Learning material

[ana86]

Hi,

I'm learning piano by myself, using sheets I can find online. At the moment I am playing pieces such as Boccherini's Minuet, Bach's Minuet in G major etc, and am wondering if anyone would recommend what would be the natural progression from here - a list of pieces would be much appreciated! I can't really afford a teacher so at the moment I'm stuck with myself as one  .

To summarize my skill set, I have a reasonable understanding of the theory even though I never went to music school, I have been composing in the past, possibly have a perfect pitch and have no troubles memorizing the melodies (in fact, after I play from the sheet once I usually don't look at it again as I find it easier to play by memory), yet my biggest drawback is the technique. So any advice on the material to improve my performance taking this into account would be fantastic.

Many thanks! 

[marijn1999]

Hi Ana (?),

First of all, let me tell you that I am no piano teacher so my advice comes purely from my own experience.

The pieces you're starting with are very good in my opinion. Pieces like the ones you mentioned teach the very basics of piano playing and from there you can slowly progress through harder pieces. I suggest you take a look at the following pieces. I ordered them in a progressing difficulty:

• Bach: Minuet in G minor, BWV Anh. 115
• Bach: Musette in D major, BWV Anh. 126
• Mozart: Allegro in B-flat major, KV 3
• Bach: Little Prelude in C major, BWV 939
• Beethoven: Allegretto in G minor, WoO 61a
• Bach: Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934
• Beethoven: Bagatelle in A major, op. 119/10
• Bach: Little Prelude in D minor, BWV 935
• Bach: Invention in C major, BWV 772
• Beethoven: Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59
• Bach: Sonata in F major, Wq. 48/1
• Bach: Invention in B-flat major, BWV 785

Notice there is a lot of Bach in the list. The reason for this is that Bach was known to be an extremely skilled teacher and his music teaches pretty much everything you need to know until you start on more major piano works. On the other hand, there is no other music which teaches you hand independence better than his.

Now take this as a guideline. This list is a progression from the most easiest technical level to an early intermediate level. There are much more pieces in between but it is a list to make a rather fast progression. I could make a much more comprehensive list with pieces from easy to intermediate. Let me know if you'd want me to.

As a last reminder I will say to you. Play only that what you like, since it is the only way to benefit from the effort you put into pieces.

Hope that helps!

BW,
Marijn

[adodd81802]

I think the response here makes sense really, here's the links to Bachs main books which you could work through. I am sure you will find lots of support on places like Youtube for these pieces also if you're having any difficulty.

https://imslp.org/wiki/Das_wohltemperierte_Klavier_I,_BWV_846-869_(Bach,_Johann_Sebastian)

https://imslp.org/wiki/Das_wohltemperierte_Klavier_II,_BWV_870-893_(Bach,_Johann_Sebastian)

[c_minor]

I'm also a beginner. For the first few weeks of lessons, my teacher assigned me some pieces from Bach's Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (three minuets, a polonaise, and a march), Clementi's first sonatina, and two pieces from Schumann's Op 68 (Nos. 1 and . After that, he gave me the second and third Clementi sonatinas.

[adodd81802]

I'm also a beginner. For the first few weeks of lessons, my teacher assigned me some pieces from Bach's Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (three minuets, a polonaise, and a march), Clementi's first sonatina, and two pieces from Schumann's Op 68 (Nos. 1 and . After that, he gave me the second and third Clementi sonatinas.

Sounds like a Chopinesque style of teaching.

[mjames]

alright now time for the ballades

[ana86]

Thanks for the replies, that helps a lot  !!!
I'll start with those and might ask for further suggestions once I learn these (it might not be too soon as I don't have time to practice every day  )
Thanks again!
Ana