For the above tutorial video, here is the English language dialogue as text as requested. Hi, I’m Paul. In this piano tutorial, we look together at Chopin’s Nouvelle Etude No.1 and how to play the polyrhythm, 3 against 4. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (voice-over graphics) Chopin composed 3 Nouvelle Etudes in 1839. They were written to be included in a new teaching method published in 1840 “Méthode des méthodes de piano” which translates as “Method of Piano Methods”. This method was put together by a well-known pianist and teacher of the day, Ignaz Moscheles and a Belgian musicologist and teacher, Francois-Joseph Fetis. This new method was made to meet the growing demands for instruction as the popularity of the piano to own and play in the home at that time, was growing rapidly. You can download this “Method” in the French language, from a link below: goo.gl/uXTNcM In the 1st PDF, we have most the usual kind of explanations we would find in a method, names of notes, note values, key signatures, Italian terms and so on. In the 2nd PDF, there are 18 Etudes by Moscheles and other composers. Amongst these 18 are Chopin’s 3 Etudes. You’ll notice the numbering of Etudes 2 and 3 is reversed to most editions today. If you plan to study all 3 Etudes in order of difficulty, I suggest 2, 1, then 3, that’s to say in the modern numbering. In Etude 2, we find the polyrhythm 2 against 3, which is more straightforward to play than 3 against 4 in Etude 1. In Etude 3, we play legato against staccato in the right hand. Etude 3 is more demanding in terms of execution than the challenge of polyrhythms in Etudes 1 and 2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (To camera) If playing 3 against 4 is new to you and you’d like tips to fit both hands together, this tutorial is for you. To begin, I’ll play Etude 1 with the score, available free from a link below. (playthrough) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (to camera) In piano music, we come across polyrhythm 2 against 3 more often than 3 against 4. Also, 2 against 3 divides neatly into simple time divisions which makes slow practice quite straight forward. Not so with 3 against 4. Let's look at Etude 2 with polyrhythm 2 against 3. (play example) (voice-over) Here’s a waveform, bass, top, treble, below. If Etude 1 had a polyrhythm of 2 against 3 instead of 3 against 4, it might sound something like this: (play example) I’ve made this graphic for you. See and hear how the left-hand fits neatly together with the right. (Play example) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (voiceover graphic) Here’s the waveform of polyrhythm 3 against 4 played slowly below. To visualize 3 against 4, imagine a design for a kitchen cabinet. I’ve drawn 4 compartments for plates above 3 cupboards for pans. You can see at a glance there’s a neat fractional relationship in the design, but it’s a bit too complicated in practical terms for slow piano practice as we can do with 2 against 3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (to camera) When playing 3 against 4 we don’t think about how every note fits together, instead, we just think about the notes that do coincide between hands, and play the notes in-between, intuitively. We can get used launching and landing both hands together on the coinciding notes by changing the rhythm like this: (play example) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (to camera) Practice with the metronome. Here’s a section at 70 BMP, which is around performance tempo. Notice how the metronome beats land on the notes where both hands coincide. (example) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (to camera) In the right hand, we have question and answer motives that pass back and forth displaced across the bar line which resolve periodically on the beat. I’ll highlight these inner voices using staccato and legato: (play example) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (to camera) A few tips about practice. I recommend practicing both hands separately until you can play without hesitation. If you’re not completely confident of the notes you’ll not be able to concentrate on fitting both hands together fluently. To end: One way to practice 3 against 4 is to play each hand separately with your teacher. If you are not able to do that, I’ve made the following tracks of both right and left hand separately for you to play along with. In the first 2 tracks, I play hands separately in strict time with the metronome and no expression. In the second 2 tracks, I play hands separately without the metronome and add rubato and dynamics. Occasionally I’ve added metronome clicks to these tracks to guide the entry of your part. If you find this tutorial useful, to help sponsor future tutorials, please see my Patreon linked below. www.patreon.com/paulbarton Good luck with your practice and thanks for watching! (4 tracks, examples)
What an absolutely beautiful Etude. I think this is the first Etude by Chopin that I am going to learn. It is approachable. I have just finished up learning and memorizing Arabesques by Debussy and I can handle the 2 against 3 and I think this will push my limits even more.
You are a great musician, a great pianist and a great pedagogue. Pianists are so lucky to have your videos , so lucky .... Thank You so much! You seem to be a very Generous man and it's easy to here when You play!
Excellent, thank you, as a beginner I started practicing this piece and this video is showing me how to improve my practice. Im far from playing this good, I learned the right hand and now Im working on my left and this helped me to understand better where I need to go. I appreciate your time with this tutorial.
That's awesome Paul! Thank you. I had some Problems with playing 3 against 2 at "arabesque" from Debussy since it was the first time I tried that rhythm. Breaking up the beat patterns helped a lot, but after a while, playing it slowly and making pauses all you need in the end is "the click moment". Where you can suddenly play it correctly. Such an awesome moment. I think that experience was awesome and taught me quite a bit about learning in general.
I just came here to listen and hear the history in the first few minutes. This is such a beautiful piece for just being a study. You played it extremely well!
The idea of playing with your teacher is incredible Paul! I was trying to play the fantaisie impromptu by Chopin, but me and my teacher decided to drop it because I am just that horrid at polyrhythms. I really want to study the three nouvelle etudes to be able to play polyrhythmic music!
Thank you for this tutorial. Having a small hand it doesn't reach the tenth. If I want to keep a legato without the pedal I have to move the wrist from left to right. An alternative would be to rely on the pedal for the legato but I think that this is not the purpose of the étude. May I ask your advice?
Hi Paul! I'm 17 years old brazilian and i love to watch your videos. You're my favorite pianist. I'm learning a piece called "Ballade no. 2 in F major", but i don't think i'm understanding much of the song. Could you please do a tutorial about that? Or better: could you play it for me? It would be grateful.
OMG the first nouvelle etude is extreme... that polyrhythm 2-3 is always been too difficult... I know where the polyrhythms fit each other, but with that fast speed I can't even follow😅😅 maybe it is more difficult than the fantaise impropmtu??
Dear Paul, in Chopin's Prelude No.24, do u play the left hand without jumping to reach the top notes and play it in legato or do I jump the piano to reach the top notes and forget about legato on the left hand?
For the above tutorial video, here is the English language dialogue as text as requested.
Hi, I’m Paul.
In this piano tutorial, we look together at Chopin’s Nouvelle Etude No.1 and how to play the polyrhythm, 3 against 4.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(voice-over graphics)
Chopin composed 3 Nouvelle Etudes in 1839. They were written to be included in a new teaching method published in 1840 “Méthode des méthodes de piano” which translates as “Method of Piano Methods”. This method was put together by a well-known pianist and teacher of the day, Ignaz Moscheles and a Belgian musicologist and teacher, Francois-Joseph Fetis. This new method was made to meet the growing demands for instruction as the popularity of the piano to own and play in the home at that time, was growing rapidly.
You can download this “Method” in the French language, from a link below: goo.gl/uXTNcM
In the 1st PDF, we have most the usual kind of explanations we would find in a method, names of notes, note values, key signatures, Italian terms and so on.
In the 2nd PDF, there are 18 Etudes by Moscheles and other composers. Amongst these 18 are Chopin’s 3 Etudes. You’ll notice the numbering of Etudes 2 and 3 is reversed to most editions today. If you plan to study all 3 Etudes in order of difficulty, I suggest 2, 1, then 3, that’s to say in the modern numbering.
In Etude 2, we find the polyrhythm 2 against 3, which is more straightforward to play than 3 against 4 in Etude 1.
In Etude 3, we play legato against staccato in the right hand. Etude 3 is more demanding in terms of execution than the challenge of polyrhythms in Etudes 1 and 2.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(To camera)
If playing 3 against 4 is new to you and you’d like tips to fit both hands together, this tutorial is for you.
To begin, I’ll play Etude 1 with the score, available free from a link below.
(playthrough)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(to camera)
In piano music, we come across polyrhythm 2 against 3 more often than 3 against 4. Also, 2 against 3 divides neatly into simple time divisions which makes slow practice quite straight forward. Not so with 3 against 4.
Let's look at Etude 2 with polyrhythm 2 against 3.
(play example)
(voice-over)
Here’s a waveform, bass, top, treble, below. If Etude 1 had a polyrhythm of 2 against 3 instead of 3 against 4, it might sound something like this:
(play example)
I’ve made this graphic for you. See and hear how the left-hand fits neatly together with the right.
(Play example)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(voiceover graphic)
Here’s the waveform of polyrhythm 3 against 4 played slowly below.
To visualize 3 against 4, imagine a design for a kitchen cabinet. I’ve drawn 4 compartments for plates above 3 cupboards for pans. You can see at a glance there’s a neat fractional relationship in the design, but it’s a bit too complicated in practical terms for slow piano practice as we can do with 2 against 3.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(to camera)
When playing 3 against 4 we don’t think about how every note fits together, instead, we just think about the notes that do coincide between hands, and play the notes in-between, intuitively.
We can get used launching and landing both hands together on the coinciding notes by changing the rhythm like this:
(play example)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(to camera)
Practice with the metronome. Here’s a section at 70 BMP, which is around performance tempo. Notice how the metronome beats land on the notes where both hands coincide.
(example)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(to camera)
In the right hand, we have question and answer motives that pass back and forth displaced across the bar line which resolve periodically on the beat. I’ll highlight these inner voices using staccato and legato:
(play example)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(to camera)
A few tips about practice. I recommend practicing both hands separately until you can play without hesitation. If you’re not completely confident of the notes you’ll not be able to concentrate on fitting both hands together fluently.
To end:
One way to practice 3 against 4 is to play each hand separately with your teacher. If you are not able to do that, I’ve made the following tracks of both right and left hand separately for you to play along with.
In the first 2 tracks, I play hands separately in strict time with the metronome and no expression.
In the second 2 tracks, I play hands separately without the metronome and add rubato and dynamics.
Occasionally I’ve added metronome clicks to these tracks to guide the entry of your part.
If you find this tutorial useful, to help sponsor future tutorials, please see my Patreon linked below.
www.patreon.com/paulbarton
Good luck with your practice and thanks for watching!
(4 tracks, examples)
I wish you open auto-sub option on all of your videos.
What an absolutely beautiful Etude. I think this is the first Etude by Chopin that I am going to learn. It is approachable. I have just finished up learning and memorizing Arabesques by Debussy and I can handle the 2 against 3 and I think this will push my limits even more.
You are a great musician, a great pianist and a great pedagogue. Pianists are so lucky to have your videos , so lucky .... Thank You so much! You seem to be a very Generous man and it's easy to here when You play!
I just finished this thing, and its not easy! Listen to this man, because wrong practice can ruin this piece forever.
I really appreciate this lesson that Mr. Barton you show hands play seperately. It makes it so much easier. Thanks you soso much.
for left hand alone 16:29
for rh alone 14:35
w metronome:
for lh: 12:21
rh: 10:18
Excellent tutorial! Also thanks, Paul, for the teaching materials you are providing to all of us!
Wonderful tutorial. Thank you.
Excellent, thank you, as a beginner I started practicing this piece and this video is showing me how to improve my practice. Im far from playing this good, I learned the right hand and now Im working on my left and this helped me to understand better where I need to go. I appreciate your time with this tutorial.
That's awesome Paul! Thank you.
I had some Problems with playing 3 against 2 at "arabesque" from Debussy since it was the first time I tried that rhythm. Breaking up the beat patterns helped a lot, but after a while, playing it slowly and making pauses all you need in the end is "the click moment". Where you can suddenly play it correctly. Such an awesome moment.
I think that experience was awesome and taught me quite a bit about learning in general.
I thought you made some polyrhythm pieces yourself didn't you ? :D
Excellent tutorial One of the best I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much! I enjoy your videos alot and you are my inspiration ^^
I just came here to listen and hear the history in the first few minutes. This is such a beautiful piece for just being a study. You played it extremely well!
Speaking of polyrhythms, maybe a tutorial on Fantasie-Impromptu? You have the best video on TH-cam of that piece.
Excellent tutorial..❤
Thank you for sharing this, your videos are helping me get back into playing the piano!
This was so very useful! Thank you so much for your work, Paul!
The idea of playing with your teacher is incredible Paul! I was trying to play the fantaisie impromptu by Chopin, but me and my teacher decided to drop it because I am just that horrid at polyrhythms. I really want to study the three nouvelle etudes to be able to play polyrhythmic music!
Excellent tutorial!
Simply amazing this handy and high-tech tutorial... thank you so much!
Well done Paul
Thanks so much! I'm learning this right now, and this is very helpful!
Thank you very much for the effort ! Helps so much!
This was incredibly helpful, thank you! I struggled with the rhythm so much.
Wow¡ this is awesome. Thank you for sharing this tremendous exercises.
God bless you, Paul!!! Thank youuu!!
I was struggling with this one, to be honest..HaHa!
Thank you for this tutorial. Having a small hand it doesn't reach the tenth. If I want to keep a legato without the pedal I have to move the wrist from left to right. An alternative would be to rely on the pedal for the legato but I think that this is not the purpose of the étude. May I ask your advice?
Hi Paul!
I'm 17 years old brazilian and i love to watch your videos. You're my favorite pianist.
I'm learning a piece called "Ballade no. 2 in F major", but i don't think i'm understanding much of the song.
Could you please do a tutorial about that? Or better: could you play it for me? It would be grateful.
Inspiring a lot!
Why are there 6 crochets on the treble cleff in cut time? I thought you can only fit 4 crochets or 2 minims??
OMG the first nouvelle etude is extreme... that polyrhythm 2-3 is always been too difficult... I know where the polyrhythms fit each other, but with that fast speed I can't even follow😅😅 maybe it is more difficult than the fantaise impropmtu??
I wonder if there is not a mistake bar 12. A sharp should be replaced by G sharp I guess.
U the man!!
Dear Paul, in Chopin's Prelude No.24, do u play the left hand without jumping to reach the top notes and play it in legato or do I jump the piano to reach the top notes and forget about legato on the left hand?
th-cam.com/video/zQUXRSZ2uUw/w-d-xo.html I made a tutorial some years back that will hopefully answer this question for you.
The virgin's slumber please
Gosto de tudo. Porquê misturar culinária???" E um ultraje à música!!!
Excellent tutorial!