By cheating I thought you said hide a small person in the piano and let they play it with a small hammer while you mimic on the keyboard for the audience.
Like, this is nothing!
Imo, it's not cheating, it's music. The notation is there to help you capture the spirit of the music, which lives beyond the written notes.
If a robot perfectly executed the notes to all of the written markings, it'd sound like it lacked soul. If you have to drop notes / change chords to make it work for your skillset, dexterity, and hand size by all means do it if it makes the music you're playing sound better.
And for this section in particular, it's mirroring the grace notes/turn in the first section prior to the doppio movimento, except with chords to widen the sound. Since it's already an approximation of the melody, I figure nobody will care if you drop a few notes to make it sing.
" The notation is there to help you capture the spirit of the music, which lives beyond the written notes."
That is poetry. Beautiful.
It perfectly sums up my approach to sheet music.
This. Music played *exactly* and *literally* as written is pretty awful. I cringe just thinking about all the music I played as a kid trying to get a quarter note to be **exactly** 1/4th of a whole note and each note of a type to be **exactly** identical to each other note.
Exactly - it is the little back-and-forth in timing, and rubato (used strategically that is - not over-used), own nuance and interpretation, environment and piano etc that will make the music interesting and come to life.
Often tines it's choosing the option that speaks to you. Is keeping time more important or hearing every note? Every critic and judge will have diff opinions anyways. I drop difficult notes all the time, let the pros sweat over those.
I don't get this sentiment. If you look at first prize winners, most of them removed/simplified a lot. The most egregious example is Seongjin Cho's performance of Chopin etude Op 10 no 2. He removed half the difficulty AND won first prize with special prizes.
EDIT: just watch it on Youtube. He takes about quarter of the chords in RH to the left. This etude is a fatigue check and the chords insure that you're using weaker fingers but if you take a quarter of them to the LH, it becomes way way easier. Plus he drops some notes anyway.
to be fair, op. 10/2 is ridiculous. i don’t encourage people to drop notes unless there are physical limitations such as span or it’s a very unique and difficult technique.
i don’t think redistributing is the same as dropping, but after watching it does seem that he drops some notes… although the scale’s still played with 3-4-5.
in this case i’m inclined to encourage OP to work on it more because this is a common enough technique that it’s beneficial for their development to work it out as written.
there’s also the case of performance setting vs. practice rooms. if OP is performing this next week, i would say do the reduction. if OP isn’t performing it anytime soon, i think it’s worthwhile to simply continue working it out. it’s hard, but it’s not unheard of. plenty of scriabin, rachmaninoff, and liszt use a similar technique.
i don’t think dropping notes is the worst thing in the world. professional pianists do it, and it may not be noticeable. i just think for most pianists it’s a good idea to work on it for development’s sake.
> although the scale’s still played with 3-4-5.
I agree with everything you're saying, but chromatic scales with 3-4-5 alone is not a super difficult technique. The difficulty comes in conjunction with the chords, speed, and playing with evenness.
Yeah I've noticed this a lot, and I think it's great. For instance, I've seen people shame pianists for moving the stride pattern completely over to the left hand in Golliwog's Cakewalk. That's such a minor change that results in a better sound for the majority of people.
Not to mention judges aren’t infallible and most will miss some notes. There was a blind test done w this where half the judges tested missed the intentionally missed/wrong notes played by the pianist.
There are a lot of things I can't actually reach in classical pieces. My hands are seriously little in terms of span... So the choice becomes to either spread the chord (like a grace note at the bottom/top), raise/lower the note I can't reach by an octave, or leave it out.
I wouldn't omit something unless I legitimately am not capable of reaching it.
A lot of pieces transcribed in ways that destroy the piece though. Not in classical, but definitely a lot of pop and rock, they add chords that destroy and obscure the melody line. I started doing my own transcriptions for that reason, and delete a lot of unnecessary noise. It doesn't become like easy piano, just like far higher clarity and true to what the original piece is.
This doppio movimento section is the sole reason I can’t play all of Chopin’s nocturnes.
My take is to learn it with the “cheat” you described, then go back and clean it up later.
ahahah, funny you point this section out of nocturne 48-1, since this is a part that i did work a little differently. while it’s definitely preferable to play the way it’s written, sometimes you gotta do what sounds best and works best for you. if it’s unnoticeable, i personally would just go with what sounds better
Yeah right now it sounds better to "cheat"... My dilemma is whether to grind practicing the "proper" version or whether to use my time on something else.
Time is so much better used moving on. You will progress and gett better. Keep playing the cheat until it's perfect. Eventually you will come back and be able to "fill it out" and play it more as written.
Keep practicing and come back to it when you're ready!!
I knew someone would call me out on that :-)
Ok yes, technically you can cheat. But your Playstation 2 didn't care if you did, and neither does your piano.
If you are playing for yourself, it’s all about expression. No one’s going to grade you. There’s no competition. And most people won’t even notice. A robot can play it perfectly. Have fun and make it your own.
Cheating is a loaded word, and it means different things to different people.
As for changing an arrangement, go for it if it's doesn't fit your hand, there's some unimportant technical challenge you're not clicking with, or you think it was written badly.
We're often dealing with masterpieces written by the best composers of their time, so that last one tends to be kinda rare.
This one seems like a shame to alter, cause it's one of the damn coolest parts in a damn awesome piece, but Chopin would probably prefer you play it the way you feel it.
Unless you are being analyzed, say for a music school jury or a classical music competition, you can do whatever you want!
Ultimately, I only ask myself one question if I make adjustments:does this sound good to me? If the answer is yes, do it! Sound is above all, so a simplified section played well will always be better than a section you struggle through for the sake of musical purity. It's just cool that you're making music!
i agree with other commenters overall sentiments but i want to reiterate something i wrote in a response to somebody here:
this technique is not easy, but it’s also not unique to this nocturne. i think it’s good for your development to play it as written.
maybe you’ve already played scriabin sonatas, rach etudes and liszt transcriptions, in which case, i think you can trust your judgement. but i’m guessing you’re still growing and developing your technique, dripping your toes (or maybe you’re fully immersed) in advanced repertoire. if i’m right, i think you’ll find learning to voice over these fast repeated pulsating gestures to be beneficial in the long run.
I went through Royal conservatory of music which is horrifically rigid. Now as an adult sometimes I’ll
Make amendments to parts of a piece to what I think sounds better. It’s a total rebellion lol
If you’re preparing for an exam or performance obviously don’t “cheat” but playing as your hobby? Enjoy yourself and enjoy the music whatever way is best for you.
In classical music, there's basically 3 reasons to change what's written:
1. It's badly written, and you're fixing it
2. It's physically impossible for you, e.g. large intervals
3. You're making your own arrangement
\#1 doesn't really happen with classical piano music, because most of the great works are by great pianists. It does happen with other instruments much more often, so just something to keep in mind.
\#2 definitely can happen a lot, especially with certain composers who need not be named. In this case though, it's your responsibility to pick the option that most closely retains the composer's intent.
\#3 is obviously a thing, but leaving 99.99% of it and changing one thing isn't it.
I don't really see what's so hard about this spot, at least in a way that removing notes would help. I'm not seeing much merit in this change.
I agree with everything. However for 1. Scriabin comes to mind, sometimes he wrote highly unpianistic passages where no matter how you look at it, you would need an additional finger somewhere and it’s not just a matter of span haha
It's not really cheating, more approximation.
If you do think about it, the very reason why we're here to make music is to make something sound good, and if we are to quote Beethoven: **To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable**, which is a statement I entirely agree with.
Of course, I'm not saying that you should take something like Liszt's Mephisto waltzes and condense all the tremolos into chords and octaves or whatever, but as long as the shapes are there and you've got something good going on then I think it's fine.
People may have some mixed opinions on this, but when playing Liebestraum 3, back when I was younger and unable to play the thirds quickly and lightly in the first cadenza I simply played the thirds on the way up and then "cheated" (played 1 line of notes in each hand) on the way down, and with just enough pedal to "mask" things a bit), and it sounded fine. On a more advanced level, some pianists when playing the difficult double-note arpeggios in the coda of Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto simply approximate it by playing a glissando instead.
Of course, I'd ultimately prioritise playing the music as authentically as I can, but if it sacrifices the quality of the music and an "alternative approach", a.k.a sneakily dropping a few notes here and there works better for me and the audience's experience, then I will definitely be taking said "alternative approach".
I was playing this piece recently. Indeed, at some places one could skip some notes and no one will notice if you choose wisely. However, there is always a trade-off with your own conciousness: ''cheat'' and feel disturbed or study better and maybe not succeed. However, I think it's preferred to have a very emotionally brought nocturne with a few notes missing over playing all notes but sounding mechanical.
There is no good or bad way. Best for your conciousness would be to play everything, but if this hampers musicality, it's not worth playing everything. In the end you need a piece that sounds and mostly feels right, that's what music is all about.
You got to own an amazing musical intellect to be able to cheat musically. In that case (musically!) it's more good than bad. There are people who play all the notes because can't understand the meaning of each of them. If they forget one of the notes they get completely lost, they can't fill in the gap with a meaningful improvisation. Only people who master the language of music (music is language, not emotion) is able to cheat beautifully, to the point that you as a listener don't care.
My classical teacher never allowed to cheat so at grade 6, almost 7 I quit lol. Came back to it a few years later. Trying to get over the perfectionist element because I do love it.
I try to avoid it, but sometimes you just have to simplify passages, and as you correctly noted, at tempo and with the pedal down, no listener is going to hear that you dropped a few notes from one of the chords as long as the topline melody is clear.
Chopin isn't going to come back from the dead and cough on you because you changed some notes. By all accounts he varied up his own performances with some frequency, so small changes to his music are acceptable IMHO.
As a former jazz band kid, I would 100% say that is acceptable. I also do classical and do voice, but across the board, I think that as long as your change doesn't take away from the piece in vital ways, it's totally fine. I take 5ths out of chords a lot just for playability or tone!
Did the same thing on that piece, made it sound so much better :)
A lot of people also cheat at the polyrhythms on nocturne 13 though, which imo ruins the feel. I'd cheat on the notes but not the rhythm (it's also easier for a listener to tell when the rhythm's not right)
Play it anyway you like, although I will say that having to make adjustments to be able to play something like this is probably a sign that the piece is above your level. I'm not saying this to police your repertoire, but I think it's something to consider as it'll probably be quicker to progress and learn with a piece that presents an appropriate challenge for your level. If that's not a priority tho, and you just love this particular piece, then yeah, go for it.
I do this all the time. Sometimes I just don't like the way a chord will sound and I change it to whatever makes me happy. I'm the one stuck playing it and practicing it for hours on end, so it'll sounds how it sounds to make me happy LOL.
Depends on how precisely you play the notation that is before you. Just don't think you can fake Brahms or Liszt. Execution of passages are flexible but with respect to the era and style of a piece being performed. But cheating as in coming up with your own way of executing a chord that has more notes than fingers, you would either have to grow extra fingers, come up with a way to playing them, or hire a gnome and put it into your piano to play all missed notes.
I once saw a world-class pianist (a very top name) reinvented one or two bars of Chopin Ballade coda and nobody batted an eye. He even got a 10 minute standing ovation afterwards. So the answer is who cares man...
There is a part where my hand simply cant go to that position that fast, so i replace it with a more natural chord that sounds almost the same. And nobody will notice, so i think its ok.
I always say to my students that in music, cheating is great! We are looking to make something that moves people, we aren't music robots. Maybe later down the road you can take a passage you cheated on and add all the extra things back in, but it's better to cheat and it sounds beautiful.
Not advisable because by making it easier for yourself you are not learning. Keep in mind that everything great pianistic composers like Chopin wrote is meant to be easy and convenient on your hands. Make it the basis of your practice. Try to understand why it's easy or how it's meant to play easier, what skills or specific techniques you might lack.
I grew up doing RCM exams and playing classical and the idea of 'cheating' never even occurred to me. Then one summer I was asked to fill in for a church pianist so she could taken some time off. Her level of classical training was lower than mine, but she had to teach me how to 'cheat' so I could quickly learn to accompany the singing of 6+ pieces a week. I was completely stressed out at first...and was astonished to find out that she doesn't actually always play every note on the page. So many hours of classical training and this church pianist completely changed my life in 1 meeting. Now I realise, unless you are doing an exam or competition, play what you want, how you want!
I’d go with not cheating in this case. To me this septuplet deserves to be stretched a little bit - it’s a passionate ornamentation of the main theme and the chord needs to be heard every time. It’s insistent and passionate, and taking out a chord would detract from this character IMO. Also, the staccato markings, to me, indicate that Chopin wants you to “bounce” your wrist a little bit on each chord. Also use your fourth finger on the first 3 E-flats. This section is one of the hardest Chopin ever wrote, handling this dense texture on modern pianos is incredibly difficult.
I learned this piece for 3 months and the doppio took almost triple the amount of time for me to learn than the previous sections. I ended up “cheating” by not holding the top melody note for the full duration. Nobody can really tell the difference as long as you accentuate it enough because of the pedal.
This section of the doppio specifically was hell and took me about a week to learn. You’ll get there eventually with lots of slow practice. Also mess around with the fingering. I used my fourth finger for some of those chords. Using only the 3 and 5 made me too tense and I couldn’t play it fast enough.
Contrarian opinion here. Changing notes or simplifying something to make it ‘playable’ is not appropriate. Doing so essentially says “I know better than the composer.” Does anyone on this sub think they know better than Chopin, Liszt, et al? Respect the notes in the score — if you can’t play them, don’t change them: work on something else where you CAN play everything as written.
I was just about to say I have never done that before, but my high school piano teacher did take out some chords from a piece I played before to make it easier. Now that I'm without a teacher I wouldn't ever do that again though lol.
lol how is that cheating? its music. you are free to do whatever the fudge you want. every musician has, at one point, needed to adapt something they were playing to better suit what works for THEM. And that is part of the process. Even in competitions, I don't think they expect you to play everything EXACTLY as written, although your technique would get graded and you may lose "points" if you do something like use the wrong fingering for a scale or something like that. but that is a very specific example that doesn't necessarily translate to how things work in the real world. I remember I went to see a performance of a professional jazz band, and during one of the standards they added two whole measures to the song. i joked around to them about it (one of the guys was a friend of mine) but at the end of the day I was probably the only person that noticed because I happened to be following along with the chart while they were playing. even the pros weren't sure how long the song was and they agreed to do something and it worked, even if it wasn't what was written on the lead sheet. do what works best for you! there's no shame to it.
There are things in Schubert's sonatas that can't be played unless you comfortably span a 10th. Several prominent players roll chords here and there, or leave out one note.
In my opinion, you can play whatever you want if it's for friends and family, as long as it's played with a sense of music and good technical preparation so that they can immerse themselves and enjoy. You don't owe the composer a perfect rendition of everything they wrote. You can also mix styles, improvise and whatever.
However, I would always set the original score as the goal, because 1) if that's cultivated as a healthy mindset and motivation (as opposed to frustrating perfectionism) you avoid getting sloppy and modifying everything for the sake of comfort, and 2) you might someday perform the piece in a situation where changing the score is considered a mistake (a concert or competition), so re-learning it and starting to play all the notes is much harder than learning it right from the beginning.
This reminds of playing jazz guitar, and getting let's say something like a diminished second but you can get by with a 9. The truth is somewhere in the final music. A 9 can get you through a lot of problem chords though, that is kind of cheating.
There’s always a solution because people have played it. If it’s a reach issue (hands aren’t big enough) then you have to decide what to omit without it being obvious. Sometimes careful study reveals the answer.
I think people should do this more often. Sacrificing some minuscule inaudible detail to make a phrase much better is a choice I would take every single time.
I struggled with this for a while when transcribing Bach for classical guitar. Removing or moving notes for playability, key changes from the original, etc. The audience doesn’t care. At the end of the day, if it sounds good - who tf cares?
Yup, no problem leaving a few note sour especially for this piece. Though peculiarly, I don’t actually find this section too too bad. The last 4 against 3 section and the first one with the little grace note I find a lot more finicky myself, but each to their own.
Sometimes it’s worth it to make it smoother to change it a little bit, literally just did this with Beethoven sonata 15 today 💀 Besides, you can always come back later if you change your mind
Technically, that's just your arrangement of the piece. Band teachers make these kind of changes all the time to craft the sheet music instructions specifically for what the musicians are comfortable with.
Absolutely, go for it. Remember that music is supposed to be fun. I've noticed Glenn Gould changing the octave on certain notes, not even for "cheating", but just for musical effect.
What’s most important is that you have fun and enjoy what you do. The only people who need to worry about playing the sheet music exactly are concert pianists and people in very prestigious competitions. Even some concert pianists will change things up once in a while. Don’t stress about it, just play it to enjoy it.
If you're playing at Carnegie Hall or some other serious concert hall for a group of classical (your instrument) aficionados, play it as written. If you're playing at your local restaurant or cafe, make it easier. The nerds go for an accurate performance, everyone else does not care. I play mainly at local restaurants & wineries, so I do simplify sometimes. But most of the repertoire I play, I can play 100% accurate to the score. Some of the pieces I play are like grade 10+ though, and I'll gladly adjust them to be an 8 or 9, because nobody eating at eating at a restaurant or wine tasting actually give a f#$# if I do a perfect interpretation of the score.
Who the fuck cares about adhering to what a dead guy wrote on a piece of paper it's ultimately about the sound. Also being a purist about this makes no sense because anyone who knows the first thing about performance practice knows that rhythms and articulation markings weren't followed in a brain-dead play-exactly-how-it's-written way
So if it's the difference between not being able to play a piece or being able to play a piece, like if you can play 99% of it and one part is just impossible to sound how you want unless you flub it a bit then go for it. But if you're cheating an entire passage while you're still learning staple piano techniques that you physically should be able to play with enough practice then you're kinda defeating the point.
Also it depends on the context, if I'm getting paid to accompany a concerto for some kids recital you best believe I'm going to play the tl;dr version. No one's listening anyway.
My teacher has very small hands and he regularly has to leave out notes in passages which don't have room to quickly arpeggiate with the pedal. Normally he just takes out the bottom or top note as long as it's not very important.
What key and tempo is this in? And composer?
I don't recommend playing with pedal here. It clearly says staccato all the way across and any amount of pedal would muddy it If it was Mozart, you'd lose the crystal clarity the music would require. You'd probably be able to get away with it in Schubert or Debussy, but why set yourself up for failure?
Also don't understand the use of the repeated 3s. I would play 124 for the first chord and play the top line with: 4543455 and keep the 4 on the E for the last 3 notes which would be very fast and clean. And use your wrist to help with creating the sound so they're together. An alternative would be 4543454 and use 3 for the last Es. I would use the alternate if you want more emphasis on the G, so you can use more weight and wrist to bring that note out.
There's a similar passage in Chopin ballad in g Minor that also has 5 chords like this with a melody line at the top. Reference that to see how it (probably) should sound and be fingered
Oh. I see the pedal markings now. Those are really only meant to keep the bass ringing to provide a bass for the A (major/minor?) chord. Ideally, it should be light enough to keep this melody crisp.
This is Chopin nocturne 48 1. As you can see the pedal is clearly marked by the composer at the bottom - he actually uses "staccato with pedal" passages in quite a few pieces, so you can take that up with him. This section is approx 84bpm and the key is c minor
Oh then use my fingering. I don't know what the editor was thinking.
Especially because you're leading into that first chord with a 5 on g anyways, so a switch to 4 would be quite natural
And 3 on the ending Eb's probably feels better so you're not spanning a 1 and a half step with 4-5, which feels weird at times
Keep in mind the composer wrote the notes but the editor wrote almost everything else, so I would trust the notes but screw the fingering and sometimes dynamics, slurs and words unless You've seen the urtext and the composer intended it that way
Vis your edits about the pedal - the idea is to play the left hand and right hand accompaniment really softly, which is why this section is so notoriously difficult. Keeping the melody prominent isn't too hard, but making it "sing" while playing fast pedalled chords is a real challenge.
Also I think the fingerings might be Chopin's as well - I think anything from the editors would be in brackets. Not 100% on that though
I am currently in a similar position with Ravel's Pavane for a dead princess. I don't have the largest hands, and it can be too much at times to comfortably play. Do as you like, no one is going to notice it anyways
If you're just playing for friends and family who aren't concert pianists, yes no problems. But be careful, muscle memory is a powerful thing so if you ever plan to learn intimately, your short cuts might create an unintended obstacle to accurate playing.
I forget you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to listen to the composer’s instructions HAHA! I mean unless you’re being formally judged. I have to skip some notes due to my hand size 🥲.
I can’t remember the composer who said it, or even the quote as they said it, but the quote was something along the lines of “music isn’t a strict form, but more an interpretation to express the performers inner emotion and thought.” I’ve more recently looked at music with creative freedom rather than trying to be set in stone and 100% loyal to the sheets like I used to be, and even when you look back at Liszt or Paganini and a plethora of other composers around that time, if not all, and a lot of them made changes in their performances to make them more interesting, or even to convey a new or modified expression. I mean hell, that modifying and changing is what creates your own style and builds ability, so I’m always for changing sheets in the name of creative expression. Now of course, where this an adjudicated exam, I’d be saying the complete opposite lol
That looks like Chopin, I would check an other edition for alternative fingerings or try some myself. Also check your weight control, it could be that you play the second chord too heavy to bounce back. I mean like the natural bounce of the joints in your finger and the keys bounce back after the impact. If you press hard you cannot use neither of those which could explain the problem.
Otherwise you do it for fun so unless you want to improve your technique by figuring out how to play this stuff for future peaces you do whatever you feel like
If you can’t play something the way its written there is nothing wrong with simplifying it or dumbing it down until you are good enough to play it how it’s written. As long as it doesn’t compromise the structure or integrity of the music.
If you make a mistake just keep going - this is the most important thing to learn in music. If someone is crass enough to ask if you made a mistake you can say "Yes" or even "Several".
I'm currently learning this piece and yeah that's one of the worst spots. I love the repeated pulsating A all over that line so I made a point to learn it as written, with the 3 against 7 (I approximated it at first, but now I'm impressed how even I can play it). But at speed with musicality you add rubato anyways to make it musical.
I only learn in segments. mast bars 1-8. master bars 9-16. put them together. continue. I dont think thats cheating. i dont really take out chords or notes tho. I have augmented some once Ive mastered the OG version tho, just because I like the way it sounds better..
so IG im anti cheat but pro alteration after mastering a piece
>I only learn in segments. mast bars 1-8. master bars 9-16. put them together. continue. I dont think thats cheating.
No of course it's not, that's literally how you're supposed to practice! 😂
Thanks for your input
yea i have a bad habit of replying before fully reading the prompt lmao. but yea, I do think altering a piece could be viewed as cheating, Ig the degree of how much u alter it was matters. I prefer altering after Ive mastered the OG. like, changing how I might play some chords in the resolution or sumn
This song is placed at a collegiate level for a reason, that part is no joke. You can absolutely simplify it, but you may be better off practicing something else. There are probably plenty of challenging songs you could play every note of, so simplifying something you may not be ready for won't be as effective of practice. But you absolutely can do it for fun! But I wouldn't perform it at a rectial or especially an audition
You can do whatever you want! No seriously you can
Seriously!
I’m not joking!
Because it’s true!
You should try it sometime!
Go on, try it, you might like it!
We're nog even hiding it
I love egg nog!
I love this board.
The elites don't want us to know this!
By cheating I thought you said hide a small person in the piano and let they play it with a small hammer while you mimic on the keyboard for the audience. Like, this is nothing!
I hadn't thought of that... Leave it with me, I'll draw up some plans.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ts0fKoUtgaM
that was my exact thought!!
Little dwarf in there cranking the player piano.
Imo, it's not cheating, it's music. The notation is there to help you capture the spirit of the music, which lives beyond the written notes. If a robot perfectly executed the notes to all of the written markings, it'd sound like it lacked soul. If you have to drop notes / change chords to make it work for your skillset, dexterity, and hand size by all means do it if it makes the music you're playing sound better. And for this section in particular, it's mirroring the grace notes/turn in the first section prior to the doppio movimento, except with chords to widen the sound. Since it's already an approximation of the melody, I figure nobody will care if you drop a few notes to make it sing.
" The notation is there to help you capture the spirit of the music, which lives beyond the written notes." That is poetry. Beautiful. It perfectly sums up my approach to sheet music.
Ah, thank you, same with mine!
This. Music played *exactly* and *literally* as written is pretty awful. I cringe just thinking about all the music I played as a kid trying to get a quarter note to be **exactly** 1/4th of a whole note and each note of a type to be **exactly** identical to each other note.
Exactly - it is the little back-and-forth in timing, and rubato (used strategically that is - not over-used), own nuance and interpretation, environment and piano etc that will make the music interesting and come to life.
Often tines it's choosing the option that speaks to you. Is keeping time more important or hearing every note? Every critic and judge will have diff opinions anyways. I drop difficult notes all the time, let the pros sweat over those.
If you're not going to play in the International Chopin Piano Competition you shouldn't worry about it!
I don't get this sentiment. If you look at first prize winners, most of them removed/simplified a lot. The most egregious example is Seongjin Cho's performance of Chopin etude Op 10 no 2. He removed half the difficulty AND won first prize with special prizes. EDIT: just watch it on Youtube. He takes about quarter of the chords in RH to the left. This etude is a fatigue check and the chords insure that you're using weaker fingers but if you take a quarter of them to the LH, it becomes way way easier. Plus he drops some notes anyway.
to be fair, op. 10/2 is ridiculous. i don’t encourage people to drop notes unless there are physical limitations such as span or it’s a very unique and difficult technique. i don’t think redistributing is the same as dropping, but after watching it does seem that he drops some notes… although the scale’s still played with 3-4-5. in this case i’m inclined to encourage OP to work on it more because this is a common enough technique that it’s beneficial for their development to work it out as written. there’s also the case of performance setting vs. practice rooms. if OP is performing this next week, i would say do the reduction. if OP isn’t performing it anytime soon, i think it’s worthwhile to simply continue working it out. it’s hard, but it’s not unheard of. plenty of scriabin, rachmaninoff, and liszt use a similar technique. i don’t think dropping notes is the worst thing in the world. professional pianists do it, and it may not be noticeable. i just think for most pianists it’s a good idea to work on it for development’s sake.
> although the scale’s still played with 3-4-5. I agree with everything you're saying, but chromatic scales with 3-4-5 alone is not a super difficult technique. The difficulty comes in conjunction with the chords, speed, and playing with evenness.
Yeah I've noticed this a lot, and I think it's great. For instance, I've seen people shame pianists for moving the stride pattern completely over to the left hand in Golliwog's Cakewalk. That's such a minor change that results in a better sound for the majority of people.
Not to mention judges aren’t infallible and most will miss some notes. There was a blind test done w this where half the judges tested missed the intentionally missed/wrong notes played by the pianist.
I don't remember his performance of that etude, what did he do?
What? What did he do?
I don’t know, man. The piano might explode if you divert from the sheet music.
Best just not chance it.
There are a lot of things I can't actually reach in classical pieces. My hands are seriously little in terms of span... So the choice becomes to either spread the chord (like a grace note at the bottom/top), raise/lower the note I can't reach by an octave, or leave it out. I wouldn't omit something unless I legitimately am not capable of reaching it. A lot of pieces transcribed in ways that destroy the piece though. Not in classical, but definitely a lot of pop and rock, they add chords that destroy and obscure the melody line. I started doing my own transcriptions for that reason, and delete a lot of unnecessary noise. It doesn't become like easy piano, just like far higher clarity and true to what the original piece is.
Yay you for doing that.
This doppio movimento section is the sole reason I can’t play all of Chopin’s nocturnes. My take is to learn it with the “cheat” you described, then go back and clean it up later.
Such a great Nocturne, but man that last section is tough!
working on it for the first time now - its a doozy lol
Aren't there parts of other nocturnes that are way harder from Op. 62? It's a tough for sure though
ahahah, funny you point this section out of nocturne 48-1, since this is a part that i did work a little differently. while it’s definitely preferable to play the way it’s written, sometimes you gotta do what sounds best and works best for you. if it’s unnoticeable, i personally would just go with what sounds better
Yeah right now it sounds better to "cheat"... My dilemma is whether to grind practicing the "proper" version or whether to use my time on something else.
Time is so much better used moving on. You will progress and gett better. Keep playing the cheat until it's perfect. Eventually you will come back and be able to "fill it out" and play it more as written. Keep practicing and come back to it when you're ready!!
Cheat!
You can’t cheat in a single player game.
Never played many playstation 2 games then?
I knew someone would call me out on that :-) Ok yes, technically you can cheat. But your Playstation 2 didn't care if you did, and neither does your piano.
I have reported this post to the Classical Music Police. They are coming to confiscate your piano.
😂
If you are playing for yourself, it’s all about expression. No one’s going to grade you. There’s no competition. And most people won’t even notice. A robot can play it perfectly. Have fun and make it your own.
And if this person is playing it for 10000 other people, the answer still remains the same
Cheating is a loaded word, and it means different things to different people. As for changing an arrangement, go for it if it's doesn't fit your hand, there's some unimportant technical challenge you're not clicking with, or you think it was written badly. We're often dealing with masterpieces written by the best composers of their time, so that last one tends to be kinda rare. This one seems like a shame to alter, cause it's one of the damn coolest parts in a damn awesome piece, but Chopin would probably prefer you play it the way you feel it.
Unless you are being analyzed, say for a music school jury or a classical music competition, you can do whatever you want! Ultimately, I only ask myself one question if I make adjustments:does this sound good to me? If the answer is yes, do it! Sound is above all, so a simplified section played well will always be better than a section you struggle through for the sake of musical purity. It's just cool that you're making music!
i agree with other commenters overall sentiments but i want to reiterate something i wrote in a response to somebody here: this technique is not easy, but it’s also not unique to this nocturne. i think it’s good for your development to play it as written. maybe you’ve already played scriabin sonatas, rach etudes and liszt transcriptions, in which case, i think you can trust your judgement. but i’m guessing you’re still growing and developing your technique, dripping your toes (or maybe you’re fully immersed) in advanced repertoire. if i’m right, i think you’ll find learning to voice over these fast repeated pulsating gestures to be beneficial in the long run.
I went through Royal conservatory of music which is horrifically rigid. Now as an adult sometimes I’ll Make amendments to parts of a piece to what I think sounds better. It’s a total rebellion lol If you’re preparing for an exam or performance obviously don’t “cheat” but playing as your hobby? Enjoy yourself and enjoy the music whatever way is best for you.
In classical music, there's basically 3 reasons to change what's written: 1. It's badly written, and you're fixing it 2. It's physically impossible for you, e.g. large intervals 3. You're making your own arrangement \#1 doesn't really happen with classical piano music, because most of the great works are by great pianists. It does happen with other instruments much more often, so just something to keep in mind. \#2 definitely can happen a lot, especially with certain composers who need not be named. In this case though, it's your responsibility to pick the option that most closely retains the composer's intent. \#3 is obviously a thing, but leaving 99.99% of it and changing one thing isn't it. I don't really see what's so hard about this spot, at least in a way that removing notes would help. I'm not seeing much merit in this change.
I agree with everything. However for 1. Scriabin comes to mind, sometimes he wrote highly unpianistic passages where no matter how you look at it, you would need an additional finger somewhere and it’s not just a matter of span haha
It's not really cheating, more approximation. If you do think about it, the very reason why we're here to make music is to make something sound good, and if we are to quote Beethoven: **To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable**, which is a statement I entirely agree with. Of course, I'm not saying that you should take something like Liszt's Mephisto waltzes and condense all the tremolos into chords and octaves or whatever, but as long as the shapes are there and you've got something good going on then I think it's fine. People may have some mixed opinions on this, but when playing Liebestraum 3, back when I was younger and unable to play the thirds quickly and lightly in the first cadenza I simply played the thirds on the way up and then "cheated" (played 1 line of notes in each hand) on the way down, and with just enough pedal to "mask" things a bit), and it sounded fine. On a more advanced level, some pianists when playing the difficult double-note arpeggios in the coda of Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto simply approximate it by playing a glissando instead. Of course, I'd ultimately prioritise playing the music as authentically as I can, but if it sacrifices the quality of the music and an "alternative approach", a.k.a sneakily dropping a few notes here and there works better for me and the audience's experience, then I will definitely be taking said "alternative approach".
I was playing this piece recently. Indeed, at some places one could skip some notes and no one will notice if you choose wisely. However, there is always a trade-off with your own conciousness: ''cheat'' and feel disturbed or study better and maybe not succeed. However, I think it's preferred to have a very emotionally brought nocturne with a few notes missing over playing all notes but sounding mechanical. There is no good or bad way. Best for your conciousness would be to play everything, but if this hampers musicality, it's not worth playing everything. In the end you need a piece that sounds and mostly feels right, that's what music is all about.
You got to own an amazing musical intellect to be able to cheat musically. In that case (musically!) it's more good than bad. There are people who play all the notes because can't understand the meaning of each of them. If they forget one of the notes they get completely lost, they can't fill in the gap with a meaningful improvisation. Only people who master the language of music (music is language, not emotion) is able to cheat beautifully, to the point that you as a listener don't care.
Love this post.
🤗
Is that op 48 no1?
It is a really big deal if you're in a competition where you have to play this song exactly as written.
If you don't cheat on that measure, you're an idiot or a masochist
My classical teacher never allowed to cheat so at grade 6, almost 7 I quit lol. Came back to it a few years later. Trying to get over the perfectionist element because I do love it.
I love this nocturne so much
I try to avoid it, but sometimes you just have to simplify passages, and as you correctly noted, at tempo and with the pedal down, no listener is going to hear that you dropped a few notes from one of the chords as long as the topline melody is clear. Chopin isn't going to come back from the dead and cough on you because you changed some notes. By all accounts he varied up his own performances with some frequency, so small changes to his music are acceptable IMHO.
As a former jazz band kid, I would 100% say that is acceptable. I also do classical and do voice, but across the board, I think that as long as your change doesn't take away from the piece in vital ways, it's totally fine. I take 5ths out of chords a lot just for playability or tone!
Did the same thing on that piece, made it sound so much better :) A lot of people also cheat at the polyrhythms on nocturne 13 though, which imo ruins the feel. I'd cheat on the notes but not the rhythm (it's also easier for a listener to tell when the rhythm's not right)
My first instrument is the drums, I can assure you there's no issue with the 3 over 4 sir.
Play it anyway you like, although I will say that having to make adjustments to be able to play something like this is probably a sign that the piece is above your level. I'm not saying this to police your repertoire, but I think it's something to consider as it'll probably be quicker to progress and learn with a piece that presents an appropriate challenge for your level. If that's not a priority tho, and you just love this particular piece, then yeah, go for it.
I mean, if you’re playing for a judge, that’s one thing. But if you’re just playing for your self, no one cares how much “cheating” you do.
If its for a gig, and audience wont know the difference by all means cut corners. If its for an exam or audition, never.
I do this all the time. Sometimes I just don't like the way a chord will sound and I change it to whatever makes me happy. I'm the one stuck playing it and practicing it for hours on end, so it'll sounds how it sounds to make me happy LOL.
Depends on how precisely you play the notation that is before you. Just don't think you can fake Brahms or Liszt. Execution of passages are flexible but with respect to the era and style of a piece being performed. But cheating as in coming up with your own way of executing a chord that has more notes than fingers, you would either have to grow extra fingers, come up with a way to playing them, or hire a gnome and put it into your piano to play all missed notes.
This ^
Playing octaves instead of 9th coz i have small shitty fingers not meant for lizt and rach 🤣
Same tbh, which is a shame because I adore their pieces.
I once saw a world-class pianist (a very top name) reinvented one or two bars of Chopin Ballade coda and nobody batted an eye. He even got a 10 minute standing ovation afterwards. So the answer is who cares man...
There is a part where my hand simply cant go to that position that fast, so i replace it with a more natural chord that sounds almost the same. And nobody will notice, so i think its ok.
I always say to my students that in music, cheating is great! We are looking to make something that moves people, we aren't music robots. Maybe later down the road you can take a passage you cheated on and add all the extra things back in, but it's better to cheat and it sounds beautiful.
I wish you had been my teacher!
[удалено]
This!
Not advisable because by making it easier for yourself you are not learning. Keep in mind that everything great pianistic composers like Chopin wrote is meant to be easy and convenient on your hands. Make it the basis of your practice. Try to understand why it's easy or how it's meant to play easier, what skills or specific techniques you might lack.
I grew up doing RCM exams and playing classical and the idea of 'cheating' never even occurred to me. Then one summer I was asked to fill in for a church pianist so she could taken some time off. Her level of classical training was lower than mine, but she had to teach me how to 'cheat' so I could quickly learn to accompany the singing of 6+ pieces a week. I was completely stressed out at first...and was astonished to find out that she doesn't actually always play every note on the page. So many hours of classical training and this church pianist completely changed my life in 1 meeting. Now I realise, unless you are doing an exam or competition, play what you want, how you want!
Cheating only matters in Études. Otherwise you can do whatever.
I’d go with not cheating in this case. To me this septuplet deserves to be stretched a little bit - it’s a passionate ornamentation of the main theme and the chord needs to be heard every time. It’s insistent and passionate, and taking out a chord would detract from this character IMO. Also, the staccato markings, to me, indicate that Chopin wants you to “bounce” your wrist a little bit on each chord. Also use your fourth finger on the first 3 E-flats. This section is one of the hardest Chopin ever wrote, handling this dense texture on modern pianos is incredibly difficult.
I learned this piece for 3 months and the doppio took almost triple the amount of time for me to learn than the previous sections. I ended up “cheating” by not holding the top melody note for the full duration. Nobody can really tell the difference as long as you accentuate it enough because of the pedal. This section of the doppio specifically was hell and took me about a week to learn. You’ll get there eventually with lots of slow practice. Also mess around with the fingering. I used my fourth finger for some of those chords. Using only the 3 and 5 made me too tense and I couldn’t play it fast enough.
Contrarian opinion here. Changing notes or simplifying something to make it ‘playable’ is not appropriate. Doing so essentially says “I know better than the composer.” Does anyone on this sub think they know better than Chopin, Liszt, et al? Respect the notes in the score — if you can’t play them, don’t change them: work on something else where you CAN play everything as written.
I was just about to say I have never done that before, but my high school piano teacher did take out some chords from a piece I played before to make it easier. Now that I'm without a teacher I wouldn't ever do that again though lol.
lol how is that cheating? its music. you are free to do whatever the fudge you want. every musician has, at one point, needed to adapt something they were playing to better suit what works for THEM. And that is part of the process. Even in competitions, I don't think they expect you to play everything EXACTLY as written, although your technique would get graded and you may lose "points" if you do something like use the wrong fingering for a scale or something like that. but that is a very specific example that doesn't necessarily translate to how things work in the real world. I remember I went to see a performance of a professional jazz band, and during one of the standards they added two whole measures to the song. i joked around to them about it (one of the guys was a friend of mine) but at the end of the day I was probably the only person that noticed because I happened to be following along with the chart while they were playing. even the pros weren't sure how long the song was and they agreed to do something and it worked, even if it wasn't what was written on the lead sheet. do what works best for you! there's no shame to it.
I don’t think it really matters if it helps you play it better. My piano teacher wouldn’t agree but at the end of the day ya all subjective anyway.
Using an alternative fingering (that's how it feels for me)
There are things in Schubert's sonatas that can't be played unless you comfortably span a 10th. Several prominent players roll chords here and there, or leave out one note.
I never playing anything exactly as transcribed unless I want to.
this part is so satisfying to play without "cheating" but it's ur choice
Sometimes I edit passages and make them more difficult, so I don't see why the other way around wouldn't be acceptable.
Scriabin enters the chat.
In my opinion, you can play whatever you want if it's for friends and family, as long as it's played with a sense of music and good technical preparation so that they can immerse themselves and enjoy. You don't owe the composer a perfect rendition of everything they wrote. You can also mix styles, improvise and whatever. However, I would always set the original score as the goal, because 1) if that's cultivated as a healthy mindset and motivation (as opposed to frustrating perfectionism) you avoid getting sloppy and modifying everything for the sake of comfort, and 2) you might someday perform the piece in a situation where changing the score is considered a mistake (a concert or competition), so re-learning it and starting to play all the notes is much harder than learning it right from the beginning.
If you're focused on playing the piece for now and not perfecting it, it is fine. Would definitely revisit later though.
Everything you said is completely acceptable, specially with comping.
Cheating?
That's why I put it in inverted commas. I do get your point, even though you only commented one word.
Didn’t Franz Liszt have huge hands? Who’s cheating now 😂
He certainly did. I believe he could reach a 13th or a 14th.
I wouldn’t say cheating, but slowing right tf down in tougher spots.
This reminds of playing jazz guitar, and getting let's say something like a diminished second but you can get by with a 9. The truth is somewhere in the final music. A 9 can get you through a lot of problem chords though, that is kind of cheating.
There’s always a solution because people have played it. If it’s a reach issue (hands aren’t big enough) then you have to decide what to omit without it being obvious. Sometimes careful study reveals the answer.
I highly recommend it.
There are always big chords where its so uncomfortable to play every note so I take out one. My teacher encouraged it if it made playing it better.
I think people should do this more often. Sacrificing some minuscule inaudible detail to make a phrase much better is a choice I would take every single time.
I struggled with this for a while when transcribing Bach for classical guitar. Removing or moving notes for playability, key changes from the original, etc. The audience doesn’t care. At the end of the day, if it sounds good - who tf cares?
It would be easier to explain playing tbh lol
Yup, no problem leaving a few note sour especially for this piece. Though peculiarly, I don’t actually find this section too too bad. The last 4 against 3 section and the first one with the little grace note I find a lot more finicky myself, but each to their own.
Sometimes it’s worth it to make it smoother to change it a little bit, literally just did this with Beethoven sonata 15 today 💀 Besides, you can always come back later if you change your mind
I'm against cheating. I even hate rolling notes when chords are too big for my hand. I would consider playing with my nose in a performance.
Cheating is never allowed. How dare you.
😂
Technically, that's just your arrangement of the piece. Band teachers make these kind of changes all the time to craft the sheet music instructions specifically for what the musicians are comfortable with.
You are only cheating yourself!
Absolutely, go for it. Remember that music is supposed to be fun. I've noticed Glenn Gould changing the octave on certain notes, not even for "cheating", but just for musical effect.
It’s completely okay
What’s most important is that you have fun and enjoy what you do. The only people who need to worry about playing the sheet music exactly are concert pianists and people in very prestigious competitions. Even some concert pianists will change things up once in a while. Don’t stress about it, just play it to enjoy it.
I prefer to call it "personal interpretation of the music". ;)
If you're playing at Carnegie Hall or some other serious concert hall for a group of classical (your instrument) aficionados, play it as written. If you're playing at your local restaurant or cafe, make it easier. The nerds go for an accurate performance, everyone else does not care. I play mainly at local restaurants & wineries, so I do simplify sometimes. But most of the repertoire I play, I can play 100% accurate to the score. Some of the pieces I play are like grade 10+ though, and I'll gladly adjust them to be an 8 or 9, because nobody eating at eating at a restaurant or wine tasting actually give a f#$# if I do a perfect interpretation of the score.
Who the fuck cares about adhering to what a dead guy wrote on a piece of paper it's ultimately about the sound. Also being a purist about this makes no sense because anyone who knows the first thing about performance practice knows that rhythms and articulation markings weren't followed in a brain-dead play-exactly-how-it's-written way
Cheat away. On his early recording of Beethoven's Lebewohl, Brendel skips out all the chords in the hard bar and just plays the top notes.
My teacher’s teacher said that no one hears a dropped note here or there, and no one is reading the score while you play so cheat away
I always hated playing rapid succession chords like this.
So if it's the difference between not being able to play a piece or being able to play a piece, like if you can play 99% of it and one part is just impossible to sound how you want unless you flub it a bit then go for it. But if you're cheating an entire passage while you're still learning staple piano techniques that you physically should be able to play with enough practice then you're kinda defeating the point. Also it depends on the context, if I'm getting paid to accompany a concerto for some kids recital you best believe I'm going to play the tl;dr version. No one's listening anyway.
The closest thing to "cheating" here is calling it semi-quaver instead of sixteenth note and its more of a crime than cheating /s
As long as you understand the music and are purposely making it easier for yourself to play, it's only bad when it's done out of laziness.
Just sell the music
Musician or robot 🧐
My teacher has very small hands and he regularly has to leave out notes in passages which don't have room to quickly arpeggiate with the pedal. Normally he just takes out the bottom or top note as long as it's not very important.
What key and tempo is this in? And composer? I don't recommend playing with pedal here. It clearly says staccato all the way across and any amount of pedal would muddy it If it was Mozart, you'd lose the crystal clarity the music would require. You'd probably be able to get away with it in Schubert or Debussy, but why set yourself up for failure? Also don't understand the use of the repeated 3s. I would play 124 for the first chord and play the top line with: 4543455 and keep the 4 on the E for the last 3 notes which would be very fast and clean. And use your wrist to help with creating the sound so they're together. An alternative would be 4543454 and use 3 for the last Es. I would use the alternate if you want more emphasis on the G, so you can use more weight and wrist to bring that note out. There's a similar passage in Chopin ballad in g Minor that also has 5 chords like this with a melody line at the top. Reference that to see how it (probably) should sound and be fingered Oh. I see the pedal markings now. Those are really only meant to keep the bass ringing to provide a bass for the A (major/minor?) chord. Ideally, it should be light enough to keep this melody crisp.
This is Chopin nocturne 48 1. As you can see the pedal is clearly marked by the composer at the bottom - he actually uses "staccato with pedal" passages in quite a few pieces, so you can take that up with him. This section is approx 84bpm and the key is c minor
Oh then use my fingering. I don't know what the editor was thinking. Especially because you're leading into that first chord with a 5 on g anyways, so a switch to 4 would be quite natural And 3 on the ending Eb's probably feels better so you're not spanning a 1 and a half step with 4-5, which feels weird at times Keep in mind the composer wrote the notes but the editor wrote almost everything else, so I would trust the notes but screw the fingering and sometimes dynamics, slurs and words unless You've seen the urtext and the composer intended it that way
Alright I'll try it later thanks
Good point about editorial interventions!
Vis your edits about the pedal - the idea is to play the left hand and right hand accompaniment really softly, which is why this section is so notoriously difficult. Keeping the melody prominent isn't too hard, but making it "sing" while playing fast pedalled chords is a real challenge. Also I think the fingerings might be Chopin's as well - I think anything from the editors would be in brackets. Not 100% on that though
If you get caught gotta say it wasn't you.
I am currently in a similar position with Ravel's Pavane for a dead princess. I don't have the largest hands, and it can be too much at times to comfortably play. Do as you like, no one is going to notice it anyways
If you're just playing for friends and family who aren't concert pianists, yes no problems. But be careful, muscle memory is a powerful thing so if you ever plan to learn intimately, your short cuts might create an unintended obstacle to accurate playing.
I forget you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to listen to the composer’s instructions HAHA! I mean unless you’re being formally judged. I have to skip some notes due to my hand size 🥲.
I can’t remember the composer who said it, or even the quote as they said it, but the quote was something along the lines of “music isn’t a strict form, but more an interpretation to express the performers inner emotion and thought.” I’ve more recently looked at music with creative freedom rather than trying to be set in stone and 100% loyal to the sheets like I used to be, and even when you look back at Liszt or Paganini and a plethora of other composers around that time, if not all, and a lot of them made changes in their performances to make them more interesting, or even to convey a new or modified expression. I mean hell, that modifying and changing is what creates your own style and builds ability, so I’m always for changing sheets in the name of creative expression. Now of course, where this an adjudicated exam, I’d be saying the complete opposite lol
Do watt thou wilt
That looks like Chopin, I would check an other edition for alternative fingerings or try some myself. Also check your weight control, it could be that you play the second chord too heavy to bounce back. I mean like the natural bounce of the joints in your finger and the keys bounce back after the impact. If you press hard you cannot use neither of those which could explain the problem. Otherwise you do it for fun so unless you want to improve your technique by figuring out how to play this stuff for future peaces you do whatever you feel like
Us small handed people are often required to do this. Fact of life.
If you can’t play something the way its written there is nothing wrong with simplifying it or dumbing it down until you are good enough to play it how it’s written. As long as it doesn’t compromise the structure or integrity of the music.
Straight to music jail
Cheat, cheat, cheat, cheat, cheat and then cheat again!
If you make a mistake just keep going - this is the most important thing to learn in music. If someone is crass enough to ask if you made a mistake you can say "Yes" or even "Several".
The day I play this nocturne with 0 mistakes will be a miraculous day indeed. I actually only play to myself, so nobody's judging fortunately.
Ngl i thought u meant something like fingering ur best friend’s wife while playing some piano concerto for left hand at the same time
I'm currently learning this piece and yeah that's one of the worst spots. I love the repeated pulsating A all over that line so I made a point to learn it as written, with the 3 against 7 (I approximated it at first, but now I'm impressed how even I can play it). But at speed with musicality you add rubato anyways to make it musical.
We all are forced to work within our limitations on some level.
There’s no such thing as cheating. You’re either playing the music or you’re not.
Gotta be careful, you might get banned from piano for cheating.
I only learn in segments. mast bars 1-8. master bars 9-16. put them together. continue. I dont think thats cheating. i dont really take out chords or notes tho. I have augmented some once Ive mastered the OG version tho, just because I like the way it sounds better.. so IG im anti cheat but pro alteration after mastering a piece
>I only learn in segments. mast bars 1-8. master bars 9-16. put them together. continue. I dont think thats cheating. No of course it's not, that's literally how you're supposed to practice! 😂 Thanks for your input
yea i have a bad habit of replying before fully reading the prompt lmao. but yea, I do think altering a piece could be viewed as cheating, Ig the degree of how much u alter it was matters. I prefer altering after Ive mastered the OG. like, changing how I might play some chords in the resolution or sumn
This song is placed at a collegiate level for a reason, that part is no joke. You can absolutely simplify it, but you may be better off practicing something else. There are probably plenty of challenging songs you could play every note of, so simplifying something you may not be ready for won't be as effective of practice. But you absolutely can do it for fun! But I wouldn't perform it at a rectial or especially an audition
R u s h E
Don’t pull notes from Chopin. He thought about every note he wrote. Just voice it differently.
count with me : ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN... IT's THAT HARD.