If you want to learn Chopin's Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1 in C minor effectively by yourself, this video is for you. This video demonstrates how I progressed the Nocturne in C minor, resource clips and exercises I used to overcome specific challenges, and how long it would take to get to a certain level.

Background
I am a 30-something restarter. After playing for 8 years and got level 10, I quilted piano for 25+ years. My first coming back piece is Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu ([ Ссылка ]). After that, I played a few of Chopin's preludes for fun. I accidentally came across Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1 and absolutely love it! I practiced roughly 1 hour a day, 5 days a week. I spent the first 4 months self-learning, and in the last month, I found a teacher to help me further improve as I was stuck.

Structure of the Video
Intro: 0:00:00

Section A practice: 0:01:30
You will see how my dynamics improved over time.

Section A best take: 0:02:14

Section B practice: 0:03:36
You will see how I addressed 3 challenges:
1. How to play quietly?
I practiced without the left pedal to improve the volume control and apply the left pedal later. Be careful about chord voicing.

2. How to play the broken chord to sound like striking the strings of a harp?
I practiced each connection between notes in a broken chord to work out how my hand, wrist and arm are supposed to work together and create the muscle memory.

3. How to play fast octaves?
I used online resources to help me as I don't remember or know how.
Lesson 1: when you finish an octave and get off the keys, the hand need to bounce to the next position. See full clip: Piano Masterclass on Octave Technique, from Steinway Hall London: [ Ссылка ]

Lesson 2: if comfortable, use the fourth finger for the black key in an octave to make the movement smooth. See full clip: Piano Masterclass on Octave Technique, from Steinway Hall London: [ Ссылка ]

Lesson 3: practice elbow bounce, wrist bounce and finger bounce. I use a blend of them at different sections of octaves. See full clip: 10 Tips to MASTER Octaves! NEW Tips and Strategies - Josh Wright Piano TV: [ Ссылка ]

Section B best take: 0:08:30

Section C practice: 0:10:50
You will see how I overcame another 3 challenges:
1. How to keep background chords quiet?
The key takeaway is to NOT release the keys to their resting position before pushing down to the key beds again. See full clicp: How to Play Repeated Chords Quietly on Piano: [ Ссылка ]

2. How to clearly voice the melody notes in a chord
My way of approaching it is to separate the background chords from the melody notes of the right hand, rather than to view them together as bigger chords. Fingers for background chords are doing completely different things from the melody finger. See my demonstration 0:12:42.
I also used the miming exercise to enhance the separation. See full clip: Piano Lesson on Chord Voicing and Melody: [ Ссылка ]

3. How to double up the speed in Sectio C?
There is no shortcut, unfortunately. I have to practice slowly and gradually speed up while handling any new issues and tackling them one by one.

Section C best take: 0:14:48

This video reflects my progress of 120+ hours (5 months) practice with all the resources I used. I hope you find this video useful by giving a thumb up or subscribe. Feel free to leave your comments below.

Piano used: Yamaha U3A, Kawai K500

свернуть