Chopin Etude Op. 25 No. 9 (Butterfly)

I have introduced the Arpeggio etude in my previous post, and now I would like to mention about the first Chopin etude that I learn, the Butterfly etude, Op. 25 No. 9. This etude is the shortest etude of Chopin, and can be played within 1 minute,, ideally around 58 seconds.

Starting this etude was quite a nightmare, and the first few days I always had painful right hand after practicing this song. It requires combination of staccato and legato playing on the right hand melody, and good accuracy and pedaling technique.


For every motif, it's an alternation between 2 legato and 2 staccato. The motif changes within each section. (notice that the motif in bar 5-8 is actually the reversal motif of that in bar 1-4) To learn this etude, it's best to first master the opening section (bar 1-8) to perfect the right hand configuration. Bar 9-16 is based on the basic motif but with pedaling and dynamic expression. Learning this 2 sections ( bar 1-8, and bar 9-16) actually took me around 2 weeks, but after that, the remaining sections become easier. I finished the remaining 4 sections, also within 2 weeks.

Tough, but yet very fun to practice on. And it's a very nice etude too. It's in the playlist :D (Etude 25-9)
Here's a nice video from YouTube. Butterfly etude played by Valentina Lisitsa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eExDO4MdoI&feature=related

Another story: also check this video out for the Rachmaninov etude played by V. Lisitsa. Amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAb2nI2hVqk