How To Teach Chopin's Prelude in E Minor
Today we’re talking about how to teach the Chopin Prelude in E Minor. This is one of the easiest pieces by Chopin to learn, and one that students can personalize with their own expression. To be clear, this video is aimed at helping teachers work with intermediate or recreational students. It is not intended to be a tutorial for advanced professionals tackling Chopin’s Preludes.
Suggested Edition:
Festival Collection book 6 (Helen Marlais)
Syllabus listings for difficulty level:
RCM Level 7
Illinois AIM Level 8
Jane Magrath Level 7
Skills and Knowledge Required to play this piece well:
E minor key signature with several accidentals
Triad and seventh chord inversions, primarily diatonic chords in E minor
A few 4-note chords / octaves
Alignment of left arm in front of the torso
Movement by half steps
Hearing dissonance and resolution
Balance between hands
Long lines for RH melody; Use the LH repeated chords to help shape the RH melody
Use of rubato
Clear yet connected pedal
While I didn’t say it explicitly say it in the video, I did demonstrate a bit how I would “block” through the harmony without the repeated iterations of every eighth note chord. This can be one of the most effective practice techniques for hearing the harmonic movement and deciding how to play expressively based on the harmony.
