Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner what grade/how difficult is chopin op.25 no. 12 (ocean ) ?

Just curious as to how hard it will be to learn so i know when its time to learn it.

thanks

Outside of any context, your question is impossible to answer. How long is a piece of string? How high is up?

It's not the most difficult of the Chopin Etudes, but that isn't saying much, either, because difficulty is all relative to one's background, training, ability, learning curve, etc., etc.

Just sightread through it once or twice, and you have the answer for yourself.

what if you compare it to other pieces, assuming the background of the player is the same for both.

for example clair de lune...

Clair de lune is a piece of cake compared to the Opus 25 No. 12.

I think it's one of the hardest.

Durden - What other works by Chopin do you currently play??

Carey I havent tackled any of his works yet as i'm still green on the piano, 5 months. clair de lune is about as hard as i can handle at the moment. also ive never had lessons, 1st movement of moonlight was the first piece i taught myself.

I just love listening to Chopin but all his etudes are so hard...

Durden -

Sounds like you a doing quite well with only 5 months of experience. However, I would strongly encourage you to find a good teacher - otherwise you risk developing some bad habits that might impede your progress. The Opus 25 No. 12 will most likely be out of your reach for a few more years - but that doesn't mean you can't thoroughly enjoy hearing and watching others play it. You might want to tackle Chopin's Prelude Opus 28 No. 20. Its a short but impressive sounding piece - in the same key as the Ocean Etude - and lots of fun to play !!

Thanks for the advice! winter wind is another one that i really like so ill look into the ones that you suggested.

WHOOPS - Sorry - I meant to say that Opus 28 No. 20 is in the the same key as the Ocean Etude - not Winter Wind !! Good luck !!

it took me 15 years of pianoplaying before even thinking about a piece like op.25/12...and it still is a daunting piece to do justice to now, after well, a long time, haha

Opus 28 No 4, No 6, No 7 are also nice pieces and suitable for people who want to start Chopin. Chopin preludes go from easy to insanely difficult so there is at least 1 or 2 for any level.

You are correct in saying that all his etudes are hard. Out of the 25 from Op. 10 and 25, it's not the hardest, but it's pretty tiring and easy to get tense as you go along (I play it).

There are plenty of other wonderful works you should study before tackling a Chopin Etude. I went 11 years before I learned one (and I've been playing for just over 11 years, so that means that I'm very new to trying them).

It is graded VA (very advanced) by Bailie, but so are many other etudes...

+1

ok how about op.10 no.2? is that still too advanced for me?

5 months? And you are seriously considering playing a Chopin etude? Yes, they are all still too advanced, why not begin with some beautiful prelude's, mazurka's or waltzes?

Chopin etude op.25 no.12 is easy to learn, to memorize text, its very simple but to play it in fast tempo and clean... thats whats difficult. I learn it in 2 weeks, memorized, but i practiced it like three month to be clean. Its not that complicated. I opened topic on op.10 no.2, go read it. Think that here are many pianist that say to them selfs no way men its Chopins etude its hard... Well not all Chopins etudes are that hard. Maybe op.10 no.4, no.8 are hard, but black keys, ocean, and lot of more are EASY!!! Easy for me though...

That's all well and good - but how long have you been playing the piano? The OP is self taught and has only been playing for 5 months.