I've never learned a piece that had polyrhythm before but I just started practising these sections over and over until I got more muscle memory and fluidity and I've found that one of the biggest contributors to progress is.. SLEEP. Something happens in the brain during sleep that makes you already play it better the following day and it's pretty funny to notice how obvious it is.
Funny thing about this is when I started to notice how much better I got at a piece the next day, I started looking forward to sleeping and playing and practicing the next day...
I believe the large strings of notes with odd time division are actually specifically “supposed” to be somewhat wandering and improvisational in nature. You see this kind of wandering in fantasias too. You *especially* see this in jazz transcriptions. Trust me, the jazz pianist (or saxophonist or …) are *feeling*, not measuring, the occasional septuplet figurations. Very rarely (of ever?) is there any “meaning” to be found in the exact time division of these phrases, as in music-theoretic meaning with harmony or otherwise, especially when pedal and rubato are characteristic. I think we just lack a good musical notation to convey this kind of intended approach to playing, however.
Ah! I didn’t know this about Jazz but it makes so much sense. I agree 100% phrasing is EVERYTHING and rubato turns the phrase from something mechanical to something lyrical. Yes, the notation for polyrhythms is confusing, especially if you’re trying to figure out what the composer intended.
@@dernamenlose6200 He simply used what was already convention. Polyrhythms weren’t a new concept, but what WAS a semi-new concept (in Chopin’s time) was that the polyrhythm wasn’t intended to be played completely evenly. What the commenter is referring to is that the traditional polyrhythm notation implicitly instructs you to play it evenly, and we simply lack a standard of notation for the improvisatory nature of these and many other polyrhythms
Wow, what perfect timing. I just started learning this piece yesterday and was feeling intimidated by the polyrythm. Your video is the most helpful I’ve found so far, thank you!
You have no idea how much this video is going to help me. I just started trying to learn this piece today, and was immediately stumped by the 6 on 11😂I just couldn’t think of a good way to solve this nightmare of a polyrhythm. I don’t encounter polyrhythms very often, so this piece nearly scared me off before I even began. Thank you!
that's an interesting approach to these types of polyrhythms, i usually learn both hands separately until it's pretty much automatic and then put them together, turn on autopilot and let both hands play independently from each other and add in rubato to make it sound even more convincingly
I'm 72. I've been learning this now for 2 (?) years. Got it all sorted except for the polyrhythm on the last page, and I've __nearly__ got that sorted. For the first one, the one in your video, I worked at it for aaaages until now I don't really think about it. It does come out a little differently each time, but I don't mind that.
I’m experienced on the piano but brand new to sheet music so I didn’t have the guts to try treating it like a 12/6, but this helped me a ton. I’ve got them both now. Thanks.
Good chat around adept piano techniques. This one was a bit of a head scratcher for the first couple of days. In and around bars 15-20 now so now I get to work my memory with what looks like all kinds left hand variation in the the middle section🙄
I am currently learning this piece for my Trinity ATCL program. I was always playing the poly rhythms as a combination of 4+4+3 in the beginning and then tried to get it to become more fluid but after watching you play it, I also realised that the ending 3 against 2 polyrhythm will not stand out as when the speed increases, it sounds more like rubato than a measured way of dividing 11/6 and 22/12. Thanks for the video.
Very beautifully done. You play it a little slower than the usual, but it works! I think it makes that 12:22 rhythm much more beautiful; dreamy. I'm struggling with this one right now, also. Thanks for the tips!
Does anyone ever play it the very same way twice? I think Chopin meant it to be an improvisational phrase. That's what makes this nocturne so beautiful and ethereal.
I am really struggling on the chromatic walk down when the right hand is on E. There seems to be a pause for the left hand to get back to Bb before the right hand hits Eb. Is this correct or am I reading the music wrong?
2 notes in the right hand for every one note in the left hand, but the last two notes in the left hand will played against 3 notes in the right hand (2 against 3)
First off. Lose the gay voice.... it gratuitous (yes I'm gay myself). I've been following for a while... leavinme feeling bereft of any real connection you have to the work/ peices/ etc. I would advise pianists disregard what you preach.... You are clearly quite talented.... nevertheless, Chopin is not your muse.
