Currently I'm working on Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, I have that at around 90% Also working on some Satie but the crazy left hand travel will take some more practice to get used to.
So.. any good recommendations?
Good intermediate level MIDIs?
No explicit, hateful, or hurtful language. Nothing illegal.
I'm having trouble finding music that's at my current level of ability, what I find online is either too simple, too hard, or has every note at 100% volume and cheesy instrumentals in the background, (which my little piano faithfully plays with instruments straight from 80's hip hop.)
Currently I'm working on Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, I have that at around 90% Also working on some Satie but the crazy left hand travel will take some more practice to get used to.
So.. any good recommendations?
Currently I'm working on Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, I have that at around 90% Also working on some Satie but the crazy left hand travel will take some more practice to get used to.
So.. any good recommendations?
I think the first movement of Moonlight Sonata and Für Elise are actually around the same level. One may seem simpler than the other at first glance, but they tackle different technical challenges, and are thus at the same level of difficulty for different reasons. In Für Elise, there are sections that require complex finger patterns and swift movement. The first movement of Moonlight has the equally demanding challenge of having to play both melody and accompaniment in one hand - and the melody is played with the weakest fingers on your right hand! Not only that, you have to maintain a quieter level for the accompaniment, make the melody stand out (but not too much), and make the melody rise and fall with the emotion of the music, keeping the balance between all the parts, all the time! It is much more difficult than it seems, but it is an amazing feeling when you get it. Even professional pianists have to study this piece for months to really grasp and bring out the emotion in it.
What other tunes can you play, that are around the hardest level of difficulty you can manage at the moment? I can try and estimate the grade level, and then offer recommendations for pieces at the same (or similar) level.
In the UK, and in Australia, there are 8 grade levels, and in Canada there are 10. (Canada's Grade 10 is about the same as Grade 8 in the UK or Australia.) As a guide, Für Elise is at Grade 5 in the UK (so it would be Grade 6 or 7 in Canada).
I am currently studying for Grade 7 (I am in the UK), and this is one of the pieces I am studying at the moment. It's definitely more advanced than Für Elise! Unfortunately, most of the nicer pieces tend to be at higher grade levels, but there are some nice ones at Grade 5 level. For example, Robert Schumann's Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Of foreign lands and peoples) from his suite of pieces called Kinderszenen (Opus 15), is classified as Grade 5 level in the UK. It was an exam piece at this level in 2009-2010, at the same time I was taking Grade 5.
What other tunes can you play, that are around the hardest level of difficulty you can manage at the moment? I can try and estimate the grade level, and then offer recommendations for pieces at the same (or similar) level.
In the UK, and in Australia, there are 8 grade levels, and in Canada there are 10. (Canada's Grade 10 is about the same as Grade 8 in the UK or Australia.) As a guide, Für Elise is at Grade 5 in the UK (so it would be Grade 6 or 7 in Canada).
I am currently studying for Grade 7 (I am in the UK), and this is one of the pieces I am studying at the moment. It's definitely more advanced than Für Elise! Unfortunately, most of the nicer pieces tend to be at higher grade levels, but there are some nice ones at Grade 5 level. For example, Robert Schumann's Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Of foreign lands and peoples) from his suite of pieces called Kinderszenen (Opus 15), is classified as Grade 5 level in the UK. It was an exam piece at this level in 2009-2010, at the same time I was taking Grade 5.
Well, that's the problem, Moonlight Sonata 1st movement is pretty much the only piano piece I know at the moment. I've had my keyboard about a month now and that's the first thing I wanted to learn. I did take about two years of lessons when I was a kid, but that was 15 years ago and even if I could remember the pieces I learned, they'd just be the dumbed down versions.
Based on the pieces you listed I'd say around level 5 on your UK scale. Von fremden laendern und menschen sounds pretty simple, I'll be able to pick that up quickly. What throws me off the most are pieces that have fast arpeggios or require leaping a few octaves without any time to find your place. I have been working on the Hanon and Czerny MIDIs to fix that, though.
Based on the pieces you listed I'd say around level 5 on your UK scale. Von fremden laendern und menschen sounds pretty simple, I'll be able to pick that up quickly. What throws me off the most are pieces that have fast arpeggios or require leaping a few octaves without any time to find your place. I have been working on the Hanon and Czerny MIDIs to fix that, though.
I don't really advocate the use of Hanon. They're just repeated patterns and stuff, which is good for warming up and learning a few common patterns, but for what you describe (accuracy for leaps and jumps, and arpeggios), they're not ideal. Czerny may be slightly better, but I have the perfect thing for you!
Burgmüller's Opus 100 (25 Easy and Progressive Studies) is ideal! These are 25 stylistically different pieces, ranging from UK grade 3 to UK grade 5 in level (they have been used as exam pieces at these grades for years) - and rather than playing endless repetitive exercises, you'll actually be increasing your technique while actually playing real pieces of music! (Much better than Hanon, in my opinion!) You can learn them and perform them for others, and still keep working on them for years to build up your technique and expression.
Although they are all good pieces to improve your playing (and I recommend learning them all), some of the pieces in the set that directly relate to your technical weaknesses are No. 2 - Arabesque, No. 6 - Progrès, No. 7 - Le Courant Limpide, No. 11 - La Bergeronnette, No. 14 - La Styrienne (this one is perfect for you, I think), No. 21 - L'Harmonie des Anges, No. 23 - Le Retour (this one is good to get accurate with arpeggios in the left hand - see the middle section), No. 24 - L'hirondelle (this one was a Grade 5 piece in 2009-2010), and No. 25 - La Chevaleresque (this one was a Grade 5 exam piece in 2006-2009).
Unfortunately, the pianist in these links doesn't play the pieces to a high performance standard, but this is enough to let you get a feel for the tunes. The actual pieces are about 1.5 to 2 times longer than they are in these videos, because some of the sections in each piece repeat. (The pianist in the videos has chosen not to repeat any sections.) These are very well known pieces, so there are many other people playing them on YouTube if you don't like this pianist. (I chose to use him as an example because this was the only complete set of pieces I could find where each set was played on the same piano, and each piece was in a different video. This pianist has also played the same pieces again on a digital piano, which might be better for you to hear the pieces in greater detail.)
My previous piano teacher said that even after playing and teaching the pieces in this set for over 20 years, he is still learning many things from them. I suggest you give them a shot!
Burgmüller's Opus 100 (25 Easy and Progressive Studies) is ideal! These are 25 stylistically different pieces, ranging from UK grade 3 to UK grade 5 in level (they have been used as exam pieces at these grades for years) - and rather than playing endless repetitive exercises, you'll actually be increasing your technique while actually playing real pieces of music! (Much better than Hanon, in my opinion!) You can learn them and perform them for others, and still keep working on them for years to build up your technique and expression.
Although they are all good pieces to improve your playing (and I recommend learning them all), some of the pieces in the set that directly relate to your technical weaknesses are No. 2 - Arabesque, No. 6 - Progrès, No. 7 - Le Courant Limpide, No. 11 - La Bergeronnette, No. 14 - La Styrienne (this one is perfect for you, I think), No. 21 - L'Harmonie des Anges, No. 23 - Le Retour (this one is good to get accurate with arpeggios in the left hand - see the middle section), No. 24 - L'hirondelle (this one was a Grade 5 piece in 2009-2010), and No. 25 - La Chevaleresque (this one was a Grade 5 exam piece in 2006-2009).
Unfortunately, the pianist in these links doesn't play the pieces to a high performance standard, but this is enough to let you get a feel for the tunes. The actual pieces are about 1.5 to 2 times longer than they are in these videos, because some of the sections in each piece repeat. (The pianist in the videos has chosen not to repeat any sections.) These are very well known pieces, so there are many other people playing them on YouTube if you don't like this pianist. (I chose to use him as an example because this was the only complete set of pieces I could find where each set was played on the same piano, and each piece was in a different video. This pianist has also played the same pieces again on a digital piano, which might be better for you to hear the pieces in greater detail.)
My previous piano teacher said that even after playing and teaching the pieces in this set for over 20 years, he is still learning many things from them. I suggest you give them a shot!