short Waldstein snippet (WIP)

[preludetr]

https://soundcloud.com/preludetr/waldstein-first-mov-exposition-wip

I have been learning this sonata on my own and don't have a teacher. I just recorded the exposition of the first movement, although I have learned most of the sonata. Since I do not have a teacher, I'm hoping some people here can help me pinpoint the problems and give me some advice on how to fix them.

Here are some things I noticed:

*lack of evenness in the opening chords. I do often get them better than what you hear in this particular recording, but I still think it's a problem area

*accuracy throughout the piece (I had a bit of a memory lapse at the end there  )

*clarity of phrasing

Anything else that jumps out as a problem? Once I polish these things off, I will try and make a new recording of the full movement and/or full sonata.

Also, is there a way to embed the soundcloud widget?

[jimroof]

A few suggestions...

While I do not believe at all in 'metronomic' playing, 'metronomic' practicing should be worth the effort.  My guess is that the first time you practice this exposition with a metronome you might be shocked at how much the ticking seems to speed up and slow down - ; ]

I do not remember the measure numbers, a few things particularly caught my attention.  When you first perform the octaves that spell out your Cm chord - keep them VERY close to tempo.  Maybe a slight agogic accent when landing on the final C.  However, keep in mind that there is a surprise in store for the listener the next time the listener will hear this and the first time needs to set them up for this surprise.

Around 1 minute on your recording (E major theme), watch the phrasing.  I am hearing a hiccup in that theme that sounds sort of like a singer started a phrase and THEN remembered they needed to breathe...  tempo here too.  I do not recall any indication in the score to establish a radically different tempo.  Your metronome (if you use one) will seem to hit the afterburners when you enter this section and all through it. 

As this E major section hits about 1:15 on your recording, the melody is now in the left hand.  When I play this I prefer to lighten up a lot on the right hand triplets and let the listener be aware of the melody and the beautiful way that Beethoven has woven the right hand around it.

One more idea.  The opening eighth note chords.  I like to give these a stronger sense of purpose by envisioning these as the pulse of this piece.  There is a way to THINK of these simple eighth notes that will give them more weight and energy.  I almost imagine a heavy rotating wheel that is heavy, keeping it in the period of Beethoven, it is wooden and weighs at least a hundred pounds.  it is spinning at one revolution per eighth note and it is slightly off balance.  Each time it turns, the shaft and the whole machine that it is attached too shakes like there are too many towels on one side of the washing machine.  Those opening eighth notes and every time they happen again remind me of the pulse that drive this movement.  By thinking of it this way I hope to make the listener just a bit more aware of the power that is wrapped up in what is otherwise a very simple thing to play...

But, I may be nuts.

[preludetr]

JImroof, thank you for your comments. You don't sound nuts to me. I posted this recording over at Pianoworld and several people responded that I was struggling too much and needed to slow way down and carefully smooth things out. Looking back, I agree with this. My playing does sound messy and belabored. Since then, I've worked on practicing slowly with a metronome and have made a noticeable improvement, especially with regards to the timing. Phrasing is still a bit of a challenge for me. I will keep your suggestions in mind when I practice it next. 

[chopinlover01]

Yes, your tempo is all over the place, haha.

[iamazombie911]

It's a good start, but you really need to slow it down and make sure you have all the right articulations (please use the henley edition for the urtext) and that your hands are always together. I understand the temptation of playing it fast right now because you can, but slowing it down, working through the rest of the piece slowly will be completely worth it in the long run. That said, you've come a long way for not working with a teacher.

[mjames]

Do you really have to play this piece? I don't know if its your playing or the recording but phrasing, and touch is VERY harsh. it feels like hammering down the notes, and the constant slips/mishaps throughout the entire recording indicates that you're struggling. A lot. My suggestion would be to work on other stuff but if you're keen on working on this, I'd suggest a metronome and (slow) practice. I'm not a teacher or anything so I can't explain it properly, but you really have to figure out a way to fix your touch. It sounds way too harsh.

[preludetr]

Do you really have to play this piece? I don't know if its your playing or the recording but phrasing, and touch is VERY harsh. it feels like hammering down the notes, and the constant slips/mishaps throughout the entire recording indicates that you're struggling. A lot. My suggestion would be to work on other stuff but if you're keen on working on this, I'd suggest a metronome and (slow) practice. I'm not a teacher or anything so I can't explain it properly, but you really have to figure out a way to fix your touch. It sounds way too harsh.

The harsh touch is due in a large part to my piano, which is in very bad shape. Next recording will be on my digital, which sound sound nicer. As I explained on PW, when I started learning this movement I had gotten the misleading idea that slow practice or use of a metronome was a bad thing, and that you should start playing at full speed immediately. Obviously, this did not work out very well for learning the piece, and the folks over there were quick to inform me of this. After I spent some time with the metronome at a slow tempo, I managed to significantly improve my timing and accuracy.