I don' like piano tutorials, because I think when someone wants to play a difficult piece he has to practice on his own for the purpose of understanding it. But you explain the history, the reasons and explain the meaning and your own interpretation of this piece. That's great :)
I some kind of feel you, since teacher would be best way to learn, but some people tend to self-learn, which piano tutorials like Paul's are better than nothing; to be honest, synthesia piano "tutorials" are good for nothing in terms of learning, it's just cool visualizer
I find that, since I am learning by myself, Paul's tutorials help me understand how to practice more effectively sometimes. I always try to approach each piece finding creative solutions for overcoming the challenges, but sometimes help from an expert expedites the process. With pieces of this level of difficulty, a brief tutorial is not sufficient to remove the challenge or the potentially hundreds of hours required to learn the piece. It's definitely worthwhile double-checking how you are approaching a piece like this with someone who knows what they are doing because un-learning something is much harder than learning it. I have screwed myself over several times by getting used to playing some tricky passages with sloppy fingering, and then had to go back later to fix it when I got an edition of the music with fingerings written in.
Whatever way works for each pianist to learn the notes, they should use. Aural, like Suzuki or folk, is somewhat good, but for classical music, sheet music is by far the best way to learn the basics. Beyond this, there is so much history, depth, context, and understanding to be gleaned that is NOT written on the page. This is why we have piano tutorials, teachers, studio classes, conservatories, recitals, music critics, and why we have a collective musical culture. We as musicians yearn for the deepest, most rich understanding of the pieces we play. Yes, we must not rote copy one single individual's interpretation. Rather, we must constantly take in as much data as we can about a piece, and THEN synthesize it in a personal way and understand it personally. If you're ONLY practicing at the keyboard, you're doing it wrong. You need to think of the piece at the cafe, in bed, in the shower; read about it, listen to it from many different pianists. Gain a holistic knowledge of a piece from whatever sources you can find that are useful and mentally, practice all the time, not just during your X minutes of daily practice.
You must be a natural if you picked up all the technical video content here by yourself. I've been playing this piece for years yet now play it better after this tutorial.
I'm not an authority, but mistakes are so tremendously secondary to me, expression is everything! And if you have doubts about this, please listen to one of the Gods from the Piano Heaven: Vladimir Horowitz! I truly admire him and don't really care about his mistakes (y que los hay, los hay!)
Thank you so much for this tutorial, seriously the tutorial I needed. All the emotions and articulations you talk about are seriously important and useful. Thank you again! 🙂
This is a great piece for getting the left hand in shape. I feel like I can tackle this piece now that you have made is so clear on how to approach it.Thank you Paul for posting these great tutorials
OMG... Why am i discovering this only today??? Why God Why!?! I am a beginner thrash metal guitarist, but, this song is why i falled in love about Chopin... So intense, so expressive and dramatic. Lord Barton, this is pure gold you throw in our faces, even 10 years later. OHHHH MyGodddd !!!!
I have worked on this study before. Now i am working on it again and this time i intend to learn it once and for all. Thank you Paul for an inspiring tutorial,.
over 30 years ago, I played this Etude, before (unfortunate and stupidly) giving up practicing… now, to see this clip, was like getting back in time… loved your explanations, the way you transmit your thoughts and subscribed at once to your channel, thank you very much!
Wow!! Sir, I must say. You are a great instructor. I've been playing, off and on for a while. Always dreaming of the day I would dare attempt to learn this piece. Now I have the confidence and the knowledge to start. Your explanations are so insightful. You make it so easy to get the feel for the piece. I was always intimidated by this piece and it's speed. But now I'm going to practice it, until I can play it well. And up to speed. Thank you so much!
Paul Barton , parabéns muito bem tocada. Passei literalmente ouvindo essa peça , meu pai era maestro e meu irmão também , os dois tocavam sempre e se foram. Vejo essa peça como uma homenagem para ambos Luciano Trinquinato, meu irmão (faleceu em 2018) muito parecido com o Sr. ....obrigado por esse bálsamo para meus ouvidos .
I picked two pieces as if I can play???Revolutionary...fascinating! "you need to find a right mood inside"....exactly! I love what you mention...that's the key! indeed. section by section(precisely) 1, 2, 3, not rushing to the learners, Paul's tutorial scores how they were studied by his manner scientifically, we are grateful. Since yesterday, I've been happy to discover "PAUL BARTON's tutorial" amazing! such efficient way of teaching. cheers!
Worth mentioning is the "Church Bell" effect at 07:40 & 07:44. Last base note will be hit pretty hard from the top. If you set the speed to 0.5 in this video, you can actually hear it!
That's a great and super helpful video. Thank you for making it available. I was trying to find the score you are using, the one with pedal marks and etc. I checked at least 6 different versions but none has those kind of details. Could you let me know which version / edition of the score you are using?
Fantastic tutorial. Was looking for some help with this piece. I'm cross dominant and mostly play by ear even though I can read sheet music (not a sight reader) so that gives me some trouble. Got the first and second sections down thanks to you! :D Peace.
Hi I'd just like to say that I love the way that you play the Chopin Etudes. Do you have any suggestions on how to limit strain on your left hand? Thanks.
Excellent piece to balance out left hand dexterity to your right hand, I play Fantasie Impromptu and 3rd movement of the moonlight sonata almost flawlessly, this piece is a good way to even out my hands for future dual hand dexterity pieces like etude 25 12
Freddy Fazbear Impromptu aint that hard, build up speed with a metronone and time the 1st, 5fth, 9th and 13th note of the right hand with respectively the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th note in the left hand in every bar, the other notes will follow. Also I've been playing for 15+ years, but with a lot of quitting in between and doing nothing for months straight lol
Paul hi, Big thanks for this and all the other tutorials, they're great value. I'm struggling with the left hand from bar 29. Im using 5421 fingering which I guess is right but can't get the fifth finger out of the way quick enough to stop it catching on the 4th finger. Do you recognise the problem? - Any thoughts on how to fix it?
It's actually a little easier than I anticipated. It is the speed that is the most difficult for me. But I am determined. I like this video, I consider it one of the better tutorials on this piece. For me, the Fantasie Impromptu is more difficult.
I’ve often thought that the description you make (and other pianists) at the beginning of the tutorial about how to play the chord is very similar to a Japanese term, Kime. Kime is used in martial arts to describe being relaxed and focussed, and then during the moment of impact, tension/power followed immediately by release of all tension, ready for the next strike. Perhaps pianists can adopt the term. Or perhaps a Japanese person will tell me I’m wrong ;)
Yes! Efficiency of muscle use. Tension, i.e. muscular action, for the split second that it's required, and then immediate release. The energy for that muscular action may come from the whole arm/shoulder complex, or maybe just from the fingers, or perhaps wrist+fingers, or all of the above. When the note has been struck, however, relaxation should follow, lest we are overly tense, slowing us down in quick passages and hurting our hands/wrists long term.
bar 27 I noticed you dont play the f in the chord, is this because its a difficult stretch? I cant quite get this chord either, I have difficulty with it, but the score says to play the f, e, a and d together! This chord is very tricky to play. Also the octaves near the end - section 5 onwards, I notice you dont play them at full tempo that matches the left hand semi-quavers, I think its almost impossible to match them, and there is always going to have to be a relaxed left hand, this right?
Hello. Do you know why from bar 29 to 33 there are many sharps instead of „normal” notes In the sheet? We can see it especially in right hand... d sharp instead of E flat... And so on. If you practise, maybe you know the reason.
awesome tutorial. can i just ask for one favor? can you please make a tutorial on beethoven's sonata no 14 op 27 (moonlight) for the 3rd movement... i need some advice on technique because it really hard to get that speed on those main starting notes. pls do a tutorial :)
Great teacher, impressive pedagogy. I kept training on section 1 for 2 days (2 hours / day). It is ok but still I am slow, and the piece looks odd. Now it is a matter of repetition.
It's meant to be played without any pedal throughout. Most interpreters play it with some pedal for performances as it enhances the drama/sound. I heard ppl also say you can use the pedal at your discretion, to blend some notes together.
Hey I've been working on it and I find that I can't do the repetition of the section 1 or bar 5, the one where you cascade down with both hands in octave. I find that i can play it in correct speed but i cannot do it continuously, i always have a mistake in the middle. Does that mean that I have to leave this piece and just come back to it when I'm better?
I learnt piano for a long time when younger, but as a teen I was rather lazy to practice. Now at the age of 29 I've realised that enjoy the piano more than I did and have gotten back to playing. However whilst I can read music, I'm a little slow and deciphering the notes that go above or below the ledger times, making my practice sessions some what slow. Any advice you can offer?
Thank you for posting this amazing breathtaking tutorial! I'm a 9 years old kid and my small hand can only spread to 71/4". Is this etude good for a 9 y/o kid to play it well? And this revolutionary etude compare to 'thirds' etude, which one is easier to practice?
How about doing some basic piano tutorial videos? As in, for those who want to learn to play piano from beginner level? Just a thought. Cheers, you are such a boss at piano by the way.
When you know you've seen the video but you don't see any signs of your presence.. Just wish I had the physical capability of playing this song..oh well; still a great tutorial, even all these years later
Hi Paul, what would you recommend as the best fingering to opus 10/12 Chopin on the descending left hand and further right hands scales? I want to be able to speed up. Any info Paul would be much appreciated. Thanks
You should use the same fingering as he is using, as it is the easiest. You'll notice that with the left hand on the first scale it repeats in the middle: 2,1,2, 4,3,1,2, 4,3,1, 4,3,1,2, 4,3,1, 2,5,2,5,2,5,2,5,2,5,3 You can view the fingering on the notesheets he's using in this video. Try watching his hand movements frame by frame if you're hesitating.
I personally like doing 2,5,1,5,2,5,1,5,3 for the last part of the descending left hand. It's what my score says and it's easier for me to accent the "2" finger when I'm supposed to.
