(1/2) How to Practice Chopin's 'Revolutionary Etude' (Op. 10, No. 12)

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[hrobert]

So glad you chose this piece to post. Your discussion of how an average pianist can approach this is very helpful and encouraging. I already play it and was working on speed and trying to sound like the famous recordings but it literally was painful to my hands. It’s helpful to be reminded we do not need to sound like the recordings. Love your lessons and approach that is accessible to us amateur pianists.

[fancyfree]

Man I am so happy to see this video. When I was a teenager in the 80s I was trying to figure out this nonsense by ear with just a record player 😂 I would have given anything for a video like this. I would love to be able to see your hands better, like if you positioned the camera overhead. Thank you!

[josealvarenga]

Thank you for this video. I have been trying to learn this etude by sections, and speed it up, but it just falls apart. I tried the suggestion of learning from beginning to end in slow tempo with the Etude No. 1 in C major, but I became frustrated not advancing with the speed, and so I sinned and went back to speed it up by sections. Thank you again, now I do believe without a doubt the key is to learn it from beginning to end at a slow tempo.

[mymusicjourneybyjcgalindo]

Awesome lesson! Thank you for all your advice. I just started learning this piece and I'm glad I watched your video first.

[cathy__wilson]

Best best tutorial video~! I am learning this.

[ciararespect]

At 19:26 you said about spider fingers 124 and 5 I suppose ok for a massive hand span but I prefer 125 and jump to 5 at the high D
Maybe play first three notes. Fast and soft then jump to the d it's safer imo

[Med_Onc]

Being able to play from start to finish in a slow tempo minding all accents and dynamic markings is a requirement in learning the piece, however, a plan to start at an extremely slow tempo and gradually increase to performance tempo will likely result in frustration. I would also say the notion that the only way to “get something out of the piece” is to play it note perfect from start to finish regardless of tempo is flawed thinking. My recommendation is to treat a Chopin Etude as an Etude 1st and performance piece as a distant 2nd. Don’t set yourself up for failure. You are doing this to learn not to impress. Sure you are attempting a masterpiece produced by the greatest piano composer of all time but applying too much reverence to the piece is likely to get you nowhere. The first thing you should ask is what am I trying to learn? Well, obviously it’s like fast Left hand scales and jumps right? True, but it’s way more than that. Each short passage should be approached as a lesson and each needs to be handled individually and with care. I would actually recommend learning the entirety of the L hand alone up to a reasonable tempo (110-120/130) before even starting to add the R hand. I mostly used rhythms and repetition with and without the metronome, which is great tool to monitor progress. Sit down with the goal to bring each passage up to tempo individually. Trying to tackle the whole work at once would be an incredibly daunting task unless you are going in with a finished technique in scales and jumps in the L hand and great octaves in the R hand. Different players will likely find some parts much harder than others and therefore you may find you need weeks to months (years?) of work to learn one or two measures up to tempo and play them consistently without mistakes. I found the most difficultly in syncing the R and L hand in bars 5-8, and playing the very fast octave passages in the R hand, in particular bar 62. After you have learned every technique you need, then start the process of making music out of it. Gradually increasing tempo and minding all dynamics, etc. I image the process as slowly forming a perfect sphere from a rough stone block which is eventually turned into a polished marble. Each time one level of polish is complete you realize 10 more areas that need work. Also be aware that modern performance of this piece is often characterized by some extreme tempo variation throughout. Whether or not this is what Chopin intended is up for debate, but my point is if you want to make it sound like Kissin, you can’t just speed the whole thing up like a record player. I have put in just under a year on this piece now. I try to play it at least once every day. Is it perfect? No way. But what I got out of the experience is not a piece that I can perform perfectly with great confidence and to a fanfare, it is a massive improvement in piano technique that will serve me well for the rest of my days.

[MichaelCwll]

You cut your hair😍😍😍😍😍we have new cory here🤣🤣. You look young btw.

[rogerg]

When you speak of Grade levels of students how many levels are there up to virtuoso?

[opticalmixing]

If I were Chopin's professor 🤣🤣🤣👊

[bangbangtwang]

your teaching piano with books under you for height?