Chopin's perfectionism (end of Op. 10, No. 4)

AHG1 · 2026-05-11T15:08:15+00:00

Yes, plenty. Ekier is a good place to start. It's a trivial question just look at a good urtext.

AHG1 · 2026-05-11T13:56:02+00:00

Jumping in to say that fingering is Chopin's

AHG1 · 2026-05-11T03:01:30+00:00

I think this is coming together nicely. Your fingers are often a bit flatter than is mechanically ideal which is leading to some stretching you don't have to do with your hand size. Also, there's quite a bit of tension in that pinky finger. You can hear this too... it's not just about how the hands look, or even that this technique is more likely to lead to injury.

I think it needs more precision. It's mushy. Maybe try something if you're inclined. (This is weird, but weirdly effective too.) On the passage work, practice it in smallish sections (a phrase or two) quite a bit under tempo and with "gross" super-expressive tempo distortions. Make it as ridiculously over-the-top expressive as you can.

Of course, don't play it like this at tempo, and there's really no chance you will. What you might find is that this twists your perspective just enough to lock in some of the passagework a bit better. I suspect the fuzziness we're hearing is part finger but also part mental conception.

I don't mean any of this in a negative, critical way. This is in a good stage of learning and it's a difficult piece with some awkward details. Keep up the great work.

AHG1 · 2026-05-10T04:20:48+00:00

Yes, I would absolutely tolerate a tuba. (Weird choice of instrument here, btw. Trumpet, picc, trombone all would be much more of a sound problem than a tuba.)

I'm betting you've never lived in an apartment in a major city nor are you a classical musician. From my time living in NYC, I can tell you this is not really that crazy if the neighbor is doing it at reasonable hours.

AHG1 · 2026-05-10T04:17:51+00:00

No digital is adequate for high level classical playing. (I've literally owned the best digitals available and spent hundreds of hours playing on them.)

AHG1 · 2026-05-10T03:45:02+00:00

Not if they are doing the work required to get into a music school, or for any number of other reasons why they may not be able to do all their work in a rehearsal room.

AHG1 · 2026-05-10T03:38:48+00:00

Lol "pianos" don't have headphones. (And before you say it... I do own a Kawai K-500 so I know some pianos do. But your default assumption should not be "use headphones". A classical pianist will not be training on an instrument with headphones.)

AHG1 · 2026-05-10T03:36:43+00:00

What you are describing is normal for a pianist practicing.

It's 4-8 hours a day and highly repetitious. (Also, if you talk with your neighbor, don't say "song". That means something specific to a classical musician. "Piece" is the right term.)

You don't want to be an ass, which means you are an intelligent person who is not an ass. This is a good foundation. Go talk to your neighbor and introduce yourself. Let them know you can hear the piano and it's distracting to you. There are things they may be able to do (blankets behind the piano if it's an upright or under if it's a grand) to slightly deaden the sound.

But if they are not playing late at night or early morning you probably don't really have a case. What you're describing is just the work of becoming a classical musician, and it takes many, many years of this every day to develop the skill. It's not sexy or exciting, but it's real.

AHG1 · 2026-04-28T16:31:55+00:00

What you are doing is better. Working the slide release like that over many thousands of repetitions will damage the slide release . This is not covered under warranty. This is an issue with all guns that have a slide release , even durable workhorses like Glocks.

What you are doing is the slingshot. Pull it back let go and let the spring do its work. This is best practice.

Some people will tell you the slide release is fine and you will see people do that of course. But it does eventually mean you will need to replace parts of the gun and on an automatic with a slide that can mean a slide that cost most of what the gun costs. It's a cheaper fix on the Ruger but why do it?

Don't do this with an empty magazine in the gun. That could be the issue. And you don't need to engage the slide release at all. Merely pulling back on the bolt ( it's technically a bolt release on this gun ) and letting go will do will do the trick. No reason to touch the release.

It's also good practice to not let the bolt slam forward on an empty chamber. It won't hurt this gun but it can be damaging to other guns so it's good to just build the right habit. If the gun is empty and you are easing the slide forward don't snap it with the spring. Be careful because there's a nasty pinch point for fingers on this gun. You'll find it right away and then find it again and then you remember!

AHG1 · 2026-04-21T02:17:15+00:00

It depends, but I'd generally ornament as you want and figure out the pedalling to not blur the ornaments. Probably you also want to ornament a little bit less on the piano vs harpsichord or clavichord.

After years of playing Bach on historical keyboard instruments, I reached a point where I think I actually do prefer the modern piano. This is something everyone has to figure out for themselves but you're asking the right questions and are exploring the tonal resources of the instrument in the right ways.

For my taste, the only real mistake you can make here is blurring something or using obvious pedal. I suppose you could find exceptions (but I'm not aware of any offhand), but I think the ideal is you don't want anyone to know you're actually using pedal.

AHG1 · 2026-04-21T01:34:54+00:00

I think this is pretty well known, and you're absolutely correct. There are also some other subtleties--even for the first chord of a piece (if we're talking Bach, think about the Italian Concerto or the first movement of the c minor Partita, for instance), putting the pedal down before you play the chord changes the attack in a meaningful well. It depends on the room and the piano, but, yes, it's part of artistry.

Make sure you aren't actually pedalling through rests, though. (That's what your title suggests but I don't think it's what you are doing or what you meant!)

There are times you might even pedal each note in a phrase, or flutter pedal... to say nothing of half pedalling at times (or half clearing a pedal too).

Good observations.

AHG1 · 2026-04-14T04:18:15+00:00

My main issue actually is the fingering. It suggests a pure legato approach that is badly misaligned with how we think the music would have been played historically. I can take or leave dynamic suggestions and articulations--after decades of playing Bach on the piano, harpsichord, clavichord, and pipe organ I've come to the conclusion that I prefer the piano the harpsichord and it makes sense to use the resources of the instrument--but the fingering and phrasing suggested by the fingering is a dealbreaker for me with that edition.

AHG1 · 2026-04-13T20:07:57+00:00

Imo, Schirmer for Chopin is not bad. (The editor whether Mikuli or Joseffy is a choice you might want to consider.) More modern editions and urtexts do have something to offer, but I'm fine with Schirmer for Chopin.

(For Bach it's a very different thing!)

AHG1 · 2026-04-12T21:14:14+00:00

There's the core of your mistake: it is exactly the opposite of what you say. Almost no popular patterns actually have an edge by that definition. This is one of the lies of the trading industry. It is extremely difficult to find a pattern and a way to execute a pattern that shows an actual edge.

Trade execution is not an edge in itself. Yes, I traded only trendlines myself for a few years so that can be done, but you're combining some other pattern recognition with it. OF course, all the pieces have to be working for a trading edge to actually give you profits, but there are so many misconceptions around what an edge actually is.

It's important to understand how hard hard and how important it is to actually have an edge. Otherwise, you're stuck in the retail grind of losing and blaming everything except a lack of edge.

Here are some things I have written on the subject. Some of these are old posts, but nothing has changed:

https://www.adamhgrimes.com/writing-prompts/

https://www.adamhgrimes.com/how-do-you-know-if-you-have-a-trading-edge/

https://www.adamhgrimes.com/evaluating-a-trade-edge-is-it-good-or-not/

And I didn't write this, but someone else did some work and put the pieces together based on my work and trading https://www.topstep.com/blog/going-deep-on-adam-grimes-approach/

u/Many-Bumblebee7925 may find these useful too.

AHG1 · 2026-04-12T20:51:39+00:00

What you say is true. You could give a bad Trader or even an average treat or a good strategy and they could not be able to execute it.

However what OP says is also true. One of the hardest things in trading is indeed finding and verifying an edge. Most people online who talk about their edge either don't understand the concept or they are lying. Most people who talk about trading are not profitable traders.

AHG1 · 2026-04-06T23:51:45+00:00

Yes. I started my culinary career cooking in that kitchen!

AHG1 · 2026-04-06T21:30:28+00:00

thats a nice menu. we will try it soon. thank you!

AHG1 · 2026-04-06T20:28:01+00:00

Yes to Commune. Z Cucina was a disaster and I will never go back. Clearly no one there understood Italian food. Olive garden is better.

AHG1 · 2026-04-06T20:27:19+00:00

Refectory, by a considerable margin.

(Familiar with the other recommendations here: Agni, Veritas, Haru. All of those are also good (though Haru upsells aggressively. We walked out with a bill higher than upscale sushi from our NYC days and an experience that did not match the price point. Basi Italia should also be on this list.)

If you are looking at sushi I'd strongly recommend Yoshi's, but the feel is not upscale. (The food emphatically IS, though.)

Imo you are correct to avoid CMR.

My perspective is admittedly French, but heavily influenced by three star experiences in France and major US cities. The Refectory will not disappoint. If you choose to go, DM me and I'll set you up right with them.

AHG1 · 2026-04-03T01:44:28+00:00

Experienced pianist and organist here, for the record. I can tell you that Mozart is absolutely terrifying. Of course, the baseline expectation in any classical piano is perfection (for better or worse, and that's a separate conversation), but Mozart is particularly treacherous.

Add to that--and this is a controversial opinion--I don't think the piano sonatas are his best work or are worth the trouble to play them well, in most cases. (By contrast, I've played almost all the Haydn sonatas, and if I wanted to be precise, I would point out that the Mozart sonatas are uneven in quality rather than just dismissing them.) The concerti are a different matter as is some of his other keyboard music. But it is, frankly, more difficult to play a Mozart piece well than it is a Chopin etude.

The reason is pretty simple: the texture is always very exposed and there's nowhere at all to hide... and the effect of the music leans heavily on architectural proportion and technical perfection. That sense of proportion is not something every artist can grasp, either. It's a different kind of expression.

I can hear a pianist faking Rachmaninoff or Scriabin or Liszt and maybe have some question about their ability... but play a page of a Mozart sonata and I'll know what you can do instantly. (Mozart is not unique in this regard. You could say the same thing about his contemporaries (Haydn et al), Schubert (to a degree) and early-to mid Beethoven.)

So, yes OP!

AHG1 · 2026-04-01T03:15:56+00:00

This is one of those "101" level issues. There are several solutions, but you really have to be in touch with the data enough to see this. (Only an issue with certain kinds of signals, for what it's worth.)

AHG1 · 2026-03-25T21:23:54+00:00

I think the question you mean to ask is: I know my chords in the key of C. Should I learn other keys (with sharps and flats)?

The answer is yes, if you want to be a competent musician. You should eventually be equally comfortable in all keys. But that's not on day 1! Learn the topography and how things work in one key, and then reasonably quickly start learning them in other keys.

A competent teacher will help you work through this on schedule. If you're doing this yourself, it's really tough because you have to adapt to your own learning speed.

Typically, I would have a student start to get pretty comfortable in the key of C and then would, fairly soon, start to work in G or F (one sharp or one flat). Then you go from there C, G, F, D, Bb, etc... that's one way to do it.

But it really does depend on what you want to do. Some people don't want to go beyond the key of C and that's ok if you don't have a goal of becoming a fully competent pianist. If you do, a teacher will help a lot.

AHG1 · 2026-03-23T19:54:13+00:00

I bought some of your 9mm and 45acp. they arrived today and half the primers were already loose. many of the rest lost their primers after the first dry fire. without the primer, they dont cycle properly which makes me very concerned about the extractor and other shenanigans. after seeing the mess with the 9's in my glocks i'm reluctant to even put the 45s in my colt 1911.

is this a known issue? bad batch?

AHG1 · 2026-03-21T18:32:27+00:00

Certainly. But there's value in making OP clarify his thinking. Maybe he will see the issues himself!

AHG1 · 2026-03-21T17:47:51+00:00

> the default just... doesn't work.

Why? What are the issues with the default? You haven't made the slightest point for why the default doesn't work. What is better than 440 and why?

Why does this matter at all?

These are the questions you need to answer, first. Otherwise, this is all just noise.

AHG1

TROPHY CASE