Practicing Chopin Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.31 - Tips and Techniques

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[@joshwrightpiano]

Quite a few of you have emailed me asking for videos like this - let me know if you'd like to see more of this type of video. I wish you all the best for another great week of practicing!

[@dylandecker_music]

This is unrelated but can you do a video on whether you play jazz or more contemporary styles and your opinion on these styles in relation to classical music?

[@pjeterdardani2466]

@Josh Wright Yes please make more if these videos!!

[@joshwrightpiano]

@@dylandecker_music haha I'm not any good at jazz. I took a summer of lessons and was always bad at practicing my assignments because I was practicing classical haha

[@joshwrightpiano]

@@pjeterdardani2466 will do Pjeter!

[@richardkastlesucks]

I remember studying this back in college for the finale to my recital 4 years ago. Probably not the best with 3 years experience at that time but I'm thankful to have learned it. Thanks for the video...it's given me some new insights to look into! I'll have to bring this into another concert programme soon :). I think these videos are great to continue. If you ever learn Liszt's Rhapsodie Espagnole, I'd love something like this video.

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

Good luck for your concert! It's a very nice idea to do such a practicing session with more detailed tips. Back in the times when I was like 13-15 years old just starting with such pieces I would so much appreciate to watch such a video. Young students are so lucky these days to have an access to such a content.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Thank you so much for your kindness Anna. Glad you enjoyed it

[@thegreenpianist7683]

Ugh...I missed these kind of videos! This is pure gold

[@joshwrightpiano]

glad you enjoyed it!

[@marshan1226]

Ahhh one of the most beautiful piece of piano, nice to see someone practice it!

[@joshwrightpiano]

thanks so much!

[@TheGoldenHorncall]

Just wanted to say I appreciate your dress in this video being a little more casual. It makes you feel more approachable and reminds me of your older videos (which are my favorite).

[@joshwrightpiano]

haha I'll keep that in mind for future videos

[@xeroxertt5016]

If i could give this video one million of likes i will without thinking it twice, so rewarding and fun to see you practicing. I love your videos Josh! Have a great day.

[@joshwrightpiano]

haha thank you so much. Have a great weekend

[@biffii5568]

Always reminded how beautiful this piece is.. Never becomes trite.

[@joshwrightpiano]

I love it too - they lyrical section has some of my favorite moments in all of music

[@carlosazambujayt]

Talent, intelligence, effort and sincerity... God has blessed you, of course, but you are brilliant because you deserve it, Josh. Thank you for this great video!

[@stefsteenvoorden1576]

Nice to the see your way of practicing, especially with these difficult and popular pieces.

[@joshwrightpiano]

thanks Stef!

[@agamaz5650]

gosh chopin scherzos are so good wish he made more

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

Agamaz oh yes, such a pity there are just 4 of them

[@agamaz5650]

@@AnnaKhomichkoPianist idk why he only composed 4

[@joshwrightpiano]

I agree - such great pieces

[@happypiano4810]

Same with the Impromptus.

[@jazzloopjazz]

Hello Josh! I've been watching you for years now but this is my first comment on your channel. I found myself rooting for you all throughout this video :)) Very refreshing to hear this kind of practice! I think it encourages other pianists (of all levels), when they see how much hard work goes into each detail even when the piece is actually memorized. I also struggle with minute chord changes in Chopin's work in particular and in Romantic composers in general, and I found it very inspiring to see a pianist who is much more skilled than I am deal with the same problem. Your own critical listening while you practise is also something that I think your listeners can learn from. Thank you for this! Good luck with your concert and keep up the good work!

[@calvinng2136]

I've been practicing this piece since quarantine as picking back up my piano skills from 10 years ago. Great Tips and thank you very much for sharing your insights to this piece.

[@mafool14]

I like this a lot. This is one of the most encouraging videos you’ve made! This is really inspiring for my practice sessions. I hope you make more of these.

[@karolakkolo123]

I was just going to check your channel to see if you have anything on this scherzo, and I couldn't believe that this was uploaded today, just when I needed it! I hope you will upload a video going over the technical details some time. Great as always

[@joshwrightpiano]

I will record a full ProPractice video on it within the next month or so :)

[@pjeterdardani2466]

Loved this video!! Very entertaining to see how you overcome issues!!! Keep posting!

[@joshwrightpiano]

thanks Pjeter! Will do

[@DrQuizzler]

This is VERY cool!! These are great tips, and it's great to see your process.

[@joshwrightpiano]

glad you enjoyed it!

[@jordidewaard2937]

Love these kind of videos, hope you'll do more in the future! It also makes me (and probably a lot of others) feel less bad about struggling with a certain piece (I, for one, struggle a lot with Chopin Etudes, and surprisingly, his Mazurkas). I'm a lot better at Bach, but whenever I learn Chopin I learn half as fast. Seeing you struggle through the harder passages makes me realise just how tricky Chopin can be, and seeing you succeed at some point is satisfying to us viewers as well ;D

[@rotsteineva]

I love to see you practicing! Great job! And very instructive too. 🤗💖

[@piotrkol91]

Very interesting and fun watch. Definetly would like to see more vids like this. You can really pick up a lot of bits and pieces in a video like that.

[@judithspitz1076]

I enjoyed watching the process. Definitely do some more of these. I get so frustrated and it's great to see how much care you put into a practice session. Thanks

[@christinejung9576]

Terrific video! This is really helpful on my practicing. Thank you so much Dr wright!!

[@tbgames2761]

Dude your channel is awesome I haven’t found a video I haven’t liked or that hasn’t helped. I think you are really doing the world a justice by allowing people to get free piano lessons and you are one of the best teachers I’ve seen on KZbin. I’m copying and pasting this because I hope you see it haha

[@deadlysquad13]

Wherefore I'm so exited after this video... It's very interesting to see how you practice - you often slow down the tempo and repeat several places. This little sessions help me understand harmonics hidden by chopin. As for me, it's really hard to catch them while listening to real performance at full speed... Hope you will continue this series as this video was exhilirating!

[@ssenaratne]

Thank you Josh. I have been practicing this for about 3 months. At least now I will know how to overcome some of my frequent and repetitive mistakes

[@therussiantrollnetwork7464]

One of my favorites. Thank you

[@joshwrightpiano]

you're welcome. Have a great week!

[@jakeflores2048]

I was at the Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso last night and you played this piece AMAZINGLY!!!

[@lelandpeck4585]

excellent! Josh I was also at the Steinway induction . My group was on Wednesday. Saw your name on the board. Congrats!!

[@captivator13]

Thx a lot Josh for sharing your practicing experience, very helpful and informative, I hope U continue sharing your future training sessions,,, Good luck in TX Blessings Sam 🎵✌🏻

[@joshwrightpiano]

Thanks so much Sam!

[@muhittincankorkut6094]

You indeed played it and uploaded on the youtube. It was great thanm you

[@pouyanikpour82]

I really enjoyed it and practiced a lot step by step by you in Your video and really thank You for sharing your practice with us

[@Perazgaming]

Just printed out the notes for this yesterday, nice timing!

[@joshwrightpiano]

Awesome! Good luck with the piece

[@corywalker8188]

This is really helpful. Thank you.

[@ethanmiller5223]

Extremely cool

[@joshwrightpiano]

Thanks Ethan!

[@ThePianoFortePlayer]

Thank you for doing this

[@ethanpunto9222]

Would love to see more of these videos of essentially your practice session, these kinds of pieces are way out of my skill level but it's so pleasant to watch

[@arturtelega627]

Love it

[@kaspianocz6330]

Very helpfulllll!

[@electron7659]

I absolutely LOVE this piece. My dream is to learn how to to play it. Everything I've ever played on piano was purely by ear. I never learned to read music. So far, the only pieces I can play is most of Fur Elise, The minute waltz of Chopin in D flat major, Part of Rhonda a la Turca, and part of fantasy impromptu. 😒

[@angelbarrosogarcia3613]

Me parece una extraordinaria esperiencia para mi nieto que está montando esta obra para terminar en el Conservatorio Profesional éste curso. Muchísimas gracias.

[@natalielo1249]

Thank you so much for the video! I learnt so much from you tutorials and my skills improved a lot. Would you also make a detailed tutorial for this piece like those in ProPractice Lifetime Access? Also hope you can teach chopin polonaise op.22. :)

[@tomval1331]

i like this kind of video

[@joshwrightpiano]

Glad to hear that Thomas! Have a great week

[@classicalmusiclover4029]

Great! I have to play this piece for a competition.

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

Classical Music Lover oh, good luck!:)

[@classicalmusiclover4029]

Anna Khomichko Pianist Thanks! I also watch your videos

[@joshwrightpiano]

Good luck in the competition!

[@classicalmusiclover4029]

Josh Wright Thanks, Josh!

[@classicalmusiclover4029]

Josh Wright Won 3rd Prize!

[@madebyzheng]

So helpful Josh, thank you a lot. I wonder if you have some tips for how to use pedals , they are always mysterious for me. Difficult.

[@twiltot]

Josh I really love watching you and recommend to friends as well but now if you will I must say it please try to relax the chin while fast playing!!

[@lindaunger4233]

When did you start practicing this piece for the first time?

[@thomasandreassosna9093]

I have not played any of Chopin's other scherzos yet, but reading the music, this one seems to be the easiest. Fortunately, the piece relies on repetition, which means that the technical fine-tuning is limited to a few sequences. Another advantage is that the development of the individual themes does not deviate into other keys, but you only have to pay attention to individual slightly different bars. I found three passages in particular very difficult to practice. And this is mainly due to the piece's usual rapid performance tempo of 9-10 minutes, which in my opinion makes this scherzo seem very rushed in places. In my musical opinion, the optimal performance time would be 12-14 minutes. In this way, particularly beautiful melodic lines, such as the theme from bar 65, could be played out much more calmly and with more enjoyment, and the melodic climaxes could be given much more weight. Other difficult passages are the leggiero cadenza in the A major section and the cascade at the end of this sequence, which takes us back to B minor and introduces the agitato, which I interpret as the beginning of the actual finale. The last two pages of the piece then present a few more minor technical difficulties, but that's basically it: practice three passages effectively and patiently and the piece is part of the repertoire. By the way, I also saw the video of your interpretation of the scherzo, Josh. I think your interpretation is particularly successful because you approach the piece more calmly than most other pianists, although I think the tempo could be calmer in places. But you have this amazing sense of dynamics and musical lines. This means that you use delays, compressions, but also crescendos and decrescendos so effectively that an enormous arc of tension is created! You are slowly starting to rival my favorite pianist, Artur Rubinstein!

[@jamus1217]

I tried to learn this piece just a couple years after starting piano. I was unsuccessful lol I wonder how i would do now 10 years later though :D

[@lycoris7890]

Josh, I have a very hard decision to make am buying my first good piano because what I was learning on was not close to an acoustic piano at all. Anyways I saw a used Yamaha CLP-430 in a very flawless condition at the price of the Roland FP-30 with stand and pedals, so I was wondering which key action do you recommend: the GH3 or PHA4 standard. Thanks for your time and help, love your stuff keep up the amazing work.

[@joshwrightpiano]

I'm so sorry I'm not too knowledgeable about those keyboards. For night practicing, I own a Yamaha Arius and a Nord Piano 2, both of which I enjoy. Sorry I couldn't be of more help

[@lycoris7890]

@@joshwrightpiano It would really help tellinf me which Yamaha Airus you have, thanks a lot for your response.

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

the feeling of the keys is sometimes quite personal, I would recommend to go to a piano shop or a few and just try them both

[@JD-qd5zp]

Hi, Dr. Wright. I watched this video because I’m learning this piece right now, and I was hoping you would answer a question for me. You didn’t give me a verbal answer to my question, but I think I got my answer from watching you play. When you get to the coda and play the arpeggios ending with thirds at the top Are you turning your thumb under in those eight places or are you just doing what I called thumb over in that difficult passage? I’ve been practicing those measures recently and it seems like it would be much easier to play if I didn’t try to turn the thumb under and instead play those measures with a quick shift of the hand. No one ever hear the space between the notes. I eagerly await your answer. You play beautifully.

[@theplayheadskmoctoberproje5022]

Josh, may I ask how long fif it take for you to learn this piece? How many days and how many hours of practice?

[@azoterhuja2488]

😍👍

[@joshwrightpiano]

Thanks Ruuzono!

[@abisal_gergiev]

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@joshwrightpiano]

Thanks Abisal!

[@IEEMAZ_Convoluted_14.2.8.5]

Can you do scherzo no. 1?

[@JG_1998]

seeing how much u struggle during practice was very moralizing! same amount of frustration and repetition that I have when I'm learning pieces. and im just on the easier chopin etudes. i guess missing notes constantly is common and just part of the process. i was very embarrassed about how i sound during my practice sessions.

[@nicholasperez2278]

Just realized josh is wearing a black shirt and jean and was like, "why not just put a suit jacket on?"

[@joshwrightpiano]

haha had to class it up a bit somehow :)

[@briancoveney3080]

So helpful. Seeing a virtuoso work through things systematically, that you do know how best to approach. forget about the camera and get it to feel right. Peace my good man.

[@The235Anil]

First!

[@joshwrightpiano]

thanks for being a big supporter of the channel!

[@joshwrightpiano]

@J. K. haha this is great! Thank you, as always, for your ongoing friendship and support Jim

[@louisehollyhead6807]

I would do far more slow practice.