When should I start learning Harder pieces

[gore234]

Hey guys, I am 25 years old and have been playing piano for about 8 years on and off and I'm wondering when should I start learning more difficult pieces.  I want to be able to play pieces by Liszt some day but I've never tried to.

Here is a list of the pieces that I have played all the way through at one point in my life.

CPE Bach - Solfeggietto
Bach - 2 part inventions 1,4,8,13, and 14
Bach - prelude in C Major
Mozart - Sonata in C Major k.545 first movement
Mozart - rondo alla turka
Beethoven- Moonlight sonata first movement
Haydn - Sonata No.50 in D Major hob.XVI:37 first movement
Czerny - Etude de Mecanisme Opus 849 No. 26 and No. 30
Czerny - Etudes op.740 no.50, no. 37, no. 12, no. 41
Yuhki Kuramoto - Lake Louise

Right now I am practicing Chopin's waltz in a minor and I have other sheet music printed such as Moszkowski etudes.  I'm wondering how will I know that I'm ready to play harder pieces and am I going about this the right way.

I played trumpet for 8 years, was in marching band and that is where I learned how to read sheet music and over the years I have learned scales, chords, and music theory.   I also enjoy writing my own pieces whenever.

[faulty_damper]

Now would be a good time, though I suggest reading through a lot of repertoire to expose yourself to note patterns while you're at it.  Learning something technically difficult can sometimes be a time-suck, especially if you think you can power yourself through it.  This is just a bad idea since you aren't finding the best technique, which should be the easiest way to play.

[pianoplunker]

Hey guys, I am 25 years old and have been playing piano for about 8 years on and off and I'm wondering when should I start learning more difficult pieces.  I want to be able to play pieces by Liszt some day but I've never tried to.

If you want to try Lizst, just try it. But it should be because it does something for you musically, not just because it is more difficult.

[hfmadopter]

For one thing perhaps move on to the second movements in the unfinished pieces you know. Maybe try a Schumann piece or two, he brings a certain roundness to the table added to the composers works that you have, fills some gaps so to speak. In that Mozart K545, I'd shoot to finish the whole sonata. My teachers order of progression way back when was Bach, Clemente Mozart, Schumann, Beethoven, Chopin. A taste of them in that order ( well except that Fur Elise was nearer the beginning but sonatas came later on). That progression took 8 years incidentally !

[gore234]

Thanks for the feedback everybody,  I haven't heard much of Schumann's work or Clemente's so I'll check them out. Would you say that Schumann's pieces are more difficult than Mozart's sonatas? I probably didn't look at Clemente's music much because I looked at Mozart and Haydn. I'm also a fan of Scarlatti, Mendelsohn, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev but haven't learned any material from them yet.  Any suggestions to particular pieces that would increase my knowledge for note patterns?  I see Liszt do a lot of difficult stuff that other composers did not and I think that is why I am interested in his music.   

[faulty_damper]

I can't help you with the comparison of Schumann vs. Mozart since I don't play Schumann's music.

But about note patterns, that's what Liszt explored himself which he later wrote some down in his piano exercises.  You'll notice that in these exercises, you could come up with the same if you just practiced playing such repetitive things.  That's how Liszt became such a great sightreader, because he already had a huge vocabulary of patterns that he prodigiously practiced when he was younger.  A lot of the cadenzas he writes in his pieces are just variations on these note patterns.

[gore234]

I like Liszt's pieces because it seems like they incorporate everything you can think of on piano.  I like his Pieces Totentanz and mephisto waltz but they seem to be to difficult for me to even consider trying but I don't know.  Right now the hardest piece I have learned is etude op.740 no. 50 by Czerny and it was probably above my skill level when I was learning it but I feel it helped me a lot.  I remember when I felt invention 13 would be impossible for me and I was playing pieces like jingle bells before I learned Solfeggietto.   

[hfmadopter]

Thanks for the feedback everybody,  I haven't heard much of Schumann's work or Clemente's so I'll check them out. Would you say that Schumann's pieces are more difficult than Mozart's sonatas? I probably didn't look at Clemente's music much because I looked at Mozart and Haydn. I'm also a fan of Scarlatti, Mendelsohn, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev but haven't learned any material from them yet.  Any suggestions to particular pieces that would increase my knowledge for note patterns?  I see Liszt do a lot of difficult stuff that other composers did not and I think that is why I am interested in his music.   

Schumann presents a different form to his music than Mozart and takes you into the Romantic era. This gives a sense of traveling passages and more or deeper sounding chord structure. It's just different and helps bridge the gap into romantic music. Of course if you don't like his music then it may not be worth a try but I think you could find some pieces to work with. It's just an act to help broaden ones musical spectrum.

[gore234]

I just listened to Schumann's sonata no.1 and I liked it, I'll find some more of his stuff. I feel that some of Beethoven sonatas would be easier to play than Schumann so maybe I should work on Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata Op.13 first and come back to Schumann later on.

[outin]

I'm also a fan of Scarlatti, Mendelsohn,

If so, then it's time to start playing their music. They both wrote a set of pieces (the 555 or so sonatas and the songs without words) that present many kinds of challenges and range from not that difficult to quite challenging. It's pretty easy to select those that are not out of your reach with all the information available on the web. If you look at the sheet music section of this site you will find grade ratings for the pieces, you don't need the gold membership to look at the lists. You can also listen to most of them in Youtube to select ones that appeal to you the most.

The sheet music is available at imslp.org or you can buy books with a rather affordable price.

[hfmadopter]

I just listened to Schumann's sonata no.1 and I liked it, I'll find some more of his stuff. I feel that some of Beethoven sonatas would be easier to play than Schumann so maybe I should work on Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata Op.13 first and come back to Schumann later on.

Beethoven is great ! However, Schumann still offers that different view and introduction into the Romantic era. Look at his easier works, his Album Leaves series and even Albums for the young and Sonatas for the young. They are still rich and give the Schumann feel.

Pathetique is not easy either, I played that memorized in a recital years ago but would not attempt it now after returning to piano only 19 months ago. It's a whole different thing than Schumann and actually I had done a fair amount of Schumann and Mozart before taking on Pathetique, FWIW.

[bronnestam]

I have worked with the Pathétique for a year by now ...    Well, it was my "comeback" to piano playing, so my start with it made terribly slow progress and then it has accelerated.

The second movement is not that difficult and a very nice standalone piece, so you should be able to give it a go. Third movement is more difficult but not impossible. First movement - is hard. Besides, it is physically hard too, so you might get injuries if you practice it too enthusiastically without having built up enough technique.

I should recommend Beethoven's two "beginner" sonatas instead as a start, No 19 and 20 in G minor and G Major respectively.

For more Beethoven that are not sonatas, try some of his "Bagatelles".

Then I also think you should try some Debussy! Delightful music from the impressionistic era, I just love it. "The girl with flaxen hair" is easy and very popular. 

[chicoscalco]

Schumann is a very difficult composer! But it's very beneficial to study his works. Be sure to do so with a teacher...
I think that Kinderszenen is appropriate. Although a very difficult work to play well, some pieces there are a very good introduction to his "unpianistic" way of writing. But maybe, as someone said here, Album for the young is still more appropriate.

[gore234]

Thanks everybody for the suggestions and help.

I'm listening to Träumere at the moment and I like the piece but I don't like anybody's interpretation that I've heard so far.  Its like they slow the piece down when Im counting the beats in my head.  Im use to listening to Bach which is totally different.

Von fremden Ländern und Menschen sounds pretty to me.

I'll have to listen to more of them to get use to them.

I plan on practicing some Scarlatti, mendlesohn, and others also after I learn the current piece I am working on which is Chopin's waltz in a minor.