Rhapsody in Blue

[SirSteinway]

I would love to buy this music and learn it.  Will someone give me a little info about it, such as difficulty, etc....great piece from a great composer!

[dbrainiak914]

I bought this piece about a month ago and have begun to play it occasionally.  Page for page, this piece is relatively simple.  It's combining and memorizing the whole I could see causing problems.  There are no really difficult passages; a lot of octave work, though.  Nothing you really have to pick apart extremely slowly and figure out how to play.  But there's so much of it!  That's the thing.

For a comparison (I always ask for one), none of it gets any harder than Chopin Scherzo 2 or Ballade 1.  No fast finger work... even the double-note section is really played with your combined hands, not fingers from one.  (If you know what I mean.)  Just a ton of chord work and some octaves, but even they are relatively simple. 

But hey, I still don't know too much about this piece, I'd appreciate some more replies too.

[contrapunctus]

make sure you buy the annotated version from warner brothers instead of the so called "original" one by the same publisher. The annotated contains passages that are not in the original and is much more historically accurate with how gershwin origianally played it. This means you pay more, though.

[apion]

I much prefer Gershwin's Concerto in F  ......... If you don't know that work, you might want to listen to it before you delve into the RIB (which I dislike).

[rob47]

ahhhh Gershwin.  Never let anyone tell you Rach 3 is harder than Jazz piano in general. It's not. I listen to Jazz pianists in awe everyday (I've played "classical" for 19 years.) .  For me it is a dream to be able to do what Monk, Peterson, Gershwin et al. do/did.

I recommend you learn it.

[dreamplaying]

ahhhh Gershwin.  Never let anyone tell you Rach 3 is harder than Jazz piano in general. It's not. I listen to Jazz pianists in awe everyday (I've played "classical" for 19 years.) .  For me it is a dream to be able to do what Monk, Peterson, Gershwin et al. do/did.

I recommend you learn it.

I love Jazz a great deal as well, but I imagine Oscar Peterson playing Rach 3 at this moment.....what  a fiasco...just do not mixe some things ....Jazz is Jazz, do you consider Gershwin is Jazz???.....please....

[possom46]

I much prefer Gershwin's Concerto in F  ......... If you don't know that work, you might want to listen to it before you delve into the RIB (which I dislike).

Me too. I used to love Rhapsody in Blue when I was younger but after discovering the Concerto in F that's my definite Gershwin favourite now. I have a music minus one copy of Rhapsody in Blue which I have a go at now and again but am learning the Concerto "properly". Good luck with it though 

[JPRitchie]

I do computer music and programmed the 4 hands/2 pianos version from the 1924 Warner Bros. original sheet music. It has some tempo markings, but no overall tempo instruction.  Then I found a recording of Gershwin playing RiB. : 1997 Proper/Retro is the year/label. I was shocked - it sounded to me that Gershwin played it rubato throughout -  very radical. The tempi were all over the place; I doubt that it could have been reduced to sheet music.

Jim Ritchie

[Bouter Boogie]

Me too. I used to love Rhapsody in Blue when I was younger but after discovering the Concerto in F that's my definite Gershwin favourite now. I have a music minus one copy of Rhapsody in Blue which I have a go at now and again but am learning the Concerto "properly". Good luck with it though

Rhapsody in Blue        One of my favorite pieces ever  But I agree with Apion  If you like Rhapsody in Blue I bet you'll luv Gershwin's piano concerto in F  Actually I bought the music of Rhapsody in Blue last week.. Haven't started practicing yet, but when I tried the first page it didn't seem too difficult  The piece is just very long, but that shouldn't be a problem for someone who likes Gershwin's music 

Anyway, good luck with it!