I've done 10/3, 10/12 and 21/1 and I got assigned this today...Isn't it supposed to be quite a bit harder than the others I've studied?

Sorry typo I meant 25/1, not 21/1...

Its not too much harder. The hardest part (i find anyway) about this etude is endurance.

Just a little bit harder...but not extremely far away from the difficulty of 25/1.

Loki is right, endurance is the issue here, but slow practice will help you get it.

Is that this one?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W8d0P6zd1Hs

Yes, that's the Etude in c minor, Op 25, No 12.

Regards,

What do you think of that kid, Bruce?

I think he's quite phenomenal, although this is not a performance that I would even think of rating.

It would be unfair to compare this performance with that of a mature artist; there are moments where dynamics have to be reviewed, a few flaws corrected, and perhaps some cleaning up of the texture in spots. The kid is/was only 10 years old, he certainly has the ability to play this and play it well; I am very impressed.

Regards,

Now I've never played any other Chopin Etudes, this was my first. So I can't compare, but I just finished it not that long ago, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected it to be, but like Loki said, the endurance part is what gets me. Otherwise, with a few exceptions here and there, I don't think it's that hard of an etude.

On the bright side, I found it rather easy to memorize. It's just a matter of remembering the chord progressions.

I worked through the first two pages today and it seems manageable actually. My teacher told me a cool way to practice the jumps - hold the not with the 5th finger and then switch to thumb while its still held down, vice versa descending. Any other advice ?

Practice it in chords as well, I find that's always useful. I also found practicing it with different touches really helped me learn the notes, like playing it super stacatto, then play it super legato, etc.

New question - in measure 16 there is a difference between my two editions. This is where the strongly syncopated melody comes in: Schirmer (edited by Friedhelm) has the Eb - D - F, and Paderewski has Eb - D - G. Which is correct? From the recordings I have (Pollini and Arau) it sounds like the F, but Paderewski is usually the best Chopin edition. Anyone know what the deal is here?

Measure 16?

It's not an Eb, it's an E natural. In Henle (1961 edition, ed. Zimmermann) the E naturals are followed by D, F, C.

This makes sense, because it parallels the intervals in measure 24 where the C is followed by Bb, Db, C.

Regards,

yeh E natural sorry about that I posted in a hurry without really looking at it. The F or G was my main question - I asked my teacher and she said F is what she's always played - since that sounds better and is easier I guess I'll go with it.