Yann Tiersen - Love of my life

[mjames]

Okay, okay, I'll admit, one of my top reasons to play 'flashy' pieces (actually liking them is reason #2) is for the attention you might get from the ladies. Shallow butt ayyy whatchu gonna doooo

Anyways I'm beginning to notice a pattern here. I can play about almost 10 mazurkas, all of which I'm really fond of and they neveeeeeeeeeeeeeeer, eveeeeeeer impress the ladies. We're talking about people who don't really give a crap about classical piano too.

Nocturnes? Always work.
Waltzes? Sure.
Preludes? Yup.
Even the weird polonaise op. 44 freaking works.
But the mazurkas? Never. Even if I play them after playing a flashy work I'll always get an "oh. can you play something else?" look, and sometimes they say it out loud too...

What the heck. Are the mazurkas really that unappealing?
also the real point of this thread...
which mazurka do you think is capable of making an "average" (someone who's not a classical aficionado) girl drop her panties? pls.

P.S. sorry if this is sexist.
P.S.S in case j-menz or visitor pop out with a "he who must not be named" joke..I'm talking about freddy's mazurkas.

[outin]

Well...I am a woman (sort of) and I don't like Mazurkas. It's the rhythm, just doesn't work for me.

Of course I hate waltzes too so I guess I cannot really help you... If you wanted me to drop my pants you would just forget about Freddy and play some Scriabin...

[mjames]

Well...I am a woman (sort of) and I don't like Mazurkas. It's the rhythm, just doesn't work for me.

Of course I hate waltzes too so I guess I cannot really help you... If you wanted me to drop my pants you would just forget about Freddy and play some Scriabin...

I thought you were a fan of freddy. My teach said after I'm done with the Schoenberg we'll work on Scriabin. I will probably choose the valse op. 38, I really want to play that one. that or poemes op. 32


I cant believe you dont like the mazurkas tho. Some of them are very scriabin like. Poor freddy. 

[outin]

I thought you were a fan of freddy. My teach said after I'm done with the Schoenberg we'll work on Scriabin. I will probably choose the valse op. 38, I really want to play that one.

I am a fan of Freddy. And his works can create a romantic mood (not the Mazurkas though as you've already seen). But I thought you wanted to get straight to business?

Which Schoenberg are you working on?

[mjames]

I am a fan of Freddy. And his works can create a romantic mood (not the Mazurkas though as you've already seen). But I thought you wanted to get straight to business?

Which Schoenberg are you working on?

the one in my sig...op. 19. 6 pieces i think. Weirdly enough even though they're very short, I've spent an odd amount of time on them. I'm only on the 4th one. xD They also scare women (and men) away. So no to that...

And yes, the nocturnes are so freaking good. Even if they're not technically impressive you always get the "wowowowowow" face from people. They're the best. I believe Chopin composed the nocturnes for this exact purpose. [dw im joking]

[outin]

If you absolutely insist, you could try a few... Maybe 17/2 or 17/4. Or  24/4, 33/4, 63/2.
And don't play too fast. You don't want to sound perky but a bit pathetic. That might work.

[outin]

the one in my sig...op. 19. 6 pieces i think. Weirdly enough even though they're very short, I've spent an odd amount of time on them. I'm only on the 4th one. xD They also scare women (and men) away. So no to that...

It's a lovely set anyway...need to look into it... I wanted to learn some S but accidently bought something for 4 hands and I hate 4 hand stuff...

[mjames]

I play op. 17 no.2 and op. 63 no.2, those don't work. I get the op. 17 no. 4 and op. 24 no.4, but the b minor? It's filled with those Slavic rhythms you dislike lol. But I get you, go for the slow melodic types.

I will probably learn the op. 33 no. 4 some time during winter break. That along with op. 59 no. 3. Let's hope they work!

also, if it's "flashy" then people will ignore the weird polish rhythms. I think the polonaise is super weird and polish, but people like it a lot when I play it. I can only play about the first 4-5 pages of the rondo op. 5 in tempo, and people like that one too. The rondo is pretty much a really long virtousic mazurka...

The mazurkas are just weird in general, and it looks like only a few of them (or possibly none) can overcome their weirdness. So yeah...

[outin]

I play op. 17 no.2 and op. 63 no.2, those don't work. I get the op. 17 no. 4 and op. 24 no.4, but the b minor? It's filled with those Slavic rhythms you dislike lol. But I get you, go for the slow melodic types.

I will probably learn the op. 33 no. 4 some time during winter break. That along with op. 59 no. 3. Let's hope they work!

I guess if you play them like the masters, then I am fine with them

You probably would get more for less work to just play one of the moody Nocturnes...the Mazurkas are an acquired taste.

[outin]

also, if it's "flashy" then people will ignore the weird polish rhythms. I think the polonaise is super weird and polish, but people like it a lot when I play it. I can only play about the first 4-5 pages of the rondo op. 5 in tempo, and people like that one too. The rondo is pretty much a really long virtousic mazurka...

I think the problem here is that while flashy will make people admire your playing, it doesn't put the girls into the right mood... We are past the age when the alpha male got the girls...

[mjames]

Oh yeah, probably. op. 59 no. 3 looks like a pain to learn. If I'm not happy with that one I'll just go for op. 27 no.1, so it can pair up with the second one. op. 27 no. 2=ladies favorite

i recommend.

I think the problem here is that while flashy will make people admire your playing, it doesn't put the girls into the right mood... We are past the age when the alpha male got the girls...

loool trueee

[outin]

BTW. I absolutely love the Polonaises! Except the military, hate that...

[mjames]

BTW. I absolutely love the Polonaises! Except the military, hate that...

I hate the military too. It sounds so. Ugh.
The polonaises are alright, they're just okay for me. I'm indifferent to quite a few of them, but even those have some really special parts. Like the middle section for op. 26 no.1, which is reaaaally beautiful. I'd learn it just for that.

Anyways I don't get you, aren't the polonaises basically mazurkas on steroids? The op. 44 has like a huge mazurka section in the middle. op. 61 is special though, it's in a different league altogether.

[outin]

I hate the military too. It sounds so. Ugh.
The polonaises are alright, they're just okay for me. I'm indifferent to quite a few of them, but even those have some really special parts. Like the middle section for op. 26 no.1, which is reaaaally beautiful. I'd learn it just for that.

Anyways I don't get you, aren't the polonaises basically mazurkas on steroids? The op. 44 has like a huge mazurka section in the middle.

Well...I don't get myself either. I have no idea why some dances in 3 apply to me and others don't.

[debussychopin]

You've got it all wrong. .

It isn't any one piece thst will get you a gal to be attracted to you. No matter how well you play it.
Girls see right through these things. They aren't necessarily moved by one dimensional guys who exist just to show off.

It is a long term thing more or less. Be you who you are really sincerely. It wont be a guarantee for most women sure, but at least the door opens for that sort of thing.

You keep at your art and dedication and preparation and discipline ..show some character..and these things (of the mature man or woman) what they see coming from you is what usually attracts.

[musikalischer_wirbelwind_280]

Unlike outin, I'm no woman (not even sort of...or anything of the sort), but I would have to agree with her/him : I doubt any of Freddy's mazurkas would be able to trigger the kind of reaction you're looking for, at least not with most average girls.

Then again, never having been interested myself in impressing their kind (the much less average ones are generally far more interesting; trite but true) I may not be the best to advise you here, but I still like to believe that at least a couple of those average mademoiselles may like the following Freddy mazurkas enough for us to consider them potential...well, perhaps not panties-droppers, but at least bra-jerkers:

-Op.59 No.2

-Op.63 No.2

-Op.67 No.4

Best of luck with thy most noble enterprise!  
M.W.

[mjames]

@DebussyChopin Dude I genuinely like Chopin, I just don't learn his stuff to show off xD. But when I get the chance to play in public I can't stop myself from doing so! I'm young, can't help it. Liszt once said: all young artists have virtuoso fever! So one dimensional is a bit too much...

And PLEASE.
(regular) GIRLS CANNOT SEE THROUGH IT!!! I reject your statement!!!

[debussychopin]

@DebussyChopin Dude I genuinely like Chopin, I just don't learn his stuff to show off xD. But when I get the chance to play in public I can't stop myself from doing so! I'm young, can't help it. Liszt once said: all young artists have virtuoso fever! So one dimensional is a bit too much...

And PLEASE.
(regular) GIRLS CANNOT SEE THROUGH IT!!! I reject your statement!!!

Ok then. Do as you wish.

But please return to this thread in ten years.

[mjames]

Unlike outin, I'm no woman (not even sort of...or anything of the sort), but I would have to agree with her/him : I doubt any of Freddy's mazurkas would be able to trigger the kind of reaction you're looking for, at least not with most average girls.

Then again, never having been interested myself in impressing their kind (the much less average ones are generally far more interesting; trite but true) I may not be the best to advise you here, but I still like to believe that at least a couple of those average mademoiselles may like the following Freddy mazurkas enough for us to consider them potential...well, perhaps not panties-droppers, but at least bra-jerkers:

-Op.59 No.2

-Op.63 No.2

-Op.67 No.4

Best of luck with thy most noble enterprise!  
M.W.

Thanks, xD
I'm kind of seeing a pattern here. So basically the less of a "mazurka" they are the better! Poor freddy...

Polish folk musicians must have it rough.

[ahinton]

Wary as I am of contributing to a thread such as this (for reasons that I imagine are failry obvious), I will make one exception for the purpose of mentioning en passant that the English pianist Ronald Smith (1922-2004) is said to have wooed his wife-to-be at a public gathering by playing Alkan's Allegro Barbaro (No.5 of Douze Études dans les tons majeurs Op.35) and, although this is hardly what some people would assume to be an obvious choice, it evidently worked...

Best,

Alistair

[musikalischer_wirbelwind_280]

Thanks, xD
I'm kind of seeing a pattern here. So basically the less of a "mazurka" they are the better! Poor freddy...

Polish folk musicians must have it rough.

My pleasure, chap. As for how rough those folks must have it, well, you never know, it's likely that more than a few of the girls over there actually find most mazurkas, perhaps even some of the most "mazurkish", hot enough to drop those panties faster than you can say 'Paderewski'.

Wary as I am of contributing to a thread such as this (for reasons that I imagine are failry obvious), I will make one exception for the purpose of mentioning en passant that the English pianist Ronald Smith (1922-2004) is said to have wooed his wife-to-be at a public gathering by playing Alkan's Allegro Barbaro (No.5 of Douze Études dans les tons majeurs Op.35) and, although this is hardly what some people would assume to be an obvious choice, it evidently worked...

Best,

Alistair

I didn't know that! It certainly makes me reconsider giving the 'Scherzo Focoso' another try.
Now imagine wooing a girl with something like his 'Chanson de la folle au bord de la mer'! Or perhaps Bartók's 'The night's music' from "Out of doors". Tough as hell? Quite likely, I guess. But what if it actually worked with at least one? Ah, now that would be magic, eh?...  

M.W.

[ahinton]

My pleasure, chap. As for how rough those folks must have it, well, you never know, it's likely that more than a few of the girls over there actually find most mazurkas, perhaps even some of the most "mazurkish", hot enough to drop those panties faster than you can say 'Paderewski'.

I didn't know that! It certainly makes me reconsider giving the 'Scherzo Focoso' another try.
Now imagine wooing a girl with something like his 'Chanson de la folle au bord de la mer'! Or perhaps Bartók's 'The night's music' from "Out of doors". Tough as hell? Quite likely, I guess. But what if it actually worked with at least one? Ah, now that would be magic, eh?...  

If that's what floats your boat, I guess - but why not consider trying Xenakis' Evryali or Finnissy's Fourth Piano Concerto for ths purpose? That said - and for what it might be worth - I somehow doubt that Szymanowski, the composer of at least 22 mazurkas for piano, would have cared much for the idea of using them (or anyone else's) as a tool with which to try to woo women...

Best,

Alistair

[visitor]

Mmm could go down this rabbit hole but for "reasons" ...will only "drive"  by...

I do  re iterate my general and previous consensus of our dear F man, the Fredmeister.  I believe his mazurkas are his best and most original and intimate works and they best illustrate  a defining theme in his life, nationalism and his deep love for his home, motherland that he left amd always missed.

They are analogous to how if you bought a car to  impress, you would probably impress more generally  people without as refined tastes  with something like a 2008 lamborghini gallardo, its flashy looks impressive so it dazzles right in your face, however anyone with refinement and true apprication for beauty of design would swoon if you pulled up in an early 1960's jaguar e type, restrained sumptuous beauty.... The first any yahoo with a few bills to burn can land it, but a true connoisseur would recogniz, and give you mad respect with the effort in sourcing the latter.

flashy, not mazurka,

the sleeper, the"Chop's" mazurka

its all about knowing your audience and and understanding that some will not have the neccessary exposure or background knowledge to appreciate what makes those spicey little polish morsels so cool.



then again there are some things out there than can do both fairly well.
this is more akin to taking whats appealing from the lambo and the jag , and serving it up in a swanky sort of way...

the spyker can appeal w elements of both
 still takes good taste to recognize what it is and why its awesome, but you like it even without understanding what about it specifically is so great
...sort of like w/ granados
 

[ahinton]

Mmm could go down this rabbit hole but for "reasons" ...will only "drive"  by...

I wouldn't recommend going down a rabbit hole in one of these cars...

then again there are some things out there than can do both fairly well.

this is more akin to taking whats appealing from the lambo and the jag , and serving it up in a swanky sort of way...

Hmmm. Nothing quite like a Spanish mazurka, is there?! Not quite the best of Granados, though.

Best,

Alistair

[visitor]

I wouldn't recommend going down a rabbit hole in one of these cars...
Hmmm. Nothing quite like a Spanish mazurka, is there?! Not quite the best of Granados, though.

Best,

Alistair

good one/well done 
 

could have, should have given this gem a nod.

[ahinton]

good one/well done 
 

could have, should have given this gem a nod.

Somehow I cannot imagine that its composer ever sought to play this very English version of a mazurka for the purpose advocated in this thread!

Best,

Alistair

[alatrousse]

The problem is women need good solid rhythm to achieve the results you desire.  A Mazurka in all of its capriciousness is not the rhythm of woman.  Its of a teen male charging up his movement activated watch!  You must subject her to a brutal Prok2 Conercrot reduction which I am wiling to provide for free.  Do ask!

[adodd81802]

Okay, okay, I'll admit, one of my top reasons to play 'flashy' pieces (actually liking them is reason #2) is for the attention you might get from the ladies. Shallow butt ayyy whatchu gonna doooo

Anyways I'm beginning to notice a pattern here. I can play about almost 10 mazurkas, all of which I'm really fond of and they neveeeeeeeeeeeeeeer, eveeeeeeer impress the ladies. We're talking about people who don't really give a crap about classical piano too.

Nocturnes? Always work.
Waltzes? Sure.
Preludes? Yup.
Even the weird polonaise op. 44 freaking works.
But the mazurkas? Never. Even if I play them after playing a flashy work I'll always get an "oh. can you play something else?" look, and sometimes they say it out loud too...

What the heck. Are the mazurkas really that unappealing?
also the real point of this thread...
which mazurka do you think is capable of making an "average" (someone who's not a classical aficionado) girl drop her panties? pls.

P.S. sorry if this is sexist.
P.S.S in case j-menz or visitor pop out with a "he who must not be named" joke..I'm talking about freddy's mazurkas.

Agreed on the Nocturnes by the way. I dated the most beautiful girl through her love of my Nocturnes! Didnt work out in the end, Probably should have put the same amount of effort into my relationships

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Okay, okay, I'll admit, one of my top reasons to play 'flashy' pieces (actually liking them is reason #2) is for the attention you might get from the ladies. Shallow butt ayyy whatchu gonna doooo

P.S. sorry if this is sexist.
P.S.S in case j-menz or visitor pop out with a "he who must not be named" joke..I'm talking about freddy's mazurkas.

Aaaaaaaaaaaye that's the only reason why I play piano 

In addition to having classical stuff you GOTTA have jazz or pop music up your sleeve.  And something you can both sing to.  Fly me to the moon is a go to jazz song that's easy for anyone to learn.  Improvising a gospel base line would be good too.  Girls dig a man of many things

Dude J Menz is like dead or something idk he hasn't been here in a minute

[ahinton]

The problem is women need good solid rhythm to achieve the results you desire.  A Mazurka in all of its capriciousness is not the rhythm of woman.

How on earth do you figure that out? And what is "the rhythm of woman" when it's at home (or, for that matter, anywhere else)? And why do you suppose that Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831) composd 25 of them for piano?

Best,

Alistair

[visitor]

... you GOTTA have jazz or pop music up your sleeve.  ...Fly me to the moon is a go to jazz song...

be careful w that one. you'll be over run by evangelion crazed otaku

[stevensk]

I always get sad when I see all this sexism. 

[preludetr]

The Mazurkas are an acquired taste. I can appreciate them now but I wasn't too fond of them at first. For lack of a better word, the rhythm sounds a bit disjoint to people who aren't used to it. Layperson audiences are probably going to want either something that's pretty (ie. catchy and straightforward) or something very flashy.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I would pick Nocturnes over mazurkas any day. Mazurkas are too jumpy and dancey.

But who needs either of them when you have Isolde's Liebestod

[chopinlover01]

I would go for something more salon like, or something more expressive.
Something like Op. 24/4.

[beethovenfan01]

Franz Liszt reborn???

[irrational]

I had a laugh with my teacher about this post but she said she agrees.
Mazurkas are not "attractive". She called them too rough and stomping and agreed that the Nocturnes are far superior for this sort of idea.

[ahinton]

I would pick Nocturnes over mazurkas any day. Mazurkas are too jumpy and dancey.

But who needs either of them when you have Isolde's Liebestod

...especially when you can show off with Liszt's transcription thereof followed by Wittgenstein's for left hand alone (with the associated implications as to what you could be doing with your right hand the while)...

Best,

Alistair

[olga_janina]

...especially when you can show off with Liszt's transcription thereof followed by Wittgenstein's for left hand alone (with the associated implications as to what you could be doing with your right hand the while)...

Liszt's Liebestod is perfect!! And it leaves plenty parts of the body free to have fun with  

I'm not going to draw a diagram..

[mjames]

Alkan will get you laid. - Ahinton, 2016

So it seems to me that everyone agrees that mazurkas aren't good for picking up chicks...

[ahinton]

So it seems to me that everyone agrees that mazurkas aren't good for picking up chicks...

I can't speak for anyone else but I've agreed nothing of the kind and have scant evidence that this was why any of them were written, although I suppose that it might have been perfectly possible to play them on Chickering pianos (for those in US who've heard of them).

Also your "Quote" is not a quote from me but something of your own making that I did not and do not say; please ensure that when you quote something it is actually a genuine bona fide quote, just in case some of your readers might not recognise this; many thanks!.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Liszt's Liebestod is perfect!! And it leaves plenty parts of the body free to have fun with  

I'm not going to draw a diagram..

You mean the Wittgenstein single-hand piano transcription, I imagine.

Speaking of imagining, yes, it would almost certainly be as well to spare anyone a diagram, however compromised his/her imagination might be...

Best,

Alistair

[mjames]

have scant evidence that this was why any of them were written

What other reason could there possibly be to dedicate so many awesome mazurkas to young beautiful polish countess', princesses, nobles, and so besides trying to court them? If Chopin wasn't so sickly, skinny, and trapped by the *awful* George Sand then he would have been lit with the chicks. A player/pimp at heart.

[chopinlover01]

If Chopin wasn't so sickly, skinny, and trapped by the *awful* George Sand then he would have been

A bit like saying "If Michael Jordan weren't 6'6 and a hard worker"..

[mjames]

Well I'm just joking anyways but from the letters I've read, quite a lot of them were fond of him. He probably could have if he wanted to.

----

Hardcore classical fans from all over the world are crying over this thread. First "how to woo women with mazurkas" and now "did Chopin have game?"

Sorry world.

[olga_janina]

You mean the Wittgenstein single-hand piano transcription, I imagine.

No I don't. I mean the Liszt one. It works for me. I know this is a piano website but hands are not everything..

[ahinton]

What other reason could there possibly be to dedicate so many awesome mazurkas to young beautiful polish countess', princesses, nobles, and so besides trying to court them? If Chopin wasn't so sickly, skinny, and trapped by the *awful* George Sand then he would have been lit with the chicks. A player/pimp at heart.

So Chopin was the only composer of mazurkas, then? - and all mazurka composers were male heterosexuals? (which I've demonstrated above is patently not the case by citing Maria Szymanowska before Chopin and Karol Szymanoswki after him). "Lit with the chicks"? Sounds to me like a reference to "chick lit", which is a very different phenomenon indeed!

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Well I'm just joking anyways but from the letters I've read, quite a lot of them were fond of him. He probably could have if he wanted to.

----

Hardcore classical fans from all over the world are crying over this thread. First "how to woo women with mazurkas" and now "did Chopin have game?"

Sorry world.

It would be if so but, as it's clearly of your own making, it's only as sorry as you make it and for those who might feel sorry about it.

Best,

Alistair

[mjames]

So Chopin was the only composer of mazurkas, then? - and all mazurka composers were male heterosexuals? (which I've demonstrated above is patently not the case by citing Maria Szymanowska before Chopin and Karol Szymanoswki after him). "Lit with the chicks"? Sounds to me like a reference to "chick lit", which is a very different phenomenon indeed!

Best,

Alistair

Sorry, change it to Chopin's Mazurkas***

Karol's mazurkas would scare women away, at least the ones that aren't trained in music. Let me have a go at Maria's.

My bad.

[ahinton]

No I don't. I mean the Liszt one. It works for me. I know this is a piano website but hands are not everything..

OK, but I don't get your refeence to other parts that could be active during a performance, then; I'd assumed you to refer to the Wittgenstein because it does at least leave one hand free to do whatever the pianist might feel inclined to do whilst engagin his/her let hand in the playing thereof...

Playing the piano using both hands (as is necessaray for Liszt's transcription) requires the involvement of four limbs, so it's rather difficult to see what else could be done the while - but perhaps I'm missing something here and I trust that you will clarify what that might be if so...

Best,

Alistair