Description
This is the first of Chopin's Trois Nouvelles Études, written in 1839 for the method book Méthode des méthodes compiled by the theorist Fétis and the pianist Moscheles. Composed separately from the Op. 10 and Op. 25 sets, it is less technically demanding, yet it condenses Chopin's characteristic lyricism.
It is in F minor and 2/2 time. The hands divide the beat differently, and the piece aims to develop a natural feel for polyrhythms such as two against three. The melody flows gently while the harmony adds shading and depth. It lasts about two minutes and forty-three seconds with 829 notes, and its range from F1 to B5 extends into the bass, so a 61-key keyboard does not reach its lowest notes as written, though an octave shift brings every note within reach.
Rated intermediate, its steady tempo allows for careful, deliberate practice. Rather than counting polyrhythms in your head, learn them physically, using the points where both hands coincide as landmarks. Slow the playback and watch with the hand colours where the hands meet and where they diverge. Repeating short sections with the A-B loop lets the different rhythms gradually sound natural.
A collection of études by various composers, including Chopin's famous "Revolutionary" Étude, designed to build finger independence and expressive technique.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Frederic Chopin was born in Poland and made his career in Paris, remaining unusual among great composers for writing almost exclusively for piano. He poured his longing for his homeland into mazurkas and polonaises, while his ballades and etudes combine poetic melody with harmonic innovation. This site includes the "Revolutionary" and other etudes, Ballades No. 1 and No. 4, nocturnes, and the Preludes, Op. 28.
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