Chopin Etude in E major, Op.10 No.3 Resources Lessons Tutorials LRSM/LTCL

Chopin Etude in E major, Op.10 No.3 often known as Trieste (sadness - much like how people nickname Beethoven's sonata as moonlight) - is a famous piano piece that has featured in many films or movies.

Chopin (source: wikipedia)

Here's Josh Wright with his tips:



Josh's tips:

• Get a good cantabile or singing sound with the melody. Imagine that you're singing the melody in effect. To get a good voicing - staccatto on the bottom of the right hand while playing legato singing sound at the top. By the way this voicing approach can be also applied to the Beethoven's Pathetique sonata (2nd movement)
• Think of the long phrases, voicing the melody very well - project it, sing it, have depth, a rich soprano  like an aria, moment in time full of love, Josh adds.
• The expression marks (many crescendos and decrescendos and accents) they are more to add more colour in Chopin's manner rather than be taken literally. Interpret as the accents as taking time like rubato! Great tip Josh!

Paul Barton's tips below

Interestingly, the original manuscript is marked vivace (fairly fast) which is interesting. Certainly the section 3 is also very fast and dramatic. Paul also mentions that Chopin thought of the melody as one of one of the most beautiful and was moved to tears when playing it once due to evocative associations of emotion.

• Exercise: voicing of chords, for example C major chord or triad  - make louder bottom C, then middle E the top note G. 
• Section 3 - if you break them down into chords you'll soon see a pattern emerging! (in chords - then at half tempo then add expression)
• Section 4 augmented 4ths in contrary motion. 

Thanks  Paul!