Étude in C minor, Op. 25 No. 12

Frédéric Chopin (1,810–1,849)

First published: 1837
Key: C minor
Style: Studies
Level: Fellowship and Concert
Roughly: ABRSM FRSM · Trinity FTCL · Henle 9
Lesson: C.7 Reveal an embedded line inside bilateral arpeggios
Musicianship: C.7 Embedded lines
Focus: Bilateral arpeggio waves with an audible embedded melody; coordinate lateral travel, pedal changes and harmonic climaxes without treating the work as a speed drill.

What its lesson teaches

C.7 Reveal an embedded line inside bilateral arpeggios

Prepare Chopin’s complete C-minor Étude, Op. 25 No. 12. Extract the melodic notes and bass goals from its two-hand arpeggio waves, then restore the figuration without losing those connections. Practise released changes of position instead of holding a static stretch across a wide span. The C-major voicing warm-up trains balance on its own; for the performance, return to the piece’s minor harmonies, dynamics and climax.

Ideas: Character pieces and genres
Virtuoso figuration
Long-range lines
Theory cards: Finding the line in figuration
Harmonic signatures
Technique: C minor arpeggio, hands together, 4 octaves: the sweep of Chopin's Op. 25 No. 12
C harmonic minor scale, hands together, 2 octaves
C major moving top voice above held chordal voices, hands together (faster: Concert tempo)

Edition and licence

Score: Paris: Henry Lemoine, December 1842, plate 2776 H.L.; early French reissue in the first-editions corpus.

Encoding source: https://rism.online/sources/1001002277

Digital encoding source: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions/blob/95dfb105c1669c72d10b04088566154f12d3dc1c/kern/025-1b-LE-012.krn

First Editions of Fryderyk Chopin's Music

Website: https://chopinscores.org

Digital scores: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions

Digital licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ · CC BY 4.0

Étude in C minor, Op. 25 No. 12

Edition: Paris: Henry Lemoine, December 1842, plate 2776 H.L.; early French reissue in the first-editions corpus.

Published: 1842

Source: https://rism.online/sources/1001002277

Paris: Henry Lemoine, December 1842, plate 2776 H.L.; early French reissue in the first-editions corpus.

Digital licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

CC-BY-4.0

Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Adapted by Musalea: converted to MusicXML and prepared for interactive practice.

The other lesson pieces of Fellowship and Concert

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 — complete cycle, Johann Sebastian Bach
Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: I. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato, Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 — complete, Frédéric Chopin
Étude in A minor “Winter Wind”, Op. 25 No. 11, Frédéric Chopin
Prélude, choral et fugue, FWV 21, FWV 21; CFF 24, César Franck
Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 — complete, Frédéric Chopin
24 Preludes, Op. 28 — complete cycle, Frédéric Chopin
Toccata in C major, Op. 92, Carl Czerny
Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55: III. Scarbo, Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 — complete, Frédéric Chopin

Practise all 157 lessons at your piano

In Musalea each lesson runs step by step, and after every run the app tells you what to fix: the bar, the hand and how to practise it.

14 practice days · everything unlocked · no card