Nocturne Op. 9 no. 2

[faa2010]

This is Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 no. 2.  Comments and suggestions are welcomed.

[noambenhamou]

voice the left hand bottom notes so that they are not all equal

[spencervirt]

Play with more rubato and let the piece flow more. At the moment, (and this could be because you're still working on it,) it feels choppy. This is Chopin, feel free to let the piece breathe. At the moment, it doesn't feel like Chopin. Listen to recordings and that will help you understand the nature of his compositions better. Of course, I understand that you are still working to perfect this, and it will be much easier to make it flow once you have the piece better under your hands.

I would also agree with Noam- the bottom notes are sometimes louder than the others, which is distracting. They should be only an audible countermelody (if that's right). They sometimes overcome the main melody, which shouldn't happen. It sounds sometimes as if you are pounding the bottom notes, which was never Chopin's intention.

The tempo marking for this piece is 132, and I believe you're playing somewhere around 95-105. Nobody actually plays up to 132, but the piece sounds its best (in my opinion) up towards 118-125. It takes a lot of practice to get the piece to that speed without sacrificing touch and phrasing.

Another note- your trills need work. Chopin's trills need to be played fully. Listen to a recording to hear this. Those embellishments are VERY important and not to be forgotten under any circumstances. Such is also so with Bach. They MUST be executed properly. Just a matter of practice!

There is some hesitation on some of the more difficult passages. This is just a matter of practice,

May I suggest using the left pedal? It will help. ALTHOUGH. Only start using it once you have refined your touch without it. Don't rely on the pedal.


Overall, Good job on a challenging piece! Feel free to ask me any questions that you have as I just finished working on this as well.

[bateria]

I was able to memorize this piece but couldn't play it entirely correct. So I recorded it in pieces and placed them together. Now I am working on a Mendelssohn piece and practicing it a lot until I can play it complete.

[mcdiddy1]

I love this piece!
You really have done some good work learning the notes of this piece  and learning it well. How did you get it on the computer because I am struggling to to that with my pieces.

Some suggestions:
Practice the right hand only to develop a more legato( connected touch)
Observe the slur marks and realize there also phrasing marks and indicate the end of a musical sentence. There needs to be a slight ritard there
Less weight in the LH and be more on the top of the keys on the slurs  after the jumps.

When you put both hands together, take out the ornaments , mordents , and turns and make sure you play them in rhythm without them. When you put them back in they should be light , quick, and not disturb the skeleton of the rhythm

Take some time to listen to some good performances of the pieces to discover good places for rubato
The trill at the send speed up by keeping fingers and gradually decrease the speed like your going down a hill

Nice job...the hard work is already done , now you just need to put finishing touches on it. Good luck...look forward to hearing more of it.

[bateria]

Thanks for your tips and great advise! To play that piece correctly takes a lot of advanced techniques. I decided to learn and see how much of it i would be able to handle. Unfortunately, after I start memorizing any new piece on piano, the previous one disappears from memory gradually as I do not have any intent to "build" a repertoire. So working on this piece again is "out" of the question!!!!!! lol

[faa2010]

I recorded the piece again. Comments and suggestions are welcomed.

[spencervirt]

Hey! That was much better! Good job!

I thought that you got the flow MUCH MUCH better, and the feeling was better too.

A few things still to work on.....

Mordents/trills still can be cleaner, especially the first one. Remember, they are very important!

You need to work on those bottom notes. They sound forced and pounded. They should flow with the rest of the piece and they shouldn't all be the same volume.

Some of your melody notes are significantly louder than the others and are kind of choppy, as if you are forcing them. Remember, this is a nocturne.... let the notes SING! Think of raindrops on the roof or of an opera.

Remember, rubato is ok. This is a very deep piece, and you can give and take away in a lot of spots. Don't worry about it! Feel it and let some (not too much) rubato come naturally to you. Beware- don't overdo it. Listen to some recordings and hear how there is some rubato that is very mild but pleasant.

practice and practice those more difficult areas because I hear that you are still struggling with them. No hesitation! it has to flow.

The repeated notes at the end need A LOT of work. There are 14 of them and they have to be much faster. They should speed up speed up speed up and then slow down. This took me a while. Work on it and you'll get it.

You should be proud of yourself. That was better. Work hard and re-record with those changes and you will have one good nocturne!

How old are you? How long have you been playing? That is important to your question about hanon. If you're still starting, hanon is good. If not, skip to Czerny.

[faa2010]

Here is my latest record of the piece. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

[johnmar78]

Hey, fafa2010, I have studied this piece more than 10 years and recorded. I waited a free day to hear your recording. I listened it once.
Below is my encouragement for you to improve:

Time listed below you need to improve.

9sec,11,38,54,55, 1m- 1.05;1.08,1.25,1.50-52;2.08;2.27;2.50-51;3.06;3.15;3.3-3.45(octave);3.50 to 3.54 (skip 1/16ths).

1) RH melody line needs more flow, lack of pharsing
1)a All triils and turns needs to be articulated and timed correctly.
2) LH needs lots more legato and smooth playing
3) Final octave passage- lacking in dynamics.

Give you self more time and study bar by bar, for at least 1 year for your next recording. You will get better as I can see there is a lots potential in you.

Cheers

[faa2010]

Thanks johnmar78,  I will try to follow your advice.

Here is my latest recording.  As you know, comments and suggestions are welcome.

[johnmar78]

faa, you asked for the feed back.. here you go.

1) practice one page only , master it before next page, or less tahn one page.

2) time: 10;13;31;34;1-1.03;1.40-43;1.50-55LH;2.10(you missed Eb);2.49;2.54-55;3.01;3.14-15;3.18-19;3.23;3.39(skip too many 1/16ths}. I only listened this once,,,,,

3) main problem is your pedalling skills is not up to scratch, need more legato pedalling, this means lift up till 99% before next one.
RH notes (need to fit in 6 beat bar) dnt slown down too much for the sack of fitting theses notes.
Check PM I sent a demo for you...