need advice

[zubitsky]

hi folks. have find this forum  very interesting, many experienced pianists and so interestings topics.
i started playing piano a year ago. fall in love with piano. o studied a entire program to enter the high school. i prepared chopin etude op10 nº8, beethoven sonata op10 nº1, chopin nocturne op9 nº2 and prelude and fugue in C minor from wtk 1.
for my surprise i entered in the school. since that i learned chopin etude op 10 nº5 and liszt  petrarc sonetto 104.  now i am studying a le prelude  "canope" by debussy. What are your opinion in my progress?  i notice that i sometimes dont press the keys to the botom of the clavier in order to obtain a full sound. what pieces you think i should study in order to correct this?

Thanks

[pianonut]

i don't think it's what pieces you are playing.  i think it is practicing slow, medium, and fast (starting out slowly with the weight of your arms just as when they are at your sides when you walk). your teacher may have you play lighter the faster piece you play, but this doesn't negate the neck and shoulder relaxation.  your arms really don't change that much either.  i think it is your fingertip touch that you are aiming for.  you want to hear the notes clearly, right?!  if you play too soft, you cannot distinguish the notes as much.  just let your hands feel as though they are massaging the keys when you practice slowly, and then as you speed up you make more minimal movements at your fingertips, but still purposeful. i hope this is right?!  i haven't played some of the more difficult pieces that you are.

[pianonut]

you know at baseball games, when everyone does the wave?  well, i think that is exactly the motions i see pianists use in debussy.  you start a piece with a sort of momentum and your fingers sort of follow a wave of sorts.  rollercoastering along and feeling the momentum (heavier at the top of the rollercoaster).

[zubitsky]

thanks for advice i i am training in that aspect. i touch is a bit weak when playing chords (p)

[pianonut]

mine is too, sometimes (if a piece is at a faster tempo).  that's why i like slower pieces, really.  it gives you time to approach the piano and tell it what to do.  otherwise it tells you.

[steinwayguy]

That's very impressive if you're playing Beethoven sonatas, preludes and fugues and chopin etudes (10/8 no less!) after just a year of study. You should use more arm weight to press the keys all the way down. Keep up the good work!

[Skeptopotamus]

yes- ish very impressive!  congratulations on playing such pieces.  Wow.


hmmmm... try the second movement of Debussy's Image Suite No. 2 "Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fût"


dont know if this is in your capability but it probably is.  i have no idea why im saying this piece.  or the shostakovich prelude and fugue no 24.  i have no idea why im saying this piece either.

[jlh]

You might check out some of the Rachmaninov Preludes and Etudes-Tableaux to practice playing deep into the keys.

[lostinidlewonder]

Since you are on the Debussy preludes do the Sunken Cathedral Bk1noX, that is all lengthy notes, make the strings vibrate as long and deep as you can.
The progress sounds nice, good and important peices to develop with especially the petrarca sonet for playing Liszt. You might want to try his short hungarian raphsody no 17. The piece is overall short, not too hard, and good octaves excersise as well, long bass sounds are needed too.