What's the Difference Between a Waltz and a Mazurka?

This is a really important subject for anyone who has studied Chopin Waltzes or Mazurkas. Chopin wrote a thick book of Mazurkas as well as a big book of Waltzes. These staples of the piano repertoire are stupendous pieces of music! bit.ly/2UbLepO

[@NN-rn1oz]

A professor once taught me a good shortcut to beginning to understand the difference. He said in a waltz the first beat is the most important, whereas in a mazurka it is the least important.

[@AcousticBruce]

That's actually a better way to conceptualize it. Often times, the first beat is hardly there.

[@jgamez5023]

Chopin was such a genius, I can listen to his music all day long....

[@kerder8660]

His geniuseneses was in that he could incorporate life & struggle of polish people into music, not many did that.

[@annatat2020]

Yes, I can listen to his music all life long...

[@michaelprozonic]

This question sounds like a real ice-breaker at a party. I’ll let you know how it goes

[@josephbadams1]

Guaranteed winner.

[@kurainaru]

Michael Prozonic how did it go?

[@MaestroTJS]

At least you'd weed out the interesting people from the ones you can forget about.

[@L4R4]

Lmao!!

[@josephpedulla7831]

It might help if you're trying to pick up a Polish girl. LOL!

[@hopesonmakokha5217]

You're playing is incredible, I was absolutely immersed. It didn't cross my mind there was a distinct difference between waltzes and mazurkas, I just always felt mazurkas were jumpy in the way their beat is counted. Really informative video, thanks

[@DomskiPlays]

The pedal control is stupendously good

[@maronthehill]

Can't find a better tutorial like this. Very clearly explained, with a good demo. And such a lovable middle aged gentleman!

[@drkekenstein5750]

I actually knew the difference because of Andrew Furmanczyks music theory series. Really interesting to be able to incorporate it here. Nice video as always

[@anak_kucing101]

Wow! I didn't know anything about Andrew. I checked out the channel and it seems helpful for me I want to know about Classical Music.

[@haviskam]

When i want to chill out after a hard day's work, i tune into this gentleman's videos. So relaxing, so out of the world. Thank you.

[@tymanung6382]

Mazurka (originally Mazurek) and waltz musics are relatively similar, BUT the 2 dances are VERY different. In 20th and 21st centuries, Mazurek dance is popular in Poland, Gouadeloupe and Martinique, and Puerto Rico, at least.

[@haviskam]

Im a classical guitarist, yet I learn a lot of music from you. You are a great inspiration.

[@balthasarte5649]

Same here! I'm studying Tárrega's Mazurkas and of course I don't want them to sound like valses

[@exploringwithdave5926]

You are a good pianist!!! Someday I hope I can play like you. :)

[@baigner25]

Dear Maestro, thank you so much for the clear explanation regarding the difference between Valse and Mazurka. 🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@zoe.h.nelson04]

Your playing gorgeous! Respect!

[@Mukundanghri]

Just listen and learn. Thank you again. I have a deep appreciation to you for sharing your knowledge.

[@bamaslamma1003]

I learned something new today! By the way, that Mason & Hamlin has an incredibly beautiful sound.

[@ΠολυτροποςΟδυσσέυς]

the waltz is unbelievably beautiful

[@cielounarastrologia5778]

And its among the easiest Chopin Waltzes to play 😉

[@vmdp8790]

@@cielounarastrologia5778 it's hard to get used to the rhythm. very weird for me because the note starts before the bar and I have to get it with a different chord

[@homeschoolraeannagoss8708]

I have been watching a lot of your videos as I share them with my students! THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge and expertise! I can't help but feel an affinity to you as well because you remind me so much of my college piano teacher who passed away in 2010. I miss him so much and learned many of these same techniques and phrasing that you share in your videos!

[@eventsrusinc]

Beautiful explanation and piano talent! Thank you for sharing this.

[@salvadorbragais6498]

Thanks for enlightening us about the nuances of famous ,familiar and favourite genre in music.GOD bless.❤

[@neapolitan6th]

You play the b minor waltz beautifully

[@francobonanni3499]

Love both forms waltz and Mazurka. There is however so much more to learn on this topic . Music is immense.

[@mausib]

Great. I'm on my first Maruzka. Wonderful teaching here.

[@Felven]

great video. is there a type of piece that emphasizes the 3rd beat? also amazing performances.

[@BrassicaRappa]

Thanks for the video! I'm surprised you didn't play the 33/4 Mazurka! I think half the time I go to play that waltz, I end up playing the mazurka instead, and vice versa. It's like there's a coin that flips somewhere in the back action every time I hit that first F#. lol

[@shentonpeters1191]

lovely lesson and wonderful Performance. Thank You so much

[@steinway1414]

I’m impressed. With your playing . U can play, !!!!u have gone up in my esteem . Not like some pianist on u tube who demonstrates pianos but doesn’t a thing substantial . Great listening to you

[@jiriwiesner]

I was wondering about that. I play the accordion and the particular song book I use does not even have the left hand - it has just harmony. I play a mazurka today and played it mostly like a waltz. But I did get the sense that there is something different about mazurka - phrases ended on the second beat. :-) I'll make sure to emphasize the second beat tomorrow and see how that'll go.

[@okjhum]

I love all your piano lessons! Thank you!

[@exploringwithdave5926]

I tore open my grand piano and am rebuilding it. I hope it sounds as nice as yours when I finish!

[@TheModicaLiszt]

I thought the rhythm of the waltz was mainly six quavers and the mazurka has dotted quaver + semiquaver + two chrochets

[@ellielane8173]

Thank you so much!! After two months trying to figure this out, I finally understand!!!!!

[@madraven07]

The dotted rhythm is one of the biggest differentiations. Then emphasis on different beats being second. .

[@MickBrownFolksinger]

Brilliant thanks for this, couldn;t find this anywhere, thanks for sharing

[@memeguaia]

Great as always, thank you so much!

[@garyschneider5781]

Brilliant explanation!

[@ocbgrounds6168]

The real secret is that the middle of the waltz he played has a mazurka figure in it, which can be brought out more.

[@ocbgrounds6168]

And I'd actually say there's an obereck figure combined with it, although that is less compelling.

[@themancable]

Outstanding demonstration, thanks!

[@mdenizot2]

Thank you, awesome video. I usually recognize waltz and mazurka thanks to classical ballet, but I never actually knew the music difference. Merci bien!... and excellent pronounciation of Chopin, a little bit nasal but not too much as often Americans do 😃

[@12thDecember]

I guess I'm not musically inclined when it comes to the piano. I was trying to imagine dancing to these compositions and simply couldn't conjure the imagery, not like for example the KZbin video "Stanford Viennese Ball 2013 - Opening Committee Waltz." That's my dream version of the waltz, elegant and graceful.

[@Freeman2023]

Good explaination. Thanks Robert!

[@gaames]

"Second OR third beat accent" would be more accurate for the mazurka. Also, it seems strange to pick a waltz where the first beat is often tied over from the previous measure. Your point is still correct, but it's harder to hear. Greg Niemczuk has a good video on KZbin about the difference between waltz rhythm and mazurka rhythm.

[@davmar9923]

What about timing differences between a waltz and mazurka, if any? The three beats of a waltz are not played equally spaced in time, there is a slight hesitation following the downbeat before the second and third beats are played. Is there any similar difference between beats in a mazurka?

[@noriskky]

good point

[@sunii9929]

Thank you so much for the video. very instructive and fun. Peace & Blessings.

[@snafu313]

Actually, my favorite definition of a mazurka comes from Victor Borge. He defined a mazurka as a waltz for people who limp. Sorry. I think I'll leave now...

[@moyrawoodward2291]

Superb listening. Many thanks.

[@noelantezana7328]

Thank you!! I was looking for this a long time ago..

[@GoCoyote]

Thank you. I have been trying to get this answered for awhile. I am used to dancing to traditional music, not Chopin. While his music is incomparable, it has a rather different character from the traditional styles. I am familiar with french Bourrées that use the same accent on the 2 as mazurkas.

[@billyrobts]

What is the difference between a waltz and polonaise???

[@TheWFamilyMusic]

very good explanation and quite some nice Music :-) thank you!

[@johndoe6050]

Chopin brings tears to my eyes

[@allanbeckett1809]

Couldn't tell the difference, both very pleasing. Of course I pronounce Chopin as Chop'n.

[@antoinescicluna1535]

Thanks! Very interesting!

[@seelenlerche]

Geht es hier nur um Musik von Chopin? Damit kenne ich mich nicht aus, aber die beiden Tänze kenne ich. Beim Walzer bleiben die Füße am Boden, und das Hauptelement ist die Drehung. Bei der Mazurka kann man auch geradeaus vorwärts tanzen, und die Füße werden angehoben und wieder aufgesetzt, was man als Hüpfen bezeichnen könnte. Eine starke Betonung liegt auf der ersten Taktzeit! Hören Sie doch mal die Mazurka aus dem Ballett "Coppelia" von Leo Delibes an.

[@dmnemaine]

The strong accent on the second beat gives the music a skipping or hopping sound.

[@WarrenPostma]

That b Minor Waltz is so enchantingly lovely. And you played it so well. The Mazurka had a strange brooding feeling to it, I really liked it.

[@pranavapragadeesh2393]

Brother please give any example of piano pieces in 7/8 time signature

[@el0774]

if i want to know more about different dances rithm wise, are there any good books/resources that i might want to checkout/read. like bourree, scottish the traditional dances. merci in advance

[@tomastelensky-vlog8723]

You have amazing vibe and passion into it! :-) Anyway I find it impossible to dance to your play, seems you play in a very irregular rhythm? :-) Regards!

[@roxiethecockapoo1138]

How do they differ from a polonaise?

[@johnzimmerman2379]

Great video, thanks!

[@leonarundell5267]

It would be useful for the description to clarify that the first six minutes were waltzes rather than mazurkas.

[@NidusFormicarum]

So, what's the difference between a vienna walz and the rest then? (In a Mazurka there are often some rythms going on that are not typical for a waltz.) They say that the second beat is stressed, but of course, there must be much more to it than that. Wha t about the tempos? They say that the vienna walz is fast, but there is probably a dirrerence between walzes that are meant to be danced to and those that are not. In the french, emotional style Chopin wrote in the tempo can sometimes be really fast and in general there are probably a wide varieties of tempos for both types of waltzes.

[@GlennFiddles]

Lovely playing and explanation. It is a shame though that when classical musicians explain these folk rhythms, they almost never play them with a steady dance rhythm but instead use a rubato feel. The rhythmic distinction is much more clearly demonstrated and understood in the hands of experienced folk musicians.

[@kittylam2972]

Which is the easiest Maruzka , I think the one I am doing is too difficult for me .

[@noriskky]

Op 67 n.2

[@allanapaulino6000]

Thank you very much

[@IndieTimberStudio]

What about Ländler?

[@shylockwesker5530]

If you ask this question to a dancer it's very easy. Two completely different dances.

[@IslandForestPlains]

So why don't they make the second beat of Mazurka's the first one? It's sort of cyclical ...

[@mdenizot2]

Thank you! This seems like an excellent question 🤔😃

[@jameswalker4249]

thank you

[@RobertOrgRobert]

Straight to the point & great for newcomers to romantic music

[@ecureuil10]

Thank you, I didn't know about that.

[@helostcontroll]

I had no idea!

[@TheCocolocuelo]

Very interesting!! Thanks! =)

[@minaicoz9161]

You are my favorite person now

[@kerder8660]

One is before drink.. Hehehe where other after few.. That's Polish for u be joyful

[@viljamtheninja]

Haha, that's fantastic.

[@СергейПетров-г3й]

Cool video!

[@travisdt]

Thanks

[@jassonsw]

Bravo, as always :)

[@Savannahphillipsdj]

How would you conduct the accent on beat 2 for the mazurka if the piece is written in 2/4 time?

[@ml-ei3nz]

Very important is that mazurka is a polish dance and valse a french. In mazurka you have the figure „podskok“ wich is used in many polish danceforms. This figure is what many great pianists Lack to execute correctly unless they from Poland or heard lot of original polish danceforms.

[@Axel-gc8hp]

There’s a lot of details missing, and the point about the accents is wrong, it is usually the first and third beat

[@CptShelby]

dancing traditional dances and playing their tunes, I confirm.

[@aranos6269]

So.... Move the barline and you have waltz from mazurka and vice versa😊

[@cielounarastrologia5778]

So, ive been composing many "waltzes" with one strong beat and two weak. Now i discover that the third beat should be strong too 😆 One strong and two weaks can be considered a Waltz? Is it other things?

[@wobster109]

I think it's not so much that the third beat is strong, or equal to the first. It's more like it's building up anticipation. I think if you're writing a strong down beat, then your third beat will automatically rise to meet it :)

[@modernmozart813]

In short , dancing style are completely different! I can’t use mazurka music to dance waltz 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@jilliemc]

So the mazurka is the rock music of the waltz world, huh? ;)

[@sylwia1410]

Of course! Have you seen how it's danced? In waltz people rotate, in mazurka they fly.

[@Deniz69567]

so mazurka is polish waltz?

[@scottchui9858]

The accented beats

[@gregniemczuk]

I'm sorry bit it's completely wrong. In Mazurka the strongest beat is 3, that's how we dance it in Poland and that's what Chopin wrote in the score. This video is very confusing and not correct.

[@jeffreybrody5666]

Yes, great ice breaker. The women wouldn't and couldn't leave their hands off me. Okay, maybe not. But I like this informative video!

[@jerlatti]

Did this guy escape from a saloon?

[@ulti1000]

Hello

[@yamahajapan5351]

So, 1+2+3 = 6 and 1+2+3= 6...intriguing....

[@holachika5071]

Which Chopin waltz is this?

[@LivingPianosVideos]

It is the Chopin Waltz in B minor, op. 69 no. 2

[@handledav]

1st comment btw I'm working on a mazurka on piano

[@wrassmussen]

The waltz sounds more refined than the mazurka. The waltz also seems to flow more smoothly than the mazurka. The mazurka sounds choppy compared to the waltz. - William

[@e.hutchence-composer8203]

wrassmussen are you talking about his interpretation or the Chopin’s composition?

[@waszkreslem9306]

This waltz is overplayed and for some reason played too fast. Rubinstein has the greatest interpretation (look it up) and Mazurkas are not choppy but the pianist... well... aint Chopin concert competitor. Mazurkas are used to be play as a homage to Poland so its natural if someone not familiar with the Polish folk culture will blunder every mazurka.

[@Shostytea]

Music literature lessons :)

[@martiglesias60]

What you are telling is pure cliche! Listen to the mazurcas from the balletmusic: the beat is on 1 or 3, not 2!! Listen to Delibes, Tsjaikovsky! There is a difference between Chopins style and mazurcas from the peasants! The music of Chopin was not written for dancing.

[@POLMAZURKA]

but dance it...

[@spndx66]

Ahhhh, no... you are confusing time signature with metre and with beat (in dance). This ‘explanation’ is overly simplistic and not too well researched I’m afraid. Dance is corporeal and kinesthetic. There is information that explains waltzes, mazurkas and other regional stylings which you can avail yourself to, for example via the British Royal Academy of Dance.

[@Syzygizing]

Sp Ndx it’s a KZbin video explaining the basic differences, it’s a great video in my opinion.