Isn't 23/5 pretty ambitious to learn as your first Rach piece?
I started with 3/2, which is a lot easier and also satisfying to play
Piano playing speedcubers?
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Isn't 23/5 pretty ambitious to learn as your first Rach piece?
I started with 3/2, which is a lot easier and also satisfying to playMetalcube
Member
Isn't 23/5 pretty ambitious to learn as your first Rach piece?
To be honest, I have no idea about the different difficulties of Rachmaninov pieces, but I already had the piano sheet for it, so I decided to choose 23/5, I'm not sure if I will finish it though. My big goal is to be able to play the first movement of his second piano sonata, which is probably my favorite piece. But it sounds so difficult, so I better stay away from it for quite a while.
My big goal is to be able to play the first movement of his second piano sonata, which is probably my favorite piece. But it sounds so difficult, so I better stay away from it for quite a while.
dude.. so funny, I am learning exactly that at the moment! Well don't be scared it's not too difficult, prelude 23/5 is definitely harder. If you know Grieg's concerto, I can tell you that rach 2 mvt. 1 is about the same difficulty as that, mvt. 2 is easier and mvt. 3 is harder.
JemFish
Veteran
Hey fellow pianists,
I thought I might include myself in this thread, although it feels very weird writing about piano in a speedcubing forum. So I'm preparing for a grade 7 ABRSM exam this March, and I cube to warm up for piano, or do my scales to warm up for cubing.
Big fan of:
Chopin
Mozart
Debussy
~ JemFish
I thought I might include myself in this thread, although it feels very weird writing about piano in a speedcubing forum. So I'm preparing for a grade 7 ABRSM exam this March, and I cube to warm up for piano, or do my scales to warm up for cubing.
Big fan of:
Chopin
Mozart
Debussy
~ JemFish
Ranzha
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dude.. so funny, I am learning exactly that at the moment! Well don't be scared it's not too difficult, prelude 23/5 is definitely harder. If you know Grieg's concerto, I can tell you that rach 2 mvt. 1 is about the same difficulty as that, mvt. 2 is easier and mvt. 3 is harder.
It really sucks to have Rach 2 as your favourite piece but have hands too small to play even the first chord...
Rach 2 and the Grieg concerto were the first two works I came across that really resonated with me.
I want to give arranging Rach 2 mvt 2 for solo piano a real honest try, but it's so dense!
I took lessons from a truly wonderful instructor from 2001-2009, again for a short run in late 2011 and early 2012, and have been playing independently since. My teacher was very much unconventional in the way he taught me to play in that I had extensive ear training to complement having absolute pitch, but as a result my sightreading ability on piano is atrocious.
At my best, I was able to get through Chopin's Revolutionary Étude. My right hand has nowhere near the velocity of my left hand, which really sucks when it comes to most of Chopin's other études...
JemFish
Veteran
Hmm...my left hand can stretch a 10th easily, and maybe even an 11th, but my right hand only just spans a 10th.
sneaklyfox
Legend
I play piano regularly, and it is in fact my primary hobby before cubing. I play mostly classical music, but also some modern stuff like movie themes etc.
here is a video of me playing Chopin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RB0g_oW2Zg
Really awesome playing, Mozart!
I teach music (violin and piano). Classical music only. I've taught up to Grade 10 piano. Can't really say I play regularly nowadays though. Too busy with kids.
sneaklyfox
Legend
I can memorize loads of music. My sightreading is also terrible.
My right hand is smaller than my left as well, but my right hand just spans a 9th. Some chords are hard for my right hand.
ryanj92
Veteran
Ooh, what pieces are you playing for it? I now know A4 (Bach French Suite), B6 (Mendelssohn Gondola Song) and C4 (Dichler Toccata-Etude)... I knew B6 already and I didn't like the pieces from the book so much
(especially list C)It goes without saying that big hands are favorable when it comes to rach, but many great pianists still did amazing despite having small hands. Ashkenazy has a wonderful recording of Rach 2 even though he had to roll the beginning chords
Good luck with the mvt 2 arrangement, it's sooo beautiful!I'm just like you... awful at sightreading! But I have decent memory and perfect pitch, so learning pieces is not a problem
I'm not the only one then!! My left hand only just spans an 11th from C to F, but my right hand struggles with 10th's. I've been playing guitar and believed it might have something to do with that..
Thank you. I didn't know grades continued beyond 8? I thought it would just be 8+ or something
sneaklyfox
Legend
Ah, I think this depends on your country's grading level. In Canada, we have Royal Conservatory which goes up to ARCT (basically teacher's level) which comes right after Grade 10.
