Suggestions for relative easy and progressive pieces

[aslak]

Hi everybody

I'm a 49 year old who nearly a year ago started to play classical piano again after many years pause. About the age of 20 I gave up because I got so much tendonitis. This time I have started carefully with relatively easy pieces and things goes much better. I play pieces like Fur Elise, WTC  Prelude no. 1 in C, some inventions and easy pieces of Shumann and Chopin now.

My question is if anyone (maybe some teachers?) have suggestions to some good, easy and progressive pieces to play that students normally play without too many problems. Now I'm paricullary looking for a piece from the classical area (Mozart, Beethoven etc.) that sounds nice and I will be able to to finish at my level.

I have seen in the forum that Hanon and Czerny don't have a high star among most piano players, but are there exercises somwhere out there that really is worth to work with for faster progress??

I don't take lessons, and can practise 5-6 hours a week if I,m am lucky.

AHS  

[scherzo123]

Bach Inventions and Sinfonias
Beethoven's Early Sonatas and Op.49 Nos.1 and 2
Mozart Piano Sonata No.2

[aslak]

Thanks a lot

Was considering Beethoven op 49 no 2.
What köhel no. has the Mozart sonata? Could'nt find out witch one it is.

Aslak

[scherzo123]

Thanks a lot

Was considering Beethoven op 49 no 2.
What köchel no. has the Mozart sonata? Could'nt find out witch one it is.

Aslak

K280 

[49410enrique]

hmm maybe the Bergmuller pieces?

25 Progressive Pieces, Op. 100






By Johann Friedrich Burgmüller / ed. Willard A. Palmer

Item: 00-608

UPC: 038081013534

ISBN 10: 0739006142

ISBN 13: 9780739006146

PRICE:$7.95

Series: Alfred Masterwork Edition

Category: Piano Collection

Format: Book
Instrument: Piano


Level: Early Intermediate / Late Intermediate





Burgmüller's most famous work, the 25 Progressive Pieces, are short compositions with descriptive titles. Easier than his Opp. 105 and 109, each selection exposes students to a different technical challenge with the main emphasis on the phrasing, articulation, and dynamics often found in Romantic piano music. The collection includes "Arabesque" and "Ballade," both popular with many early-intermediate pianists.

[aslak]

Thanks schertzo. Found it also on youtube. Level 7. Seems too difficult for me at time beeing. Think it is better to stick to easier pieces for a while still. But later on I hope...

I could try the Bergmuller pieces, enrique. Not as great musik as pieces from the masters, but maybe good to develop better tecnique for somebody at my level. I don't want to break my neck on too difficult pieces. I did that as young, and never thought I would play again.

Thanks to both of you. Appreciate your answers.

Aslak

[ajspiano]

I would probably go for the burmuller studies here too, though maybe not all of them if you don't like them that much musically.

some of the childrens bach followed by the inventions?

Clementi - sonatinas?

Chopin preludes, 4, 7, 20?

...There's also a list somewhere here that bernhard wrote of all the more accessible chopin.

[brianvds]

Thanks schertzo. Found it also on youtube. Level 7. Seems too difficult for me at time beeing. Think it is better to stick to easier pieces for a while still. But later on I hope...

The Mozart sonata in C, K. 545, may be more suitable. I notice Scarlatti also wrote some sonatas of around grade 4 or 5 level. And perhaps check out some of Bartok's work.

I could try the Bergmuller pieces, enrique. Not as great musik as pieces from the masters, but maybe good to develop better tecnique for somebody at my level. I don't want to break my neck on too difficult pieces. I did that as young, and never thought I would play again.

Yup, I nowadays follow the same policy. I also don't have much time to practice. Years ago, I tried to make faster progress than my available practice time could allow, and I ended up not enjoying it anymore. It is vastly better and more satisfactory to play relatively easy pieces well than than to noisily bang and clang one's way through difficult ones.

I'll follow this thread with interest seeing as I am also constantly on the lookout for work at around grade 4 or 5 level which is nevertheless musically satisfying. I have an ancient electronic piano (can't remotely afford a "real" one!) and its somewhat soft, tinny sound isn't really suited to romantic and post-romantic music (and most of that stuff is kind of unplayable for amateurs anyway). It has one advantage: at the press of a button it turns into a harpsichord. So I have now become greatly interested in music either written for or reasonably suitable for harpsichord, but that is also fairly easy. The Clementi sonatinas sound quite delightful on harpsichord, for example. :-)

[outin]

I'll follow this thread with interest seeing as I am also constantly on the lookout for work at around grade 4 or 5 level which is nevertheless musically satisfying. 

There are enough Scarlatti sonatas about level 5-6 to last you a long time and you won't get bored since there's so much variation on tempo, key and style. And since there aren't so many large streches, you shouldn't to break anything either.

Definitely musically interesting and you can use your harpsichord sound as well

[nagatomo]

Beethoven Bagatelles.  These are short and accessible, and contain some lovely music.
My suggestion...  op.33 no.1, no.3 & no.6, op.119 no.1 & no.9 to begin with...
Also Beethoven's Sonatinas / sonatas with WoO numbers...  1st one in Eb major and 2nd mone is F minor are great for intermediate level students...

[49410enrique]

i believe you would enjoy and can learn a great deal for spending time with pieces from both of these sets.

attached as PDF

I have played through part of the Haydn, they are fun and so lovely! and can and will challenge players of different levels in different ways (i.e. i struggled with some very fine polishing and interpretation mechanics, touch, etc at my level, and for somone not playing quite as long they serv as excellent prep for longer pieces in the classical rep.).

A quick gross read and anaylisis of the Hummel gives me a similar impression. I may myself go back and visit these as I had forgot about the set simply because I've been so swamped, let's remember and our dear neglected Johann Nepomuk was a student of Mozart and Haydn, one of the finest pianists of his day and an excellent composer (in quality and quanity of works for our instrument).  He and Beethoven had a deep professional respect for each other as many historians note (not the 'rivaly' some try to paint).

hope you all enjoy these! sorry I can normally post recordings but these little gems are rarely visted /performed, and recorded even less frequently i'm afraid. if i come across them i will update and attach or link to audio.

[49410enrique]

ill have to keep looking over and into some appropriate Beethoven. This piece sounds more difficult than it is for the most part. THe hardest section of the piece will be the parallel 3rd scale runs on the backside but the rest of it overall is manageable if you practice nice and slow and stay lose. overall it's a lower to middle of the road 'intermediate' piece. it could serve a the big 'hard piece' you can wrestle with while you work the easier ones.

sorry if it's not appropriate in difficulty. i need to re-aqaint myself with the less demanding works of Beethoven now that I think of it. but i have seen this piece in several intermediate instructional resources so the general assesment is that it is not super difficult.

[aslak]

Many interesting things to have a further look at here .
Thanks to all.


Aslak

[williampiano]

You might enjoy playing some of the easier Chopin Mazurkas, like op. 67 no. 2, op. 68 no. 3 and op. 67 no. 4.

[brianvds]

There are enough Scarlatti sonatas about level 5-6 to last you a long time and you won't get bored since there's so much variation on tempo, key and style. And since there aren't so many large streches, you shouldn't to break anything either.

Definitely musically interesting and you can use your harpsichord sound as well

I doubt if I'll ever get around to level six, but I am going to look into Scarlatti because there are indeed quite as number of his sonatas that are around level 4 to 5, and as you say, they are decidedly musically interesting. This is what I like about the keyboard as opposed to the classical guitar: even humble intermediate level skills give you access to a huge literature of great music by some of the greatest composers in history.

[outin]

I doubt if I'll ever get around to level six, but I am going to look into Scarlatti because there are indeed quite as number of his sonatas that are around level 4 to 5, and as you say, they are decidedly musically interesting. This is what I like about the keyboard as opposed to the classical guitar: even humble intermediate level skills give you access to a huge literature of great music by some of the greatest composers in history.

Don't take the grades too seriously. I still cannot play much of the grade 2-3 material, but I have been learning Scarlatti sonatas level 5-6 and though they need work, they are not impossibly hard. I think the difficulties there are manageable with work even without much playing experience. If you really like the piece, practicing a lot is not unpleasant

Much of the romantic and classical stuff is different (at least to me), I feel I would need more basic skills (and physical ability/bigger hands) to even get started on them.

[brianvds]

Don't take the grades too seriously. I still cannot play much of the grade 2-3 material, but I have been learning Scarlatti sonatas level 5-6 and though they need work, they are not impossibly hard. I think the difficulties there are manageable with work even without much playing experience. If you really like the piece, practicing a lot is not unpleasant

Much of the romantic and classical stuff is different (at least to me), I feel I would need more basic skills (and physical ability/bigger hands) to even get started on them.

Yes, I could play one of the Scarlatti sonatas years ago. Can't remember which one though. It took some work, but it was effort well invested. In this respect Scarlatti resembles Bach: the music is interesting enough that one doesn't tire of it, so it is well worth learning.

In fact, this brings me to a question. Years ago, when I taught myself, I got hold of and played exam pieces, in order to pace myself and get some idea of what I could and could not do. Once I could play a set of exam pieces in one grade, I would move on to those of the next, and so on.

In the grade 4 set I ran into the minuet from Bach's French Suite no. 3. It took me quite a while to master it, but it was worth the effort. However, it always bothered me that the exam book didn't include the trio - one after all usually plays a minuet with its trio. So now I want to remedy that oversight, only to find that the trio is hellaciously difficult. Or is it? Perhaps I'm just rusty with learning new Bach pieces.

I wonder if anyone can tell me at what level it is. If I can play the minuet, should I be able to play the trio as well, or is it in a whole different league? And how does one finger all those voices? Is it for example accepted practice to play one voice with different hands, or should one use the same hand for a voice throughout? (If so, the piece seems to include quite impossible stretches!)

[outin]

In the grade 4 set I ran into the minuet from Bach's French Suite no. 3. It took me quite a while to master it, but it was worth the effort. However, it always bothered me that the exam book didn't include the trio - one after all usually plays a minuet with its trio. So now I want to remedy that oversight, only to find that the trio is hellaciously difficult. Or is it? Perhaps I'm just rusty with learning new Bach pieces.

If you look at the levels on the sheet music part of this site, that suite as a whole is listed as level 8. So definitely very difficult!

[brianvds]

If you look at the levels on the sheet music part of this site, that suite as a whole is listed as level 8. So definitely very difficult!

That is one of the great weaknesses of the levels on the sheet music list: it assigns difficulty levels to multi-movement works, when many of those works include movements at a much lower level. The French suite above is a case in point: it may well include very difficult movements, but the minuet is on grade 4 level. Many of Bach's other suites and partitas also include easier movements well within the grasp of intermediate level players, but they would never guess, looking at the levels as assigned.

Perhaps the powers that be on Pianostreet will some time not assign grades only to entire works, but also to individual movements. It will of course be a lot of work to do so, so perhaps it is a somewhat unreasonable expectation!