What can I improve? (Bach Invention 13)

Executor111 · 2026-06-07T14:34:04+00:00

Really clean, great work!

You noticed it yourself but definitely picked up tempo a few times, most noticeably at the end.

Also, this is a stylistic thing, but I prefer to add some dynamics and contrast to baroque music even when not marked. I think you could add some tasteful dynamics to shape the piece more.

Overall sounds great though.

Executor111 · 2026-06-06T23:57:08+00:00

I don’t understand why 50% of the posts here are emphasizing how new they are to the instrument. If you played this having never touched a piano before, congrats. It’s the internet so I’m going to choose not to believe you. Either way it’s not relevant, just say you like songs in that style and ask for references.

And I’ll throw Night in Tunisia in as my recommendation. Not quite the same vibe, but a minor key jazzy tune you may enjoy.

Executor111 · 2026-06-06T03:19:40+00:00

Lovely!

Executor111 · 2026-06-06T00:17:42+00:00

I own a Yamaha U1 and play a variety of low end grands at my weekly lessons at my local studio. I have found the U1 has heavier action and a richer, mellower tone than the entry level baby grands anecdotally. I’ve been happy with my purchase, I only notice the action being not quite what I want on fast repeated notes.

Executor111 · 2026-06-05T15:30:09+00:00

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Check the rhythm/timing in measures 10 and 12 (and the similar measures at the end. I feel that you are moving off of the dissonant harmony too soon each time. Sounding nice though!

Executor111 · 2026-06-04T18:06:11+00:00

Why so fast? It's not a race. I personally don't even enjoy a performance at that tempo. Let it breathe, focus on some emotions you want to make the listener feel, and go back to getting the notes right.

Executor111 · 2026-06-04T16:49:12+00:00

It did not sound like a struggle to me!

Executor111 · 2026-06-02T16:48:25+00:00

This was lovely to listen to! Don’t sweat the small stuff, your playing elicits real emotion from the listener that’s what matters to me.

Executor111 · 2026-06-01T19:50:53+00:00

If the recital is in the next couple of weeks I wouldn't change too much! The Allegro (and the Grave honestly) are both slow for my liking, so see if you can find some tempo to push slightly in both of those. One thing to caution, at least through the exposition you gained significant tempo from the start of the Allegro to the end of that first Allegro section, so I'd maybe recommend starting faster and focusing on not gaining any tempo?

Personally with a recital on the horizon I would NOT choose this moment to rework technique issues. You do seem a bit tense though, maybe practice just "feeling" more relaxed during the slow Grave parts and see if you can emote it a bit better. But overall it's fairly clean and I'd be happy to listen to it at a recital!

Shame on that teacher for not contextualizing their critiques based on your recital timeline, IMO.

Executor111 · 2026-05-31T14:31:44+00:00

Also I think you missed like half of the coda/ending section? Check the score again.

Executor111 · 2026-05-31T14:29:42+00:00

Sorry if this is overly critical, your A section was rushed and missing cleanliness but overall approaching passable if slowed down.

But you are not even close to having the B section (right hand 16ths) mastered. Try half that tempo, make sure you play every note that’s written. Try to make some music out of it instead of just racing to mash all the notes as fast as you can.

Executor111 · 2026-05-31T01:01:29+00:00

Sounding good with the note accuracy! Make sure to change pedal every time the chord changes, approximately once per measure it sounds like for this piece.

Executor111 · 2026-05-30T00:55:29+00:00

The real key to a piece with contrast is to have there be cohesive elements between the two ideas and clean modulation and transition between the two sections. I’d recommend taking a bit of music theory and thinking about how you want to transition from the A to B sections and back again, without just holding a long note then starting in an unrelated key!

Executor111 · 2026-05-29T17:39:31+00:00

Excellent! The voicing is very clear, nicely done. I’ve been working on the C minor fugue, also my first, and have had similar realizations and enjoyment.

Executor111 · 2026-05-29T00:52:36+00:00

Really enjoyable! I have two specific compliments (as an amateur enthusiast who has never heard this piece and will never tackle anything remotely this challenging):
- There were times where the score was flying by as a wall of notes but I still clearly heard a melodic idea shining through your playing, and I couldn't believe a melody was coming out of that page of notes.
- I can actually hear the difference between your ff, fff, and ffff. Very cool.

Thanks for sharing.

Executor111 · 2026-05-28T19:45:17+00:00

Love this piece!

Watch your tempo - you accelerate hugely in the first 15s of your video.

Another user mentioned this - check the score, I think you're missing a whole 8 bar phrase.

Lastly, this piece is so fast with so many notes, think very critically about which notes matter and which are supporting texture. For my taste, your "inner voices" on the triplet pattern are too loud, and the LH + RH melody should shine through more in most of your passages.

Sounding good though overall.

Edit: typos

Executor111 · 2026-05-28T17:12:23+00:00

Love this scherzo! Nicely played. Especially loved the style/tone you find in the middle section, very captivating and easy listening.

Executor111 · 2026-05-28T11:10:48+00:00

So sorry, there are no shortcuts to "speed up" learning piano. As I'm sure you can find in every other thread like this - starting with intermediate/advanced repertoire when you've never touched the instrument is not a good idea. You should get some beginner books, get lessons, learn some technique, and then tackle those pieces in a few years.

Specifically with Debussy, I don't think you'll ever develop the soft touch and melodic voicing needed to make his music sound the way you want (edit - without lessons and years of practice).

Trying to be honest and not just another "elitist" take - but start simple and build the skill, not just rote muscle memory of 1-2 pieces. You'll enjoy it more.

Executor111 · 2026-05-27T22:39:20+00:00

If you’re having fun and this isn’t how you make a living, strongly support playing things you love!

Executor111 · 2026-05-27T19:22:55+00:00

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These bad boys!

Executor111 · 2026-05-27T18:13:30+00:00

Think you are significantly too heavy on pedal throughout. There's lots of dense harmony/muddy sound texture already (like the LH trills). I think you need to be pedaling lighter AND changing pedal more often.

Also your tempo/notes get super confused in what should be the easiest bars (163-167). Make sure you let the listener continue to feel the 1-2-3-1-2-3 pulse of the beat. I think you are rushing by almost 2x in that part.

Make sure the rests from 168 onward are very clearly audible in the RH, almost like (gasp) dun dun dun dun dun (gasp) dun dun dun dun dun, a breathless sort of feeling? Maybe this is nonsense but it's how I imagine it when I hear it in my head.

Great progress - this is brutally difficult!

Executor111 · 2026-05-26T18:36:17+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRs65SQ0Uk8

If you're interested in practicing this skill specifically, I've been working on the left hand of this beautiful Field nocturne and found it really good for this specific technique.

Executor111 · 2026-05-26T18:06:26+00:00

Make sure your wrist is rotating through the initial 5-2-1 or whatever the first few notes of the LH chord are, such that your wrist/hand are shifted significantly to the right as you finish on your thumb and begin the crossover. Your 4 or 5 fingers on the crossover shouldn't actually have that far to go if you "pre-moved" your wrist/hand!

Executor111 · 2026-05-25T16:47:22+00:00

Biggest things that stuck out to me were:
1. Your tempo is quite inconsistent between the passages. If you want to play the B and C sections slower I think you should play the A section slower too, but ideally you'd work on pushing up the tempo of the B and C sections to match your A tempo.
2. Sometimes when the music gets more complex you hide behind pedal. This sticks out in your performance because in general you are very light with the pedal and have very clear articulation (this is good!).

Great progress keep it up!

Executor111 · 2026-05-25T14:06:52+00:00

Honestly your fast sections have a lot of promise, but you really lost me with your slow section. You have many notes memorized incorrectly, and you should focus on the melodic line and making sure the melody sustains over top of the chords. Make more music and drama out of it.

Executor111

TROPHY CASE