Learn to Play Masterclass - Chopin Etude Op. 25, #12: Ocean - Charlie Albright, Pianist

[@felynia]

I'm going into this beautiful etude now and this is very helpful in understanding everything, especially the intonation behind the piece! Thank you so much.

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

Thank you...glad it is helpful! Check out some of my performance videos of this as well, if you're interested! Here's one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmbFcpisYrKGosU

[@creepergreen1162]

This is going to be my first etude and thanks for the tips I know I can play the piece fully thanks so much ❤

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

Good luck, @creepergreen1162! Thanks for commenting and for your support. Keep me posted!

[@yorkzie7593]

Goddam perfection, I need to perform this and this gave me so many reminders on how I should play

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

Awesome! Thanks for the support, @yorkzie7593!

[@Hello-cy9er]

so skilled, incredible

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

😄

[@michaelsmith697]

Awesome playing Charlie! You have indeed mastered this Etude!

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

Not sure about “mastered,” but thank you very much for the compliment! 😄

[@michaelsmith697]

I am sure you'll be fine! It is an amazing piece. @@CharlieAlbrightPianist

[@michaelsmith697]

This is a wonderful Etude. I love it! I’m having a go at learning it again after doing it years ago and not finishing it…. Great video Charlie!

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

Keep me posted!

[@creepergreen1162]

I am struggling to hit the accurate notes and this helps me a lot thanks

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

Glad it's helpful! Be sure to always keep relaxed and loose!

[@pianoplaynight]

Awesome, Charlie! A lot of musical ideas to reflect on. I've been studying this the last few weeks, but I'm having trouble at higher tempo with the 5-1 switch (arguably the one technical point of the etude). Do you have any tips on how to improve that? I'm doing dotted rhythms on the 5-1, or even quick triplets on fingers 5-1-2 and conversely 1-5-2. I am just a little disappointed at my lack of progress, given the simplicity of this piece. Apart from that I'm doing slow practice, chords, and playing on 2 octaves instead of 3.

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

Thanks! Be sure to stay really loose throughout the piece, which may help with the 5-1 switch. Also, be sure you're crossing your finger under your hand to the next note and not just "jumping," which might be helpful. Good luck! :)

[@pianoplaynight]

@@CharlieAlbrightPianist thanks! I started trying to make a more rotational switch than a jump and it definitely seems to help! Will report back...

[@silencedogood7297]

I am relearning to play after a traumatic brain injury. age 73. Do you offer online lessons ? once or twice a month ? Charge ? Chopin Rachmaninoff Liszt. no performances, just for fun, perhaps some 2-piano coaching for my piano buddy and me if I can recover enough ?

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

Best wishes with your recovery! I do offer online lessons to a limited number of students. Please email [e-mail] if you are interested in scheduling.

[@CyberJedi1]

Biggest problems with etudes are technique issues, fingering, clearness, precision, if you are already at a point where you can play effortless like this, then it's easy to make interpretation and expression adjustments. I practiced the black keys etude for more than 2 years and never managed to get even near the suggested tempo in Cortot (116, managed barely 85), same thing with the torrent etude. It is so hard just hitting the right notes at the insane speed these etudes demand that I can barely think of any expression tips like this. That's why every masterclass that I went I got out of it feeling it was kind of useless, because unless you get there on a super high level already there is not much one can teach you in 30 minutes to an hour, but if you are already at a super high level you mostly don't need the masterclass, that's my biggest gripe with masterclasses, and I mean, the one doing the real hard job is the piano teacher that everyday tries to get a not very talented student from zero to somewhat decent, I have the utmost respect for all of them.

[@CharlieAlbrightPianist]

I completely agree that piano teachers for kids are extremely important to their development as a musician (I had an incredible teacher, Mrs. Adsit, from when I was about 7 or 8 until I went off to college, who introduced me to classical music and was like a grandmother to me). I think that masterclasses definitely fulfill a different purpose than everyday piano teachers, and can be very effective for people both who are already technically great and those who aren't. One of the biggest things they introduce is a different perspective on how to approach a piece (i.e. interpretation, style, technique, etc.) from what your everyday teacher teaches, and/or a different way of saying the same thing your teacher has been trying to teach you; sometimes, this different way of explaining/showing the same concept just "clicks" with a student better...and can be super effective. Whenever I teach masterclasses, I try to preface it with saying that what I'm about to teach isn't the be-all-and-end-all method, and that the students might consider trying out the ideas, and then picking and choosing what they'll apply long-term to their own performances and interpretations. As for etudes specifically, they are definitely challenging technically, but are arguably equally or more challenging musically as well. Of course, it is hard to really get to the musical core of the piece when the notes aren't there. But that doesn't mean that the technique and musicality can't be developed together; if only technique is thought about, it may be very hard to suddenly transition to musical playing...it's probably better to develop them simultaneously, as they often go hand-in-hand. While I don't think anyone expects a 30 minute masterclass to completely and forever change the way a student performs, I do think the idea is that it provides a different perspective and way of approaching a piece from what the student might experience normally. Thank you for your comment, @CyberJedi1! Really appreciate your support, and hope to see you live at one of my concerts someday! :D