Practicing & Ligeti

Dear Greg,
hello. i'm studying the devil' staircase of Ligeti. Could you bring me some help. how can i do to work the kind of music? thanks a lot!
 - Cyril Cuvier (France)

Dear Cyril,

Help? Hehe.

How to play Ligeti's Etude No. 13, "The Devil's Staircase" in three words:

Practice, practice, practice.

Then, practice some more. Then some more. And then: ....practice some more.

The piece tests a performer's determination and ability to focus. There are other pieces that are technically harder to play, but I've encountered nothing as mentally demanding as this piece ... other than other etudes by Ligeti.

A quick tip: I originally learned the piece by counting 8th notes. Later, I began listening to the various groupings of 8th notes (5, 6, 7, 9, etc.), and now I listen for the bigger picture.

Good luck!

- Greg