Piano World Home Page Forums Fun Stuff! - Parties, Tours, Projects & More... Member Recordings Fur Elise - Three months later after recital

I know I made a lot of mistakes in this video in the end, but I might as well not let the sweat and the tears go to waste because I will get better. I just wasn't ready as I thought I was. I kinda went too fast as well. DX

First of all if your teacher let you play this piece in this condition during her recital then you need a new teacher. One that cares about your playing and improving it and not just about getting your parent's money.

I spent 3 months on this piece as well so I kind of know if inside out by now and hearing it in such a bad shape was a terrible experience for me. There really are many issues but do not get discouraged! However, it is very important to know when you are doing something wrong and then to try and find out what you can do. In this case maybe let it go and stop practicing this piece for a good few months and work on improving technique.

It seems that maybe you didn't do enough slow practice and no practice with metronome. Your left hand was quite heavy in the beginning and it contributed to making this a painful experience for the listeners. You are not 100% familiar with the notes either, you must know how it goes even in your sleep before you perform it for people. Rhythm was all over the place, the dynamics were random, depending on how difficult the section is. ALSO you need to remember that the piano is not in control, you don't need to struggle and fight with it. You are in control and you are by no means required to rush to a tempo which makes things too difficult for you. I'd much better hear a slower, well thought performance with adequate dynamics and phrasing then someone trying to keep it all together at the highest tempo possible.

Can you play this piece slowly with no errors by now? If not it's probably beyond your current ability. When I first tried fur elise, I spent some weeks on it and decided it was best to let it be for now. So I came back months later after having done a lot of hard work on other things and it just worked. Still with some issues but the piece flows 99% of the time and sounds like music, while it sounded something like your try the first time I tried it.

Listen to a lot of music, listen to recordings of the pieces you're studying. Czerny op 139 has some nice etudes getting progressively harder. Bach has some very nice pieces you can attempt by now which you will spend much less time completing and will have more pleasing results and the added benefit of improving your technique.

Play scales with proper fingering. But do not rush the tempo like you did with your Fur Elise. The point is not speed, it's accuracy and ease. Everything has to flow and sound musical, you will feel it when you are doing it right, just be more mindful of what you do at the piano. Practice daily but practice good, an hour a day spent practicing with 100% attention and with clear goals is better than staying at the keyboard all day and just messing around.

That's it. Just set yourself clear goals. Have an idea of where you wanna be but also know what you are doing daily and why you are doing it. You can achieve a lot but it's up to you. You seem like an intelligent person and you should do fine with proper guidance

Hello!! I hope you don't mind me sending you a YouTube friend invite! I remember learning Fur Elise some ages ago when I was nine or ten. I played it too fast, too, lol, but then again, young ones do tend to be speed racers!

I also sent a friend invite on youtube.

I am learning Fur Elise at the moment and I enjoy watching others playing the piece.
It looks like you've learnt the entire song, so you're further ahead than me. I can only play the first part so far.

From what I can tell from the video, it seems very rushed to the point that I had trouble distinguishing the notes being played. The audio on the video also made it rather difficult to hear with the mic distorting the sound.

I think like mentioned above that you should try playing the piece to a metronome or try counting out loud when playing the piece to make sure you have the correct timing according to the sheet music. This I something I need to do too as I learnt the piece by being told the patterns of keys to play instead of from the sheet music. I also have the opposite problem of playing it too slowly.

I think if you replayed it slower with correct timing then the problems with rhythm would not be as much an issue and then you can start adding more emotion to the song by adding in dynamics.

First off, I think Fur Elise should be played a little slower. The piece (to me at least) is supposed to be dreamy and even dramatic in places. It sounds like you've got it; just slow it down, practice it at a slower tempo, and take time to study and add in the dynamics. It is a beautiful piece, and I recommend that you charge on and finish it. I think you are ready for it, just SLOW down.

Just for encouragement: In my second year of piano I played Fur Elise at a recital, rushed it, and made mistakes I shouldn't have. I've always been one to rush things since I started. I've found out that it doesn't work that way. You have to start slowly, at a tempo you can handle, and then move on from there. Don't let it become a habit.



Keep up the good work,

TonalHarmony

I have helped a few players improve vastly by just slowing down, feeling the music and learning to just enjoy amd savor the piece. These were players MUCH better at reading and with better "technical" skills than I, but the music they played had no soul.

"Fur Elise" is a great piece to have fun with and really play with the dynamics. Don't worry about sounding "cheesy" or overly romantic.