For hobby pianists, one good way of going about it is to find a tune/piece that you like, then checking the estimated difficulty (pianosyllabus) is a great website for that, and practicing accordingly. Fur Elise / Bagatelle in A minor is roughly a Grade 5 piece (the starting bit is closer to a Grade 3, if I remember correctly). Of the list, I like Melodie, but then again, that is because I love its cheerful tune and, of course being in the c major key… and I think that that is important for hobby pianists - to learn what you like. If I have to recommend something out of this list, I’d go Spinnliedchen by Ellnenreich (Spinning Song) and Teasing Song by Bartok though I suspect the technique in those piece is a bit closer to Fur Elise. (EDIT: If I were to shoot for something simpler, maybe Petzold's Minuet in G major (or the one that is sometimes attributed to Bach). It is relatively simple, a catchy enough tune, and recognisable enough for the player to know if they are doing it right). Yes, grades can be subjective but then again, recommendations are inherently subjective to begin with.
Very true. I think trying to find "good" intermediate music is a massive search for all of us. Like, we shouldn't expect learners (adults or kids) to have to hate the music they play for years until they reach a point of playing middle to upper int music.
#11 coming in at the end for the save!!! 😄 But yeah, I'm with you, such a cool, mysterious sound. I just couldn't cut it out. I love the Bartok, but I wanted another style represented for the 20th century as well.
Good list, throwing in 3 more because, well , why not? Reinhold Gliere, Rondo in G - One and a half page long rondo with a cute theme. Mozart, little Funeral March in C Minor - One Page long funeral March with nice balance of dramatic chords and somber melody Chopin, Cantabile in b flat major - A Miniature of 24 Bars that is a perfect introduction to his Style.
Wonderful list! I'm sure these lists can be really useful for both teachers and beginners themselves. I have to check out Zipoli in more detail some time - I discovered a few others of his pieces a while ago, which are probably around the level of Fur Elise, or slightly above. The Khatchaturian is beautiful, and I had never heard it before - thank you for that one in particular! You obviously already know this, but for other visitors: almost all of Schumann's "Album for the Young" would fit the bill. And I think that much of "Kinderszenen" (Scenes from Childhood), while slightly harder, would still fit. In particular the famous "Traeumerei", and my own personal favorite, "Child Falling Asleep". Also "Of Foreign Lands and People" and "The Poet Speaks". A slightly silly but fun one is "Tartine de Beurre" (Bread&Butter), ascribed to Mozart. Not a very interesting piece musically, but charming because of all the glissandos, which would make it fun to play for people. Many of Bach's 2-part inventions are probably also at the right level. A little off the beaten path would be Cimarosa's Piano Sonatas, each just one movement (like Scarlatti). In particular, Number 29 in c minor (there are different numberings, so make sure you get one in c minor) is very beautiful and easy, and became the first movement of "his" oboe concerto (an arrangement of 4 sonatas as an oboe concerto made in the 20th century).
Thanks for this video. I found Keith Snell Piano Repertoire, Baroque & Classical Level 2 and think those songs are just lovely yet easier than Fur Elise. The electric piano in this video doesn't sound as good as some acoustical pianos ones used by other teachers.
This "Für Elise" you talk about is just the main theme or are you taking into account the two episodes in-between as well. The first one is very agile and requires some dexterity, and the second as a long arpeggio, chromatic scales and requires mastery of voicing to play those chords well and with the correct articulation.
It's interesting that the majority of those pieces are in the RCM syllabus and the grade level range quite widely (Melody is Grade 2 and Evening in the Country is Grade 8). Though I believe Für Elise is in Grade 7 according to RCM
Thanks for the added context. I definitely don't base my ratings off a single syllabus, but it's always interesting to compare. For example, I just went through the RCM syllabus and it looks like (of the pieces that they have) I have a three 3s (Melody seems to be a 3 in this version, not 2), two 4s, one 5, two 6s, and one 8 (Even in the Country). I tried to mention throughout the video which pieces were easier or harder and it's fairly close. So I'm pretty happy with how we line up expect of course Evening in the Country. I did mention in the video however that I consider Evening in the Country to be the nearest to Für Elise in difficulty, so at least we agree there. I guess a video of "10 level 5 RCM pieces I like" could be interesting, but I would rather give my opinion and leveling rather than copy their work. I do think it is a very good ranking and system they've developed, and it's super helpful when talking about students level in general. Also, just for fun, I looked up Jane MaGrath's level of the two pieces and she has Für Elise as a 7 and Evening in the Country as a 5!!!! Lol. Not that I based my video on her rankings either, but it's funny to see a 3 level swing between two very reputable sources. I bet tempo of both pieces influences the leveling quite a bit. We all know how differently the middle sections of Für Elise can be interpreted, but the Bartok is similar in that sense. One edition I have simply says "Vivo, non rubato" for the 2 fast sections. If it was a 130-150 video that would be much different than a 180+ vivo. Does the RMC curriculum give an exact tempo? I have another edition "Celebrate Bartok" that says 144, but I don't believe that's from Bartok. Thanks again for checking out the video and adding more information here in the comments.
@@ryanabshier Thanks for the detailed response. It's interesting that the grading system has different criteria across organizations. For example, I remember having a "Children's Pieces" piano book with a different British grading system and progressive difficulty, but I disagree with it as "Fur Elise" appeared before many lower difficulty songs including "Spinning Song" in your list (which I learned before and felt more like RCM Grade 5). And yes, the RCM grade system gives specified tempo ranges for every piece. Double-checked "Evening at the Country" also has 144 tempo for the fast section, which could explain the high graded difficulty with all the sixteenth notes.
Great vid! Keep it going. You've got some original material. Still missing John Field jkjk I'm thinking of a few more... 1. Tchaikovsky Album for the Young Op. 39 no. 3 Mamma 2. Schubert Piano sonata No. 13 In A op. 120 Andante 3. Mozart Adagio for glass harmonica k. 356 4. R. Schumann Albumblatter op. 124 no. 16 Slumber song
I think there's a super famous orchestral recording of it that's used somewhere (maybe someone can tell us where???). I think I heard it that way first, then realized later that's an arrangement and Handel's original was leyboard.
There were two pieces that were apparently popular in my mother's generation, but which I don't seem to be able to find any reference to online: One is called "Flower Dreams" and the other is called "Caravan." One of my aunts said that the second was by Rimsky-Korsakov, but I don't know if she's right. It does seem rather Russian in flavor. It's in a minor key, but with an emphasis on the dominant, on which it ends. Either of these familiar to you or anyone else?
I play now the pathetique 1st and 2nd movement en now I practice the 3rd movement. But I think the 3rd movement is harder than the 1st movement. What do you think?
I also learned all three movements. In my humble opinion the 3rd was the easiest both to play and to understand. The 1st is way too dramatic and fullllll of energy. How well you play the intro defines what you will play in the Allegro con brio, plus there are rapid left hand tremolos all over the thing, uncomfortable left hand chords (full of inversions) in the first eb major theme, learning how to use the silence as a musical element in your interpretation, extreme ff's next to piano markings, etc. The 2nd despite being the slow one, also has big contrasts and has the challenge of voicing the melody on top of a a dense accompaniment. It's also tricky to play the sforzandos in the context of a piano and pianissimo. The 3rd one repeats the theme a lot, and it has some uncomfortable passages but not as many as the first movement. For me it has a clear rondo form, and maybe i didn't get to play it as much as the others, but everytime I play it it feels like pop music or something not Beethoven like, pherhaps it feels more like chamber music rather than purely piani music
@@tijn5446 I do study music! But not at a conservatoire. Maybe in the future I will, but I would have to study 2x more because getting accepted is really hard
Love the conversation here and @shimyy5658, thanks for the long detailed response! I do personally feel the 1st movement is harder to learn and play, however, when I've taught it my students they've struggled with the 3rd quite a bit too. This could be due to burnout. You learn the first movement over a long period of time and get the satisfaction of watching it improve, and then starting over with the 3rd can be a challenge mentally. But also I think the requirements to play the movements are very different. I would agree with @shimyy5658 that the 1st movement is tougher to pull off, being a more complicated sonata form that also includes the slow intro (that returns). And I've seen the Allegro section played great but people struggle playing the intro rhythmically AND musically so much that the audience is checked out by the 2nd page. Also, the 1st simply has more sections while the 3rd is a 7-part Rondo (A - B - A - C - A - B - A coda). Seems complicated, but you get to play that A section a lot so more free notes you don't have to learn. However, the 3rd movement I think has challenged my students because...it's fast, haha. It seems too simple of an answer, but it has a lot of fast notes with less sound/power to back it up. So it can sound a little naked at times. This isn't to say Beethoven wrote it wrong, but simply different than the 1st movement. So I'd say if you've played the 1st, go for the 3rd! Just don't expect easy and you'll be good. (also, switching between normal and triplets seems to kill people in the 3rd movement, so start practicing that early on)
Are we talking intro Fur Elise, or B and C theme Fur Elise? Cus I've been playing for like a month and a half and can do the intro consistently but the B and C themes are way beyond my current skill level
I'm comparing them to the whole piece. So if you can play the first section but not the rest, these pieces should help fill that gap! Many of them are harder than (or at least similar to) the first section, but on a whole are easier than all Für Elise.
I went through a Kabalevsky phase several years ago, he's great and for sure has pieces that would fit into this list!!! Can you recommend some of your favorites? As I mentioned at the end of the video, I had to make tons of cuts to get the number down. But once you have only 3 or so pieces per era, it's just impossible to fit everyone. So I would love the comment section to be full of pieces for further study. Maybe which pieces you like and why you like them.
@@123SLM123 I'm guaranteed to get this comment whenever I make a video about this piece. It's just the way we say it. Just like we say BeethoVen and not Beethofen. Or Fir and not Fooh-uh. Extremely famous people and works take on new pronunciation in new languages. You can't really win saying Für Elise as an English speaker. I've listened to lots of Germans and they love using English words and giving them a German vowel pronunciation. It's cool, nothing wrong with it at all. It just means the English word is super popular that it's being adapted into multiple languages. Thanks for watching the fiteo!
@@123SLM123 burn, German insult. I didn't call you German though. Beethoven spoke German, and you're talking about how I pronounced German, that's all. I don't think anyone is against anyone here.
@@ryanabshier it was meant as a joke. I love the Germans. But as far as your explanation goes, I disagree. Saying German words with an English accent is fine. Misspronouncing a name never is.
