I'm just about to finish up Fur Elise after playing for just under 3 months with a teacher and I was wondering, is the Fantasie Impromptu something I could shoot for next or should I wait a few months?God bless
But always remember that accuracy is much more important than speed. A sloppy fast performance is worse than a slower controled one.
I'm just about to finish up Fur Elise after playing for just under 3 months........................[fantasy impromptu] honestly doesn't look very hard
it honestly doesn't look very hard
is the Fantasie Impromptu something I could shoot for next or should I wait a few months?God bless
Are you saying it has taken you three months to get Fur Elise (the complete rondo)together? Three months is a long time to be working on just one piece. It will take you much longer to get Fantasie Impromptu at performance standard. Your time and effort is probably better spent learning easier pieces to add to your repertoire. (notice plural). Try some of Chopin's waltzes.
HeyI don't mean this to sound remotely harsh - take it as a useful rule of thumb, in fact, for future reference: if you can't see WHY a piece is hard in the first place, then it's probably quite a bit out of reach of your current abilities, even with a lot of work.In this instance, one of the hardest things about the fantaisie-impromptu is the fact that it involves simple time in one hand, played against compound time in the other.I know where you're coming from on this, cos I've been in your shoes before (although admittedly with slightly more modest aspirations than to play the fant.-imp. straight after für elise!), and, believe me, it's not worth it. Even though it might in the long run prove a gruelling crash course in technique, the piece requires years of playing in order to have the MUSICAL experience to play it well - and that's not to put you down, since that's true for everyone.The fact is that it will probably prove a pretty unpleasant experience in the end, and will sap the real meaning of playing the piano out of what you're doing, since you'll simply be trying to beat your "Everest". Ultimately, you'll get very little out of trying to play this piece just now, because you just won't be able to play it well enough, and anyone musical to whom you play it will recognise that straight away.There's a very informative thread here http://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=teac;action=display;num=1092594417 which has a litany of pieces you will probably love playing, and from which, importantly, you'll reap enormous benefit. Don't neglect your teacher's expertise, either! Be sure to ask his own opinion.
if you can't see WHY a piece is hard in the first place, then it's probably quite a bit out of reach of your current abilities, even with a lot of work.
Try waiting a few YEARS. Seriously. If you want to be able to do justice to it. But however, if you want to do it for your own enjoyment, then I see no problem with that.
HeyIn this instance, one of the hardest things about the fantaisie-impromptu is the fact that it involves simple time in one hand, played against compound time in the other.http://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=teac;action=display;num=1092594417 which has a litany of pieces you will probably love playing, and from which, importantly, you'll reap enormous benefit. Don't neglect your teacher's expertise, either! Be sure to ask his own opinion.
Seriously it took me 3 weeks just to nail down that part where the 2 hands come in. I tried everything from tapping chopsticks to metronome to get that BL00DY timing right.
Hold up, sorry Breadman(boy)I gotta get this straight..did you mean that you've taken 3 months to learn Fur Elise alone, but had previous experience prior, ORdoes it mean that you've only learned to play piano for 3 months...There's a BIG difference in the phrasing of your statement there.If say you've practiced for say 5 years then want to do it, then my deepest appologies. I just get edgy now... especially ppl going oh... I'm 5 years old and I wanna do the Tchaikovsky PC Nr 1. GRRRRR
Really? I never found this 3against4 very difficult. I guess we are all different...................
yes i have a question also, i've been learning the piano for 3 days now, and i've alreadly learned me all of the notes. well except for that middle one and the black keys, i just finished oh when the saints, and thinking about starting the rackmanismoff 3'rd concertee, i don't think it should be TO difficultany comments?
"This is Chopins Fantaisie-Impromptu, op. 66. This example is good because (1) everyone likes this composition
"This is Chopins Fantaisie-Impromptu, op. 66. This example is good because (1) everyone likesthis composition, (2) without good learning methods it can seem impossible to learn, (3) the exhilaration of suddenly being able to play it is unmatched, (4) the challenges of the piece are ideal for illustration purposes, and (5) this is the kind of piece that you will be working on all your life in order to do incredible things with it, so you might aswell start now! In reality, this is a fairly easy piece to learn! Most students who have difficulty do so because they cant get startedand the initial hurdle produces a mental block that makes them doubt their ability to play this piece. There is no better demonstration of the efficacy of the methods of this book than showing how easily you can learn this composition."-C. C. ChangGod bless
don't count on it
In reality, this is a fairly easy piece to learn! Most students who have difficulty do so because they cant get started
Let's consider the words 'most students'. He's not referring to people who have been playing the piano for three months! Most students who would take on this piece have been studying the piano for years. The only way to know if something is easy or hard is to try it. And you've already made up your mind that you are going to try it, despite the advice given by others, so go for it. By all means try it. My thoughts are if it has taken you three months to learn Fur Elise, then the going has been hard. For you, Fur Elise has been 'hard,' not easy. I teach theme A of Fur Elise to my ten year olds in one lesson, by the next week they have it memorised. You're only half way through theme b! This to me (as a teacher) says the Fantasie is way out of your league. Now if you said it only took me one month to learn Fur Elise AND these other pieces, I wouldn't be so skeptical of your ability. Don't get me wrong, I think it's fine to take your time to learn a piece, but as a teacher I couldn't bear the thought of a student stumbling their way through one piece of music for more than six months or a year. At the end of it, big whoop, you can play one piece by Chopin. In the same amount of time, you could have added some trully beautiful pieces to your repertoire, experimented with many different styles, been exposed to different composers from different eras. Anyway, I'm ranting far too much.
I'm learning all of Fur Elise, not just the first theme.
everything at the beginning and almost the whole first interuption is done,
Fur Elise being a difficult piece, (4th year)
And as for the interuptions, I'll bet those 10 year olds don't pick that up after 1 lesson
Big whoop? Are you kidding me? If I can play 7-12 months and be at the level of the Fantasie (a year 8 piece i think)
What do you mean you can't bear the thought of learning a piece over a 6 month period?
as a teacher I couldn't bear the thought of a student stumbling their way through one piece of music for more than six months or a year.
Now now, don't get your knickers in such a twist you'll cut off the blood supply!Yes, I know, you've already said you've learned all of the first bit and almost finished the first interruption. What makes Fur Elise difficult (4th grade standard) are the interruptions - theme b and c. "Everything at the beginning" theme A, is very easy and that's why I teach my ten year olds this part (and no they haven't had months of lessons - theme A is a good way to get kids to play hands together for the first time) of course not! I wouldn't even attempt to teach them.That's my point, you could play ONE year 8 piece. You would not be at 'year eight' standard. To be accredited with year eight through most examination boards around the world (and they are the ones who go around setting up the 'standards') you would need to be able to play at least four pieces of the same difficulty, undergo aural tests, sight reading at about grade 5 or six standard pieces, general knowledge about the four different eras/periods, not to mention all the technical work of scales and arpeggios.Actually I said: I explain why in this threadhttp://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=teac;action=display;num=1093275757
Your RH has to be kept at a p or even pp in most passages, even when it's written forte.
Big whoop? Are you kidding me? If I can play 7-12 months and be at the level of the Fantasie (a year 8 piece i think) that is one awesome accomplishment. Most teachers wouldn't come close to promising something like that. Even Bernhard doesn't promise that level of sucess that quick.
All the other things, sight-reading, theory, can come later. Right now, I want to play the best stuff ASAP.
These 2 statements alone display your impetuosity and lack of humility and patience and your part. I was once in your shoes, impatient and overestimating my own abilities, I picked overly difficult pieces to learn thinking that they were 'easy'. It's easy to deceive one self into thinking that one played well without feedback from others, I knew because last time I used to think I played 'well' until I started listening more to other pianists play and some well-meaning teachers gave sound advises to me. I have since matured in my thinking and for one thing, making good music is my main goal, not trying to play harder pieces.My main advice to you, ask yourself are you serving your own ego or the music? I know its emotionally rewarding to play technically difficult pieces as I experience before, but I knew I was cheating myself, I was depriving myself of good and balanced musical development by my stubborn attitude, which seem to be in common with you now. It takes a lot of humility to play piano well, ask yourself, say if you get the best teacher on the planet and he gave you say a very simple mozart sonata to play, will you be insulted because it's too 'easy' for you? Or will you be joyous that you are able to learn new musical insights in the sonata you are going to play? Enough ranting, ponder what I said just now.
5. It doesn't take a great deal of humility or anything to play piano well. (there are only 3 types of pianists..., godowsky's passacaglia is impossible... etudes impossible... - Horowitz)
What the hell does this mean?Play whatever you want, but please don't demean Mozart by saying "I'm not going to piddle witha Mozart sonata." Mozart is one of the greatest musicians who ever lived. Have you ever tried to play a Mozart sonata? They are deceptively difficult. You can't hide in his music like you can in a lot of Chopin. My teacher who has played pretty much everything has told me many times the one of the hardest things he ever ran into in over 35 years was perfectin the beginning of a Mozart.Play whatever you want, but please, have humility. You asked for the opinions of people who generally have much more experience than you - you have no reason to act indignant.
any1 noe the name of that piece bread boy posted?i want to listen to a better recording of it thx