Sublteties I never noticed in Chopin

[George K]

As I mentioned in another thread, I'm working on the Chopin Op 6 #1 Mazurka.

He does some really interesting things with meter and harmonies, which, if you're not paying attention, you'll miss.

For example, in the first telling of the theme, it's all dotted rhythms in the descending figure here. And then, in the last statement, it's not dotted.

Then, in the final measures of that theme, he changes from minor to major.

Then he does the "I'm messing with your head, and I'm going to mess with the rhythm again" thing again.

[Klaus]

Nice finding!

What I hate - as a player, not as a listener - is if he transforms something as simple as

into

[George K]

@Klaus indeed. I see all the crap in Chopin and I find it daunting. Then, when you look at it, like in the first example, you go WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, Fred? Why are you doing this? Just to look "French" and fluid?

[kluurs]

Chopin will screw with things that the listener will never notice/appreciate/care about - just to give piano teachers something to point out that the student neglected.

[mark]

@klaus Now I know why I suck at piano. How the fuck does one count that?

[George K]

@kluurs said in Sublteties I never noticed in Chopin:

just to give piano teachers something to point out that the student neglected.

Which is EXACTLY what happened when I approached one of my teachers about this mazurka a few years ago.

[Klaus]

@mark said in Sublteties I never noticed in Chopin:

@klaus Now I know why I suck at piano. How the fuck does one count that?

The point is to not count that.

If you play it "mathematically correct", then it sucks.

Those lines need to "float" over the accompaniment without any regard to tempo, yet you need to magically be done at exactly the right time. I suck at this.

[Axtremus]

Yep, don’t count, just wing it.
I suspect Chopin did things to prevent himself from getting bored, and he winged it plenty in his own time.