Beautiful pieces at beginner level?

[shaarl]

Greetings.

I have recently started learning piano but I'm struggling to find pieces I would enjoy playing.  Two days ago I started Chopin's Prelude in E Minor Op. 28, No. 4 and I would really appreciate if anyone could suggest something equally beautiful and at the same level of difficulty or even below that (unless there's something more difficult I could try, I'm a patient person so it would do, too). Emotionally moving, sad pieces would be lovely, as I am quite sick of all the jolly beginner level pieces - they give me no satisfaction out of playing piano.

Thanks in advance.

[roniman]

Maybe Chopin's nocturne no. 1? It's one of my favorites. No. 2 is also great, but i prefer no. 1.

[Petter]

The easier shorter Chopin preludes, no 4 and 6.

[nightlordq]

Try Burgmuller's pieces, La Chevaleresque is good.

[dorfmouse]

Here is a somewhat helpful link. "Tons of Easy Music."

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,7389.0.html

[prins]

The following pieces are all easier or as easy as the Chopin prelude.

From Album for the young Schumann: no. 6 (Poor orphan) no. 16 (First loss), Mignon.

Scriabin, prelude opus 11 no. 4 and opus 31 no. 4 a very dark piece(about same level as the Chopin prelude).

Cornelius Gurlitt: Nachtliche Reise (Night ride) (also included in Piano adventures lesson book 4), reminds me of Schuberts Erlkonig.

From Album for the young of Tchaikofsky: the sick doll, and funeral of the doll.

Stephen Heller, preludes for Lili opus 119 no. 28. Not particularly sad but very delicate piece, one of my favourites.

[prins]

I am attaching a few more beautiful easy pieces.

Hope you will enjoy them.

Nachtliche reise by Gurlitt, don;t mind the silly picture, it is not a silly piece, in the proper tempo it is quite impressive.

Sarabande by Handel

Mazurka in a-minor by Glinka

[scottmcc]

Scriabin, prelude opus 11 no. 4 and opus 31 no. 4 a very dark piece(about same level as the Chopin prelude).

forgive my ignorance, but I tried playing through the scriabin prelude you attached, and it didn't really sound like anything--just a bunch of random chords.  am I doing it wrong?

I do like the sarabande you attached though.  that one I've heard before too, so that made it easier.


and for the original poster, here's a few other relatively easy pieces that I like:

(all have been mentioned in the other thread links above)

MacDowell-To a Wild Rose
JS Bach-Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 Prelude 1 (C Major)
another Chopin prelude-Op 28 #20
and don't forget one that graces the homepage of this website, Schumann-Traumerei

By the way...all of the pieces mentioned so far in this thread are relatively easy to play adequately, but more difficult to play well.  So...you can stay busy for a while with these.   

[prins]

forgive my ignorance, but I tried playing through the scriabin prelude you attached, and it didn't really sound like anything--just a bunch of random chords.  am I doing it wrong?

Well, I don't know if you are familiar with Scriabins music, but his opus 31 dates from a period in which his style moved away from late romantic to a somewhat moderner idiom. You may not like it, but it may just sound unfamiliar to you. It might help if you could find a recording, then it makes sense to you (or not). When I started to play the piano I really really wanted to play Scriabin (anything!) ... so I liked it.

Regards

[csharp_minor]

If any beginners want to play that Bach prelude in C major from the WTC then here it is:

https://www.allpianosheetmusic.com/composers/piano_sheet_music_bach.htm

I played that Nachtliche reise by Gurlitt, its really nice. Reminds a bit of the theme tune to Gremlins!