Be my guiding light!

[bharatbash]

Greetings, all!

I would like to give an idea about my progress so far, I have been playing for 2 years now and can play easier classical pieces(grade 4) equivalent with the help of Internet based tutorials( since I dont have a teacher)
...

I want to learn some more, but I am confused where to start. I absolutely adore Chopin and Rachmaninoff but have no idea which piece to attempt and which is to be left( though I can play prelude no. 4,7, 20 et al)

Kindly guide me through this dilemma, I so want to learn new music but I am afraid not to attempt something way ahead of my skill level.

P.S . I am a huge fan of Bach as well

[ranniks]

Hey, errr, post a few of those chopin preludes please. I would like to listen.

Also, since you don't have a teacher; try to immitate the sound the best concert pianists make. Of course you don't have to make it sound exactly the same, but as close as you can. That way you know you aren't making any mistakes other than perhaps fingering.

Have you played any of the Bach inventions/little preludes? Currently I'm working on a little prelude that has been helping me tremendously with seperate hand playing.

[bharatbash]

Thank you for your thoughts!

Here you go, Chopin prelude in C minor :

And some Rachmaninoff too :

Also, what Bach prelude are you working on?

[ranniks]

Thank you for your thoughts!

Here you go, Chopin prelude in C minor :

And some Rachmaninoff too :

Also, what Bach prelude are you working on?

That sounds about right for someone without a teacher.

Don't you have other classical pieces that aren't largely based on chords? That chopin prelude in the video, I'm working that one with my teacher right now. I can tell you right now that that piece is only grade 4 because of the strain on your hands - for a beginner -. Otherwise it's a grade 3 piece I guess.

This is what I'm working on in terms of Bach

I'll post a recording tomorrow. I've been working on it for about 2 months now maybe. I've been lazy so I could have been done by now and made it sound much better (I'll leave you to judge for tomorrow). If the base tempo is that of Gould, then I can play it at about 50-60% of his speed.
 

[ranniks]

So here it as (sorry for posting it late):

I tend to forget the last bar in terms of notes.

The first recording is going smoothly in the two handed parts, but I messed up badly at the end (I fixed that with repeating the last bar). In the second recording the ending went according to my own plan, but the two handed part didn't go as I wanted because I lost concentration/hand coordination.

(PS: I intentenionally let out the thrill, because I am not experienced enough to play it at a proper level.)

[awesom_o]

The left hand sounds a bit.... uninvolved, from both a rhythmic perspective and a melodic one.

My advice would be to play the left hand alone, and sing the right hand part aloud with your voice, relaxing your right hand by your side.

When you do play it hands together, play it in a slow but steady tempo, counting the beats out loud with your voice. If this is too challenging, play only the left hand while counting the beats out loud.

This will help the performance to sound more rhythmic!

[jy_]

Thank you for your thoughts!

Here you go, Chopin prelude in C minor :

And some Rachmaninoff too :

Also, what Bach prelude are you working on?

It has a good sound, but you need to think more horizontally, one chord leading to the next, at the moment it sounds too vertical - as though the chords have no relation to each otehr

[bharatbash]

Thanks for your time and thoughts!

[outin]

Don't you have other classical pieces that aren't largely based on chords? That chopin prelude in the video, I'm working that one with my teacher right now. I can tell you right now that that piece is only grade 4 because of the strain on your hands - for a beginner -. Otherwise it's a grade 3 piece I guess.
 

There's more to this piece than the big chords...the dynamics and to make such a short piece sound meaningful require skill...

[outin]

So here it as (sorry for posting it late):

I tend to forget the last bar in terms of notes.

The first recording is going smoothly in the two handed parts, but I messed up badly at the end (I fixed that with repeating the last bar). In the second recording the ending went according to my own plan, but the two handed part didn't go as I wanted because I lost concentration/hand coordination.

(PS: I intentenionally let out the thrill, because I am not experienced enough to play it at a proper level.)

Well done so far! You have progressed a lot with the rhythm issue, but remember to do slow practice...don't hurry to play the more difficult parts in a tempo you are not quite ready for. Patience would be good now

As Awesome says the left hand needs some work. Make sure it's not just be there while you concentrate on the right hand. Listen to it more and play it separately.

[ranniks]

Awesom_o, I have tried to make the left hand pop out more. In this recording you will find the hands together, then me playing solely with the left hand. In the end there is a surprise (that's far from done.).

Outin, it was pretty darn hard to get my rhythm better, but it happened if ever so slightly. I've dropped the thrill in the piece, because I know my limits right now. This piece will probably be done in another 2 months, maybe 3. Patience as you say:).

Outin, do you hear improvement in the left hand? I can certainly hear both hands playing now. The polyphony they call it, yes?

[awesom_o]

I was just working on that Chopin this morning with one of my pupils! He was just about at the same stage as you!

I think you should spend some time counting beats out loud and simultaneously playing it hands separately.

I call it 'be your own metronome' and it's one of my favourite games! 

[ranniks]

I was just working on that Chopin this morning with one of my pupils! He was just about at the same stage as you!

I think you should spend some time counting beats out loud and simultaneously playing it hands separately.

I call it 'be your own metronome' and it's one of my favourite games! 

Rhythm has been my enemy since day 1, it is a never ending battle. But I will give it a try seeing as your previous advice about the left hand has helped a lot because I can hear it myself now.

But did my left hand sound better this time sir? I'm to assume so since you havn't commented on that.

This chopin piece is fun and it's nice to hear you're working on it with one of your students. This piece is very demanding in the right hand. The left hand is straightforward. I still can't believe I'm actually playing the 5 finger chords with relatively less difficulty that before when it absolutely seemed impossible.

I've also made progress with 'A French Song' by P.T. and Wilder Reiter by R.S.

[awesom_o]

The left hand was definitely better!

In the Chopin the RH is very difficult, it's true.

It becomes much easier though if the LH can play its own part legato without pedal via finger substitution.

[outin]

Outin, it was pretty darn hard to get my rhythm better, but it happened if ever so slightly. I've dropped the thrill in the piece, because I know my limits right now. This piece will probably be done in another 2 months, maybe 3. Patience as you say:).

Outin, do you hear improvement in the left hand? I can certainly hear both hands playing now. The polyphony they call it, yes?

It's getting better
Just think of the left hand as being as important and having it's own melody line, not just accompanion to the right. Practice it separately every now and then when you progress with the piece.
And don't forget to do some counting once in a while in the later parts as well.

Sometimes a little break is also good...It's amazing what a few months can do...just picked up the Rameau piece that I did last summer and how much better it sounds now and how much easier the ornaments are 

I guess I have to give some of the credit to Mr. Burgmüller...