Advices for L'isle jouyese by Debussy

[mussorgsky]

Hi! I'm starting to learn L'isle jouyese by Debussy. I've reached the third page so far. Have you got any advices for me? I'll be glad to hear from you!

[thorn]

Firstly, it's spelled "joyeuse"

Any further advice, you're going to have to be more specific e.g. advice practising certain bars, fingering suggestions- what are you looking for?

[mussorgsky]

Firstly, it's spelled "joyeuse"

Any further advice, you're going to have to be more specific e.g. advice practising certain bars, fingering suggestions- what are you looking for?

Well, I have some problems in bars 105-108, bars 109-136.

[drkilroy]

I find the section with 6:5 polyrhythm (after bar 67) the hardest to get right.

Best regards, Dr

[thorn]

The 6:5 polyrhythm I think of as 3:5. It's really just a case of seperate hand practise so both can operate completely independantly. Also, I don't think of it as 3 beats in one hand and 5 in the other, I think of it by the bar so it's just one "pulse" at the start of each bar.

Bars 105-136, what specific problems do you have? is it the rhythm? is it fingering? is it speed? is it dynamics? There are lots of difficulties in this piece so you need to be really specific before I can help you. (This piece is one of my specialties, so I will be able to help!)

[mussorgsky]

The 6:5 polyrhythm I think of as 3:5. It's really just a case of seperate hand practise so both can operate completely independantly. Also, I don't think of it as 3 beats in one hand and 5 in the other, I think of it by the bar so it's just one "pulse" at the start of each bar.

Bars 105-136, what specific problems do you have? is it the rhythm? is it fingering? is it speed? is it dynamics? There are lots of difficulties in this piece so you need to be really specific before I can help you. (This piece is one of my specialties, so I will be able to help!)

Maybe the rhytm... I can't get it right! And the speed, too!

[birba]

Also, I think you should read up on the background of the piece.  How it's inspired by a painting by Watteau depicting some men and women having a picnic and deciding to depart for a greek island or something like that.  This is a masterpiece.  You must post it when you're ready!

[mussorgsky]

Also, I think you should read up on the background of the piece.  How it's inspired by a painting by Watteau depicting some men and women having a picnic and deciding to depart for a greek island or something like that.  This is a masterpiece.  You must post it when you're ready!

I don't think I'll be ready soon, because this is the most chalenghing piece that I ever played!

[thorn]

Maybe the rhytm... I can't get it right! And the speed, too!

Rhythm is just a case of slow practise in all honesty. The majority of it is the same as bars 100-104 only using one hand instead of two (assume you don't have a problem with those bars as they weren't included). It changes slightly in bars 115-16 but playing that configuration is easier than the preceding one, just keep a sense of the 3 distinct beats. You have some 4 vs 3 in bars 106-8 and 3 vs 2 in bars 117 and 129; if you're at the level of tackling this piece, they shouldn't cause too much difficulty?


Speed itself will come with practise, but the things to bear in mind with the right hand is the accurate moving of hand position between octaves and keeping the thumb light so it doesn't sound lumpy. Practise this in particular. Take bar 105 for example. For hand position, play the first four demisemiquaver notes up to tempo . When you switch from 1-5 on the G#'s (3rd/4th notes) ensure the move is fluid and accurate; when the 5 is on G#, your other fingers should be resting on the D# and the G# octave below. Don't play these notes, just make sure you have accurately moved your hand to encompass them. The position change should be done with as little movement as possible if that makes sense, it's difficult to explain in words, stay close to the keys and move the wrist horizontally. Keeping the thumb light is mind over matter and no different to what you would do when playing broken chords/arpeggios normally (assuming you're playing them correctly.)

Hope that helps. If you need clarification on anything, ask away. Or if I've misunderstood what you're asking correct me.