Is Clair de Lune too hard for me?
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After answering I looked at what Bavouzet actually does - and he does it the same (4 bass notes in left hand) - see his video at around 16:34 - though he plays it a bit more straight forwardly than I do. Both Bavouzet and Debussy would probably hate that I introduce a ritard there - but then I'm not playing for a jury.
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After answering I looked at what Bavouzet actually does - and he does it the same (4 bass notes in left hand) - see his video at around 16:34 - though he plays it a bit more straight forwardly than I do. Both Bavouzet and Debussy would probably hate that I introduce a ritard there - but then I'm not playing for a jury.
After answering I looked at what Bavouzet actually does - and he does it the same (4 bass notes in left hand) - see his video at around 16:34
thanks!
Both Bavouzet and Debussy would probably hate that I introduce a ritard there - but then I'm not playing for a jury.
Me neither!Oh wait, conceivably, I could end up playing this for a jury...
(It would be my choice though)
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After playing with this a bit, I played it that way (bottom 4 notes in LH) because that's how I learned it. After looking at it a bit more and playing it this afternoon, if I were learning it now, I might do what they recommend (C to RH) as that allows one to hold the important A-flat.
EDIT - watched Hugh Sung's episode 34 where he discusses this. He notes that it is personal preference which way to go. He noted that Jorge Bolet used the "cheat" way (C to the RH) which allows one's rolled chord to retain the low A-flat.
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Last October, 2025 I started taking lessons again. Jon's NYC Piano Party was the catalyst that prompted my desire to learn new pieces and to find a qualified teacher. I found the teacher and after about 2 months of me going to his, after my knee replacement surgery, he started coming to my house for lessons. We haven't been back to his place since. I think he likes my piano.
I started out with The Valse Op 64, No 2. Then moved on to two Nocturnes, Op 9, No 2, and Op 72, No 1.
I have all three of them memorized now. I play through all three at least once daily and since the Op72 No1 is my latest, I concentrate on polishing it more. I am still working on at least 2 or more areas in each piece to attain better accuracy, dynamics, etc.
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Last October, 2025 I started taking lessons again. Jon's NYC Piano Party was the catalyst that prompted my desire to learn new pieces and to find a qualified teacher. I found the teacher and after about 2 months of me going to his, after my knee replacement surgery, he started coming to my house for lessons. We haven't been back to his place since. I think he likes my piano.
I started out with The Valse Op 64, No 2. Then moved on to two Nocturnes, Op 9, No 2, and Op 72, No 1.
I have all three of them memorized now. I play through all three at least once daily and since the Op72 No1 is my latest, I concentrate on polishing it more. I am still working on at least 2 or more areas in each piece to attain better accuracy, dynamics, etc.
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@mark
Mark, thanks, yes the discipline to play each through daily is one thing for me to take on.
Getting a good teacher is another ideal, if as is likely, I continue learning certain classical pieces. A lesson every fortnight would do.The first two Chopin you play, I remember attempting (not very successfully) as a teenager because my elder sister played them, leaving her music open on the music stand tempting me to dabble with (she attained all 8 grades before going to University and I'm 5 years younger so was always catching up, before musically going our different ways). They are beautiful works.
The third Chopin is new to me and shall find it on youtube. -
@mark
Mark, thanks, yes the discipline to play each through daily is one thing for me to take on.
Getting a good teacher is another ideal, if as is likely, I continue learning certain classical pieces. A lesson every fortnight would do.The first two Chopin you play, I remember attempting (not very successfully) as a teenager because my elder sister played them, leaving her music open on the music stand tempting me to dabble with (she attained all 8 grades before going to University and I'm 5 years younger so was always catching up, before musically going our different ways). They are beautiful works.
The third Chopin is new to me and shall find it on youtube.For whatever reason, daily practice and consistency (like returning to daily practice if I miss a day) is the one thing I’m really, really good at. Of course, partly that’s because I worked really hard early on to make consistent practice a routine, and I read all the things online about how to do that.
Another reason surely has to do with the fact that I started as an adult and was (still am?) a little bit obsessed with piano. And then the few times I’ve had serious challenges to my ability to stick with piano (grad school, big moves, career changes) I’ve used daily practice (or at least daily playing) as a way to keep me connected to piano even when I wasn’t practicing enough to progress or improve.
Getting a good teacher is another ideal, if as is likely, I continue learning certain classical pieces. A lesson every fortnight would do.
I am a huge proponent of taking lessons, and I personally prefer in-person, real time lessons. But there are lots of good online options as well (both real time or self-paced). Have you considered something like Tonebase? I believe it’s fairly well-regarded. And if you’re playing classical pieces, it seems like a good model.
If fitting real-time lessons into your schedule is challenging, perhaps you could start with something like that?
@kluurs are/were you a member of Tonebase?
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For whatever reason, daily practice and consistency (like returning to daily practice if I miss a day) is the one thing I’m really, really good at. Of course, partly that’s because I worked really hard early on to make consistent practice a routine, and I read all the things online about how to do that.
Another reason surely has to do with the fact that I started as an adult and was (still am?) a little bit obsessed with piano. And then the few times I’ve had serious challenges to my ability to stick with piano (grad school, big moves, career changes) I’ve used daily practice (or at least daily playing) as a way to keep me connected to piano even when I wasn’t practicing enough to progress or improve.
Getting a good teacher is another ideal, if as is likely, I continue learning certain classical pieces. A lesson every fortnight would do.
I am a huge proponent of taking lessons, and I personally prefer in-person, real time lessons. But there are lots of good online options as well (both real time or self-paced). Have you considered something like Tonebase? I believe it’s fairly well-regarded. And if you’re playing classical pieces, it seems like a good model.
If fitting real-time lessons into your schedule is challenging, perhaps you could start with something like that?
@kluurs are/were you a member of Tonebase?
For whatever reason, daily practice and consistency (like returning to daily practice if I miss a day) is the one thing I’m really, really good at.
If fitting real-time lessons into your schedule is challenging, perhaps you could start with something like that?
@kluurs are/were you a member of Tonebase?
I was listening to a podcast with one of the top personal trainers in the country. It was interesting that when he was asked where he focused with a first time client - and his answer was schedule. That is if a person can't keep a schedule for working out, it would fail. So, that's where he started and focused a lot of his energy. They spoke for almost 3 hours - and consistency came up time and again. At one point, the interviewer asked what was the best time of day to realize the most gains - and the trainer side stepped and said, "whatever time of the day the person can consistently focus their time."
For me, that's typically late in the day. I went a few years when I don't think I played 10 hours on the piano in the entire year - as work and ancillary activities of life took up all my time.
Now that I'm retired I can be a bit more consistent. I still have no talent for music - can't sight read, memorize or count effectively, fumble over notes, and terrified of public performance - but I'm still hacking away at the poor piano and enjoying every moment more than ever.
I joked with Mik a long while back, that if I dedicated myself to playing several hours a day and with proper instruction, I might rise from a bad player to mediocre - but such a lofty goal is unlikely. Doesn't matter - hopefully, in my next life, I jump in line for musical talent as soon as the doors open.
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