Im too learning this Sonata and my god... prob the most I've struggled with a piece. Prior to this I knew Chopin's Bb min sonata, and Liszt's Sonata even the latter wasnt as difficult as Rach's 2nd.
really nice video! the fact that you talk throughout the entire video make it so interesting to watch (this is your first video recommened to me). I'm looking forward to the other movements
Thank you so much for sharing your practice! I'll definitely come back to this video a whole bunch when I finally get around learning this Sonata. One of my favorites by Rachmaninoff. Good luck on your recital!
I really like the video and the format you made for it, it's awesome to hear you practice, your thoughts and seeing the score. Also, loved the sonata, I hadn't heard it never before
Thank you so much for all the effort you put into making this video. Watching your proces has been so helpful to me as a pianist (and a procrastinator, lol) I had to sub!
Thanks for sharing ! Just subscribed :) May I ask how much time you’ve already spent on this piece ? I’m currently struggling with Op.39 n.6 and I feel like my learning is taking forever. My point is not really to compare, but rather getting an idea of how efficient one can be, and what is actually realistic
I was 2 months into learning this sonata when I shot this video which may sound like a lot of time, but I always aim to learn each movement of a sonata at the same pace to maintain a slow but steady progress. Although the video doesn't show it, my fluency in the 2nd and 3rd movements roughly matched what I showed in the video. When learning Rachmaninoff, it also helps a ton to memorise the harmonic progressions (chunks of notes) rather than trying to memorise his individual notes. Don't let the amount of notes in his music trick you into losing the general harmonic and melodic structure. Hope this helps 😄
I feel like most pianists struggle with this to a certain degree. A lot of people undermine sight reading until they realise you need it to learn new pieces. So I would recommend trying exercises to improve your sight reading. Or better yet, try learning a lot of new (easy) songs that you enjoy playing but the most important thing is that you increase your exposure to new notes. Hope this helps.
The original 1913 version is a lot harder. After hearing recordings of it by Freddy Kempf, Zoltan Kocsis and Yakov Kasman, I will never again listen to the thinned down revised version. Rachmaninoff only revised it because he was afraid many wouldn't be able to play it - which was the case with some of his other piano music.
I agree that the revised version feels like it's missing a lot of interesting ideas and motifs. Through the journey of learning this massive work, I too only listened to recordings of the 1913 version and kept going back and forth from the 1913 score and this one which helped me a lot. But looking at the practical side, it's almost as if Rachmaninoff thinned down the revised version so that students like me will be able to play it 😂
To me the hardest thing will always be to start the 3rd mvt because the end of the 2nd is so emotionally poignant that I'm already all spent when finishing it, no more gas left for the huge finale 😞.
This was a huge problem for me too. I have nothing left especially going into the massive coda of the 3rd movement. My only solution for this was to perform the whole sonata from beginning to end repeatedly to increase my stamina. This was honestly more tiring than going to the gym. Also, controlling your energy and pace before the 3rd mvt was also pretty important.
Great video! I’ve learned and performed the original 2nd sonata numerous times and have never thought it to be much more difficult than the revised. What about the original do you think is so much more challenging?
The sonata itself is challenging, so comparing the original and revised versions is like comparing apples to apples. But for me, the developmental sections in the original make the biggest difference. Even though I think the revision was unnecessary, I prefer the version I can perform better for my exam.
Nice to hear your train of thought during practice
Im too learning this Sonata and my god... prob the most I've struggled with a piece. Prior to this I knew Chopin's Bb min sonata, and Liszt's Sonata even the latter wasnt as difficult as Rach's 2nd.
really nice video! the fact that you talk throughout the entire video make it so interesting to watch (this is your first video recommened to me). I'm looking forward to the other movements
Thank you for tuning into my channel and thanks for your insight. Maybe I'll start making more of these videos in the future.
Thank you so much for sharing your practice! I'll definitely come back to this video a whole bunch when I finally get around learning this Sonata. One of my favorites by Rachmaninoff. Good luck on your recital!
Thank you so much
From Jack, Kazu, Blake, Jules, Kasino, Alex, Zane
(Also you owe Alex $50 for food)
its not at all boring to me!!! seeing the score and listening is enough for me
Keep up the good work and content!💪
I really like the video and the format you made for it, it's awesome to hear you practice, your thoughts and seeing the score. Also, loved the sonata, I hadn't heard it never before
Thank you so much for all the effort you put into making this video. Watching your proces has been so helpful to me as a pianist (and a procrastinator, lol) I had to sub!
also it's really nice watching u deal with the same voicing issues i'm currently struggling with in rachmaninoff 39/5
*rachmainoff issues 😔
11:08 You sound exactly like me when I don't want to practise a specific part, but I know I need to xD
I am worried for you.... 2 more months to go..... U need to push.....I am rooting for you
Thank you for your concern 😭 I'll be uploading my performance version on it soon, so please stay tuned to judge whether I made it through well or not.
you got this bro!!!💪
Thanks for sharing ! Just subscribed :)
May I ask how much time you’ve already spent on this piece ? I’m currently struggling with Op.39 n.6 and I feel like my learning is taking forever. My point is not really to compare, but rather getting an idea of how efficient one can be, and what is actually realistic
I was 2 months into learning this sonata when I shot this video which may sound like a lot of time, but I always aim to learn each movement of a sonata at the same pace to maintain a slow but steady progress. Although the video doesn't show it, my fluency in the 2nd and 3rd movements roughly matched what I showed in the video.
When learning Rachmaninoff, it also helps a ton to memorise the harmonic progressions (chunks of notes) rather than trying to memorise his individual notes. Don't let the amount of notes in his music trick you into losing the general harmonic and melodic structure. Hope this helps 😄
Do you ever have trouble sight reading or learning these hard pieces? This is one of the main struggles that I am facing right now. Great Video👍
I feel like most pianists struggle with this to a certain degree. A lot of people undermine sight reading until they realise you need it to learn new pieces. So I would recommend trying exercises to improve your sight reading. Or better yet, try learning a lot of new (easy) songs that you enjoy playing but the most important thing is that you increase your exposure to new notes. Hope this helps.
this is also a study on discipline and focus.... inspite of the unscheduled trip to the convenient store!!!!!!
The original 1913 version is a lot harder. After hearing recordings of it by Freddy Kempf, Zoltan Kocsis and Yakov Kasman, I will never again listen to the thinned down revised version. Rachmaninoff only revised it because he was afraid many wouldn't be able to play it - which was the case with some of his other piano music.
I agree that the revised version feels like it's missing a lot of interesting ideas and motifs. Through the journey of learning this massive work, I too only listened to recordings of the 1913 version and kept going back and forth from the 1913 score and this one which helped me a lot.
But looking at the practical side, it's almost as if Rachmaninoff thinned down the revised version so that students like me will be able to play it 😂
To me the hardest thing will always be to start the 3rd mvt because the end of the 2nd is so emotionally poignant that I'm already all spent when finishing it, no more gas left for the huge finale 😞.
This was a huge problem for me too. I have nothing left especially going into the massive coda of the 3rd movement. My only solution for this was to perform the whole sonata from beginning to end repeatedly to increase my stamina. This was honestly more tiring than going to the gym. Also, controlling your energy and pace before the 3rd mvt was also pretty important.
Great video! I’ve learned and performed the original 2nd sonata numerous times and have never thought it to be much more difficult than the revised. What about the original do you think is so much more challenging?
The sonata itself is challenging, so comparing the original and revised versions is like comparing apples to apples. But for me, the developmental sections in the original make the biggest difference. Even though I think the revision was unnecessary, I prefer the version I can perform better for my exam.
How long have you been working on it? already sound so good
Bonne courage
In the beginning I thought my computer screen was malfunctioning 🙃
Hahaha sorry 😭 its something to do with the led lights at my uni and my camera. I’m not sure how to fix it
give us some practice techniques ;)
keep it up
Thanks
Thanks
Thanks
Thanks