stairway to heaven of piano pieces?

[cwjalex]

I have been playing guitar for a long time and whenever you walk into a guitar store there are several guitar riffs that you are guaranteed to hear someone play while you are there: stairway to heaven, enter sandman, sweet child o mine, aint talkin bout love, crazy train, etc.  In the movie waynes world mike myers walks into a guitar store and starts playing stairway to heaven and an employee stops him and points to a sign that says "no stairway" lol. 

Anyways, I was wondering what piano equivalent pieces fall into this category?  Pieces that you have heard so many times that when you hear them it makes you roll your eyes and think "not again..." 

[kobethuy]

I have been playing guitar for a long time and whenever you walk into a guitar store there are several guitar riffs that you are guaranteed to hear someone play while you are there: stairway to heaven, enter sandman, sweet child o mine, aint talkin bout love, crazy train, etc.  In the movie waynes world mike myers walks into a guitar store and starts playing stairway to heaven and an employee stops him and points to a sign that says "no stairway" lol. 

Anyways, I was wondering what piano equivalent pieces fall into this category?  Pieces that you have heard so many times that when you hear them it makes you roll your eyes and think "not again..." 

Is Fur Elise not too obvious ?

Also some simple arrangements of pop songs too.

[coda_colossale]

Stairway to heaven is a piece of music of a high quality, at least in it's genre. Für Elise ain't. I'd say Moonlight 1st movement, since it's both easy to perform -overplayed- and musically satisfying.

[timothy42b]

Fuer Elise and Moonlight are the obvious ones.  Played by everybody, instantly recognizable, sneered at by the elite, loved by everybody else. 

On trumpet it would be Carnival of Venice.  On trombone, there are lots of "Bolero Free" zones.  On horn probably Till Eulenspiegel.  Sax, I dunno, Body and Soul maybe? 

Bagpipes don't have an equivalent, the only piece that can be played on bagpipe is Amazing Grace so it doesn't count. 

[j_menz]

Bagpipes don't have an equivalent, the only piece that can be played on bagpipe is Amazing Grace so it doesn't count. 

Bagpipes actually have a quite extensive repertoire, and Scotland the Brave would probably be the STH equivalent.

[nanabush]

"Of a high musical quality" is honestly such a bullsh*t thing to say.  

I really can't agree with anyone who can say that if a piece is recognized and loved by non-'serious' musicians, then it's not "of a high quality".  Sorry, but that just irks me and only worsens the divide between classical/contemporary musicians (both are guilty!)

Anyways - I understand what you are saying; some pieces get to a point where it's like "ok, do you know anything else?"  But you can't blame the piece of music for that 

[coda_colossale]

"Of a high musical quality" is honestly such a bullsh*t thing to say.  

I really can't agree with anyone who can say that if a piece is recognized and loved by non-'serious' musicians, then it's not "of a high quality".  Sorry, but that just irks me and only worsens the divide between classical/contemporary musicians (both are guilty!)

Anyways - I understand what you are saying; some pieces get to a point where it's like "ok, do you know anything else?"  But you can't blame the piece of music for that 

Well, it's just that I see both the Moonlight first movement and Stairway to heaven as works of higher expressive/contexual value than Für Elise. Like Minuet in G-Prelude&Fugue in C# minor.

[hfmadopter]

"Of a high musical quality" is honestly such a bullsh*t thing to say.  

I really can't agree with anyone who can say that if a piece is recognized and loved by non-'serious' musicians, then it's not "of a high quality".  Sorry, but that just irks me and only worsens the divide between classical/contemporary musicians (both are guilty!)

Anyways - I understand what you are saying; some pieces get to a point where it's like "ok, do you know anything else?"  But you can't blame the piece of music for that 

Actually ( expletives aside) simpler pieces can be of a high quality performance wise, so I agree. Some simpler music can be played so well it goes right to your marrow in a good way. Elite piano snobs may not agree but that's their problem.