I cannot play Brahms.
I have tried (for about 20 minutes sitting on a coffee table because our piano bench is currently in another room because we're painting the piano room, and yes I realize that 20 minutes isn't really that long) and I have discovered that I cannot do it.
There are too many notes.
And also sharps and flats, not to mention those dang naturals that creep in and throw me off.
Pshaw. I think I'll stick to hymns.
(Not really. I'm going to stick to this piece & seriously, seriously learn it. It may take several more 20-minute sessions at the coffee table, though.)
6 comments:
Sometimes I get these grandiose ideas that I will one day learn to place all Chopin's nocturnes because, man, they are BEAUTIFUL. But then there's the sharps and the flats and the serious counting issues...and then I think maybe this will have to wait until the next life when I'm a concert pianist or something. :) Good luck with the Brahams!
Don't feel too bad. I've been trying to play Brahms for years, and even after all that time there are only a couple of pieces that I could claim to play well. Not only do you have to jump all of the technical hurdles, but you have to play with clarity and expression. But learning Brahms is worth it. Even when I struggle through a piece that is way out of my league, even as I mash the wrong notes and skip the hardest parts, I can still perceive the great power that is in those pieces.
So what are you learning? One of the waltzes? Op. 117 No. 1? Op. 118 No. 2?
Lindsay, I think there are going to have to be a TON of things I have to wait until the next life to learn. Like higher math. Man, that stuff's hard. I definitely felt some sympathy math twinges while reading one of your recent posts.
And Christian, you of course play Brahms much better than I ever could. I'm actually trying to learn Wie Melodien so I can add it to my Sunday evening old-folks repertoire. I've realized over the past couple of days that I'm slowly becoming better, (i.e. I'm no longer HORRIBLY AWFUL), but I'm still not sure if I'll ever have it down well enough to accompany myself while singing. Bleh. And this isn't even a hard one, I'm sure.
Ah, well. At least I'm remembering what all that piano practicing was like. Man, I hated that. No wonder I quit when I was 14.
play Brauhms - I can't even spell it!!! (see?)
My piano teacher in college told me she wanted me to learn a Brahams piece so I brought all the books I had into my lesson. She took a quick look at what I had and said, "Oh, you don't want to play any of these. Go buy this easier piece." So don't worry. Even music majors have to be careful about Brahams.
The wonderful thing about Brahams is that every single piece is perfectly constructed. Most great composers have their good pieces and less good pieces, but Brahams determined for himself which pieces were substandard and burned them all. So everything we're left with is completely amazing... I should really start practicing again.
Pat, it's all good. I'm forever double-checking my spelling on names & pretty much every other word I try to type. (I keep an online dictionary window open whenever I post, but shhh! Don't tell! ;^))
And Jo--I've realized from this experience that practicing a hard song every now & then would be VERY beneficial to my musicality. YOU however, are amazing and could probably get away with glancing at a keyboard every few days and still be able to play a major piano concerto at a moment's notice. Probably.
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