Featuring practice steps for Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, No. 4 – by Chopin
(3 against 2)
This segment of teaching cross rhythms will focus on the beautiful Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, No. 4 by Frederic Chopin. It is a lovely example of 3 against 2, with triplets in the RH and duplet 8ths in the LH. This is a particularly challenging example as there is only a single beat of “3 against 2” in the entire piece. The difficulty for students is feeling the 3 against 2 because of where it comes from and where it is going after that beat.
As teachers, we all love to use the rhythm words for cross rhythms, and that can be the gateway into teaching a student to “hear” and “feel” the “3 against 2.” Very often, these rhythm words will be exactly what the student needs, and then by going to the musical example, this is all they need, and they will experience success.
The cross rhythm steps outlined below give more detail into how the rhythm of “3 against 2” fits together in this beautiful piece by Chopin. These steps are actually a very useful rhythm lesson! And students will get a feel for different note values and for the relationships between these note values.
Some students will zip through these steps and then they’ve got it in a week or two. Others need a lot more time. Also, I don’t do all of the steps every week with each student. I will see what works the best, and what is helping them hear and feel this cross rhythm, and often will do two steps in a week.
The goal is that the student can internalize these wonderful cross rhythms, enjoy playing them, and then make beautiful music!
Practice Steps – Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, No. 4 – Frederic Chopin
1. Listening
- Practice hands alone (HA) over and over.
- Isolate one beat of the cross rhythm, and practice over and over.
- Isolate the measure of the cross rhythm of 3 ag 2, and practice over and over.
- Practice hands together (HT) over and over.
- Remember to make it fit.
- Keep the triplets even.
- Keep the duplets even.
- Use a lot of repetition.
2. Mathematical/theoretical
- 3 against 2 (3x2=6)
3. Rhythm (counting)
- 3 ag 2 - Count 1-2-3-4-5-6
4. Rhythm (together – right – left – right)
- 3 against 2 – TG-R-L-R
5. Rhythm words
- 3 against 2 – Pass the butter
For examples of the above, please download files below:
PDF Files:
Files can also be found under the FILES tab above!
YouTube Channel: Piano Q&A
No comments:
Post a Comment