Flight Of The Bumblebee, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
So, I have a new project. I decided this last night (at like 3am). Now that I’m done Clair De Lune (just needs some tweaking), it’s time to get my hands dirty. Like, REALLY dirty.
I need a faster piece to really challenge my technical skills. And WHAT better piece than “Flight Of The Bumblebee” by Korsakov?
This is going to be really interesting…
Unfortunately, I can’t really find the difficulty rating for this piece. I think it’s because this piece was not originally composed as a piano solo and there are various different transcriptions.
“Flight Of The Bumblebee” is actually an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, made for his opera, named The Tale Of Tsar Salta. It was composed around 1899 – 1900.
During the scene, a magic Swan-Bird is supposed to change Prince Gvidon Saltanovich into an insect so he can fly away and visit his father. That’s why this piece sounds like a bumblebee’s wings buzzing around really fast, almost sounding like it’s coming toward you, around you, and away from your ear with the corresponding dynamics, crescendos, and decrescendos.
I printed out one version of the piano sheet music last night and sat down to just play a few measures. It’s intimidating, but considering the fact that I have been playing the piano for so long, I can definitely tackle it.
The right hand of the piece is basically all chromatic variations. What’s THAT? Well, you’re pretty much just playing every single white note and black note in order, up and down the keyboard. Oh ya, at a RIDICULOUSLY FAST SPEED.
It’s okay though, I had to practice chromatics for my conservatory examinations, so it’s all good.
I’m so excited though, because I love chromatics. If I can master this without getting my fingers tied in a knot, I will pretty much have conquered the world (in my opinion).
It’s going to take a lot of time, a lot of grueling technical work, and crazy practicing HOURS (probably late at night) with this piece. Remember the post I just made on Slow Practice? Yeah, that will DEFINITELY apply to this piece. Luckily, the left hand shouldn’t be too hard. There are a lot of staccato notes.
Fantastic! Chromatic scales and staccato notes! My favourites!
I bet it will take me a year to fully master this piece. (Unless I give up.) It took me all summer to really master Clair De Lune and it’s not even a fast piece.
When I do (and I will) master Korsakov’s Flight Of The Bumblebee, I would love to find my old piano teacher and show her what I have done. She should be proud.
I remember back in the day when I showed her that I learned Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag, she was pretty surprised. Awesome!
Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:
WATCH THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO. This girl (Yuja Wang) plays Flight Of The Bumblebee with RIDICULOUS speed, accuracy, tempo, and amazing technique. It’s almost scary. And it is truly inspirational. I’m not all that for speed with the piano, so I’d be glad if I could play it half as fast as she could.
Get ready for something amazing…
EDIT: Well, I just found the transcription that looks like what Yuja Wang plays (more difficult). The other version I found was just chromatic scales in the right hand. Which version should I learn? I’m always up for the hardest challenge, so maybe the Yuja Wang version. We’ll see. I hope my Yamaha keyboard won’t explode.
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Tags: Chromatic, Crescendo, Decrescendo, Dynamics, Flight Of The Bumblebee, Korsakov, Staccato, Technique
I really enjoyed reading this post, keep up creating such exciting posts!