Help with passage on Chopin Impromptu no.3 (op51)

[dnaynay]

Hi there,

Was hoping for some help with a part of Chopin's Impromptu no.3, opus 51.

At bar 49 the left hand takes over the melody, with a series of duplets in the right hand (or triplets? im not sure the terminology...)

I can deal with bar 49 and 50, but at 51 when the LH becomes a series of quavers, I have no idea how to time these with the RH.

Any tips on how to tackle this?

thanks

David

[j_menz]

It's a 2v3 polyrhythm with 2 in the LH and 3 in the RH, the first of each 3 being a rest. Have you done any 2v3 polyrhythms before?

[dnaynay]

I guess not... I remember some initial difficulty playing the Aeolian harp etude (25,1) at around bars 19-20 when the left hand starts playing 4 notes instead of 6. But in the end this turned out to be quite easy to address, and I think its less complex than what is going on here.

Any tips on how to approach it?

[johnmar78]

Hi there,

Was hoping for some help with a part of Chopin's Impromptu no.3, opus 51.

At bar 49 the left hand takes over the melody, with a series of duplets in the right hand (or triplets? im not sure the terminology...)

I can deal with bar 49 and 50, but at 51 when the LH becomes a series of quavers, I have no idea how to time these with the RH.

Any tips on how to tackle this? There are 4 beats in each bar, each beat gets 3X1/8 notes. So First LH "E"  is on first beat, second D played with RH "F flat" and C played with RH tie note E(second E). And the remainig dotted rhythm A played just before the LH C next bar. and the last note LH Fflat should be played in between the RH "C" and "FA" chord.   I hope this helps...

[j_menz]

I guess not... I remember some initial difficulty playing the Aeolian harp etude (25,1) at around bars 19-20 when the left hand starts playing 4 notes instead of 6. But in the end this turned out to be quite easy to address, and I think its less complex than what is going on here.

Any tips on how to approach it?

The 4v6 of 25/1 is essentially the same as what's going on here (4v6 = 2v3). The complicating factor is that the first note of the triplets (the 3) is a rest. That makes it harder to play at first.

One way to start is to actually play a note there to anchor the timing. Take it out later when you're comfortable.