Is Chopin's Winter Wind Etude To difficult for me? I am star...

Is Chopin's Winter Wind Etude To difficult for me? I am starting to wonder since I seem to be getting nowhere with it. I have been playing for about 1.5 years and am self taught. Should I give up on it and go for something simpler?
I usually practice anywhere between 1-4 hours 6 days a week.

All of the Chopin etudes are difficult, and Op 25 No 11 is one of the more difficult. Most students of piano study several years before tackling this etude. Speed, dexterity, clarity, a left hand melody and a devilish right hand... just some of the challenges of this piece. It is definitely one for the very advanced player.

Have you played other Chopin etudes? How did they work for you?

When someone states they are self-taught, the first question that comes to mind is, 'why don't you have a teacher?'

Every discipline, whether it be swimming, golf, music, archery, martial arts, requires a coach or teacher to guide them to a certain level. There are no self taught Olympic gold medalists.

Not knowing your age, skill level or your practice methods, it's hard to say just what are the difficulties for you in this piece. But I'm guessing it's too advanced for you at this time.

I would look at some Chopin preludes, since you seem to like Chopin, and maybe some of his mazurkas or waltzes. Since there are so many of them, you might want to check out from a library recordings of these works to get an idea of which of them appeals to you, and is appropriate for your skill level. Vladimir Ashkenazy has an excellent recording of the complete mazurkas. Youtube is another place to look when searching for new music to learn. There are countless Chopin performances on youtube. (Aaron Kurz has a very nice performance of Chopin's 'Black Key' etude, Op 10 No 5. - just one example.)

Good luck!

Thanks for your detailed reply. I am self taught because I am musical, got left a piano by my aunt that passed and always wanted me to study piano. I am 19 and don't have much extra cash for taking lessons.
I will take your suggestion on listening to some of Chopin's other works, and choosing from them I might come back and ask some more questions.

Are you in NYC?

Hi it is really good for you to take such chalange to play chopen study. you realy need to obtain good balance on fingers and hand movements Im working on this study for two month and honestly love it very much .my bigest break come after listening hypnosis tape Steve D jones How to play piano Try it. I dont have time to practise for so many hours like you. but that is not mane reason why you have difficulty I tink our dipest succes can come only from trusting ourself connect your mind to intuition or subconchous mind .