Chopin Nocturne in C# minor: Trills and Grace notes DETAILED tutorial (video 1 in series)

Chopin's Nocturne in C# minor is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. However, it can be deceptively difficult.
This detailed video will give you the skills to play all of the trills in this piece, whether you are a beginner or a more advanced pianist. For every trill, I go over many different options for you to consider--various versions of measured (set amount of RH notes with every LH note) and non-measured trills. I play them both slowly and at tempo so you can get a real example of how they will sound.
An important thing to be aware of is that there are MANY different versions of this piece, and many different interpretations. I learned it from the Henle edition, 20a: KK IVa Nr. 16 but there are many authentic scholarly editions and there may be small things that might be different. That said, when playing this piece, pianists really take artistic liberties and make it deeply personal--so that is my goal for you.
The trills are addressed chronologically--so my measure 2 might be your measure 3, or 5 based on how your edition is printed. Just know the tutorial will go in order.
Timestamps below:
00:00 Intro
01:24 What is a Trill?
02:39 Trill technique tips
04:25 Types of trills--measured and non-measured
05:35 Measure 2
10:27 Measure 9
18:43 Measure 11
22:13 Measure 16
24:50 Measure 22
26:07 Measure 26
27:06 Measure 27
29:03 Measure 44
29:20 Measure 49
32:19 Measure 54
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[@chanhnguyen2215]

Olympia Piano is a very good pianist,UNBEATABLE piano instructor. I save a lot of time daily of practicing piano when I watch her lessons on KZbin.God Bless her ,Olympia Piano.

[@OlympiaPiano]

You are too kind! I am glad my tips can help you with your practice. Let me know how it goes for you!

[@renaissanceman9034]

Your videos on playing ornamentations in Chopin pieces are some of the best I've come across on the internet.

[@OlympiaPiano]

Wow, thank you so much! I appreciate your kind comment and hope to continue to provide content that helps people! Let me know how this piece turns out for you!

[@michaelasbury5473]

I couldn’t agree more! Thank you for making these videos.

[@OlympiaPiano]

@@michaelasbury5473 Thank you for letting me know and taking the time to comment--it really helps me help more people! More videos coming soon! Best wishes.

[@AJE1973]

Thank you so much for your valuable instructions and tips for learning this wonderful Chopin Nocturne piano piece! Very aprreciated. Kind regards from Switzerland : )

[@OlympiaPiano]

Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy the series and it allows you to dig more deeply into this piece. I have been to Zurich once but really hoping to go again!

[@ruslapland]

Это лучшее объяснение как играть трель! До сих пор у меня ничего не получалось. Спасибо огромное!

[@OlympiaPiano]

I am glad this helped you thank you for watching!

[@vovoyaya9099]

Immensely helpful, excellent analysis and teaching, look forward to more lessons

[@OlympiaPiano]

Thank you for taking the time to write and best wishes as you work on this piece

[@khoeunkheav9801]

Best teaching thank you very much from USA

[@OlympiaPiano]

You are too kind, thank you for watching!

[@vitalysarmaev]

Fantastic! Thank you ❤

[@OlympiaPiano]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@mabdub]

Not a moment is wasted and this video is the best I've seen describing the options available of how to technically execute the beautiful trills and accents in this Nocturne. It's thoughtful of you to have covered all the trills and optional strategies of how to play them. There are acceptable variations of how to play appoggiaturas too. Most appoggiaturas in Chopin's music are played on the beat and it's fun to explore other options. I wasn't aware of your channel until a few days ago but I will help to spread the word becasue your videos are of such a high calibre of teaching. You definitely have knack for explaining how to play the piano correctly and you deserve attention. Thank you for sharing you knowledge and skills.

[@OlympiaPiano]

Thank you for your kind comments. I appreciate you sharing the videos to those who may benefit. This is one of my favorite pieces and now I have played it for a very long time. It is always interesting to me to discover nuances about the piece. Thanks again and best wishes to you.

[@mabdub]

@@OlympiaPiano This Nocturne is very special, we know for sure that it was a parting sentimental gift to Chopin's sister Ludwika. He gave the Nocturne to her just before he left for Paris in 1830, by coach. It's well known that it is meant to be a paraphrase of his second concerto which he had just recently premiered. We don't know if Ludwika ever mastered or played the second concerto but she did keep the Nocturne with her always and likely played it for herself and her family, especially on days when the pain of missing Frederic was acute and they needed to hear his voice. This Nocturne was meant to be a personal message to Ludwika and the other family members. The message clearly says, I miss you, I remember the good times I spent with you, I love you and, I will be okay. The family and Ludwika kept the Nocturne private which prevented it from being published until the 1870s. It's interesting to speculate if Ludwika was able to bring herself to play this Nocturne after her brother died so painfully in her presence. I think she must have played it so that she could hear his voice again. Yes, this Nocturne is very special.

[@jenniferbowmanmusic1817]

@@mabdub Thank you so much for sharing this with me and my viewers! I knew some of this story but not as many details as you just shared. Wow. I hope everyone can read this and keep it in mind as they study this very special piece!

[@adriftinaboat3452]

Brilliant tutorial

[@OlympiaPiano]

Thank you and thank you for taking the time to let me know! Best wishes

[@devinwhite8553]

I love your insightful tips on trill technique! Can’t wait for parts 2 & 3

[@OlympiaPiano]

I am glad you found this helpful--yes the next two videos are coming soon! Best wishes

[@maya0182]

Thank you so much for your video with the detailed explanations and suggestions which are very helpful. I am eagerly looking forward to the other videos.

[@OlympiaPiano]

Glad you are finding the tutorial helpful. Thank you for taking the time to write! Both of the other videos (rhythm and scales at the end) are published so I hope that they assist you in learning this beautiful piece! Best wishes and let me know how it goes

[@anabelsuerodegonzalez3061]

Again, excellent analysis of trills and Grace notes. Thank you!

[@OlympiaPiano]

Have fun with these! Best wishes!

[@johnbell913]

I got my trills out of you, Thanks.

[@OlympiaPiano]

Great work!

[@saramodiry5041]

This was one of the best tutorials i have ever watched on KZbin. You are an amazing teacher thank you very very much From iran❤️

[@OlympiaPiano]

Thank you very much for your kind comment! I am glad this helped you and please let me know how it goes for you! Best wishes!

[@saramodiry5041]

@@OlympiaPiano thank you. I had huge problems in trills and the fun thing about it is that my teacher didn't tell me anything special about it. He just said it's a new thing for me and I need to practice more but didn't mention how to count them! So your video was way more practical and useful for me than my own class 🤦🏻‍♀️😄😍

[@OlympiaPiano]

@@saramodiry5041 Keep me posted. I have faith you will master these trills!!

[@Scanpian]

Best explanation I've ever encountered

[@OlympiaPiano]

You are most welcome. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and hope this piece goes well for you!

[@vincentneale2620]

Well this is just what I have been looking for Many Thanks

[@OlympiaPiano]

Very happy you found it! These are particularly tricky in this nocturne! Best wishes!

[@fernandorangelpinheiro2544]

A great explanation

[@OlympiaPiano]

Very glad this helped and thank you for taking the time to comment--it really helps grow my channel! Best wishes with this piece!

[@johnbell913]

excellent lesson. Thank you from California.

[@OlympiaPiano]

Glad that this was helpful for you. Best wishes with this beautiful piece!

[@krasko78]

Thank you!!! It is unbelievable how you play all possible combinations that you talk about and at different tempos. I am learning this piece and already noticed some differences between the various editions. I didn't know that some editions have 3 grace notes in m.11 and although I don't think I like it better than the 4 grace notes, it is always nice to be aware of and experiment with such variations. Also looking forward to the other two videos! Greetings from Spain. :)

[@OlympiaPiano]

You're very welcome! It is my goal to help people all over the world, especially those who may not have access to a live teacher (thus the very detailed videos). I'm glad this is working for you. M. 11 learned with the 3 grace notes and I kind of like saving the 4 grace notes for round 2. At any rate--know that there is a lot of room for flexibility and interpretation. Will be preparing videos 2 & 3 very soon so look for them in the next week or so. Thank you for watching!

[@AliyaSarkenova]

Thank you so much! ❤❤❤

[@OlympiaPiano]

You are welcome--have fun with this beautiful piece!

[@Arabafenice1962]

Grazie grazie grazie sei di grande aiuto❤❤

[@OlympiaPiano]

Prego! Glad you could watch, thank you for commenting

[@wombat5628]

This is the piece played in the movie "The Pianist", I'm thrilled to know it's not too hard so I'm starting to learn after Op9 No2 (hope it's the correct order?). I bookmarked all your tutorials for this piece, invaluable! I have a question: @2:12-2:13, after the A and before the C#, why did you press the C instead of the B key? Thank you so much! You are so kind! (Also I watched one of your earliest videos and you mentioned your cat 😺 Vinny, is he in any video? I didn't find)

[@OlympiaPiano]

This is a great question--this piece uses the minor scale and I demonstrated what is called the Harmonic Minor scale which is used more commonly in this piece. I should have clarified that in the video as I was doing it, but the long answer is the C key note is actually a B# so the scale is C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A, B# (for harmonic minor raised 7th) C#. Composers use the harmonic minor scale because that raised 7th is a half step from the tonic key, in this case C#, and it provides a stronger harmonic pull. If you look around the piece you will see B# all over the place and that is what this is.

[@wombat5628]

@@OlympiaPiano Thanks for the explanations. So key signatures don't tell whether a piece uses natural or harmonic scale, but one tells it by looking at (most of) the scale runs in the piece?

[@OlympiaPiano]

@@wombat5628 Yes. It is confusing but many composers mix and match the minor scales based on what is going on in the music. You will know if they are using harmonic minor if you are in a minor key and you see lots of accidentals on the same note (in this case B#). It has to do with the quality of the V chord in the harmony. I will do a video on it someday🙂

[@marekm6172]

Brawo !

[@OlympiaPiano]

Thank you for watching my channel glad you are learning this Chopin!

[@zhalehhajipouranbenam6849]

🙏🙏🙏

[@OlympiaPiano]

thank you for watching!