Sight-reading + Why Liszt Etude "Mazeppa" Isn't That Difficult...🤔 |Tiffany Vlogs

If you enjoyed this video, please consider donating to Together with Classical Grant Fundraiser: www.togetherwithclassical.org...
Apply for Grant to pay for instrument/lesson/music project: www.togetherwithclassical.org...
Next Concert:
June 16th - Brahms Concerto with Philharmonie Salzburg: www.philharmoniesalzburg.at/e...
~~
Special thanks to Steinway for Model B loan!!
www.steinway.com/tiffany
(affiliate link: please use this link to purchase any Steinway brand piano - they will give me a small commission :)
~~
Curious about other classical musician's stories?
Subscribe to my 2nd channel!
Together with Classical: / togetherwithclassical
~~
If you wish to support me:
Recording downloads, exclusive videos and posts:
/ tiffanypoonpianist
PayPal: paypal.me/tiffanypoon
~~
Tiffany on Social Media:
/ tiffanypoonpianist
/ tiffanypianist
/ tiffanypianist

[@vittoriobarbaro5527]

m.s.= mano sinistra ( left hand ) m.d.= mano destra ( right hand ) All the abbreviations are in Italian language

[@puffypuffy7162]

Her 10 mins of sight reading, I probably have to spend 1 week to practice.... incredible

[@oannabonana]

you suck, not me :)

[@oannabonana]

I'd spend 1 month 😭😭😭

[@matsu820]

This line of thinking easily has the flip-side of feeling bad about your own playing. You should probably be wary of it for your own mental health's sake.

[@LoreSecrets]

Just one week? Hahahahah

[@ziwenjiao3391]

@@oannabonana, exactly me too

[@perfumeil1]

I've always wondered how pianists would deconstruct music when they practice, but never expected someone to put huge effort to visualize it. Now I have this video, great work!

[@ole8847]

Huge respect for the amount of work you put in this video!

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

🤓 My eyes thank you 🙏😵

[@randomchannel-px6ho]

“Mazeppa isn’t that difficult” Not all of us are virtuosos Tiffany. In all seriousness great insights

[@YSFmemories]

it's only like doing rocket science while trying to juggle flaming rocks and reciting beowulf backwards all at the same time.

[@georges3349]

Yes it’s obviously very technically challenging, but Liszt’s music is generally VERY intuitive to pianists musically/pianistically/harmonically

[@MichaelKaykov]

I’d say Liszt’s writing is often way more comfortable than that of Chopin.... that being said, it can be comfortable but still extremely hard. And harder still to go past the textures and really play his music with maximum color.

[@georges3349]

@@ruthsalgado6775 No one asked, quit your bragging

[@donwong3577]

@@ruthsalgado6775 I doubt you can play it with even mediocre technique or phrasing, let alone speed.

[@sonmair2953]

You make a very great point, Tiffany! People will always try to rank pieces by difficulty (most likely in relation to technique). But we will always have our strengths and weaknesses which make certain pieces more or less "difficult" than others. I don't think subjective takes on pieces and their associated "difficulty" is something that helps us much or at all on our musical journey as one might think. Thanks for an amazing vlog and food for thought!

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

Yessss thank you 🙏🙏🙏 I'm so glad you understand 🤗🙏🎶

[@datnguyen3441]

Yea this is true, I can play Debussy and Chopin stuffs but struggles to play Bach and Mozart stuffs, even their “easier” works.

[@thereyougoagain1280]

@@datnguyen3441 Funny, I have pretty much the exact opposite problem. I love playing Bach and Mozart, but I have trouble with Chopin, Beethoven, etc. (somehow haven’t played Debussy but I’d imagine it would present similar challenges).

[@Ash1nerTV]

Yeah I totally get that! I’m pretty good at playing Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninov, Debussy or Satie, yet I struggle so much with earlier composers like Handel, Bach, Haydn or Mozart. Edit: By the way I’m not some super virtuosic pianist that plays really difficult Rach and Liszt Ètudes or Concertos, I just play their easier works :)

[@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851]

It’s not always about technique either, like I have just revisited a couple of Chopin etudes Op.10 No.4 and Op.25 No.11 and while technically they’re pretty easy at this point, it’s another matter keeping up the mental stamina to play them through which has required an immense amount of practice I haven’t done in a while. I’m just not used to these kinds of relentless studies.

[@smnnbdy]

The precious thing about this video is that we can see what's in the mind of a professional pianist, during the practice sessions. You can learn so many things about structure, harmony, sight reading, memorization etc from a video like this.

[@completelyclassical3288]

This video actually helped me out. It makes Mazeppa look so much more simpler. Thanks Tiffany! :)

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

Yay!!! 🤗🙏🤗🎹

[@jessetrevena4338]

I legitimately can't believe how good you are at sight reading!!! It almost sounds like you've played the piece before.

[@Alix777.]

Of course she have

[@juanferrequetglas4444]

whooo happiest moment of the day

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

🤗

[@janadrienlim9318]

@@TiffanyPoonpianist I love the Kinderszenen intro! I'd love to hear you play op 15 no 1 in another video!

[@thebowinarrow8398]

@@TiffanyPoonpianist you make lots of peoples days better, and you inspire me to learn, I have a kimball console upright and I am self teaching, it isn’t easy, and sometimes i lose motivation but the beauty of classical music always makes me want to keep and learning, and you, you are a voice to be heard, one that inspires many and may you continue to share your passion for music and continue to inspire many more

[@siddharth-gandhi]

2-week break, but a 25 min video: YES please! Hope everyone is doing well! (Day 22)

[@danielperanginangin5981]

I've been anticipating this video for a while. 🙇

[@Hans-gb4mv]

Now we can start anticipating the next one ;)

[@nelly6673]

I‘m always soo excited for new videos from her since they never fail to inspire me to practice especially in this pandemic !😷

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

🤗💪🎶

[@thunderwarp13842]

Watching you practice makes me wish that I still had a piano or keyboard to practice on. I’m not a classical pianist but I still enjoy watching videos related to classical music.

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

Never too late to start 🎹😉

[@robertoa.m.3984]

Dear Tiffany: I love to watch and hear you practice!.... it's uplifting and invigorating! Thank you so much 💕😘

[@seojeongjoo]

you are literally amazing. every time I watch your videos I feel like I want to be a better person, even if it would be just a single step forward. not only about musicality and such, but everything in general. I am not a pianist, just a postgrad biomed student playing the piano for a hobby, but you are exactly the kind of person that I'd love to keep close (not to mention, it would be perfect if you lived next door so I can listen to you practising)

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

🥺 This is exactly what I try to be and do on KZbin and social media... Thank you for writing this comment ❤️🥺

[@PianoDawg1620]

Thank you so much for putting out these videos, they're a great source of inspiration.

[@nikosflokas6901]

Love this content! Talking - analyzing - and also playing! Just love it!

[@williambunter3311]

Learning new things in different subjects is a great pleasure, Tiffany. I think you are right to follow your course of action. I wish you much joy as you gain new knowledge.

[@HidekazuOki]

It's amazing you can sight read this crazy piece....wow!! I love the second part in particular. So beautiful!

[@WoutDC]

This has been an exceptionally happy week for me, hope for everyone here as well! And now a Tiffany Poon video to end the week, wonderfull! Thanks Tiffany, looking forward to GRWM vlogs when your concert in Germany happens. Also, pretty impressive how fast you learn :)

[@trevorthornton9003]

Thank you for sharing this rare glimpse into the early learning process of a touring artist! What a fabulous resource. Your transparency is so refreshing.

[@rodrigosantamarialastra323]

Let's appreciate for a moment the effort put in editting these sight-reading videos. Great job!

[@pablovalverde3542]

I'm currently learning this, is a truly challenging piece Tiffany!

[@Dunkez]

Thanks i really love your sight reading videos. Im happy you keep doing them

[@pianoforte17xx48]

You've really changed in this vlog! I'm talking about how more of a positive mindset you have and how you're ambitious for learning and educating yourself! It's really inspiring, especially coming from a person who's already more knowledgeable and experienced than millions of people. Thank you for being such a model!

[@Karlinberlin1]

A great adjustment to the way you work/live. Musicians like Menuhin, Lipatti, and Schwarzkopf were versed in many art forms - literature, painting, etc. - and were friends with other artists. As a philosopher you are predisposed.

[@privateperson8289]

Brilliantly said and played :) especially love the explanation of 'not bragging' versus 'something that you find interesting or exciting'

[@jean-guywallem]

What Victor Hugo says has the final measure "he finally falls ..... and gets up king!"

[@jk777212]

A great pianist, and a nice person!!! 🙂

[@VincentTurregano]

I love these vlogs. I love watching other professional musician practice and learning what others do to improve.

[@legendpossible7159]

Yessss!! Do what you want to do and I love the idea that you would love to keep learning!!! Support you as always❤️😘 BTW I'd like to thank you for making this vlog at this moment because I am learning a super challenging etude for an audition in August! This meant so much to me as it's such a powerful encouragement telling me to trust myself that I can do it! Thank you Tiffany!!❤️❤️❤️

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

Good luck!!! 🤗❤️ You can do it 🎶

[@adonisadmirer2752]

Huge respect to you, your efforts and your work ethic. You're a chad musician and I wish you the best.

[@danielliu26]

Ahhh 25 minute vlog can’t wait to watch it all with my breakfast :D!

[@misfitbxscuit]

was so excited to watch this video!! all your time editing surely paid off :D

[@andrewc9643]

This is a great video on how you look at things.. and its something we dont get often. Thank you

[@Istarilight17]

another inspirational video, I'll have to save this for when I am feeling down.

[@hueguy]

Thank you for narrating your thought process. This is extremely helpful as I'm trying to sight-read better

[@evankovie]

I love watching your sight readings💝🥰

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

🙏😬🤓🙏

[@avantgardenovelist]

Thank you for sharing your process with us. Fascinating.

[@danielthonk7481]

Omg i've been waiting for this so long, ever since I saw your insta story I got so excited

[@BlackHermit]

Interesting! Can't thank you enough for all these elaborate explanations!

[@leona7522]

Thank you. Completely agree about taking on the new works of Liszt. Pattern is everything.

[@nrg_warrior45]

Thank you Tiffany, this video inspires me and give me motivation to practice

[@zekromplayspiano]

tbf I sightread through this one a while back and had a similar thought. It's not as complicated as it looks, most of the complications come from the number of accidentals. But even those are just a semitone away from whatever the chord is most of the time. I think the famous difficulty comes more from the execution of all the physically demanding movement than it does from reading. It's definitely no easy piece to perform. Oh and the story behind it, I never read the poem but I read a synopsis of the story and well... yeah mazeppa was no hero. If I rememeber he got accused of sleeping with the princess and was chained to a horse and sent off to die but somehow he survived and ended up in ukraine where he was saved and he joined the army. Something like that

[@shuatock8216]

Interesting. Didn’t he become a Ukrainian war hero though? Forgive my ignorance

[@MiguelSousapiano]

This is a great video, and you are a great performer and educator. Keep up with the work! I really enjoy your videos

[@nehircaliskan7525]

I was literally going to sight read this piece it's an amazing one and I love it! Also thank you for your inspirations!

[@aambrioso]

Thank you Tiffany for your willingness to share your love of classical music in such an open and personal way. It’s interesting how modern technology allows one to share their inner self broadly.

[@duannehaughton4893]

Thank you for showing more of the learning process of classical music😀

[@o_lozano267]

Another great video! Thank you for being an inspiration to me!

[@TheSIGHTREADINGProject]

Incredible to behold! Great to hear /see the mental process that helps you work it out on the fly

[@Zachy_Wacky978]

Your sight reading is equivalent to about my 2 week practice, even after then I stop and forget notes. Excellent job Tiffany ❤️

[@brucebuckley8483]

Yay!...that was so fun watching you play through that.

[@villanfn1935]

A new Tiffany video is an automatic good day😀

[@mindtoheartjourney3154]

Very insightful...you would make a great teacher at any level. 😁👍👏

[@Zhinarkos]

Ever inspiring and motivating. Makes me think of how much I need to improve my sight-reading. Still, goals right? Thank you, Tiffany.

[@mmebougainvillea]

had been waiting for this! ♡

[@crewelocoman5b161]

I have such admiration for your patience, thoroughness, as well as your musical abilities. You are an inspiration to all of us. Thank you!

[@duannehaughton4893]

Tiffany, your editing skills are very impressive😃.

[@MultiLord83]

Thank you so much for this. This is a gold lesson.

[@linafana4124]

I'm so excited to see her play this piece.

[@danielwcrompton]

Thank you so much for these insights

[@ScratchedWinter]

I like watching you learn like this. I used to read music a long time ago but now i can only play by copying people and examining what is being played slowly and memorising it, I hit a limit with my ability to follow and sight read when I was younger and after returning could not overcome this barrier.

[@lefinlay]

The same thing happened to me - try sight reading pieces you can play fro memory. That’s what helped me

[@bdstudios6088]

This is how intelligent people live and grow. great inspiration for lifelong learning!

[@emielboyat1536]

Playing such a piece is already so impressive to me (many unpredictable chords and transitions), but to be able to play it without a score seems unreal! I like this new style of practice vlog very much!

[@rutalithurr2008]

Hi Tiffany! Had been waiting for your video 😁.

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

I know... 🙈❤️

[@Luc7an]

Beautiful Tiffany, so talented.

[@James_Bowie]

I love Lizst (the original concert pianist superstar). Thanks for this very detailed video. I know how much effort it takes to produce these. 👍👍👍

[@platypusmusic8843]

Probably a year ago when I started watching your vids(approximately when I picked piano back up), the idea of noticing patterns was something I thought would need years more to learn. But hey, I’ve been playing a lot of Rachmaninov recently and I can occasionally predict things in his pieces! It helps a lot once I get the style of a certain composer for sure!

[@user-hb9wd4oe3i]

love ur vids tiffany!!

[@valeriahernandezmartinez5294]

I really loved it. This is my dream video.

[@bryanlin8333]

I love that the first thing I hear is kinderszenen 💖

[@bryanlin8333]

2 years later, I was about to like this comment, then realised it’s my own comment

[@kiaraeijo]

Great Video Tiffany!!!! One of my goals within the next five years is to be well-versed in extended techniques for the flute and to learn the Ibert Concerto, the Reinecke Undine Sonata, the Reinecke Concerto, the Gaubert Flute Sonatas, Mouquet La Flute de Pan, and to explore more repertoire by more female composers (the last piece that I played by a female composer was Valerie Coleman’s Danza de la Mariposa)🥰❤️

[@tombufford136]

Your a kind woman Tiffany. The 'Mazeppa' is music worth looking at and with you playing through we are able to assess our own levels of ineptitude and skill when deciding to take this music on. It seems perhaps less intellectually challenging while using good coordination and strength.

[@gemmm3645]

Woah, your sight reading skills are so good. I wish to play like you one day. Thank you for the calming vlog Tiffany :^)

[@gabbbrosh]

Beautiful as always🥰😘

[@jordidewaard2937]

Hey Tiffany! Funny that you decided to read more, I've been following my interests a lot more as well. I decided to start learning Chinese (with apps until I get through some, then I'll look for a tutor). I don't need to or anything, but it just seems like such an interesting language, and I love learning languages where I can get appreciated by natives for being able to communicate with them in their mother tongue :D (+ the characters are so funny!)

[@billyfisher1539]

Agreed! Just got to practise some of the octave leaps in the dark ;) . To me, Feux Follets is so much more challenging. Thanks for the lovely video as always, Tiffany! Hopefully I'll be able to see you live one day.

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

Feux follets 😬 I can't... 🙈

[@luisdiaz05]

I love your sight reading videos ! 📖🤓

[@PieInTheSky9]

Thank you so much for this video, you gave me the courage to try this piece as well, and you're right it wasn't as bad to sight read as I thought it would be! I've played the 10th transcendental etude before, which was much more difficult to sight read in my opinion, but I might like the Mazeppa a little more.

[@angelaknebel4156]

Is always fascinating watching your vlogs!!!!! Hello from England!!!! :) :) :)

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

👋❤️🤗

[@bossbick]

Poetic symphony no. 6 mazeppa is one of my favorite pieces in general.

[@JinTCJL]

Superb video, Tiffany! Very interesting to see your insight - I actually was sight reading this the other day and the same thought occurred to me regarding empirical knowledge, especially with Liszt’s compositions. However, as I’m sure you know, the fun is trying to get up to a speed which conveys the madness and beauty in it’s entirety. Funnily, for me, the alternating chromatic octaves was one of the parts that made me doubt myself 😂

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Finally someone says it. I'm nowhere near the technical level to ever play any of the Liszt Transcendental Etudes, but I have looked at them all and to me it was clear that Mazeppa is NOT the most difficult of them. It's most definately the one that is the most exhausting to play, but that has nothing to do with difficulty. And Liszt and his octaves: My favourite use of that device can be found in "Orage". Those are so incredibly satisfying to play, especially at the end when the resolution comes.

[@phillach5181]

its easier than feux follets, but most would agree its in the top 3 with chasse neige

[@awe331]

It is still top 3, with feux follets and chasse niege, agree with person above me

[@kurtmorris454]

from what I've heard #11 Harmonies Du Soir is the most difficult, in fact Liszt wrote 3 versions of these Etudes during his lifetime. When he was young he wrote the easier forms, then in his middle years he re-wrote them to the point where he was the only person in the world who could play them which satisfied him, but as he grew older, he wanted others to be able to play them so he composed a 3rd version which some of the greatest players can struggle through them yet he could play them with ease. I read this in the #11 description. It has that monstrous run using 6 notes per hand going down the scale using flats, double flats, , naturals.. It takes me about 15 seconds just to figure out each chord and yet to hear the hole thing played in a run almost as fast as the flight of the bumble bee using massive chords is totally insane. From what I gather it's the re-written versions or the easier versions that we hear people play now.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

They get progressively difficult. The last one is the most difficult one.@@kurtmorris454

[@adrianszczepaniak588]

You made my day! :D Thanks you so much! ^^

[@mencken8]

Tiffany is the only person I know of who would use the words “Liszt” and “not that difficult” in the same sentence.

[@alkey29]

Your sight Reading skills are amazing. I sound like a type writer plucking keys who where my face right on the sheet music trying to read individual notes.

[@PianoDawg1620]

Wow! Great job! Sight reading Liszt is quite challenging. I once tried to read one of the Beethoven symphony transcriptions. Of course, it was difficult but gave me a new understanding of Liszt. Hopefully I'll one day be able to play at least one of the transcriptions, and the symphonic poems.

[@AnonYmous-ry2jn]

We saw you play a few snippets of Shultz-Eveler “Blue Danube” Waltz.That would be a thrill to see in its entirety. Wagner-Liszt Tannhauser Overture would be a nice change of pace, or Brahms Handel Variations. Or Beethoven Hammerklavier...

[@j_go.]

Happy reading. 🙂

[@alex_stonehenge]

Love that Video!

[@DavidArdittiComposer]

Nice to hear it played slowly. Rather beautiful. You convinced me it isn’t that difficult. (Of course it is to get it good!)

[@sergiumocan3355]

As an architect learning to play piano (i'm sooo far away :)) my former teacher said: Scales are easy... just practice...Well, after a few years even today to play them well...and not just moving fingers,,, i found it difficult, to rly enjoy the flow of sound... even if for many others it seems the easiest thing to do. Oddly enough these vlogs i enjoy the most, but i guess i'm odd. Thank you

[@TiffanyPoonpianist]

I'm odd, too 😅 It's absolutely fine to find things difficult, it's perfectly fine to be different 😊

[@gergelykiss]

Thank you for this video! Such a fascinating look behind the magic curtain. :) Musically Mazeppa is the most straightforward out of all the Transcendental Etudes, simple theme and variations - I think that its thematic simplicity and repetitiveness has something to do with the program, as it is basically a wild, involuntary horse ride (our dude, the Cossack "roi" is rope-bound to a horse which has been driven mad to run into the steppe until it dies of exhaustion). The near-constant hand-alternating might also be an allusion to galopping. There is an orchestral version of this piece as well (a symphonic poem), which has a much more elaborate mournful and victorious section to make a more balanced work (in my opinion). May I ask a cheeky question: have you really been sufficiently unfamiliar with this piece to be surprised by the slow, dramatic interlude towards the end? :) There are a few live concert performances of the complete Transcendental Etudes on KZbin (Nelson Goerner, Boris Berezovsky, Daniil Trifonov) which might be worth even your time. Thank you again for a wonderful insight into your sight-reading process. Your performances always offer a fantastic experience - and your practicing is no less fascinating. Please keep us in the loop! :)

[@rininrin]

This is so wild to see. I only started playing piano this year but I can see there’s a lot more I’ll have to actually look into than I originally thought. (the theory ofc bc you keep saying diminished 7th or something and I’m sooo curious how you can just tell from a glance!!) anyway I love your sight reading vids, even if it’s not meant this way, they do make really good guides as to how to break things apart. Especially this one where you cut the score into phrasing for how you’re reading it. Anyway thanks for the video!! Have a great week 😁😁😁

[@simonesimosimobe]

Thanks Tif ❤️

[@vkippen]

Hi Tiffany, I LOVE YOUR ANNOTATIONS! I know it’s been forever since you posted this but might you continue this sight reading annotating with different composers and at different levels? It’s such a gift for us to see how you think 💕🌹😘🎶

[@timwhaley8810]

It's not about hard, it's a beauty and passion.

[@jazzfan7491]

Great video. Please consider making some videos where you talk about the books you're reading. Would love to hear about them, and hear your thoughts on them. Doesn't matter if the subject matter is music or not.

[@nickgodi9001]

This video is so good