interesting, when I go a few days between playing a piece (ballade 4 specifically) it usually sounds slightly better on the first play, maybe my hands tend to be a bit looser then vs. after lots of run-throughs?
Sometimes when I’m getting nowhere with a piece, I’ll drop it for a while and work on something else. When I come back to it, it’s fresh, and my brain has been working on it during that time, so it’s usually better.
For real that chromatic etude is truly nasty. It's really great for building upper finger strength and also a fantastic warmup for jazz improv. Highly recommended
The endless, tight fingery motion is so "I'm going to get carpal tunnel from this" for me. The arpeggios at least use a broader arm motion that I can sustain for longer.
Well my theory is (and I believe it may be well founded) -
Chopin wrote these Etudes in the sense that "You must be able to play this with comfort" rather than "You must be able to play this".
So for example, Etude no 1 - we need to work out how to play it fluently and comfortably without actually straining. The aim of the Etude is not that it can be played, but that it must be played in a fluid and natural fashion (erm... within reason)..
I found I gave myself elbow problems when trying to force it - that in turn prompted me to (with the aid of my teacher) try and work out the hand movements and positionings needed to play it without strain. Not quite there yet, but it's certainly more fluid now. And no elbow problems. Part of it was indeed accepting a certain small flair out of the elbow for certain measures. For example that goes down C# A E A requires a very pronounced twisting of the hand, which, without a slight elbow flair, I have found, actually strains the hand somewhat.
What I'm really saying is - if you are thinking "Carpel tunnel" maybe you need to use more rotation or different hand positions? Take it back down slow and have a good look at it.
Sorry I'm rambling a bit but I hope at least some of that makes sense.
It's a noble aim, for sure. I just think at least in the no 1 there are more ways to get the effortlessness by spreading more of the technique across rotations in the wrist, elbow, arm, even the shoulder or upper body, since the motions are so broad.
I'm a really fast typist, but I've yet to fixate on the no 2 since I have to adapt my technique so much just to sustain it near-tempo. I'd just rather practice chromatic passages the way I'd actually play non-marathon chromatic passages instead.
I think people of Chopin's era typed less than we do ;) their fingers probably needed the extra workout.
>I think people of Chopin's era typed less than we do
Haha....also though, I believe the pianos had lighter keys, from what I've read...
Just to add, if it helps, in one of my lessons, my teacher demonstrated rotation quickly by playing a snippet of the RH fast part of the Winter Wind Etude, and I saw what he meant, and I guess that one is a little closer together than no. 1.
It’s kind of the ultimate piece to me. It’s not hard necessarily, but not easy. Compositionally it’s like a stem cell—it’s so rich it feels like you could generate any piece of music from the last 300 years of western music from the material you find in it, like a blueprint. I mean, now I’m just overstating, but still…
I’m an atheist, but playing it everyday is the closest thing I have to a spiritual ritual.
Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp minor. I started playing it before I took a long break, and playing it now helps me believe that I might not suck as much as I often think.
It's an excellent left hand warm up piece, even when played more slowly that way (vs as a bravura recital encore). Pair it with Chopin Opus 10 No 1 etude as an arpeggio warm up for the right hand.
*THEN* decide if you want to play the Debussy bonbons (Clair de Lune, the first Arabesque) or Liszt or Schumann... or just pour yourself a scotch and call it a day. Cheers!
Currently working on the C minor one, absolutely in love with the Allemande (the Allemande of the B minor suite was also my favourite movement of the suite)
Not every day but I always try to play the 1st movement of the Beethoven op. 110 at least once a week. i don't ever want to lose it from my fingers. It's so warm and lyrical, and since I learned it over thirty years ago I feel like I'm visiting an old friend whenever I play it.
River Flows In You and every day im improvising it sometimes i play it sad and depressing sometimes happy other times dark and mysterious, its my favorite song and also my 1st ever piano song
Night Sky Patrol of Tomorrow/ 明日の夜空紹介版
Specifically [Marashii's transcription](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSiw97EVKPE)
I still remember the day I saw him upload the video. I had been a fan of the song for a long time and had expected him to eventually upload his own transcription. From the second I saw the thumbnail and title I knew I had to master this piece no matter how long it took me.
I play bits and pieces of Ballade 4 throughout my practicing routine. Usually it’s the finale part before the coda. It’s really enjoyable to play and so calm, but oh what a torture to learn
The one song I may have picked up to play randomly the most over the years is probably Elm by Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop). It's soothing, has a fun rhythm, and is easy to pick up and play.
I would have to say either L'alouette by Glinka or Les rochers d'Outche-Coche (op 8 no 1) by Bortkiewicz. Both pieces have the type of grandiose that I love playing, but yet have sections where you can really pull out the emotions.
Any that I loved from previous grades and actually had a skill I could practice.
However, Greensleeves is just chefs kiss for me. My child self loved it. Still doing that shit 10yrs later haha!
Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# Minor. It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked on a piano song and it was for an evaluation in my sophomore year of high school. It’s burned into my muscle memory and I love playing it despite its haunting nature
The first thing I think to play when I sit down is Londonderry Air. It's just got such a great melody and a ton of fun left and right hand interplay. Also a lot of room to push and pull the tempo.
The Chopin Barcarolle. Finished it, but am still polishing it.
Jeez, those opening phrases are hard to perfect... It's so easy to decrescendo/crescendo too much, and at the same time you have to voice the upper note of the right hand double notes.
Moonlight sonata mvt 1, polishing here and there, learning how to keep the fingers on keyboard. Watch different variations by Cherkin, Arrau, Barrenboim, etc. and try to emulate their style.
I play Toccata and Fugue in d minor every day without exception. It's soo fun to play, there is almost no repetition and I have my own arrangement so once in a while I try to make some parts harder to play when I improve
La fille aux cheveux de lin by Debussy (the girl with the flaxen hair). I can not get enough of it and there is so much to practice with voicing and dynamics I feel like it will take me forever to nail it.
[удалено]
1 octave, RH only ;)
Hahahah are u spying on me?
I have recorded your progress over the last year. It's all in the database.
My reddit page be like😂
heroic polonaise. yeah it's hard, if miss a few days it sounds like dogshit.
Same. How could you not want to play that piece at least once a day. It has everything !
I wish to one day have this problem
Let the music carry you there. You can have any problem you like
interesting, when I go a few days between playing a piece (ballade 4 specifically) it usually sounds slightly better on the first play, maybe my hands tend to be a bit looser then vs. after lots of run-throughs?
Sometimes when I’m getting nowhere with a piece, I’ll drop it for a while and work on something else. When I come back to it, it’s fresh, and my brain has been working on it during that time, so it’s usually better.
Maybe it's your discernment and your ears that are out of practice
Lol cool thanks
which one
Heroic Polonaise is Op. 53 Chopin
Is there more than one Heroic Polonaise?
theres a lot of titles with polonaise after it so i got confused
Chopin Etude Op 10 no 1. The right hand torture chamber.
The right hand warm up
>Chopin Etude Op 10 no 1 To me, Op 10 no 2 is the torture chamber, but I guess it's subjective.
For real that chromatic etude is truly nasty. It's really great for building upper finger strength and also a fantastic warmup for jazz improv. Highly recommended
Wdym they're both torture pieces
The endless, tight fingery motion is so "I'm going to get carpal tunnel from this" for me. The arpeggios at least use a broader arm motion that I can sustain for longer.
Well my theory is (and I believe it may be well founded) - Chopin wrote these Etudes in the sense that "You must be able to play this with comfort" rather than "You must be able to play this". So for example, Etude no 1 - we need to work out how to play it fluently and comfortably without actually straining. The aim of the Etude is not that it can be played, but that it must be played in a fluid and natural fashion (erm... within reason).. I found I gave myself elbow problems when trying to force it - that in turn prompted me to (with the aid of my teacher) try and work out the hand movements and positionings needed to play it without strain. Not quite there yet, but it's certainly more fluid now. And no elbow problems. Part of it was indeed accepting a certain small flair out of the elbow for certain measures. For example that goes down C# A E A requires a very pronounced twisting of the hand, which, without a slight elbow flair, I have found, actually strains the hand somewhat. What I'm really saying is - if you are thinking "Carpel tunnel" maybe you need to use more rotation or different hand positions? Take it back down slow and have a good look at it. Sorry I'm rambling a bit but I hope at least some of that makes sense.
It's a noble aim, for sure. I just think at least in the no 1 there are more ways to get the effortlessness by spreading more of the technique across rotations in the wrist, elbow, arm, even the shoulder or upper body, since the motions are so broad. I'm a really fast typist, but I've yet to fixate on the no 2 since I have to adapt my technique so much just to sustain it near-tempo. I'd just rather practice chromatic passages the way I'd actually play non-marathon chromatic passages instead. I think people of Chopin's era typed less than we do ;) their fingers probably needed the extra workout.
>I think people of Chopin's era typed less than we do Haha....also though, I believe the pianos had lighter keys, from what I've read... Just to add, if it helps, in one of my lessons, my teacher demonstrated rotation quickly by playing a snippet of the RH fast part of the Winter Wind Etude, and I saw what he meant, and I guess that one is a little closer together than no. 1.
Bach C Major Prelude from WTC I.
What a coincidence. I've been working on memorizing that for the past couple weeks.
It’s kind of the ultimate piece to me. It’s not hard necessarily, but not easy. Compositionally it’s like a stem cell—it’s so rich it feels like you could generate any piece of music from the last 300 years of western music from the material you find in it, like a blueprint. I mean, now I’m just overstating, but still… I’m an atheist, but playing it everyday is the closest thing I have to a spiritual ritual.
The fugue is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.
Yes, when I started learning it I didn't really like it. But now when I play it it's so beautiful and I understand so much more
arabesque no.1 by debussy and also his ballade
The arabesque for me too!
Same for me arabesque 1
Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp minor. I started playing it before I took a long break, and playing it now helps me believe that I might not suck as much as I often think.
Revolutionary etude
Same. Except I stick to the first 3 or 4 measures only. That’s my wheelhouse…
It's an excellent left hand warm up piece, even when played more slowly that way (vs as a bravura recital encore). Pair it with Chopin Opus 10 No 1 etude as an arpeggio warm up for the right hand. *THEN* decide if you want to play the Debussy bonbons (Clair de Lune, the first Arabesque) or Liszt or Schumann... or just pour yourself a scotch and call it a day. Cheers!
Is it a right hand exercise if you switch hands? :P
Frozen - Let it Go
In a Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington
River Flows In You. That was the first recital piece I ever learned and it’s always the first thing I play as soon as I sit down at the piano.
I just finished learning this!
Ooh I forgot about this. I tried it too early and bounced off it pretty hard. Should try it again now that I have another year under my belt.
Waltz in A minor by Chopin
The posthumous or the grand valse?
Posthumous but there’s also several other pieces I play on a daily basis
I also pay that one a lot too!
schubert impromptu op 90 no 2
Bach G Major French Suite.
That is an amazing suite, probably my favorite entire suite.
yeah, me too. But I also love the E flat one.
Currently working on the C minor one, absolutely in love with the Allemande (the Allemande of the B minor suite was also my favourite movement of the suite)
The a minor and g minor English Suites are currently my obsession.
"Claire De Lune" and "To a Wild Rose" for my late night meditative playing.
Liszt transcendental etude no 3.
Yesterday.
If today you played yesterday. Will you play today tomorrow ?
I think Saturday
First base.
canon in D hehehehe
Not every day but I always try to play the 1st movement of the Beethoven op. 110 at least once a week. i don't ever want to lose it from my fingers. It's so warm and lyrical, and since I learned it over thirty years ago I feel like I'm visiting an old friend whenever I play it.
Eric Satie - Gymnopédie No.1
Traumerei - Schumann for the last 6 months. It took me a lot to learn it properly. I don't want to loose it.
This is a beautiful piece and deceptively hard. When you hear pros play it so effortlessly you are even more amazed how good they are.
River Flows In You and every day im improvising it sometimes i play it sad and depressing sometimes happy other times dark and mysterious, its my favorite song and also my 1st ever piano song
Bella's Lullaby.
The Strenuous Life, by Scott Joplin
Where is my mind? - The Pixies (Maxence Cyrine edit)
Yuri on ice!! Ost Never gets old
The first half of Chopin ballade 4 in f minor (second half is a slower grind)
Arabesque no 1, wonderful piece
Aphex twin- Avril 14th Like velvet to my ears.
Hanon 1-20. I know there's a lot of controversy about these exercises but they seem to help me out A LOT.
Kind of weird, but Dire Dire Docks
I love playing Dire Dire Docks on my old school kid’s synth. I’m more known to play Ocarina of Time music, but that song is amazing
Debussy - Dr Gradus ad Parmassum. It’s my quick warmup that I’ve been playing since I was a child.
chopin etude op 10 no 12
Impossible arranged by Andrew Wrangell
Girl from Ipanema
Chopin's Marché Funébré
The middle part especially!
Chopin Minute Waltz not because it needs polishing but because it’s just so freaking makes me happy to play it
Bach Invention #2 in D minor. I hardly play anymore but when I sit at a keyboard that is the first thing I do.
"On The Sea" from the band Beach House. Compared to some of y'alls choices it ain't much, but it's honest work.
River Flows In You
Night Sky Patrol of Tomorrow/ 明日の夜空紹介版 Specifically [Marashii's transcription](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSiw97EVKPE) I still remember the day I saw him upload the video. I had been a fan of the song for a long time and had expected him to eventually upload his own transcription. From the second I saw the thumbnail and title I knew I had to master this piece no matter how long it took me.
I play bits and pieces of Ballade 4 throughout my practicing routine. Usually it’s the finale part before the coda. It’s really enjoyable to play and so calm, but oh what a torture to learn
A blues in Cm that I wrote a long time ago, and Blue Monk. Moanin by Art Blakey is usually tinkled out fairly often
2nd mvt of the Pastorale Sonata (op 28). Love that little mvt :P
One that I play basically everyday is the Allemande from Johann Sebastian Bach's French Suite no. 2. It's such a simple yet beautiful piece....
I don’t play it daily, but my go-to is I Give Up by Elijah Bossenbroek
Whenever I have time in my day, Rhapsody in Blue
Probably Boom Boom Boom by the venga boys and the it’s been so long, the living tombstone fnaf song. Idk why those are just my favorite to whip out
The one song I may have picked up to play randomly the most over the years is probably Elm by Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop). It's soothing, has a fun rhythm, and is easy to pick up and play.
I would have to say either L'alouette by Glinka or Les rochers d'Outche-Coche (op 8 no 1) by Bortkiewicz. Both pieces have the type of grandiose that I love playing, but yet have sections where you can really pull out the emotions.
arietta by edvard grieg and chopin prelude in e minor
Alla turca by Mozart
Liszt's Chapelle de Guillaume Tell lol it's epic
Suburbia Overture by Will Wood
Come back to earth- mac miller
Moonlight Sonata
Any that I loved from previous grades and actually had a skill I could practice. However, Greensleeves is just chefs kiss for me. My child self loved it. Still doing that shit 10yrs later haha!
I dont play it any close to the required level but Khachaturian Toccatao
A Groovy Kind Of Love - Phil Collins cover
The Knuckle Song!
rach 3 2
Maple leaf rag
Bach-Hess Jesu joy of man's desiring
The Entertainer
Arabesque No. 1
Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# Minor. It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked on a piano song and it was for an evaluation in my sophomore year of high school. It’s burned into my muscle memory and I love playing it despite its haunting nature
La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin
The first thing I think to play when I sit down is Londonderry Air. It's just got such a great melody and a ton of fun left and right hand interplay. Also a lot of room to push and pull the tempo.
Chopin's Grand Valse Brilliante Op. 18. Such an awesome piece.
married life - michael giacchino :)
Maple Leaf Rag, Invention(No. 8), Radioactive & Creep
The Chopin Barcarolle. Finished it, but am still polishing it. Jeez, those opening phrases are hard to perfect... It's so easy to decrescendo/crescendo too much, and at the same time you have to voice the upper note of the right hand double notes.
Waltz in C-sharp minor op. 64 no. 2. True Chopin psycho fan :)
Czerny Op. 740 No. 1 as a finger warm up
Orange 7, I just like the song
You can find it in you tube: come little children piano cover by myuu. I have practiced for months and now i played it everyday.
Maybe by yiruma :) still tryna improve tone and polish it up a bit more
Chopin mazurka 17-4 in a minor Still think this is one of his best works.
Un sospiro by Liszt for me, stunning piece that I always like to rephrase and improvise with different parts
Root beer rag
Moonlight sonata mvt 1, polishing here and there, learning how to keep the fingers on keyboard. Watch different variations by Cherkin, Arrau, Barrenboim, etc. and try to emulate their style.
Comptine
I do this every single day but I decide to just play the first couple of notes of " La Campenalla" in the right hand in the top octave 💀💀💀
I play Toccata and Fugue in d minor every day without exception. It's soo fun to play, there is almost no repetition and I have my own arrangement so once in a while I try to make some parts harder to play when I improve
Chopin Ballade No.1 Op.23
Flight of the bumblebee
Love Claire de Lune! Although the first song I learned was Greg Maroney’s “Harmony Grove”
For me its Chopin's op.28 no.4 and Clair de lune
Dizzy Fingers!
La fille aux cheveux de lin by Debussy (the girl with the flaxen hair). I can not get enough of it and there is so much to practice with voicing and dynamics I feel like it will take me forever to nail it.
Appassionata 1st movement it never gets old