14 Arban etudes

brassbow · Veteran Member Joined: 05 Aug 2005 Posts: 404

I have been working off and on the 14 Etudes by Arban for years and have yet to get them to the marked speed. Who else has problems with them?
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Dayton · Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:43 am Post subject:

Don't be discouraged. Here's what Allen Vizzutti has to say about Arban's 14 characteristic studies:

"Etudes of this quality are lifetime studies....As is true of all masterful etude collections, these pieces can be visited and revisited to learn and rejuvenate technique and musical performance practices."

From my perspective, the key is to practice them slowly and correctly, and then build speed each time you revisit them.

mafields627 · Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:20 am Post subject:

It's like the Bible. You might have read Psalm 23 from when you were little, but it tells you something different every time.
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CartersPop · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2018 1:58 am Post subject:

"Etudes of this quality are lifetime studies..."

Like all "studies" in life we may ever seek perfection but should not expect to achieve it.

But it sounds like you are getting closer.
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Harry Hilgers · Heavyweight Member Joined: 16 Jun 2015 Posts: 637

Harry Hilgers · Heavyweight Member Joined: 16 Jun 2015 Posts: 637

Turkle · Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2018 8:44 am Post subject:

I personally think that playing them at the marked speed is less important than playing them musically.

Some of them, for instance, sound much better with a rubato treatment, and some phrases should be pushed, etc.

So I think that those marked tempi should be viewed as general aspirational signposts for technical mastery, but that's only the beginning of learning the etude. More important is being able to turn that technical monster into a moving musical statement that someone would actually want to listen to. Depending on your musical conception, that may or may not happen exactly at the written tempo.

Cheers,

Turkle
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Danbassin · Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2018 9:01 am Post subject:

Not to nit-pick, however Arban didn't supply metronome markings for the 14 Characteristic Studies. These were put in place by later editors. So, there's that - what "Allegro moderato" might have meant to J.B. he took with him to the grave. Fortunately, editors like Claude Gordon, whose editions I believe DO have a b.p.m. clocked, and Edwin Franko Goldman, who did not, knew what they were doing.

I had a similar experience recently, having returned to the "Top Tones" book. After a few weeks of playing through the ones I remembered well - for good and for ill - I took out a metronome and realized how rapidly some of those thorny passages go by.

Happy practicing!

-DB
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eto

A lot of sense...based on experience...has appeared in this discussion of the Arban Characteristic Studies.
I've practised, played, struggled with, enjoyed, and benefited from them for, gosh, over 50 years.
In particular I agree with the advice/ comment to play them musically at an appropriate tempo...and practise them slowly.
My first audition, as a student, for the National Youth Orchestra of Wales comes to mind.
I, foolishly, played Study No. 1 at a reasonably fast...flashy... tempo.
Play it slower I was asked...
Eventually I got down to about 40 beats a minute...
Perhaps an extreme...but the lesson I learnt was that technique should be subservient to musicality.
Since the I hope I have become more musically wise:)

I hope you don't mind if I refer you to some apps for Tablet or Smartphone I have published to help practise Studies No. 1 and No. 10.

Here's a link to demo videos which show what they do.

Here's a link to a video demos which will better explain how they 'work'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHhj8x8P4DY

Here's a direct link to them in the the App Store: where you can read a fuller description.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app-bundle/arban-flexibilty practice/id1351864226?mt=8

They are also available for Android Tablets and Smartphones:
Study No.1:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.wp.piano.arban1

Study No.10:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.im.ymarfwe.arban10