treated with detailed specificity.  Opus 25 No. 12 is accorded over ten pages, though, and the general principles of her approach are broadly applicable to the other etudes and much repertoire from the Romantic period onward (even if her writing style is often far from pellucid).

[ara9100]

Practice, practice, practice.

You have to be able to release your arms completely. This etude is a lot more difficult then most people say it is. It requires a lot of strenght and stamina.

[jcabraham]

The Ocean Etude? Just be careful you don't inhale at the 4:20 mark. Zing!

[gyzzzmo]

Practise more, and never rush. Pretty much THE rule for any piece you want to get to a high level.

@ Stevebob: this etude is technically actually one of the easy ones. Most 'headbreaking' for me was how i wanted to perform it, since there are multiple ways of getting the waves combined with the melody

[bonehelm]

UPDATE:

I found that when keeping the wrists (especially the right hand) level, parallel to the keybed, most of the tension in the forearm is reduced. Also, sitting further away from the keybed also helps in this piece, because that way your forearm can swing from left to right easier, without being restricted by the upper arm and shoulder. The optimal position for me to sit in, is when my elbows can come together easily, without having to bring my arms in front of my chest.

Hope that helps some of you who may be studying this piece! 

[prongated]

UPDATE:

I found that when keeping the wrists (especially the right hand) level, parallel to the keybed, most of the tension in the forearm is reduced. Also, sitting further away from the keybed also helps in this piece, because that way your forearm can swing from left to right easier, without being restricted by the upper arm and shoulder. The optimal position for me to sit in, is when my elbows can come together easily, without having to bring my arms in front of my chest.

Hope that helps some of you who may be studying this piece! 

Sounds good, though I'm not too sure about lowering the wrist...is your wrist still ok?

As regards missing notes, what I often find is that students tend to aim for a particular speed and make the notes fit around it. It's not a good strategy as they end up rushing everywhere, skipping notes, and sounding out of control.

You need to be able to feel each note with your fingertips, aiming for evenness and clarity in rhythm. This way, you avoid simply rushing everywhere. This may mean taking the tempo a touch slower, but the end result is more impressive than a fast performance with lots of rushing and blurring.

[If you're already doing it, great if not, it's worth a try ]

[cmg]

You might also find that tension is building because you are not preparing the thumb fast enough to substitute for the fifth finger on each rotation of the argeggio.  Vice versa, of course, for the LH.  You should practice very slowly, of course, and experiment with the RH, for example, keeping the fifth finger on the note until the thumb reaches that same note, then instantly expand the hand to prepare for the next pattern.  It's all a horizontal movment, back and forth, with no wrist-twisting, which can also induce tension.

Also, this is Chopin, so don't forget you are singing a song and not impressing listeners with sound and fury.  There's a big fat tune here, so sing out, Louise.

[Bob]

Why not post a video or recording?