Chopin etude op. 10 no. 2

[etudefan]

Anyone have any tips on practice Chopin Etude op 10. no. 2?   I have hard time gettin through it.   It wears me out!

Any helpful practice tips will be grateful.

[Colette]

the most important thing not to do when practicing this etude is to be tense. it will undoubtedly bring tendonitis if you practice it the wrong way hour after hour. I think the best way to go about tackling this etude is to absolutely master the right hand fingering first---without the left hand, and importantly, without the chords aiding the right hand flow. if you learn the chromatic scale with out the supporting chords in the rh, your ears and fingers are more easily trained to understand the continuity of the legato passages throughout. the chords can be incorporated later and be played as simpy supporting, background material to the chromatic scale. when playing the chords, don't pound them out but almost pretent that the aren't there, that they are just a natural part of the chromatic scheme.
the left hand, of course, is a strict contrast to the right as it is to be played staccato---aim for a very light touch, fluid elbows, and a sound that goes up with gravity, not down with it.
once you put the r and l hands together, play very very slowly, and in small sections. when u master a small section at a slow tempo, you can gradually increase your speed always keeping in mind the lightness of your touch (whether u play legato or staccato) and the relaxation of your body.
good luck! it's a fun piece if know how not to freak out in the process!

[ned]

Colette knows what she is talking about.  You might also want to read a lengthy discussion of Chopin op 10 no 2 on page 3 of this category (just scroll down.) Started by Anne_W, it has comments from Robert Henry, who is pretty well known as a concert pianist, and always has useful info.
Ned.

[JTownley]

And whatever you do, don't listen to Louis Lortie's recording of it until you can play it as fast as he can. I made that mistake and ended up in bed for a month w/ a bout of severe depression!!
https://www.JoeTownley.com     Lots of piano videos!

[10Fingers]

Mentioning Lortie, he played all 24 etudes at a cocert without one wrong note! Yes! It's true!  

[A-flat-minor]

good method is to practise one hand only (in this case, right hand) and to practise with out the intervals but only the chromatic scale (with your fourth and fifth finger that is)
it really helps! now I feel much better with this wordly renowned hard piece.  

[mark_paylaga]

Hello,

Is there a specific hand position that is well suited for this etude (which I may be doing wrong)?
Should the wrists be high or low? How about the fingers?

[gyzzzmo]

Hello,

Is there a specific hand position that is well suited for this etude (which I may be doing wrong)?
Should the wrists be high or low? How about the fingers?

I myself use just a normal hand position, with fingers normally bent. And i cant realy give more advice than colette already gave.

[gruffalo]

like colette said, you want to master the chromatic line first without any other chords and RH alone. there are several ways you need to practice this. First, i would start with fingers high and letting them drop one by one as you progress through the chromatic scale (this should be done very slowly and with minimal tension). Next you want to practice with fingers close to the keys also very slowly and observing tension. make sure all your fingers striking perpendicular to the key. if not, then use your forearm (small horizontal movement) to adjust the position of the hand to allow this to happen. with this etude you want ease of sound and ease of finger "strength". to do this, make sure your finger tip joint is bent nicely and you are playing on the next bit of flesh under the nail. experiment with any note and you will hear that this produces a nice ringing sound with incredible ease.

practice this slowly for like a month, maybe adding the chords at some point. Chopin etudes cannot be rushed and need time. dont make the mistake of playing faster than you should be. You can learn so much just from playing them slow.

[nearenough]

Sviatoslav Richter played this #2 following Op 10 #1, and he rested with Op 10 #3, at a concert in Prague (in a set of about 15 CDs). Also the blind Japanese pianist who shared in the gold medal at the last V Cliburn contest played the entire Op 10 set straight through. Being blind I could hardly see (no pun) how he could negotiate #8, but he did. Amazing.

[gyzzzmo]

Sviatoslav Richter played this #2 following Op 10 #1, and he rested with Op 10 #3, at a concert in Prague (in a set of about 15 CDs). Also the blind Japanese pianist who shared in the gold medal at the last V Cliburn contest played the entire Op 10 set straight through. Being blind I could hardly see (no pun) how he could negotiate #8, but he did. Amazing.

Somebody wouldnt be much of a professional pianist if he wasnt able to do this
Btw, you should try do no8 blind yourself, its quite fun in the left hand. But i think you can kind of coordinate the jumps by sliding along the blacks.

[prongated]

Somebody wouldnt be much of a professional pianist if he wasnt able to do this

I disagree...I mean, what does that make pianists like Walter Gieseking, Helene Grimaud, Arthur Rubinstein, ...?

[gyzzzmo]

I disagree...I mean, what does that make pianists like Walter Gieseking, Helene Grimaud, Arthur Rubinstein, ...?

I mean, you wouldnt be much of a professional pianist if you wouldnt be able to perform op 10/1 and 10/2 right after each other. I remember having fatigue problems when i first practised these pieces, especially last page of 10/2. But if you developed those problemetic fingers enough, it wont be much of an issue anymore.

[prongated]

I mean, you wouldnt be much of a professional pianist if you wouldnt be able to perform op 10/1 and 10/2 right after each other. I remember having fatigue problems when i first practised these pieces, especially last page of 10/2. But if you developed those problemetic fingers enough, it wont be much of an issue anymore.

Oh...ok...but still...

[gyzzzmo]

Oh...ok...but still...

I mean... God damnit, its just crazy that Richter could do stuff like that!!!!!

[nearenough]

I guess I am still obsessed with this piece (not being able to play it satisfactorily), so a couple of notes: Years ago I heard Ashkenazy play all 24 etudes in concert, #1 then #2 etc. all without any difficulty. Yuja Wang also played this as a older child, I guess around 13-14 years (see You Tube). On a cruise about 4 years ago there was an outstanding young Russian pianist who played many complex pieces superbly; I questioned him about #2 and he said there are some pieces out there that are simply not worth the effort to learn (if they can be learned at all).

[nanabush]

I think I saw a video of Haochen Zhang (winner of Cliburn 09) play this, the Black Key, and another etude when he was like 10 or 11 years old.  And it was FAST!

I'm sure if you have a good teacher who shows you how to learn this properly without any tension or awkward fingering, then I'd say you have a shot at playing this and other etudes in a row.  I know if I tried this one right now, my wrist would be too tense, and I'd die after the first page.  If a 10 or 11 year old or however old these kids are playing a group of etudes can do it, then I guess other people MAY have a shot too 

[smj9195]

I would suggest playing the other etudes first
Etude Op.10 No.2 is the hardest one.

[gyzzzmo]

I would suggest playing the other etudes first
Etude Op.10 No.2 is the hardest one.

In what way do you think the other etudes would be a technical basis for 10/2 so you can play it better? :p

But seriously, people can pretty much start any chopin etude they want (except 25/12), since its an etude. As long as you know what youre doing and dont start rushing notes, you'll increase technique the proper way. There's not something like easiest/hardest, they all got their own technical difficulty.