Chopin Month!
🎹 Chopin Month – Practice Challenge
Starting September 15th, we’re diving deep into Chopin’s music together! Each week, you’ll have guided prompts, assignments, and opportunities to share your progress.
Week 1 (Sept 15–21): Choose Your Piece
Pick a Chopin work you’d like to focus on this month! Share your choice in the forum and tell us what drew you to it.
Week 2 (Sept 22–28): Applying Harmony & Form to Interpretation (Part 1)
With Eloise Kim
We’ll begin by analyzing your chosen piece through the lens of harmony and form. Eloise will provide a guided assignment to help you uncover the structural and expressive elements that shape Chopin’s music.
Week 3 (Sept 29–Oct 5): Applying Harmony & Form to Interpretation (Part 2)
With Eloise Kim
Now it’s time to connect your analysis to performance! Eloise will share performance-focused tips and another guided assignment to help you translate your discoveries into expressive playing.
Week 4 (Oct 6–12): Final Performance Video
Put it all together! Submit a final video of your chosen piece and share your journey. Celebrate your progress and reflect on how your interpretation has grown throughout the month.
🎉 Grand Finale Watch Party
📅 October 17th, 11am PT
Join us for a special livestream celebration! We’ll share community performances, highlight your progress, and reflect on the timeless beauty of Chopin’s music together. Bring your questions, your reflections—and maybe a glass of something celebratory—as we close out Chopin Month!
23 replies
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I'd like to learn the ballade
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Chopin nocturne opus 62 no 1
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OK, I'm going to bite off more than I can chew! I'm starting 10/1 because I REALLY need to learn more Chopin Etudes. Can't play it up to speed in only 3 weeks, but I'll do as much as I can.
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I'm working on Op 9/1 and Op 72. I'll select one of them for the challenge.
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I'll be working on the C# minor Nocturne, Op. Posth.
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Hi! I’d like to learn a Nocturne in A flat major, Op 55, no 1. I’m looking forward to participating in the practice challenge with everyone :)
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I'm going to learn Nouvelle Etude No.1 :)
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The first thing I do these days for a TB challenge is review all the current teaching on TB. I plan to do two lessons per week, which makes eight for this challenge. I am adding to that four more for the TWI on the E minor prelude.
I have been working over the past week on the C# minor Nocturne, Op. Posth.
This is my first time playing this piece so it won’t be at all presentable in four weeks. My regular scales practice is paying off, albeit the final modal passage has a lot of rubato presently.
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I'm working on the same Nocturne, but have been for a while. I just posted my "analysis" such as it is. There is also a Tonebase study group going on for the E minor Prelude.
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I am not seeing any links to Eloise Kim. Help, Please!
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Me too. There wasn’t the usual sign up to this challenge. Others are asking the same questions about how engagement with students is being done.
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Here is the link to weeks 1 and 2. https://piano-community.tonebase.co/category/chopin-challenge
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Thanks Vidhya , we’re at a jazz concert, which is the last night of the Isle of Wight Jazz Festival: the Claire Teal Five. I’ll check out the links tomorrow.
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there was a sign-up form for this challenge, not sure what the usual sign up is since this is the first one I've done, and Dominic sent out an email about moving forward with Eloise Kim, and a link to her video was in that email. That was on 9-22-25, perhaps he will send out another email in the coming week.
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Hi Betsy! Here is a direct link to this week's challenge that started on Monday (9/22): https://piano-community.tonebase.co/t/m1y1p4z/week-2-applying-harmony-and-form-to-performance-interpretation-on-chopin-preludes-part-1
Looks like already posted it here too :) Thank you! But yes, Dominic should be sending out a new email later tonight that goes into the next week's challenge! Feel free to check out the current week in the meantime !🙂
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Thank you!
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Thank you. I have just been muddling around
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Thank you Vidhya, Was is this in an obvious spot a newby didn't know about>
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Hi Delores. I bet I put it in my Tonebase email file. I will read more carefully in the future!! Thanks!
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No problem! The easiest way to find these things is to go under the main community page and scroll down to challenges. The main community page has everything on it- livestreams, challenges, community concerts, etc.
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Probably not needed now, but here is Dominic's email:
Hi everyone - welcome to Week 2 of the Chopin Challenge!
For those in the recent "Chopin Prelude in E minor" study group, the next 2 weeks are a bonus round! And for everyone else, here’s a chance to dive deeper into your Chopin pieces with some structured analysis.
I’m excited to welcome Dr. Eloise Kim, who will be guiding the next two weeks of our Chopin Challenge with a special Two-Week Intensive.
Join us Here for week 2 - as we dig deeper into analysis and performance preparation of Chopin's music!
Looking forward to seeing everyone’s insights as we move into this next stage with Dr. Kim!
Cheers,
Dominic
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Dominic CheliDirector of Business Development @ tonebase
Head of Piano @ tonebase
Co-Director of Tonebase Piano Camp
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Thanks!
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np! 😉
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