This was so bad... It was just my first try to play this piece in middle tempo with pedal, but it seems it was slow tempo ;).
From video I see I don't make many serious movements mistakes - especially the writst rotation seems to be quite relaxed. I don't feel any pain. Sometimes I do weird gesture when I start passage - I need to fix it. My main problem are middle notes in passages, sometimes I don't feel them.
I don't see a point in writing which passages exactly went wrong. Mainly these which are wide and this famous A-major. Before that recording the passage C Eb A Eb was the hardest one for me - I use fingering: 1245, but now it's not as hard as A-major.
So I recommend myself practicing more using chords, some rhythms. Practicing passages alone in faster tempo. I've to feel what notes are in the middle of them.
Overall it started to have some sense for me. There is sometimes a moment, when everything just "clicks" in a brain about certain piece. Of course there is a lot of work before me, practicing piece like this is like never ending story...
Overall I should avoid sameness, and fix the coda. And fixing a coda is probably a mental thing...
I should work more on the first theme motive - to avoid repeating it in the same way. And also those repeated notes - I've some ideas about them, but still I'm not sure.
Issues:
don't rush in first small culmination, keep tension in bars 51-53
fix the passage which goes upper in bar 74
what happen with synchronization in bar 78
why I can just play right notes in the second theme, especially in bars 88-90 and 96-100
start the descending passage in right way in bar 101
listen to left hand in bars 108-110
don't ruch descending passage - even slow down a bit in bar119
listen more to left hand in bars 125-128 - this "trill" comes from the main theme.
more smorzando in bars 133-134 - feel it
listen more to "A" in bar 134 - start the b flat softer
be sure of notes in the whole "fughato" section in bars 135-144
don't be too indifferent in bars 145-151
more melodically sixteens (in middle of passages especially) in whole section in bars 152-168
listen to sounding of chords in bars 173-174
have more time to finish that phrase in bar 176
remove manierism - some show differences in bars 177-184
focus on clean passage in bars 195 and 197 - it's mental thing... Just have mental strength to do it.
feel the keys in thirds in jumps especially in bars 195-196
I don't know why I'm so nervous, when I'm recording my playing. Today I was focused, but still there were some slips. Usually in spots when I recently changed fingering or something. When camera is on I feel that my fingers are lighter in a wrong way. I just don't feel the bottom of the keyboard. Maybe it's caused by my piano bench - it's too high for my instrument, I can't lower it more. I'll buy new one probably next month.
My stamina is definitely better - my heart wasn't pounding so hard as last time after culminiation in D flat major.
I would say that the section from the beginning to the second theme wasn't so bad. The section at the end, where is the second theme in D flat major also. The worst part was in middle of the piece and I should focus on this part.
So here are my remarks to my recording from today:
Mental issues:
fix fingering in bar 154
more clean inbars 161-166
passages in bar 195 and 197
right hand in bar 214
right hand in bar 216
Issues:
more melody in bars 36-37 in left hand
don't accent the C in bar 49, it's an end of a slur
fix double notes in bar 54
learn the notes in bars 79-99 (hands separetely)
fix left hand in bar 106
fix the acciaccatura in bar 111
fix the descending in bar 119
what happend in bars 121-122?
learn the notes in 135-144 (hands separetely)!
hands together in bar 169-174
don't accent the beats so much in bar 173
learn right hand in 177-179
more top notes in passages in 191-194
take off the pedal before Coda in 210
thirty two note should be played with left hand in bar 220
Details:
more colors at the beginning - listen to e minor for example (bars 1-7)
listen to the directions of left hand more in the first theme (bars 8-57)
don't slow down too much in bar 57
more clarity in section 58-70
work more on accelerando in bars 74-75 and ritenuto in 79
There are some nice things and some bad things, but I think there is an improvement in the most important things - time.
I think now it's the time to focus on being free in this music, more rubato, more imagination. Of course the final and the chords before it was a disaster. But it's not about practice sometimes, I believe that these isuess could be caused by mental things. I felt nervous when I played and I wasn't comfortable at keyboard.
Generally after fixing some issues it'll be a time to build a structure of this piece, be more free and give everything to the music.
There are three spots, where I failed:
after the second theme, when I couldn't remember the melody in right hand and I had to start passage once more
chords before final - I started the stretto to soon and I couldn't play those chords in this tempo.
dotted notes in final - I just didn't practice right hand alone in the final tempo
Issues:
learn the left hand in section in bars 46-57
do a crescendo in bars 58-62
shape a phrase in the second theme (bar 80)
fix the whole section in bars 100-107. I don't know what happend there. Especially pay attention on slurs when the passage is going up and the sixths when it's going down.
fix the acciaccatura in bar 111
shape diminuendo in 118-120
fix the acciaccatura in bar 122
learn the melody and the second voice in bars 125-128
pay attention at slurs in bars 135-151
fix the trill in 161
fix the passage in bar 163
fix the left hand in bar 166
in bar 177 there is sf in left hand
fix the passages in bars 195, 197
fix the chords in bars 198-201
fix the right hand in bar 219 - probably I can't play it in tempo, and it's a spot where everyhing started to collapse.
fix the right hand in bar 231
Details:
sing more the beginning, more legato
think more about the direction of repeated notes in the theme
more legato in otaves section
less noise in 58-62
work on the second theme
show the left hand in bars 125-128
shape dynamics in bars 175-176
some phrasing in bars 181-191 and accents in left hand
bar 202 - more time at fermata
start the final with more power (there is sf and forte)
left hand should be quieter in the sixteens in final
the ending passage shouldn't be so etiudish...
Probably I'll practice the whole sections to interpret them alone. The sections with second theme I'll practice together. And I'll count during playing the stretto chords before final.
So today I tried to play the Ballade. I felt better than last time, there are spots, where I'm sure what I want to say. Unfortunetely the right pedal in my piano started to squeak and it was bothering me during my performance (of course this is not an explanation of my mistakes). I was struggling with my memory also - recently I discovered that the edition I was using is a piece of junk with a lot of mistakes, for example changed rhytms, some added or removed ligaturas, etc... So my main goal in this week was to fix damage because of this. It's not easy to eradicate this kind of mistakes and I wasn't sucessful in this.
Issues:
Fix the bars 46-50 - chords in left hand
Fix the bar 53 - the chord on the first beat (previous edition mistake)
Fix the bars 61-62 - fingering in left hand (previous edition mistake)
Fix the passages in 72-76. Solution: don't rush before, in bar 70 there is a ritenuto, in 72 a tempo, but not more. Accelerando is in the second half of bar 74, so don't play faster before. Learn the line of the upper notes in passage better with left hand.
Fix the whole section which begins in bar 80, shape a phrase, relearn a notes (previous edition mistake)
Fix the left hand in bars 106-107
Fix the left hand in bar 119, just count it properly while playing. Also fix the passage in right hand - practice upper notes more.
Fix bars 122-124 - just don't crush and don't rush.
Fix bar 144 - there is no chords in left hand (previous edition mistake)
Fix the start of the passage in bar 162 and 167
Fix the lack of pulse in left hand in bars 173-174
Figure out why I can't play the polyrhythm in 175 when playing the whole piece
Fix the passages section starting in bar 191, there can't be any slip
Fix chords in bar 196 and 198-201. Solution: don't rush passages before
and take it easy - I think it's the mental thing. If I rush before there
is nothing I can to to build a stretto
Fix the chords in right hand in bar 219 (previous edition mistake)
Fix the section starting from 227 in right hand - better articulation
Details:
Do a ritenuto in bar 6, shape the melody more from the beginning
Less bass in the not-a-"waltz" section, shape the chords
More legato in octave section which begins in bar 38
Add proper dynamics to bars 53-56, more time for tenuto
Section which begins in bar 58 - more singing in melody, melody more like a phrase, less left hand, show some nuances of the second voice
Ritenuto in bar 70
Shape melody more in 102-103 and 106-107
More majesty in bar 125
In theme starting from bar 129 more calm in left hand, adjust the tempo to the beginning of the piece
Leggiero section starting from 112 should be lighter, show trill more, let the sixths fly.
Bars 137, 141, 144 - the repeated notes should mean something
Motives in section beginning in bar 152 should correspond more with each other
Shape more the culmination and the final, think more about the pedal
At this weekend I decided to record my progress in Ballade f minor by Chopin, because it needs to be ready till February. I started playing it at September, so it's still fresh piece.
At this point I don't feel it ever be ready. When performing I was nervous, instead of creating music. It's very difficult to build the form of it. I think the Ballade as the whole piece is in right tempo, but I don't use rubato as much as I should.
My critique:
Memory lapses...
There are some spots, when I have a problem to start in tempo - I think it's beacause of too much slow practicing.
There is no form of this piece in my playing.
I don't have considered climax in Db major - I didn't build it and I couldn't stop myself. I didn't count it, I think it's the cause.
I started the final with wrong articulation and I was tired mentally. I have a blind spot there. It means that I didn't practice it wisely.
The final should be lighter.
What to do?
Practice the piece as the whole in middle tempo.
Practice in tempo spots, which I couldn't start.
Consider a tempo in climax, count it.
Practice slowly the final.
Practice the begininng of the final with the chords before.
The final of Ballade f minor op. 52 by Chopin is very peculiar. There is no obvious melody in it, and I believe that it's the hardest part of this piece to interpret properly. At the beginning there is a storm of notes without any direction. In this cascade of sounds there appear seeds of melody and then there is more and more of it. Is the climax in the passages which are going up?
I think in my playing there is no phrase and too less dynamics. Of course the final is too slow, but I achieved a sufficient tempo to not be ashamed of myself. I should show more melody in it. I can here some manner in the last beats of bars. The ascending passages should have more crescendo - I should start all ascending passages with less dynamics (even piano). The last three chords are not acceptable. I should show more notes in the bass when they matters, it'll give me more color. The thirds should be lighter.
I recommend myself:
Practicing slowly with attitude on melody
Practice thirds with light finger staccato without tension and in rhythms.
