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What kind piece would be best for me at my current level?

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Topic: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano. (Read 2599 times)

bdkubicka

Newbie
Posts: 1

Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

on: March 05, 2016, 11:19:32 PM

I used to play piano for a couple years when I was younger (like 10-13 years old) and I stopped for a long time till around recently. I am 20 now and more than anything I want to be able to get back into piano, and of course I am very eager about it. The only music I listen to is classical, mostly solo piano pieces. Thus, I tend to hear all these beautiful pieces by so many people and my first thought is that I want to learn it.

I was able to nail about the first 3/4ths of Piano Sonata N. 14 Quasi una fantasia, Op. 27 No.2 "Moonlight Sonata" because I would practice roughly 3-5 hours a day for a couple weeks (because I read sheet music so slowly). I have an FP-50 Roland digital piano, as well as back home a Yamaha baby grand that I also have access to when needed.

My biggest problem is that I really want to learn more pieces that won't discourage me from continuing to practice, but still won't be music that is very basic and slow that won't hold my interest.

I know it's kind of pretentious of me to think I can play difficult pieces with my current level of experience, but don't most people get motivated by possibly conquering challenging pieces?

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marijn1999

Full Member
Posts: 170

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #1 on: March 06, 2016, 12:16:07 AM

Hi,

What I'm used to do is to have six or seven relatively easy works I work on at the same time. Those are shorter pieces which don't contain any passages that take me weeks to learn. I choose a new set every month and usually have them finished and perfected at the end of that month. Sometimes I don't (Bach and Brahms are a common exception) and then I will just move them over to te new month.

At the same time I also work on a more difficult, larger scale work. For me, at the moment, all these pieces together are:

Bach: Prelude and Fugue in B-Flat Major from WTC 2 (two pieces)
Brahms: Intermezzo in E-Flat Minor, op 118/6
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, op. 90 (only first movement)
Mozart: Fantasia in C minor, K. 475
Berg: Piano Sonata, op. 1

Right now my difficult piece is Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 3 in F-sharp Minor, op. 23. But as I said, it is relative. Your easier pieces might be Little Preludes and Fugues from Bach, whilst your difficult piece could be Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 1.

Anyway, because I'm not sure what your current level is, I can't give you very specific advices. One thing I CAN tell you, is that there aren't pieces which improve every aspect, whether it is technical or not, of piano playing. Pretty much every piece has it's own difficulties and therefore you should choose a bunch of them to improve several things at the same time.

Inform me further, and I will be able to help you further as well.

BW,
Marijn

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huaidongxi

Sr. Member
Posts: 269

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #2 on: March 07, 2016, 09:22:11 PM

marijn, appreciate what you shared about your own study plan. the course I've been working out for myself is similar to what you've outlined, for a much less proficient player. your study outline reassures me that my plan has a chance of success. presently, trying to settle on some study pieces to clean up technique, looking at Bach, Cramer, Burgmuller, while also working out on short character sketches by Schumann that amuse me. the more difficult pieces for me are easy portions of Schubert and Beethoven works. will be looking for an instructor when a small handful of pieces are presentable for assessment. thanks again.

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irrational

PS Silver Member
Full Member
Posts: 165

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #3 on: March 08, 2016, 01:31:24 PM

You can really look at Bach for almost all your needs so far as all-round skill is concerned.
Anna-Magdalena notebook is fairly interesting still and not hard.
More advanced would be 2-part inventions.

Also baroque wise you can look at some sonatas by Sor and Scarlatti as well as Handel suites.

Further up you could look at some Clementi Sonatas, which is often easier than Beethoven, but I find them quite satisfying to listen to. Also don't leave behind Haydn. His pieces are mostly in majors and I find them feeling good under fingers.

You don't have to play the major composers always. Their work tends to be harder and there are good alternatives out there.

But look at their lesser known works. Both Beethoven and Schubert wrote German dances and waltzes and so on of lesser difficulty but pretty and fun.

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adodd81802

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 1114

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #4 on: March 08, 2016, 01:39:46 PM

You could consider etudes at any levels, often targeting specific techniques at different levels.

Burgmuller has a set of progressive etudes op.100 I think, available on IMSLP. You could also look at Czerny studies to gauge your current skill level and go from there.

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pianocat3

Jr. Member
Posts: 79

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #5 on: March 08, 2016, 02:41:03 PM

I found many pieces I liked on the university of Iowa piano pedagogy channel on YouTube. Maybe those pieces are all too easy for you now.

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visitor

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 5294

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #6 on: March 08, 2016, 02:47:04 PM

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chopinlover01

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 2118

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #7 on: March 08, 2016, 04:08:19 PM

Bach two part inventions:

Chopin Mazurkas:

And this one would be a HUGE challenge, but you could probably manage it depending on your skillset.

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huaidongxi

Sr. Member
Posts: 269

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #8 on: March 09, 2016, 06:55:12 PM

chopinlover, would you be so kind as to provide details (opus number, key) for the mazurka ? confess to ignorance with much of his work. dankon. peace

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chopinlover01

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Sr. Member
Posts: 2118

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #9 on: March 10, 2016, 02:51:19 AM

Just about any of them (except perhaps for the later ones, like Op. 50 - 63) are doable. That said, I'll give some recommendations.
Op. 6 #1, F sharp minor
#2, C sharp minor
#3, E major
#4, E flat minor (short and quick, not a bad choice)
Op. 17 #2, E minor
#4, A minor
Op. 24 #1, G minor
#4, B flat minor

Any of those should be doable. Cheers!

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huaidongxi

Sr. Member
Posts: 269

Re: Need help finding a new piece to improve my all around ability of playing piano.

Reply #10 on: March 10, 2016, 08:52:43 AM

dankon, chopinlover. three coincidences. a few days ago started to work on the op.17 a minor mazurka, because it seemed to have a unique sound among the mazurkas and the voicings of the chords appealed to me -- bill evans-ish. the ravel pavanne was the last piece in my studies as a youth nearly fifty years ago, before my musical interests wandered elsewhere. third, my family could be said to have its origins in Portland, because there my father began his new life in the u.s., and meeting my mother (many immigration barriers at the time) required a number of random circumstances to fit together.

have a pleasant, wet as usual, spring. peace

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