Chopin's Nocturne No.16 - I'm overwhelmed with emotion.
RCM Level : ARCT
Mr. Tadokoro’s Level：21
Start : 18 January 2025
Total Practice Time : 24 Hours 50 Minutes
It's been a while since I last updated my record of completing a piece. I've actually passed quite a few pieces so far, but I've been slacking off on updating my records.
Since last year, I've been stuck in a slump and my progress with the piano has slowed down considerably, but I'm more happy than ever that I've finally finished a piece that I can call "completed". I am just an ordinary person who is practicing piano as a hobby, but I am happy to be able to feel this way and to have this hobby. I hope this will lead to the light at the end of my long dark tunnel.
I like all of Chopin's nocturnes, but this is one of my favorites. Nocturne No. 16 in E flat major. I wonder when I started working on it. According to the records on Study Plus (Japanese Study Journal Application), I started this piece in January of this year, so I've been working on it for 7 months. Total investment time: 25 hours. Compared to the nocturnes I've worked on in the past, this one took the longest time.
Things noted in the lessons:
- The opening B♭ is very important. It's the beginning of the story. Think about how to produce this sound. My teacher suggested that I imagine throwing a ball high into the air with the B♭ and catching it with the next C. This was very helpful in the practice process. I thought about it a lot every time I played, and the image I finally found was of a drop of water falling from a high place onto the calm surface of a lake in the morning. Imagining things is very helpful in creating ideas for a piece of music.
- The left hand tends to be too loud. Concentrate your ears carefully on all the notes, and don't forget that the melody line is the main focus. Just focus your attention and the melody will emerge. I always think Piano is a matter of spirit.
- If you use too much rubato, it becomes annoying. Don't slow down and pretend to use rubato when you are not confident.
- Freely. More freely. ←I found that this is impossible to achieve unless I memorize the music. If I'm chasing the score with my eyes, I don't have time to add my own ideas.
- Singing the melody line while playing (or humming is fine) helps the melody stand out.
- Bar 58 - now enter the "other world", like hypnosis
- The 5:3 polyrhythms in bars 25 and 59-61 are quite tricky. At first I thought I'd just get by with it, but in the end my teacher showed me the tricks and I practiced persistently. I'll write about that in a separate article later.
- My wrists are still stiff, so it's hard to play trills. This isn't something that can be fixed in a short period of time. I'll keep trying to make my wrists flexible.
My own observations:
- I just love this piece. I never got bored even after playing it lazily for seven months.
- I played it while imagining Chopin's feelings. It makes you think it must be a song for a loved one. Lovers' love, transience, arguments, and many other scenes come to mind. Fun!
- I love the part where the right hand plays in two voices. I'm glad I practice Bach. It's like a conversation between lovers.
- In order to realize the freedom, I had to memorize the music. It was fun. Memorizing the music helps me pay attention to the details.
- I've only just realized (so late!) that pieces that are appropriate for my level (and aren't reckless) are extremely suitable as practice materials. (But I'll probably continue to play reckless pieces in the future.)
- Playing only the pieces I like makes me feel fulfilled.
- The sense of accomplishment when I finish is incredible.
Comments
Post a Comment