getting the 8va -------- right

[beethovenopus2no3movt2]

In opus 9 no 1 nocturne by Chopin there is a part in the score that demands a fast leap from the f note in measure 73 to a higher octave. How precise does this have to be? I know if you don't make the leap fast enough it will be noticable to the music goers ear and if you make it too fast your finger may slip off the note. Chopin marks the passage (Legatissimo) so it is to be played very smoothly and connected. I have listened to many students do very well on this nucturne up until this point and they make this leap either too slow or too fast.

[j_menz]

How precise does this have to be? 

I assume you mean timing-wise rather than what note you hit.

It has to be exactly as precise as any two notes have to be, just as if they were adjacent; as if the leap wasn't there.

[jj5594]

Remember that this is a chopin nocturne. Timing wise, if you are having trouble reaching the note, you can slow down at that end section of the piece and will therefore be able to reach the higher octave in time. Chopin's nocturnes can be played as fast or as slow as you feel they should be.

[j_menz]

Remember that this is a chopin nocturne. Timing wise, if you are having trouble reaching the note, you can slow down at that end section of the piece and will therefore be able to reach the higher octave in time. Chopin's nocturnes can be played as fast or as slow as you feel they should be.

No no no!!! Decisions like that should be dictated by your musical interpretation of the piece, never by your technical limitations.

[jj5594]

No no no!!! Decisions like that should be dictated by your musical interpretation of the piece, never by your technical limitations.

Yeah but these technical limitations are an obstacle to him playing the piece. What I am saying is there is not only one way to interpret a piece, slowing down at the part which is troubling him to make it easier does not, in any case, make the piece any less beautiful, it is simply differently interpreted.

[iancollett6]

In opus 9 no 1 nocturne by Chopin there is a part in the score that demands a fast leap from the f note in measure 73 to a higher octave. How precise does this have to be? I know if you don't make the leap fast enough it will be noticable to the music goers ear and if you make it too fast your finger may slip off the note. Chopin marks the passage (Legatissimo) so it is to be played very smoothly and connected. I have listened to many students do very well on this nucturne up until this point and they make this leap either too slow or too fast.

Just off the topic, how successful were you with the 6 against 11 and the 6 against 22 polyrhythms at the start? This is what is preventing me from starting this beautiful piece.

[j_menz]

Yeah but these technical limitations are an obstacle to him playing the piece. What I am saying is there is not only one way to interpret a piece, slowing down at the part which is troubling him to make it easier does not, in any case, make the piece any less beautiful, it is simply differently interpreted.

If a technical issue stops you playing a piece as you want, the answer is to overcome that difficulty, NOT to fiddle the piece to accomodate.

[ajspiano]

Yeah but these technical limitations are an obstacle to him playing the piece. What I am saying is there is not only one way to interpret a piece, slowing down at the part which is troubling him to make it easier does not, in any case, make the piece any less beautiful, it is simply differently interpreted.

What j_menz said.

Your post isn't entirely wrong, but its a sure fire way to not get better at piano.

[birba]

First of all, it's not a fast lateral leap like in the the schumann fantasy.  It's a lyrical one where the hand makes a slight arc in the air between the notes.  There should really be no difficulty here.

[pianist1976]

First of all, it's not a fast lateral leap like in the the schumann fantasy.  It's a lyrical one where the hand makes a slight arc in the air between the notes.  There should really be no difficulty here.

Impossible to be explained better