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Hey everyone! During this school year, I haven't hardly had any time to practice. However, this summer, I am planning to devote a lot more time to practice. I would really like to learn a few Chopin etudes, and I was just wanting some help choosing 2-4 and wondering how long it should take to learn them.
These were the ones I was thinking about (not all of them, but some of these)
Op.10 No.3 (maybe
Op.10 No.4 (kind of)
Op.10 No.5 (learned it earlier, but would really like to polish it up and relearn it)
Op.10 No.12
Op.25 No.1 (I personally Do not like this one, but everyone says this is the one to start with)
Op.25 No.2
Op.25 No.7
Op.25 No.9
Op.25 No.12

So, if I were to pick two, three, or four of these, which do you think the best options would be? Also, practicing 1-3 hours a day, would it be possible to give an estimate on how long this would take? Thanks!

You should really polish and relearn your Op. 10 No. 5.

Op. 10 No. 12 isn't a bad choice either. It will help your left hand while the mentioned Op. 10 No. 5 will help your right one.

If you can play those easily with or even without minor mistakes you may pick up Op. 10 No. 4. I'm gonna work on that one when I get the sheet for all the etudes which I ordered recently. My printed out Op. 10 No. 4 did honestly have some clumsy fingerings.

Thanks! I'm not sure if it would be managable, but learning Op.10 No.5, Op.10 No.12, Op.10 No.4, and Op.25 No.12 seems really benificial because it would work on both hands seperately and then put them together. I doubt I am ready to learn all of those at the same time though

I think it may be wise focusing on both 10-5 and 10-12 before you go for the other ones. 25-12 isn't a bad choice either.

How can anyone predict how long it will take you to learn any one - or more - of these Etudes? How long does it take a chicken to cross a road? How long is a piece of string?

Maybe your teacher might have some idea.

Regards,

Hi sam
If you've done 10/12 your LH should be in fairly good shape.
Sounds like it's time to do 10/1 and 10/2 to beef up that right hand. The combination of the two is ideal for RH technique....

Once you're done 10/2 then you'll see what I mean about Devil's Staircase

Of course it all depends on how well he has "done" Op. 10, No. 12, doesn't it?

One should not overlook Op. 10, No. 5, not only for right hand development but for practicing ones right hand dexterity and "grip" on the black keys.

Regards,

Haha Mr. Kitty.... I can actually see myself learning Op.10 No.1, but my 3/4/5 aren't strong enough yet to learn Op. 10 No.2. Regarding the Devil's Staircase, I wasn't actually the one that suggested that... I suggested Le Chemin de Fer, which, even though Op.10 No.2 is tough, is without argument harder (unless something is really, really odd with your technique.) Anyhow, I was just backing up the person that said the Devil's Staircase, but I guess you proved me wrong :.p

if your 3 4 5 arent strong enough for 10#2 then they arent strong enough for the #1.

sure theyre strong enough to glide over the notes, but thats not what youre supposed to do.

You definetely have to go for black keys.. since you already know it. Like most of the Chopin Etudes it sounds harder than it is. The same with OP10-12. Im working on it now. It has alot of chromatics but its pretty much all left hand.. so its a good technique builder. you left out op10.1? I love that one. Again sounds harder than it is, it requires alot of practice to get it up to speed, but defintely worth it. Just leave alone Op25-2 and Op10-2. They sound easier than they are for sure.

Try to get Op. 10 No. 2 up to quarter note=144 before you say that it's easier than it looks. The second page is damn hard too.

Why is this thread rated 1 star by the way? Is there anything wrong with asking which etude to learn? Please get a life, rater.

What he said was that it sounds easier than it is, i.e., it's harder than it sounds. From my point of view, it's got the highest difficulty to impressiveness quotient in the whole set, i.e., it sounds MUCH easier than it is. YMMV.

My deepest apologies.