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Topic: Want to improve, don't know how  (Read 1496 times)

Offline zoup

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Want to improve, don't know how
on: December 27, 2013, 10:58:23 AM
Hello everyone,

i have taken piano lessons for two years now which includes Beyer and some other pieces with a teacher,

for some reasons i have decided to continue on my own, i have 1 or 2 hours to practice everyday, and i need a roadmap, where should i begin? is there any grade system? is there an order of pieces to learn that you agree is good for me?

my ultimate goal isn't becoming a concert pianist, but being able to play classical pieces that i enjoy, which mainly means chopin pieces.

thanks in advance :)

Offline chopin4life

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Re: Want to improve, don't know how
Reply #1 on: December 27, 2013, 11:02:11 AM
Which pieces are you playing at this moment,
What's your current level?
Currently working on:
Bach, WTC 1, c minor/d minor
Bortkiewicz, op 15 no 9
Chopin, op 25 no 1/ op 40 no 2
Ravel, sonatine
...

Offline zoup

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Re: Want to improve, don't know how
Reply #2 on: December 27, 2013, 11:28:35 AM
Which pieces are you playing at this moment,
What's your current level?

Hello,
I have tried some of philip glass, and also Chopin's suffocation, while i was able to play them, i couldn't get the tone that i like, my best is somehow mechanical!

and about the level, i don't know about the rating, so i don't know my level

Offline chopin4life

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Re: Want to improve, don't know how
Reply #3 on: December 27, 2013, 01:56:46 PM
Hello chopin fan ;)
First of all you should know that a teacher could bring structure into your learning process, but of course you'll have your reasons to continue on your own.
If you really want to become able to play the 'difficult stuff' like for example the chopin's ballades, you'll really have to go through a learning process of several years.
I'll try to give you some advice  :)

1) Bach is very important! Even if you don't like his work (just like me) it is really good practice for learning to listen to the different voices, to gain more play cleverness.. First you can start with hos preludes and than you can move on to his polyphonic works: sinfonia's and eventually the Well-tempered clavier. Don't believe you can get there within a year or so. I play the piano for eight years now and I'm just starting with the WTC.
2) you'll have to play studies to improve your technique. You can start with easy ones from Burgmüller or the op 849 from czerny for example. Than you can start with the more difficult ones: the opus 740 from czerny and than after a lot of practice chopin's studies :)
3) in the meantime you may also have fun with little pieces, like the chopin's preludes, little Mozart pieces, schubert. Later on you can start playing sonatina's and eventually even real sonata's (first mozart, Beethoven). After at least 6 years of structured practice and dedication you could start playing Chopin's ballades or Brahms' Rhapsodies...
4) to improve your musicality (as you said you couldn't find the right tone) you should listen very carefully to every note you are playing, playing on a slower tempo can also be helpful. Debussy's preludes are the perfect pieces to practice this.

I hope I did help you with this and I'm sorry if there are a lot of spelling mistakes, but I'm from Belgium  :)

Chopin4life


Currently working on:
Bach, WTC 1, c minor/d minor
Bortkiewicz, op 15 no 9
Chopin, op 25 no 1/ op 40 no 2
Ravel, sonatine
...
For more information about this topic, click search below!

Piano Street Magazine:
New Piano Piece by Chopin Discovered – Free Piano Score

A previously unknown manuscript by Frédéric Chopin has been discovered at New York’s Morgan Library and Museum. The handwritten score is titled “Valse” and consists of 24 bars of music in the key of A minor and is considered a major discovery in the wold of classical piano music. Read more
 

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