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Topic: *Master Key* Pieces?  (Read 1272 times)

Offline opus10no2

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*Master Key* Pieces?
on: April 17, 2018, 10:47:03 AM
Mastering a piece could be seen as a doorway, and your task is to acquire the key to 'unlock' it.
The *key* you acquire through practicing it mainly applies to that specific piece.

There are however some pieces in which you practice some often-occurring problems, in such efficient ways, that you end up - upon mastering that piece - a kind of *Master Key* which allows you to unlock MANY other subsequent pieces.

The first 2 Chopin etudes I include in my daily practice - they keep my arpeggios and small fingers in the right hand in shape and consequently improve the facility I feel with ALL other pieces using lateral motion and double notes.

Other examples have been Liszt's Operatic paraphrases which I've found include so much in the way of often occurring useful figurations that they feel like they provide the *Master Key* to improvisation in a Lisztian manner too.

My question is - which pieces have you found that by practicing have *most* improved your general playing skillset and applied to the speedier master of other subsequent pieces you've learned?
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Offline visitor

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Re: *Master Key* Pieces?
Reply #1 on: April 17, 2018, 11:26:59 AM
this piece because if its complex harmonic idiom was a bigger to read and play effectively,  took me forever to get it note fluent and I put it away and pick it back up every year , I need to record it,   it it helped my rhythm and reading ability immensely since the whole thing is accidental and borrowed chords all over the place and the Intro licks need the rh to stay loose.and agile to get to all the chords and embellishments quickly enough  the swing section waltz part requires a really good sense of the down beat to make it work , tough piece but fun and satisfying to play and lots.of pieces w similar issues of lots of accidentals etc like 20th cent works and such were way less frustrating since

Offline klavieronin

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Re: *Master Key* Pieces?
Reply #2 on: April 17, 2018, 12:59:33 PM
I usually don't worry about the master key until I'm ready for the boss battle. ;D

Offline cuberdrift

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Re: *Master Key* Pieces?
Reply #3 on: April 21, 2018, 12:29:03 PM
It sounds like you're mentioning technique issues here.

I find that improvising on finger, arm, and wrist motions are really useful for mastering the fundamental piano techniques encountered in so many pieces. I attempt to improvise on all key signatures, as hitting only the white keys would not make much sense.

I improvise because it seems to be both a very fast (no need to learn new pieces) and very creative/playful procedure for acquiring/maintaining technique. If I'm not mistaken, the pianostreet ted is a proponent of this principle, as I have been influenced by his idea.

It is important, as I see it, to improvise on ALL THREE motions. It would be quite useless to practice your finger motions when your piece is a chordal Rachmaninoff etude. I think this is the main problem of Hanon - or at least, the first book of Hanon. Aside from it being in C Major, most people seem to complain that it does not work for them for the wrong reason - of course it will not work if you are practicing arpeggios/octaves. The point of Book I is finger independence/dexterity. I feel that if people started on Book III, they may change their minds somewhat.
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