Play Chopin

This is a beautiful waltz which is so typically and unmistakeably Chopin. It is not a well known piece, but is well worth taking the time to learn to play.

It is certainly one of the easier Chopin compositions, but there are still a few challenges to overcome. This is a very nice place to start if you want to play Chopin.

Chopin wrote 24 preludes. They range in style from beautiful lilting melodies to exuberant showy pieces. They range in difficulty from manageable to virtually impossible to play.

None of them is easy. Quite a few of them are manageable to a moderately skilled pianist.

Prelude No. 7 in A major is very well known and is amongst the more manageable pieces. Bars 11 and 12 are the most demanding and involve a bit of a stretch of the right hand and a huge chord which can only be played by using the thumb on two notes simultaneously.

Prelude No 4 in E minor is another manageable piece. Bars 17 and 18 are the most demanding here. A big jump in the left hand to a four note chord followed in the next bar by a triplet against two eighth notes.

My recommendation is to buy the whole set of preludes in one book and try a few of them.

People are often put off playing the first prelude as soon as they see the music. The piece looks extremely complicated on paper and it sounds complicated when it is played. However this piece is not as difficult to play as it would appear to be.

Here are a few pointers which may help you if you decide to learn this delightful piece of music:

Pattern - There is a regular pattern that is repeated in each bar. Although the notes vary from bar to bar the pattern remains very similar throughout the whole piece.

Which Hand? - This often causes confusion. The left hand plays the three notes which start each bar in the base clef. The right hand plays everything else.

Rhythm Changes. - The rhythm is slightly different in some bars. I would encourage you to learn the piece first using the rhythm pattern as in the first bar for the whole piece, and then when you know the notes you can make the changes where needed to perfect the piece.

Speed - This piece does not have to be played fast. In my opinion many pianist play it too fast and lose much of the beauty of the harmonic changes which it contains. Play it smoothly and with feeling and it will sound great.