Piano Forum

I think the Etudes are technically harder than the Ballades (with the exception of maybe the fourth Ballades)! There are a few Etudes that can prepare you for the Ballades--for instance, I think Op. 25 No. 5 and No. 12 work techniques that are very useful for all of the Ballades, Op. 10 No. 7 is very good to prepare for the coda of the second ballades, Op. 10 No. 4 is very good for the third and fourth Ballades, Op. 25 No. 6 is a way over-preparation for the thirds at the end of the fourth ballades, and so on. However, I think you're better off learning the Ballades first as well as you can, then learning the Etudes, and returning to the Ballades later (or learning them side-by-side). The Ballades only use a small amount of the techniques that are explored in-depth by the Etudes, which were written to be used to virtuosos to achieve mastery of that specific technique (ie, you already have be very competent at reading, at scales/arpeggios, arm weight/wrist/fingers, at interpretation, and at memorization be able to play the Etudes well and learn from them. It is alright for learning them to take a long time, but you do have to be able to make clear progress within at least a month or two. The Ballades, by contrast, are like epic poems that draw from a little of everything to tell their unique story. Very different in concept from the Etudes. So in that respect, I would recommend studying several Nocturnes before taking on a Ballade, and then tackle a Ballade and a related Etude at the same time (ie, Op. 25 No. 5 and Ballade Op. 23). Hope this helps.