To the listener, Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu is a blizzard of notes -- except for the middle
containing the song "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", but to the
musician who has to play it, there's a more elementary challenge -- cross
rhythms.
The left hand is almost totally in triplets --
twelve notes to a bar, 3 per beat, 12 per bar, while the melody is slightly faster --
sixteenth notes, sixteen to a bar. Certainly there's the problem of playing all
those notes, but as mentioned, there's a matter of cross rhythms. Look below
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111122223333444455556666777788889999AAAABBBBCCCC
111111111111222222222222333333333333444444444444
The first line shows the detailed rhythm of the right hand.
The second line shows the detailed rhythm of the left hand
The third line shows the "beats".
When a pianist first looks at the score, this is an imposing sight because cross-rhythms, especially at medium speed are a sort of magic trick. The listener can easily tell if you stray from the rhythms by any significant degree.
containing the song "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", but to the
musician who has to play it, there's a more elementary challenge -- cross
rhythms.
The left hand is almost totally in triplets --
twelve notes to a bar, 3 per beat, 12 per bar, while the melody is slightly faster --
sixteenth notes, sixteen to a bar. Certainly there's the problem of playing all
those notes, but as mentioned, there's a matter of cross rhythms. Look below
111222333444555666777888999AAABBBCCCDDDEEEFFF000
111122223333444455556666777788889999AAAABBBBCCCC
111111111111222222222222333333333333444444444444
The first line shows the detailed rhythm of the right hand.
The second line shows the detailed rhythm of the left hand
The third line shows the "beats".
When a pianist first looks at the score, this is an imposing sight because cross-rhythms, especially at medium speed are a sort of magic trick. The listener can easily tell if you stray from the rhythms by any significant degree.
But the Fantaisie-impromptu is very fast. So as long as the outline of the beats is preserved --- accents simultaneously in both hands when the beats begin -- the listener will not notice if you stray much from the theoretical cross-rhythm. In fact precise measurements of famous recordings of the piece do not show significant deviations from the "norm". This does not devalue these recordings, but shows that musicality and scientific theory may diverge.
The listener in fact enters into the picture in a peculiar way.
The listener does not experience the same thing when he listens to a piece the first time compared with the 20th or more, and still differently if he/she has experience playing the piece. In those cases they may hear small differences which the first time listener does not appreciate -- or care about. Indeed music critics may ruin the entire experience and one can readily understand why some very talented people hate critics.
The listener does not experience the same thing when he listens to a piece the first time compared with the 20th or more, and still differently if he/she has experience playing the piece. In those cases they may hear small differences which the first time listener does not appreciate -- or care about. Indeed music critics may ruin the entire experience and one can readily understand why some very talented people hate critics.
