Revolutionary Etude - How to increase resistance?

[jsen]

Hello

I'm 17 and my question is about the Revolutionary Etude, Chopin. I have been studying this piece since a year ago.
One of the most big difficulties in this etude for me is the left hand (of course) but not the notes and velocity. My big problem is that in the middle of the piece, left hand and left arm starts to get very very tired and without strength, and the fingers start to block and sound and notes gets very dirty ... what's the problem?
I try to relax arm and wrist, my sitting and wrist position are good, so, how i can increase my resistance and my stamina? How I can relax more to play the entire piece with no tired arm?
I just watch Evgeny Kissin playing this and is never get tired (his interpretation is really amazing)!
just a note: I am thin, and my arm is thin, so this aspect decreases resistance? have strong pianists more resistance and stamina?

Thank you and sorry me bad english!

[ajspiano]

without being able to physically observe you...

you need to leave the revolutionary out of it for a second and focus intently on what it feels like from your shoulder to your finger tip to play a single note,  and transition between notes.

Improve the efficiency. You probably have the physical stamina already (pretty much anyone does, its the mental stamina that's the problem), far more likely you are wasting energy along the way..

Play slower, don't relax so much. Move deliberately in a relaxed way.

[danhuyle]

Post a video of yourself playing in the audition room. It's hard to explain.

The hard thing about the middle section is playing the rhythm EXACTLY on the beat.

Which part of the middle section is it? There's the first 4 bars, which are by far the hardest. Then there's the descending scales, after that it's the C minor left done in the key of F minor.

If you could play the main C minor material, then the left hand in the F minor uses that same technique.

[jsen]

ajspiano, thank you for your reply!

what do you mean by mental stamina?
Thank you

[jsen]

danhuyle, the problem isnt the middle section, neither the technique, neither the notes. I just say "middle section" as the point when the my arm and wrist start to get tense and tired. so, my arm and wrist start to get tired  in the middle of piece and until the end is getting more tired and more tired.
I hope I have clarified

[ajspiano]

I mean the focus applied to all aspects of the musical interpretation. It requires consistent and somewhat immense concentration in a work such as this with high physical demands.

if your arm gets tired your technique is not good enough. It is exceedingly unlikely that you need to get stronger to withstand the strain. Strain yourself less by moving more efficiently.. or in other words, improve your technique.

[awesom_o]

OP,

Can you play the LH of the entire etude through from beginning to end at a fixed tempo, free of excess fatigue, while singing the RH melody with your voice?

Try it.

[wnlqxod]

Yes i think I am playing it loud, but I think it should sound loud or not? In this etude, it is almost always "forte" and if I play it "piano" it loses the revolutionary spirit, or not?

So, sorry for getting back to you a bit late.
Here is what you're gonna do:

At forte, you're gonna play the left hand softly with the damper pedal down. You will CRANK UP THE RIGHT HAND- Chopin was an opera lover, and he was always inspired by the SOPRANO voice. Most of his works feature the upper register as melody- REVOLUTIONARY INCLUDED.
Trust me, when you get the "C - D- Eb Eb" motif in your face, it sounds LOUD.

At piano, you're gonna play the left thand softly with the damper pedal down.

HOWEVER, you will perhaps experiment with different depths of the pedal- by reducing sustain, there is less sound lingering around, which helps things sound softer.

You will play the right hand softly- barely enough juice to be heard over the left hand; something that isn't terribly hard because of the register difference. (Someone like Rachmaninoff likes to embed the melody in the same register as the accompanimental notes, and it requires musical knowledge and CAREFUL balancing to pull off; not really the case with most of Chopin, this work included)

Now, to help emphasize the contrast, you're gonna use the UNA CORDA PEDAL- the leftmost pedal on the instrument.

So, in summary:
1. Always play the left hand softly.
2. Dynamic contrast is done primarily with the right hand and the una corda pedal (i.e. use the pedal to play softer at piano).
3. Experiement with different depths of the damper pedal at softer sections; remember, less sustain = less sound lingering around. (On this note, when you listen to Wagner's Tannhauser overture, do you know why the trombones sound so damn loud? It's partially because the trombone players are sustaining every note to the full value. Here, we're using an opposite idea of that approach to help things sound softer).

Oh wait, everything starts tensing up around the middle section eh?
The thing about the middle section, starting with 1st inversion G# minor chord on the right hand, is that your pinky and your ring finger are leading. Try NOT to drag your arm around to facilitate the weak fingers; rather, "step" with the fingers while letting the wrist and the arm naturally follow though.