Yeah, I considered that, and I just did my piano lesson (on a nice Steinway in the recital hall, woo!) and I realized I was using 2-1, with the thumb still on the B, so that I don't have to change to a thumb pivot to get down - I'm already there (3 goes on the A#). Seems to save trouble. I tried a few other ways and didn't find anything that felt less awkward.

I will say that Chopin gets easier and easier (and this is all relative, mind) the more Bach I play...which, admittedly, is not much, quantity-wise. I just play the same Bach a lot. I'm learning so very much about the key of E minor.

I missed this post:


Yeah, I just need to do it over and over again until it feels right. I do love the accelerando effect it creates, and though it's marked with some tempo variation, I'd like to keep it as steady as possible for that reason.


Yes, I always practice hands-separate (writing it out cause it took me a while to even figure out what you were talking about ). Well, obviously I do both, but working out difficulties is much easier by practicing hands-separate every now and then, especially for the fiddly bits.


I think she's overrated.

I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again - it's much harder for an unattractive female pianist to make a name for herself than it is for an unattractive male to do the same (though I'll admit it plays a part for both).

But I will watch the video anyway, because she's better than me.

Well, I don't hold her in as high regard as Horowitz and a few other greats. I think she's improved over the years, and shows in the video of the complete Schubert/Liszt Schwanengesang (also on her YT channel) that's she's capable of more than pure technical brilliance.

Now off to practice my difficult measure.

I just looked at my pdf of the Cortot edition of the Etudes. The LH of the first beat of the measure in question is notated as one 32nd note tuplet, with 13 notes. Interesting.

I also posted a detail of the trill.

And here is Cortot's introduction to this Etude.

Yeah, he says a lot of good stuff about it in that. I won't do the exercises because I hate exercises, though.

I was having difficulty earlier bringing out the right hand properly because the piano I was playing on had a muted quality in that range of the instrument, and in the range of the left hand, it's particularly loud. But my teacher complimented me on my voice balancing, and I mentioned to her that I'd first learned that technique from the 10/3 etude, so Cortot recommends a good one for that.

If you would like the entire Op. 10 and 25 PDF(s) (they are separate), I'll post them.

Not unless they're public domain.

I think they are, but I'll do some research first.

[edit] Not so sure now, it's the Salabert editon, which is still published AFAIK. I think I'll keep 'em to myself.

I got the keys to the hall with the Steinways for the weekend, and I practiced till my fingers started to tense up. Haven't done that in a while. I played Chopin lots, and Bach too. Played around with extra suspensions in Bach, and some portato/legato switching. I guess you could call that "exercises" but I will probably keep some extra suspensions in performance, maybe only for repeats, and there's no telling exactly how I'll articulate in performance.

Now that sounds like a recipe for a good weekend to me.

Have fun!

Now I'm angry. There's something wrong with the water in my shower at the dorm I live in - it's coming out dirty - so I might have to go home to my mom's for the weekend. Just when I've got the keys to the Steinways! My mom has a Yamaha baby grand, and it's nice, though a bit dry...but it's just not the same!

Or not shower at all. One might go to any lengths to practice on the good pianos.

Seriously, plumbing problems suck!

The problem has been fixed, apparently. Yay! I was really not looking forward to giving up the Steinways. And I think I will get to that now...

That's great! Glad to hear it.