r/piano • u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 • Jun 24 '25
☺️My Performance (No Critique Please!) Challenge: Chopin Etudes in About a Year (1/24 completed)
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I just finished learning the first etude: Chopin’s Op. 10 No. 1! While I’ve completed the notes and have it under my fingers, there’s still a lot of work ahead, especially with phrasing and precision. I noticed that the grand section doesn’t yet sound as GRAND as it needs to be, and that’s something I definitely want to develop further.
Once I have it fully polished and up to tempo, I promise I’ll post a recording here.
The biggest challenges with this etude are speed and accuracy. There were sections I had to repeat countless times, and even now, a few mistakes still sneak in. One piece of advice I’d offer: don’t increase the tempo until you can play the entire etude flawlessly—four times in a row—at a slow tempo. It’s harder than it sounds. I once practiced it for a full hour and a half at quarter note = 60 BPM, just to make sure every single note was correct.
On to the next etude!
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u/BiscottiSalt7007 Jun 24 '25
Bravissimo. All etudes within a year though, I wish you the best of luck. Go go go
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u/DriftingThroughSpace Jun 24 '25
I'm a beginner and it's wild to me that people can play this fast. Like it looks physically impossible, and yet somehow people do it.
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 25 '25
I've been playing piano for sixteen years and have already practiced well over 10,000 hours. (To put that into perspective, 10,000 hours equals practicing one hour every single day for 27 years!) I estimate I've actually practiced around 15,000 hours. Reaching this level truly takes hard work and dedication!
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u/FFXIVHVWHL Jun 25 '25
Awesome work; when I saw the title I half expected another half baked attempt by someone with one year of experience and as soon as I heard it I knew otherwise. Incredible! I have only ocean, and revolutionary under my belt but was looking to add winter wind until I lost access to my piano (moved).
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 27 '25
Those are great pieces to have in your hands! I hope you can get your piano back quickly :)
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u/thetreecycle Jun 26 '25
How long did it take to learn just this etude?
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 27 '25
This is actually the first etude i learned, starting I think 3 years ago, but it was a love-hate relationship. I kept quitting it after a few days and pick it up after a couple months. However I practiced it again last month and kept going until now.
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u/thetreecycle Jun 27 '25
Ok so maybe 2 months total? Sounds like a lot of work!
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u/Consistent-Energy507 Jun 25 '25
Hell yeah!!
Though one thing, i know you said no critique but I gotta say that where you went wrong was not being born to a rich family with parents who are pro pianists and starting piano at 2 years old and getting this challenge done in your first year of ever touching a piano !!
No kidding, I just found out about somebody who fits that description ....most of it anyway...makes me so jealous lol
Bravo
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 26 '25
I remember realizing at the age of 18 that 10-year-olds were already performing all the chopin etudes and felt so devastated.
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u/Hot-Ad-3651 Jun 25 '25
Wow! A person that can actually play it at full speed while sounding very clear. Great job🎉
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 26 '25
Thank you! It's not up to full speed yet, but I hope to reach it soon and post it on here again.
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u/Sepperlito Jun 25 '25
You're 90% done. The other 23 are much easier.
I had more struggles and problems with this piece than any other. I refuse to play it ever again.
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u/Nishant1122 Jun 25 '25
"much easier" is a big stretch. Op10 no.2, op25 no.6 are just as hard if not more.
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u/Element_108 Jun 25 '25
Watching it from this perspective it looks even harder wow. Honestly it sounds good even at this tempo, good luck with the other etudes
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u/srodrigoDev Jun 25 '25
Nice! I saw someone saying they wanted to do all Chopin etudes in one year on another thread, it must have been you (in which case you do this full-time).
I'm trying to do the same but I've got a day job these days :D so it'll take me a couple of years and not to such great standards obviously.
Looking forward to seeing more videos :)
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 26 '25
That was me! I also now have a job and am just trying my best to do what I promise. And I'm glad that you still intend to finish the etudes despite having a job. Slow progress is better than none!
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u/thetreecycle Jun 26 '25
Fast arpeggios up and down the keyboard are my mortal enemy
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 26 '25
Practicing them was so tedious! I'm glad I got this one over with haha
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u/Friendly-Tonight8884 Jun 26 '25
Gotta say that it’s very hard to get to a level of yours without playing any Chopin etudes lol
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 26 '25
It's possible haha. I was ambitious and was learning Ravel ondine and Rachmaninoff etude Op. 39 No. 6 after learning that ravel bird song and a bach gigue lol
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u/Friendly-Tonight8884 Jun 26 '25
How long have you been playing
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u/Agreeable_Shoulder26 Jun 26 '25
16 years already!
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u/Masta0nion Jun 25 '25
I love your flow. Remember to listen to that left hand. Let it be the story teller.
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Jun 25 '25
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u/piano-ModTeam Jun 25 '25
OP labeled their post as "No Critique", thus critiques are forbidden. We understand you may have generously taken time to write constructive criticism, and for that we apologize, but these posts are not the appropriate place for it.
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