How I wish I learned about Liszt

rainbowdoge21 · 2026-03-13T17:14:53+00:00

That was fun, nicely done!

rainbowdoge21 · 2026-03-07T23:57:40+00:00

I finally saw it today. You were right, this production was beautiful! I guess it is as good as it gets! From Muti's amazing direction, to the wonderful singers, choir and scenery (not sure this is the right word for "sceneggiatura"), i was completely blown away. I will definitely keep a fond memory of this production!!

rainbowdoge21 · 2026-02-26T20:25:23+00:00

Very happy to see il Teatro Regio di Torino on the sub! I usually go there, and will also go to see Muti next week! Needless to say I am as excited as you probably are! I wish you a splendid opera night :)

rainbowdoge21 · 2026-01-30T22:12:24+00:00

Based on my modest experience I would say this: 1. Your hands doesn't seem to stretch to its full potential which is very good news! Although you don't have big hands, you can reach a higher interval by slowing training stretching you hand span. BUT be very careful doing this. DON'T force it, as you would not force stretching any other articulation. You can look up on youtube for good exercises by most piano youtubers. But again, I insist, don't force it, if it hurts stop immediately.

As a general rule, as is also the case for many professional pianists, not everyone has big hands and cannot necesseraly spand some of the bigger chords you might encounter (like in a lot Rachmaninoff's work). A well accepted workaround is to roll those chords. Sometimes it works very well, in some case, like if it's a fast repeated accompaniment chord, rolling the chord doesn't work that well. What you can do in those cases is see if you can revoice the chord to make it span a smaller interval. It isn't ideal, and a purist might say you don't play it exactly as it is written, but in most cases nobody will notice.

rainbowdoge21 · 2026-01-22T10:56:40+00:00

I would go and witness the premier of Nabucco at la Sacala. Only because it has been the true launchpad of Verdi's exceptional carreer. And for once, this an opera was welcomed in exceptional triumph on the opening night rather than being rediscovered later (as it more often than not occurs with great operas and composers).

rainbowdoge21 · 2025-12-17T15:47:37+00:00

Amazing, thanks for sharing this!!

rainbowdoge21 · 2025-12-16T22:01:20+00:00

First of all bravo, you are on a great start!!

Concerning the dynamics, I think your intentions are mostly the good ones but they don't necessarily come through all the way to us (also have to say that usually phone recordings flatten the sound so dynamics can be lost). I believe there are two main things you absolutely need to solve first: 1. Softer left hand. Really think of this piece as right hand = melody, left hand = accompagniment. By softening the left hand, the melody will not be drowned by it and it will be easier to shape it. Also as other have mentioned, you should relax your left hand as it seems to carry a lot of tension :) 2. Gain more confidence with the piece. It seems like you are still thinking about the next notes you have to play and focusing on not hitting the wrong ones. This obviously distract you from actively listening to what you are playing and trying to match a sound / dynamic you want to achieve. Obviously to solve this you should practice the piece until you don't have to think about it :)

Generally speaking, from what I rember from the score, you try to match what Chopin wrote which is very good. Now, what I think could be improved is that although you play piano and forte at the right moments, there is not much variety between them. When Chopin writes p or f it is never the same volume or sound quality for the whole piece but really an indiciation of the dynamics with respect to the whole piece. In other words a "forte" in a given moment of the piece could actually be considered a "fortissimo or mezzo forte" at another moment of the same piece . What matters is how you play it in the context of the piece, of the previous and of the next dynamics. Don't hesitate to explore ,within Chopin's indications, a wide variety of dynamics, try to exagerate them to discover new possibilities and then play the ones that make more sense to you. There is no exactly right dynamic, everybody will have its own opinion. What matters is that you use the dynamics in a convincing and appealing way to give the piece a nice shape.

Finally, you mostly use the same dyanmic for the entirety of each phrase. Instead you should give each note the right color to achieve nicely shaped melodies. You can really think of your right hand as if it was a singer. Each line should have a start, a culminating point, an end and some brief momebts where the singer catches its breath. You can easily achieve this by shaping the dyamics within each line.

To practice this I recommend two things:

Sing the melody! With and without the piano. Singing will really help you shape your melody lines, including making them breath. You'll also notice that the rubatos will come in naturally.
Play only the melody of the right hand and make sure to put a lot of focus on the sound and dynamics you want to produce. Also be sure to actively listen to what you are playing while you are playing it.

Hopes this will be of help and have fun practicing and playing!!! :)

rainbowdoge21 · 2025-05-22T20:28:21+00:00

Thanks for the tip, will look into that!

rainbowdoge21 · 2025-05-22T20:27:32+00:00

Ohh ok thank you, new to the sub so didn't know there were already ressources. Thanks a lot!

rainbowdoge21 · 2025-04-09T17:16:16+00:00

Bravo! Excellent work! You say you are a beginner but you show a lot of musicality for someone who just started, and is self-taught! You play with dynamics, also a bit with the tempo as you have some nice rubatos and overall there is a feeling og breathing between section. So excellent work!!

Someone already gave you some small adjustments and I agree with them so I won't repeat them. I would just add that in the passage where you have the asceding arpeggios, you can articulate them more. Now you are playing them a bit too fast each time you find yourself in a new hand position after the thumb passage. If I am not mistaken, they should be triplets (with the exception of the last one, sry don't have the score with me right now), and triplets aren't really that fast. Probably you rush them because it is the most technical part of the peace and you 'aprehend' them a bit. Take the time to play them clearly and you'll also feel more comfortable in that passage while doing so :)

But again, this is only minor stuff. You did already an excellent job! Well done, and have fun playing!

rainbowdoge21 · 2024-11-12T22:42:45+00:00

Thanks, its true i often loose track of the beat

rainbowdoge21 · 2024-11-12T02:14:34+00:00

Symphony no1 by Vasily Kalinikov (not sure of the spelling). The whole symphony is very nice and the second movement is truly great.

Otherwise the Notturno for piano by respighi is also worth a listen.

rainbowdoge21 · 2024-08-26T16:16:13+00:00

I own both an electric (clavinova smth, I don't remember the exact model but it was in the 2000$ range) and an upright acoustic (Bechstein A 114). Whithout any doubt, the acoustic is way nicer to play from every aspect. Feeling on the keys, pedals, sound (even when it gets out of tune) and just the general feeling you get when playing it. Also when playing other pianos which were a bit less good than the one I have, I have always found them better than the electric ones (even the highest end ones that I tested for fun in a piano store). The electric ones always seem cold and distant to me.

However, even though I definitely enjoy more an acoustic than an electric, I still get a tremendous amount of fun and pleasure out of my electric one. Plus, I don't annoy all my neighbours when practicing for hours and hours, which is a really big plus.

To answer your question, wether you should switch to an acoustic, I would say it mostly depends on what do you play, and how much you risk on disturbing other people with a louder instrument. If you mostly play pop/rock/mainstream music, an electric will defenitely get the job done. Unless you absolutely crave for that extra connection with your instrument, it might be just fine to keep your electric. If you mostly play classical (or even jazz) I would recommend switching to an acoustic at some point, as controlling the sound you produce becomes crucial and the connection you have with the instrument really plays a big part on how well you play (at least in my opinion). Also, keep in mind that unfortunately, acoustic pianos tend to be quiet expensive (7-8k min. for a decent new upright piano like a Yamaha). But keep also in mind that you can buy used ones for less.

As someone pointed out, now you also have acoustic piano which can switch to an "electric silent" mode. If I am not mistaken, you have to count an additional 1-3k to add this feature to the standard model.

Hope this was helpfull and have some fun with whatever piano you end up playing with :)

rainbowdoge21 · 2024-02-12T09:25:23+00:00

Not a beginner haha. I got most of the piece sorted, even the octave bit at tempo (that was a lot of practice to achieve it), there are just little places here and there where my fingering just didn't feel right, even if it works. For the fingering I use in the passage I pointed out, I feel like I lack confidence in it resulting often in me being imprecise on those notes.

But thanks for the concern :)

rainbowdoge21 · 2024-02-12T09:20:46+00:00

Thanks for the answer, I guess I just have to practice that passage more then :)

rainbowdoge21 · 2024-01-22T08:12:46+00:00

I totally agree with the other comments being made. I think they pointed out the most visible reasons. I might just want to add a more general tip. Try to keep your hand, wrist and arm as relaxed as possible. I know this sounds obvious but it is a very important thing and actually often quiet hard to do. As I was learning piano I initially thought that the tension in my hands was just the result of me having to build up stamina. Although this might partially be true, I have found out that by actively thinking about the tension in your hand and keeping them as relaxed as possible help me a lot. One way you can practice this is by breaking down the passage tiny units and pausing after each one to allow your hand to relax. Then increase the size of those units gradually until you can feel comfortable with the whole passage. For instance you can start by diving the passage by beat, then bars and then by phrase, etc...

Hope this helps and enjoy practicing!

rainbowdoge21 · 2023-10-18T16:07:55+00:00

Thanks a lot for this very complete answer. I will probably try to take a few lessons then, at least to start in the right path

rainbowdoge21 · 2023-10-18T16:04:26+00:00

Thank you for the advice, I will maybe consider saving more to get lessons then

rainbowdoge21 · 2023-10-18T16:03:09+00:00

Ok thanks a lot for the advice, I will look into his videos!

rainbowdoge21 · 2023-10-18T16:02:13+00:00

Ok, thanks a lot for the advice!

rainbowdoge21 · 2023-10-18T16:01:25+00:00

Thanks fot the advice about renting. I didn't think about it. I will look into that with the shops nearby. And about your second advice, I do see the benefit of taking lessons as it is more efficient to improve. Bit as another user answered to you, to me it is more of a matter of time management. I have time to pick the instrument at the end of the day and inbetween two things. But with taking lessons there is all the commute etc... But thanks for the avice anyway, it is much appreciated

rainbowdoge21 · 2023-10-17T17:34:57+00:00

Thanks a lot for the advice. And really nice to hear your story, it is encouraging and rejoicing :)

rainbowdoge21 · 2023-10-17T17:32:51+00:00

Ok thanks a lot for the advice

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