Four hands or 6 hands

[shicheng]

Hi

I'm an adult student. Together with my two kids (15 and 10 years old) we are learning piano 30 min. / person / week in the village's culture centre.  I've learned (piano) for 3 years, my son for 8 years and my daughter for 5 years.

I'm interested very much in playing the pieces for four hands or six hands. In this Summer, My son and I performed a 4-hands millitary march of Schubert in the village church as a kind of auditions for the parents, students and piano/instrument teachers of the village. My kids are exercising now a Serenade of Schubert for 4-hands.

Can anybody from the forum help to answer the questions:

1. How can I learn better the four-hands pieces? Any advice or instructions on a systematic way?
2. Please recommend a list of interesting pieces for 4-hands and for 6 hands?

Best regards

Shicheng

[rhapsody in orange]

1. How can I learn better the four-hands pieces? Any advice or instructions on a systematic way?

I'd think practising more with your partner would make it better. Get used to the way your partner plays etc. Listen to recordings. And know how your partner's parts sound like and know it well enough. And by listening, you can learn from the different interpretations how to improve on the piece. It would be better that each of you practise individually your own parts before playing together, this would save time trying to work on the technical part of the piece. So when both of you are practising together, you would be focusing more on the musical aspect.

2. Please recommend a list of interesting pieces for 4-hands and for 6 hands?

I personally like Brahms' Hungarian Dances. Quite lively and interesting. It's worth a try =)

[bernhard]

Have a look here:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2428.msg20981.html#msg20981
(four hand repertory)

There is also a thread about 6 hand pieces (but I am afraid it is a much more limited repertory). I will look for it and post it once I find it.

You may also be interested in these two books:

Howard Ferguson - Keyboard duets (Oxford University Press)

Ernest Lubin - The Piano Duet - a guide for pianists (Dacapo)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[bernhard]

Here is the 6-hand thread:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,634.msg36632.html#msg36632

Best wishes.
Bernhard.

[allchopin]

Visit https://www.bh2000.net/score/ for free sheet music for 2x hands

[DarkWind]

Ravel wrote Frontispice, a piece for 5 hands. Very odd sounding.

[bernhard]

Visit https://www.bh2000.net/score/ for free sheet music for 2x hands

Great site, Allchopin.

Thanks a lot.