Chopin: How His Melodies Changed the World of Piano
Frederic Chopin’s revolutionising music discoveries brought a drastic change in the classical music era.
Imagine you are a pianist listening to one of Chopin’s waltz that you are going to perform. Ever wondered what made his melodies sound so soulful and connecting? Ones that make you cry, make you happy, make you relaxed, all these emotions felt just by listening to it. What in particular made his music different from the others of his age?
Frederic Chopin was a Polish-French classical music composer who was one of the most famous pianists and was known for various works. He wrote more than 150 piano solos and melodies. Most famous of his pieces include the minute waltz ( waltz op- 64, no-1) and his nocturne in E-flat (op. 9, no-2). He is considered one of the greatest composers of all times because of his creativity in the field of classical music. A lot of his pieces are played and respected all around the world but what made them different when compared to other pieces from renowned composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Bach?
Music in the 1800s was usually considered to be in the classical era. Composers created pieces that were light and less complicated and were known for “natural simplicity”. Variety and contrast in a piece became more popular and musicians played with a variety of instruments, along with an orchestra or a quartet. During the end of the 18th century, composers started innovating new melodic techniques, thus transitioning into the romantic era of classical music.
Chopin was one of the first composers to compose in the Romantic style and his pieces were often dramatic, emotional and individual. His Etude Op.25 №11 called Winter Wind portrays all these characteristics in just one piece. Not only does this piece convey a variety of emotions, but also has a huge impact on the audience.
As one commenter puts it, “this isn’t just winter wind, it’s a blizzard” and many other people share the same view. The first 21 seconds of the etude seemed simple, transitioning from single notes to chords but the rest of the song included not only notes ranging from F in the last octave (7th) of the piano to the G in the first octave (1st) but different chords progressions that are required to play for a specific time but also at a specific sound decibel. Just listening to it makes some people have goosebumps showing the quality of Chopin’s romantic style pieces.
This innovation in piano melodies changed the way people hear music. They started being more soulful and expressive because of this change in style. Introducing this idea of a new music type among the rest of the composers made them try and improvise with their pieces.
Beethoven for instance got inspired and shifted his composing style from “Classical, full of poise and balance, to the Romantic style, characterised by emotion and impact” (British Library).
The hardest part in composing music is writing the melody itself and for that musicians need some inspiration or some unique idea. For them, inspiration could be almost found anywhere or in anything. Chopin, as weird as it sounds, found inspiration listening to his wife’s catwalk on his piano which made him write the cat waltz (waltz op.34 no-3) which is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed by Chopin. While hearing it one might imagine a cat waltzing on a piano because of the set of notes that are played.
As whimsical as might he be, Chopin was a unique composer indeed. While other waltzes are 4–5 minutes long, he created the minute waltz which is played in just a minute. The pianist's fingers need to be quick and mellow to play this cheerful melody. ‘Chopin dedicated this piece to his lover’s dog which was how he was inspired in the first place. Being a famous composer, his works had some sissy reputation. The American composer Charles Ivy said, “One just naturally thinks of him with a skirt on, but one which he made himself.” Describing someone like that can only explain if the person has some rivalry or despises him. Various classical music groups might have described the minute waltz as -
Delicate and Fragile
People might have seen him like this because of his weak and feeble condition. Being often described as sick because of having tuberculosis might have made him suffer mentally too. His sickness always made him separate from his companions. Rival composers of the same era found him feminine and “lacking certain virility” but that didn’t stop him from composing and facing his fears which showed his mental strength. His fears inspired him and he inspired others facing the same problems.
One might also consider the minute waltz as -
Bold and mischievous
Chopin’s boldness made him quite popular at his age and in his condition performing on the stage would have been difficult. That is why he influenced many pianists and composers like Scriabin and Rachmaninoff. All the inspiration that he got, from sickness to pets, made his pieces more emotional and impactful. That made musicians realise how powerful feelings were while playing live amid an audience or even alone. Having an open mind to new changes helped him have a new and better personality.
What made Chopin incredibly unique and eccentric was the way he composed his melodies. Most of composers use different instruments to get a sense of their composed music, and musicians in the romantic era wrote and played with an orchestra, Chopin on the other hand devoted himself fully to the piano and composing on it. This was a new change that he brought and the composers in the next eras began following it. His innovations in music solely include the development of modern piano techniques and style. He really influenced the upcoming generations of piano players and composers. Extending the keyboard size of the piano to 7 octaves (88 notes including white and black keys) drastically improved his music. This helped him “dream a whole range of new colours, harmonies and means of expression”(gramophone).
Furthermore, he encouraged the use of pedalling while playing the piano which made the melodies sound more smooth and connected. This video shows a pianist playing Chopin’s nocturne op. 9 no-2 both using a pedal and without a pedal. One can notice that playing the piece while pedalling makes it sound smooth and professional while playing without might make it sound choppy. Using the pedal makes quite some difference and that made Chopin use it a lot in his pieces. He is also known for developing various fingering patterns throughout his piano-playing history.
While listening to his nocturne op. 9, ever wondered how easy it sounds to play even though it’s not? The techniques he used to make it look easier really describe how much he evolved his piano melodies.
In these bars (12–13), the transition from forte (hard) to piano (soft) along with playing more than 8 chords using both hands makes it pretty difficult to play. Playing this bar on the piano sounds like this segment at 1:29. While hearing it, it sounds easy. That is the peculiarity of this piece. Other pieces from Chopin sound beautiful as well as the audience can figure out if it is difficult or not, but listening to this people think it is easy. Logically that might be because of its slow pace and the use of a single melody over and over again, but it is also because of how good of a musician he is.
There is so much more to Chopin’s pieces that make them unique and different. The main thing in Chopin himself. His innovations from time to time made his melodies better and Chopin wasn’t competing with his rivals, he was competing with himself, trying to compose better music with every new idea/innovation. That made him motivate himself and his peers even through times of turmoil. That is what made him and his melodies more impactful.
“I wish I could throw off the thoughts which poison my happiness. And yet I take a kind of pleasure in indulging them.
— Frederic Chopin
He felt the negativity and despair around him and poured it all while playing and composing his music. That was why his pieces were different from the ones of the age. What is more important is that he used to indulge in his sufferings so that he could make better pieces. That made him a better composer and a person. While playing or listening to his pieces, people can feel the despair that he once felt.
