Grade 4/5 Pieces

[pavb2]

Hello All

I've been playing for 5 years for pleasure and am at about grade 4/5 I would love to learn pieces such as Mozart's concertos #20 & #21,Rachmaninovs #2 but find that on here they are about grade 8 this is so frustrating.

So is it of value to play simplified versions such as the "It's Easy to Play........" books or should I stick to grade 4/5 pieces. Also can anyone recommend nice 4/5 pieces.

Incidentally I would love to be able to play Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue but is this completely unrealistic?

Thanks for all advice

[stevebob]

It's unrealistic to think that you could play pieces such as those you mention at the present time, but it's possible that you might work your way up to them.  Everybody's potential for advancing is different due to variables like innate ability, motivation and consistency of focused practice, but sticking to pieces at your current level ensures you won't make any progress.

Unless you're certain that you've reached the limit of what you can do at the piano, each successive piece you learn should challenge you with incrementally greater difficulties.  You can't jump directly to Grade 8 or beyond, but you might reach that goal gradually as you build a strong foundation of technical ability.  Try to enjoy the journey; whether you would enjoy playing simplified arrangements of "big" pieces in the meantime is really up to you.