Struggling with Prokofiev Sonata 7 2nd mvt

[moodicrus]

I've been playing piano for many years now, but my repertoire was quite limited to Liszt, Chopin and Rachmaninoff so I decided to try some Prokofiev. However, I'm finding the 2nd movement of his 7th sonata quite tricky to learn and memorise (this is the only way I can learn a piece, I struggle with reading music). It doesn't feel as technically challenging as other works I've played, yet I'm struggling with it more, I haven't even started with musicality yet. Any tips on how to approach it? The patterns don't make sense to me, should I give up and leave it for later, or persevere?

[visitor]

...2nd movement of his 7th sonata quite tricky to learn and memorise ... I'm struggling with it ... I haven't even started with musicality yet. Any tips on how to approach it? ..

first tip is stop separating 'musicality' from the learning process.  you can and should work on the interpretive aspects of the score while you are in earlier stages of learning (not necessarily first sight read or 2nd slower read but not too long after that.... , getting mechanics and memory down.
actually , learning the structure/form, identifying themes and their variations and transformation is key.
you're making it harder than it needs to be by trying to learn the music one way, then going back and adding 'musicality' later, essentially you are learning the piece twice.
understanding phrase, rise/fall, tension, etc allow you to create memory stations. 20th cent. lit is hard enough at times and usually difficult to memorize as it is.
also folks tend to build bad habits just trying to learn notes rhythm and memory then 'polish' up later, so there's 'unlearning' that has to take place which is harder than learning it right the first time.
it might take longer but you'll learn it better and final product will be better as well.
be patient w/ it, what's the rush? just take your time to learn small sections and make it as musical as you can while you sort out the keyboard geographic and timing issues. if you struggle that bad with reading music, you will struggle a bunch/always until you can shore it up a little.

work on a high volume of varied easier works along side your long term projects. I suggest maybe a book of beethoven, kuhlau, and similar sonatinas, and play through the entire things so you are are working on detail, reading, playing, etc. at the same time but can move quickly enough to build volume due to the lower technical buy in.

 

[moodicrus]

Thanks so much for the advice