VIDEO: NEW Chopin Prelude No. 1

[pencilart3]

Hi guys! So I uploaded Chopin's Prelude No. 1 a few days ago and got some great advice from Chopinlover01, ahinton, and 8_octaves. Thank you all. Here is the new (hopefully improved) version.

THANKS!

[michael_sayers]

Hi guys! So I uploaded Chopin's Prelude No. 1 a few days ago and got some great advice from Chopinlover01, ahinton, and 8_octaves. Thank you all. Here is the new (hopefully improved) version.

THANKS!

Hi Pencilart3,

Very good!  I like this recording much more than the previous one.

One possible improvement: starting at measure 21 you can reduce the tempo by about 10000%


Mvh,
Michael

[ahinton]

It's certainly better than the first one but there's still scant sense of agitato - and an agitato that needs to be perceived, I think, not only on its own terms within the piece itself but as the essence of the piece that heralds the entire cycle (and so carries immense responsibility); it has a fragility within it and, of course, one of its remarkable characteristics is that, like so many more within the cycle, it conveys so very much with a tiny space of time and a most modest means. For this reason, it's a tough challenge!

Best,

Alistair

[cbreemer]

I did not hear the first version but this one is very good. You could make if fly a bit more though, it is still a bit matter-of factly. The last bar is rather brisk and the piece ends too abruptly. Let that linger a bit longer - there is no hurry.

There is a bonking noise here and there, which can be clearly heard just before this first note sounds. You may want to take care of that.

[pencilart3]

Hi Pencilart3,

Very good!  I like this recording much more than the previous one.

One possible improvement: starting at measure 21 you can reduce the tempo by about 10000%


Mvh,
Michael

Hi Michael, thanks for the encouragement! I'm not entirely sure about measure 21. I fell that this measure is the climax of the entire piece, which normally you would want to linger on it (Maybe not 10000% haha) but I also feel that it disrupts the agitato and flow of the piece, which people are now saying isn't much there to begin with. I will take a look at it and maybe slow that measure down... only 5000%

It's certainly better than the first one but there's still scant sense of agitato - and an agitato that needs to be perceived, I think, not only on its own terms within the piece itself but as the essence of the piece that heralds the entire cycle (and so carries immense responsibility); it has a fragility within it and, of course, one of its remarkable characteristics is that, like so many more within the cycle, it conveys so very much with a tiny space of time and a most modest means. For this reason, it's a tough challenge!

Best,

Alistair

How would you suggest I implement more agitato? I play it about the pace everyone else does... is it the volume? accents?

I did not hear the first version but this one is very good. You could make if fly a bit more though, it is still a bit matter-of factly. The last bar is rather brisk and the piece ends too abruptly. Let that linger a bit longer - there is no hurry.

There is a bonking noise here and there, which can be clearly heard just before this first note sounds. You may want to take care of that.

Thank you cbreemer. How would you suggest making it less "matter of fact"? I'm also sorry about the bonking noise..... stupid cheap mics... thank you for pointing that out. I usually cannot hear it without headphones though.

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I didn't hear the first recording, but this is quite convincingly played on the surface. Quibble - I'm not sure the mood's quite right; there's something a little bit Barcarolle-ish about it, and a Barcarolle on calm waters. It's on the slow side, though how important that is is another matter. I would suggest it's overly metronomic and that is reducing the agitato aspect of it. If you mentally group it into two bar units and start thinking about how to give an impression of ebb and flow through subtle changes of dynamics and likewise shaping of tempo, that might help with the agitato aspect. Listen to how someone like Cortot plays it - it's only a little faster, but a lot more dramatic. I hope that's food for thought.

[chopinlover01]

It seems a little metronomic. Try rushing in some spots and slowing down in others at random to start- you'll naturally want to correct it, but you can kind of figure out a sense of ebb and flow described above by others.
Still, very good!

[pencilart3]

I didn't hear the first recording, but this is quite convincingly played on the surface. Quibble - I'm not sure the mood's quite right; there's something a little bit Barcarolle-ish about it, and a Barcarolle on calm waters. It's on the slow side, though how important that is is another matter. I would suggest it's overly metronomic and that is reducing the agitato aspect of it. If you mentally group it into two bar units and start thinking about how to give an impression of ebb and flow through subtle changes of dynamics and likewise shaping of tempo, that might help with the agitato aspect. Listen to how someone like Cortot plays it - it's only a little faster, but a lot more dramatic. I hope that's food for thought.

Hi ronde_des_sylphes, thank you for the reply. What do you mean by "quite convincingly played on the surface"? I listened to the cortot version, and it was very interesting. I just don't see the melody very clearly in everyone's recordings, except for Rafal Blechacz (he's the best ) which is the recording I was using as a model. Does "agitato" mean slap the pedal and rush then suddenly slow down without warning? I just don't think that's what the word "agitato" means.

It seems a little metronomic. Try rushing in some spots and slowing down in others at random to start- you'll naturally want to correct it, but you can kind of figure out a sense of ebb and flow described above by others.
Still, very good!

Thank you chopinlover01. You have been very kind to give me feedback on both videos. By the way, does your name happen to be George Sand? Haha... 

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I meant that your playing is convincing, but the way you're interpreting it less so i.e. I find it convincing as a representation of something other than what I understand the music to be. With such matters of course, an interpretation is subjective, so I don't want to push the point. I find what Cortot does quite convincingly shaped - I don't think it's random or illogical, and I feel that he's using accelerandi and decelerandi in a structural sense (differently to rubato within a bar, for example). To be certain of that I would feel I had to examine how they correlated with harmonic changes - in honesty I was too lazy to do that and went by instinctive feeling on the matter. Obviously such things are a matter of personal aesthetics, so I'm not here to dictate how you should interpret it, rather to put a point of view as something for consideration.

[pencilart3]

Thank you everyone for your comments. I just need a few more pieces of information:

1) Did EVERYONE hear the bonking noise of the mics?

2) How should I make the piece more agitato? Accents? Simply playing louder? Faster and slower?

3) Should I play the piece faster?

4) And as a side note, does anyone know how I could make my audio quality better?

Thanks guys!

Pencilart3

[chopinlover01]

Thank you everyone for your comments. I just need a few more pieces of information:

1) Did EVERYONE hear the bonking noise of the mics?

2) How should I make the piece more agitato? Accents? Simply playing louder? Faster and slower?

3) Should I play the piece faster?

4) And as a side note, does anyone know how I could make my audio quality better?

Thanks guys!

Pencilart3

1) I did.
2) Accents, emphasis on note values (making the long notes longer and shorter notes shorter), making the accompaniment notes less emphasized than the melody
3) I would say so, but the speed it's at right now is probably fine. Some people play it in ~30 seconds
4) Get a USB mic and use audacity. Then export as an .mp3 file.