Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G Minor

[leonaaachennn]

This is a recording from a while ago but still looking for any comments or suggestions!

[quantum]

Hi and welcome to Pianostreet.

You've got the piece in your hands.  It is well controlled and you show a disciplined restraint in your technique.  That in itself is an accomplishment for a piece with so many technical and musical challenges.  Now it is time to think about shaping the piece.

Not all notes are created equal, some are more important than others.  Be mindful of where you place emphasis.  Emphasis can allow you to direct the listeners ear towards parts of the music you deem more important, or away from parts of the music you deem less important.

Listen to vocal music, or even better sing!  Chopin was a piano composer, but absolutely adored music for voice.  He preferred attending vocal music concerts as opposed to music of his piano composer contemporaries.  Much of his melody writing is reflective of vocal music, and thus gives us a clue of how we can approach expressing those melodies.  You can incorporate a sense of breath and movement into the way you express your melodic phrases.  Of course it is much easier to relate if you do some singing yourself. 

Keep working on the shaping, you already have a good learning foundation of this piece.

[leonaaachennn]

Hi and welcome to Pianostreet.

You've got the piece in your hands.  It is well controlled and you show a disciplined restraint in your technique.  That in itself is an accomplishment for a piece with so many technical and musical challenges.  Now it is time to think about shaping the piece.

Not all notes are created equal, some are more important than others.  Be mindful of where you place emphasis.  Emphasis can allow you to direct the listeners ear towards parts of the music you deem more important, or away from parts of the music you deem less important.

Listen to vocal music, or even better sing!  Chopin was a piano composer, but absolutely adored music for voice.  He preferred attending vocal music concerts as opposed to music of his piano composer contemporaries.  Much of his melody writing is reflective of vocal music, and thus gives us a clue of how we can approach expressing those melodies.  You can incorporate a sense of breath and movement into the way you express your melodic phrases.  Of course it is much easier to relate if you do some singing yourself. 

Keep working on the shaping, you already have a good learning foundation of this piece.

Thank you so much! I never knew that about Chopin - I listen to vocal music but I don't think I would be able to sing too well haha

[derschoenebahnhof]

I can't comment on a piece that is quite above my skill level, but some unisons* are howling and the piano is begging to be tuned... lovely piano btw.

IMO I would play this at a faster tempo and lighten the left hand accompaniment to emphasize the melody.

* I have UCD (unison compulsive disorder )**... good unisons make a whole difference in bringing more clarity and definition to the piano.
** Not a disease recognized by the DSM-V.

Sorry, got to add some humor in crazy times.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Not all notes are created equal, some are more important than others.  Be mindful of where you place emphasis.  Emphasis can allow you to direct the listeners ear towards parts of the music you deem more important, or away from parts of the music you deem less important.

Listen to vocal music, or even better sing!  Chopin was a piano composer, but absolutely adored music for voice.  He preferred attending vocal music concerts as opposed to music of his piano composer contemporaries.  Much of his melody writing is reflective of vocal music, and thus gives us a clue of how we can approach expressing those melodies.  You can incorporate a sense of breath and movement into the way you express your melodic phrases.  Of course it is much easier to relate if you do some singing yourself. 

Keep working on the shaping, you already have a good learning foundation of this piece.

This is very good advice. To it I would add, as a general rule, and also applicable here, think carefully about the relationship between the melodic line and the bass. Often, though not always, these will be the uppermost and lowest notes in given bars. Thinking about these two complementary lines, in isolation from the rest of the score can often help with insight and interpretation.