Liszt S. 139 No. 10: No. 10 (F minor): tempo and how to practice it

Liszt S. 139 No. 10: No. 10 (F minor) is part of “Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139” by Franz Liszt (1811–1886). Main focus: concert virtuosity in the service of character. In our transcription it is in A♭ major, in 2/4 time, and 184 bars long. Suggested tempos: start at ♩ = 52 to learn it, practice at ♩ = 80 and work up to the target of ♩ = 104. Difficulty 10/10 (concert).

The pattern and its fingering

First bar of our transcription, note by note, with the fingering the app shows.

Right hand	B♭–D♭–G–G–B♭–E♭–G–B♭–E♭–A♭–C–F
Left hand	A♭–C–F–A♭–C–F–A♭–C–F–F–A♭–D♭–F–A♭–D♭

■ right hand (finger above) · ■ left hand (finger below)

What it trains

Concert virtuosity in the service of character.
Stamina and economy of movement.

How to practice it

Split each study into sections and master one before moving on to the next.
A big sound comes from the weight of the arm, not from finger force: relax your shoulders.
Plan breaks: these studies tire the hand a lot.

Tempo ladder: ♩ = 52 → ♩ = 66 → ♩ = 80 → ♩ = 92 → ♩ = 104. Only move up a step once the take comes out clean; in the app, the progressive metronome does it for you.

Composer	Franz Liszt (1811–1886)
Work	Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139
Difficulty	10/10 · Concert
Key	A♭ major
Time signature	2/4
Bars	184
Suggested tempos	learn ♩ = 52 · practice ♩ = 80 · target ♩ = 104
Where the target tempo comes from	tempo marked in the score (♩ = 104): consistent with its dominant note value (sixteenth-note sextuplet, 10.4 notes/s). Not documented as the composer's metronome mark.
Transposable	no
Status in the app	Available
Copyright	public domain: Liszt died in 1886