Chopin Etudes

I would pick a couple that you like and start with those.  Having a goal to play all the etudes when you've never played one is a bit ambitious.  Not saying you can't, but don't set a goal that you get discouraged.  They are very difficult.  I'd start with a slow one like Op 10 #3, then maybe the "revolutionary".  Believe it or not, it's not all that bad if you spend some time(weeks) with LH alone.  Some of the ones that sound the hardest are actually easier than the ones that sound easy.  Example Op. 10 # 2 sounds easy but is incredibly difficult.  Op. 25 No 12 sounds hard but is one of the easier ones.  Of course, that's my opinion as a piano instructor and I'm sure everyone will have different ideas for you.  Enjoy them!

Hi Michelle, they're a wonderful set of music, and I feel your enthusiasm for them!

From my very amateur perspective, I think the order in which you approach them could depend on 1) if you're working with a teacher who can help you with technique and avoid injury, and 2) whether you're looking to learn them at a "performance" level/tempo versus learning them for other reasons (e.g., to help make other Chopin advanced repertoire more approachable), and finding a subset that overlaps with the etudes you love the most.

The ones that my teacher recommended I start with were 25/2 ("bees") and 25/7 ("cello"). Many people also tend to work on 25/1 and 10/3 if they're new to the etudes.

From there, I sort of picked and chose depending on other repertoire challenges without expectation of playing at tempo, so 25/6 ("thirds"), 25/12 ("ocean"), 25/5 ("wrong note"), 10/12 ("revolutionary"). A little bit the "sixths" and "toccata" when I was working on Ballade 4. They're difficult, but fun to play and I never felt like I might injure myself practicing them.

The ones I needed/would need the most guidance on re: technique to avoid injury at any tempo are 10/1 (my teacher really helped me with this), 10/2, 10/9 (I know, one of the "easier" ones), 25/9 ("butterfly", another "easier" one), and 25/10. It's much less intuitive to me how to avoid unnecessary tension for these ones even much under tempo.

I've also spent a good amount of time on 10/4, 10/5, 25/11; personally I struggled with memory, accuracy and speed, but they're probably more playable for someone with better practice habits than me

And the rest of the etudes...the math on how much work they take vs how much I like them just hasn't balanced out...yet, at least.

Hope that's helpful! I'm sure you'll get other interesting responses from more experienced folks, whom I'm also curious to hear from.

Michelle I grew up on the Chopin  Études. They're such a joy to learn and perform and really do help build technique. Like others here, I'd agree with one of these to start: Op 10 No. 3, Op. 25 No. 1, 2  The Henle ratings on difficulty are interesting because I think it's very different for everyone. i.e. I find Op. 10 No. 1 much easier than Op. 10 No. 2 (and Henle had them the other way around in difficulty level.) Difficulty may also depend on hand size, but go with one of the easier ones that you really love to start. Have fun! 

Paul Barton has a youtube channel with a lot of good tutorials.

Some years back he posted the following (and the "11" is not a typo ;)  )

 

A viewer has asked me to grade from 1-10 the Chopin's 24 studies in purely technical difficulty (not interpretation, as they would all be a 10)

Op.10
1) 10
2) 11
3) 8
4) 9
5) 8
6) 2
7) 10
8) 9
9) 8
10) 10 for small hands - 8 for large hands
11) 8
12) 8
______

Op.25
1) 7
2) 6
3)10
4) 8
5) 7
6) 10
7) 3
8) 10
9) 8
10) 10
11) 10
12) 8

Hi Michelle,

I promise I will get around to answering your questions eventually.  It is your fault though for mentioning Chopin and Etudes in the same breath as this is the one topic that is sure to bring me out of the witness protection program and will cause me to expound profusely extolling their every virtue.  (…it is not hyperbole if it’s true…(

 

What I will briefly tell you is my experience only and being offered for free so it probably isn’t worth much other than some random perspective but I hope it can help you somehow.

I am just now returning to the piano (my first love) after what seems to be a few lifetimes.  Through the whirlwind of life and not really having the time to play I never stopped thinking about music (except for one brutal period).  For nearly forty years I collected recordings and kept the joy of music going in my head, heart and soul but not with my own fingers.  I also reasoned that I was learning the pieces in a way because I knew what everything was supposed to sound like (or so I thought).

 

What’s relevant here is that while being ginned up on recordings and very minimal playing overall, I ended up injuring my right hand trying to be a Pollini on Op. 10, No. 1.  This was probably exasperated by ignoring the carpal tunnel syndrome I developed from excessive computer work at the time.  I am right-handed but I have not been able to use a mouse with my right hand for 30 years.  I had to learn to use a mouse with my left hand.  It still bothers me today if I’m not careful and typing this now doesn’t help.  I'm doing this despite the mild tingling happening right now.

 

The good news is that about two-years ago I started again on a path that has revolutionized my musical journey.  I came to a point where I started to just not want to listen to the latest new recordings because everything just seemed to be the same and only about who could play faster and louder.  Sort of like a sugar high.  If you know how to cook / bake you can make most things tastefully and guaranteed to satiate.  Alternatively, you go to the store and buy a birthday cake and they somehow make the icing so thick and sweet that it is beyond silly.  Unpalatable, in fact.  Don’t these people taste what they sell?  Yuk.

 

I started questioning everything and began to rely more on my innate musical intuition and sensibilities.  I wondered why these etudes (and broadly all of Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Schubert, and Beethoven etc.) had M.M. markings that virtually nobody can play.  And even for those that can pull off this feat I wonder if this is even music that Chopin or the others from this time period would even recognize?

 

I doubt it.  My latest craze has been in reading as many biographies on my favorite composers as I can and just finished reading Alan Walker’s, “A Life and Times” on Chopin.  Of course, nobody today was alive during Chopin’s lifetime to know the truth but in general I gained some valuable insight into who Chopin was as a person and as a composer/performer/teacher according to Walker’s research.  Eigeldinger’s book “Chopin: Pianist and Teacher” is also a very informative book.

 

So, Op. 10, No. 1 (quarter note = 160), Op. 10, No. 2 (quarter note = 144), or Op. 10, No. 4 (half note = 88) etc. is no longer my goal.  Not even 80% or 60% of this tempo.  First question to ask is what makes sense and what is the tempo that delivers the highest musical outcome.  Just from reading about Chopin, it seems to me he was very precise and nuanced and above all the ‘character’ in his music had to be clear and at the forefront.  As a student of Chopin, if you played too loudly, he would scold you and liken your playing to barking dogs.  Equally important, I learned that Chopin wanted his students to know how to use their hands to get around the keyboard.  Most lessons about how to play Chopin are found in the Etudes (and possibly the Preludes too).  If you can figure them out I believe the rest of Chopin awaits you with open arms.  Another aspect that is clear is that Chopin likes to split a hand (typically the right hand) to give you at least three voices overall and if you listen or pay attention well to how he writes everything you will discover a beauty that just naturally unfolds.  For example, follow the voices and tied notes etc.  Lastly, bel canto playing is so important.  You must be able to sing everything and phrase it as such.  But fear not, just follow the score and he mostly shows you the way.

 

We all know that Chopin wasn’t physically strong or even well for at least the last half of his life.  Time and time again, Walker would mention how Chopin had to be carried up or down the stairs etc. as he was too frail to do this on his own (especially the last ten years or so).  Which leaves me in awe how he ever wrote most of his music which is actually quite difficult to master. Think of some of the later works like the Op. 60 Barcarolle or the Op. 61 Polonaise-Fantaisie which are very difficult and at the pinnacle of his output.  How is it possible that he could play this in his condition?  Why can we not admit that these unplayable tempos were not in any way Chopin's intentions?

 

So, to answer your first question as to a plan of attack I would summarize my thoughts so far as follows.  Again, this is my opinion so take this all with a grain of salt if I offend anyone.  Firstly, stop (or reduce) your reliance on YouTube and recordings as a reference.  There are some benefits to listening to others but for the Etudes in particular I can only say it will lead you into a world of hurt.  You will eventually get some type of injury (like I did) or you will give up too soon due to the realization that you can’t even get close to what the ‘pros’ are doing.  My advice is to commit to pursuing the musical aspect of these Etudes.  This is why these Etudes are so beloved as who else composed such profound music while also slipping in the technique that teaches you how to play the piano and improve your overall technique (compared to Hanon).  Today, I believe speed and musicality are generally the inverse of each other.  The faster you push the music the less ability you have to find the art behind the notes.

 

The plan of attack then is to find one Etude that you just love the most and learn it.  Depends on where you are technically this could mean one month, one-year, five years, or more.  Slow practice only and hands separate until you work out all the fingering and problems is going to be the daily routine.  Memorize small bits as you work this way.  Remember to look for the musical gems there to be had and that if you can’t play it well slowly there is no point in skipping this step and playing it faster but poorly. Remember that once you take the time to learn one, the second one will come easier and you’ll get good results in maybe half the time because you will benefit from the effort you put into the first one and so on. 

 

Here is my other secret.  I honestly believe that the interpretation of the MM in Chopin (and a few others from this time period) is to think of the metronome as a pendulum.  Like a conductor who moves his arm down for count One and up for And and so on.  I can guarantee this based on my own experience that you will attain musical nirvana and play it as Chopin meant it to be.  You will understand the music in a different light (compared to what everyone else tells you it should be) and it will have a profound effect on your playing. 

 

And for the naysayers, who think that this is effectively playing Chopin Etudes at half speed I will just ask you to show us the goods.  Try it if you don’t believe me.  Could you play Op. 10, No. 1 at 176 beats per quarter note?  I could be wrong but I don’t believe any human has to date been able to do this along with most of the other Etudes?  I have found it is entirely reasonable to play these Etudes at the tempo as described above and it seems to me to still be more than enough of a challenge to play at this tempo and to play in a musically engaging way.  The truth is that anyone who can play these Etudes using two ticks instead of single beat my hat goes off to you.  I would consider you to have mastered these (even if you want to go a couple marks above this or below this, it is acceptable).  Not many could even say they could get to this level.

 

After 30 years, what would a stubborn guy do but return to the very Etude that brought him down with an injury.  This year is the start of where I will be able to devote more time consistently at the keyboard but I started sporadically back at it around two-years ago.  Believe me, it was hard and awful for the first year.  This last year things started to come together.  Currently, I work as much as possible (which still isn’t enough by a large margin) on Op. 10, Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12 and Op. 25, Nos. 1, 2, 5, 7, 10 and 12.  If I continued with trying to emulate recordings as I did when I was younger, it would have finally destroyed me; both physically and mentally.  Now I enjoy making music and the possibilities are seemingly endless.

 

The Etude I’ve worked on the most in the last two years is the C major (Op. 10, No. 1) followed by Op. 25. Nos. 1 & 2 and Op. 10, No 12.  I struggled with the C major etude a long time and never thought of even starting No. 2 in A minor as I assumed it would be harder yet and on top of that, I couldn’t imagine playing them back-to-back.  Essentially since the New Year I can play these back-to-back and then keep going with the rest.  Hint: go to the C minor number twelve to work the left hand and give the right hand a rest at this point.  I tell you all this in order to encourage you or anyone reading this that it is very challenging and hard (for me) but with a realistic plan and understanding of the challenges it is possible.  And if I can do it then virtually anyone can.

 

You asked to generally rank the Etudes and I’m not sure it will help you because even the so-called easy ones are not easy.  In fact, the easier it may be note wise the harder it may be interpretive wise.  For what it's worth though I’ll group the Etudes just for fun to give you an idea generally of my thoughts.  Honestly, everything here has serious challenges but a lot depends on the individual.  I may find one hard and you may find it fits your hands better and is not so difficult.  I’m pretty sure you could group the latter twelve here in any order and you wouldn't know the difference.  Same for the first half. 

 

1.     Etudes for the “Methode des Methodes” Dbop. 36, 1-3

2.   Op. 25, No. 2 in F minor

3.   Op. 25, No. 7 in C-sharp minor

4.   Op. 10, No. 6 in E-flat minor

5.   Op. 25, No. 4 in A minor

6.   Op. 25, No. 3 in F major

7.   Op. 25, No. 9 in G-flat major

8.   Op. 10, No. 3 in E major

9.   Op. 25, No. 5 in E minor

10.  Op. 10, No. 7 in C major

11.  Op. 10, No. 9 in F minor

12.  Op. 10, No. 5 in G-flat major

13.  Op. 25, No. 1 in A-flat major

14.  Op. 25, No. 8 in D-flat major

15.  Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor

16.  Op. 10, No. 11 in E-flat major

17.  Op. 25, No. 12 in C minor

18.  Op. 10, No 2 in A minor

19.  Op. 10, No 1 in C major

20.  Op. 10, No. 8 in F major

21.  Op. 10, No. 4 in C-sharp minor

22.  Op. 10, No. 10 in A-flat major

23.  Op. 25, No.10 in B minor

24.  Op. 25, No. 6 in G-sharp minor

25.  Op. 25, No. 11 in A minor

 

The most important advice is just to follow your heart and pick the one that you can’t get out of your head first.  I am sorry to have such a long post.  The problem is that it is one of my favorite topics but it also proves that when it comes to conciseness, I’m a complete failure.

All the Best on your coming musical journey.

Doug