Group 2
Unlocking A deeper Understanding of Chopin's Music!
Together we will work on four etudes which can transform your approach to Chopinās music as well as expand your concept of piano playing! In the first Etude from Op. 10 I will give exercises for tackling the right hand arpeggios, which will develop your ability to hear sonorities build upon one another across the entire keyboard. Through a discussion of Chopinās use of the pedal and exploitation of the pianoās natural overtones, you will learn to pace yourself through this famously difficult work and achieve unity of sound within one harmony.
I will then focus on the Second Etude of Op. 25 where the lens will zoom in on Chopinās use of polyrhythm and how this is integral to the fundamental āproblemā of this Etude.
The discussion of the third Etude of Op. 25 will talk about the use of the thumb versus fingers 2-5 and how to achieve lightness and speed in this charming work.
Finally, we will revisit my lesson on Op. 10 No. 2 and dive even deeper into the secrets to being able to play this famously difficult work!
Improve your Chopin Etudes in Two Weeks with Henry Kramer!
- Sign-Up : September 14, 10 am PST
- Course Period: September 19 - 30
- Class Size: 4 Groups Ć” 10 Participants
- Optional check-In via Zoom: tba
- Livestream: September 20th, 11am PST
FIRST TASK: SAY HELLO TO EVERYBODY!
Assignments:
Watch Henry's first of four assignment videos!
Download Cortotās edition of Chopin etudes at:
- Choose 3-5 arpeggios in this Etude (eg c major, augmented 6th, a major etc)
- For each arpeggio show at least two octaves of playing each note of the arpeggio where you bring the thumb to the first finger joint of fingers 2-5 immediately after striking the key. For the thumb notes you should just play staccato
- Choose 2 of the Cortot exercises on pages 4 and 5 and apply them to your 3-5 arpeggio choices
- Share a video of you performing these exercices!
Watch Henry's second assignment video!
Watch Henry's THIRD assignment video!
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Thanks, everybody, for participating in this TWI with Henry! I hope you had a fantastic journey with the four Chopin Preludes and learned much over the past two weeks! See you in the next TWI, which we will announce next week!
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Hello!
I am looking forward to tips and tricks from Henry Cramer on how to solve the technical and musical difficulties presented by Chopin.
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The Chopin etudes are daunting, but at the same time I can see they offer paths to improving technique and musicianship. I have worked on a few of these pieces in the past; IIRC they were: Op. 10 No. 4; Op. 25 Nos. 1, 2, and 7; and the 2nd of the three "nouvelles" etudes. Only with 25-7 and the nouvelle etude did I approach any kind of performance level.
Two weeks isn't much time for this, but I'm hoping to at least get practical tips to use going forward.
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Harriet Kaplan Hi Harriet! I am in group 4. Did you decide which etude you will play? I start op 10/1 again. Hope I can make it this time. I am also on op10/4, this is really hard . I wish you a nice challenge.
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Kerstin I am waiting to see what sort of approach will be offered. Iām not focused on any specific etudes - they are all so difficult in their own ways that one could learn a lot from any of them.
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Hi everyone! I was really inspired by Henry's insightful video lesson on Op.10 no. 2, and am looking forward to getting to work on these amazing pieces...
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Hi! Iām excited to gain new perspectives on these pieces too! So happy to be a part of the intensive.
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kramer group 2
First Assignments are posted!
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If anyone needs a translation of the Cortot into English, I found one here:
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Harriet Kaplan I didn't see your version first!
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henry kramer : I have questions about the Cortot exercises. The first two work, but I canāt figure out how to do the others. It seems like they would stretch the hand uncomfortably in any but the initial C arpeggio.
Also, for #2 on your list, do you mean going up only or both up and down?
I will try to post a video tomorrow.
Thanks for your help!-
Harriet Kaplan Hi Harriet - Thank you for asking about these! I also felt like my hands were really stretched by exercises 3 and 4. So, I played them very slowly trying to relax upon each chord.
However, I then moved on to Number 5 which I felt really was applicable to our relaxed thumb work. Additionally, I felt that Number 10 keeps the hand in a more condensed shape and also allows more focus on the thumb kisses!
Finally the last set of exercises 12-15 with the rhythmic variety also allows for keeping the hand let stretched and with ease of thumb movement.
I noticed that 1-7 are designed to work on stretch, where numbers 9-15 are for evenness and finger strength. I found my hands liking 9-15 better.
Hope this helps! :)
Georgia
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Georgia M Sears I tried the stretching ones with the chords - slowly! - and now my hand hurts too much to even type. Uh oh. I think I will just work on the etude itself...
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Gail Starr always stop immediately if it hurts! If you can't reach a big 3 note stretch, leave out the thumb! Remember, these Cortot exercises are just ways of thinking about it, you don't need to take them super literally. If you can't reach say e flat b flat e flat with 542 try just playing 54 or 42 or 52. etc
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Henry kramer That is such great advice! I have REALLY small hands (barely an octave) AND I had a serious illness a while ago that resulted in right hand/arm nerve pain, preventing me from playing piano at all for two years. I'm all better now, but the numbness and pain can be a problem on and off. I'll just take a break tonight and try again (slowly!) tomorrow. Merci bien!
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Hello! Which exercises and arpeggios specifically? Perhaps you could post a video and we can go from there. Thanks!
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henry kramer here is my attempt. Please let me know if Iām getting this at all.
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Harriet Kaplan Great! Try when you go to two thinking of going further into the keyboard with your arm behind the finger tip. almost as though you are pointing to the ground behind the pedals. I'm loving watching your thumb release! That's great! You can think more about the second finger being a point of reference for the entire arpeggio. Please see my above comment to Gail Starr regarding uncomfortable stretching
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Henry kramer Should we think of the 2nd finger as a sort of "pivot" in this etude? (I love your comment about the baby giraffe learning to walk!)
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Gail Starr YES ABSOLUTELY!
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I just posted Henry's video for the next Etude!
kramer group 2
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Thank you, Henry! Your videos are very clear and super helpful!!
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Maestro! I completely agree with Georgia M Sears above. Unfortunately I had bad access to the Internet for the past weeks but got it now and am very happy to follow and see the very useful and really good clear instructions on your videos. Many thanks for that! If I may wish, it would be very interesting to hear your suggestions for the Octave etude op 25 no. 10 with half notes that involve stretches to the 4th finger.
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Henry kramer I'm still stuck on the second video assignment - I feel kind of embarrassed sharing these videos because I can see that my thumb keeps drifting out. I probably just need to spend more time practicing them slowly to achieve the thumb relaxation. But it would be great if you have other suggestions.
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Harriet Kaplan Great work! For the first video it seems like you could test that you're really balanced on the 2nd finger before leaping to the 5th. Maybe try bringing your thumb to the second finger to feel your arm weight centered there before you move to the low note
second video - very good! I would just try to keep your second finger in the key as you do in video three when you go to the double stop.
third video - looks good!!
fourth video - my only comment here is there isn't quite enough of a rotation to the "chef's kiss" position when you go to fifth finger. Try completely rotating the hand after playing the fifth finger and bringing your thumb to that finger. The sensation should be like a pirouette off the tip of the fifth finger that activates from about 7 inches into your forearm from the wrist.
Tag me with more questions!
Great work!
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