Q. For the past recitals I've played Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu as well as his Nocturne op. 9 no. 1.
I have also learned Rachmaninoff's prelude in c # minor for my final recital.
For the one coming up next, I want to lean a piece by a composer other than these, but I'm not sure where to start my searching haha.
I want it to be challenging, but not impossible for my skill level.
A. Here are some pieces, in increasing order of difficulty.
Poulenc: Improvisation 15
This piece breaks my heart. It's easy to play. Also, free sheet music for this is difficult to find, so I'll leave a link for you. You don't have to make an account--mouse over the pages you want, right click, "Save As," and print from your desktop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WqBJIz8khM
http://www.scribd.com/doc/11102666/Francis-Poulenc-Les-15-Improvisations
Liszt: Consolation 3
Very popular. I've tired of it, but you might like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfDmUk7ie6s&feature=related
Tchaikovsky: June (Barcarolle)
It has its difficult moments, but it's not so hard. Kind of sad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBDAklpf8X4
Schubert: Impromptu op. 90-2
Don't be alarmed by the speed of it, because most of the runs are only E-flat Major scales or broken chords. You also have to kind of vibrate your foot for pedaling. You don't want it to sound dry, nor do you want it to sound like its drowning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGbh_oAwuOE
Chopin: Nocturne op. 27-2
It takes a while to learn each hand, but once you do, it's not so hard to put both hands together. There are also a couple tricky runs towards the end (3:39, 4:22)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ8RVjm49hE
Chopin: The Bees
I've always thought this etude was sort of adorable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyDemhTTDYk
Scriabin: Piano Sonata 2-1
I'm currently working on this. It's rather difficult to bring out the melody. There are also a lot of tricky seven-against-this and five-against-that and whatnot. Very rewarding, though, and extremely beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT4IFD5ue0k
You can find free sheet music for all of these pieces at this website. You don't need an account, it's free, and it's safe.
http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page
How do cadences and triads work in piano?
Q. Apparently I need to end my triads (G, E, F, A flat and D flat major and minor) with something called a "cadence" (V-I) and I'm having a hard time figuring out how they work exactly. May I please have an example of one, or how they work?
A. First, a cadence is a sequence of chords; two basically. The V-I (5-1) cadence in Gmaj, for example, is Dmaj-Gmaj because D is the 5-triad (the "dominant") in G.
Draw or copy the "clock of fifths" so you can find V-I (5-1) pairs and (3-6) pairs quickly (that is, dominant-tonic pairs). Clockwise, lay out C at noon, G at one-o'clock, then around to six o'clock with D, A, E, B, F#.
From C counterclockwise now, label the hours 11, 10 etc with F, Bflat, Eflat, Aflat, Dflat, Gflat (at 6-o'clock along with F#). The clockwise neighbor of any triad or key name is its dominant triad or key. Memorize the clock of dominants so well that your dentist can see it engraved on your teeth.
For minor, the 3-6 cadence is the final cadence comparable to 5-1 in major. However, many pieces are in harmonic minor, where the dominant (the 3-triad) is major.
For example, Aflat minor's dominant is E-flat, but which? major or minor? The pure minor 3-6 cadence (parallel to 5-1 of major) is [Aflat minor - Dflat minor], but the harmonic minor [3maj-6] cadence is [Aflat major - Dflat minor].
Of course, you have to play through or read through the piece to see whether it's pure (natural) minor or harmonic minor.
How do you figure out major and minor triads for piano?
Q. I don't understand how you know when you have a flat or sharp in the major or minor triad. Can you give me an example? Maybe explain the A major and minor triads. I really don't understand that one.
A. A triad is built of two 3rds (intervals) that combine to make up a 5th.
in a minor this looks like A C E. the distance between A and C is a third and so is the distance between C and E. The distance between A and E is a 5th.
However, there are two different types of 3rds involved here.
In an a minor triad the first (lower) interval is a minor 3rd which is 3 half steps. The second is a Major 3rd which is 4 half steps. In order to change the minor triad to a Major you would sharp the C which would add a half step to the lower 3rd making it Major and the upper 3rd is minor since it lost a half step
Basically play a key on the piano, walk up 3 half steps and play that note, then another 4 half steps and play that note. There's your minor triad.
Now take the minor triad and bump the middle note up 1 half step and you've got a major triad.
**all this is referring to the tonic chord in root position, without any inversions
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Title : What classical piece should I play for my next piano recital?
Description : Q. For the past recitals I've played Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu as well as his Nocturne op. 9 n...