Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Yet another Chopin thread--Nocturne difficulty levels

With the recital, holiday piano bar and Mazurka Marathon looming, I'm probably crazy to start another piece, but some of the Nocturnes are so beautiful that I'd really like to learn one.

Does anybody have a list of Nocturnes and their difficulty levels like the one that Frycek posted on the Mazurka thread? Or is there a thread you could point me to?

Thanks,
rustyfingers (who's thinking of changing her name to bloodyfingers in honor of Halloween and her practicing excesses)

not-so-rustyfingers, according to Eleanor Bailie
no 21 in C minor is grade 6
Nos 2 (9/2), 6 (15/3), 11 (37/1), 15 (55/1), 19 (72/1) and 20 in C sharp minor are grade 7
No 1 (9/1), 5 (15/2), 8 (27/2), 9 (32/1), 10 (32/2) and 14 (48/2) are grade 8
No 4 (15/1), 7 (27/1), 12 (37/2), 13 (48/1), 16 (55/2) 17 (62/1) and 18 (62/2) are grade 8 plus
Op 9/3 is considered "very advanced"

I hope this helps - do you have a favourite?

The grade level is the number immediately before "Chopin."

314 6 Chopin Nocturne in C minor, no. 21
388 8 Chopin Nocturne no. 01 in Bbm (Op. 9 no. 1)
347 7 Chopin Nocturne no. 02 in Eb (Op. 9 no. 2)
448 10 Chopin Nocturne No. 03 in B (Op. 9 no. 3)
426 8 Chopin Nocturne No. 04 in F (Op. 15 no. 1)
391 8 Chopin Nocturne no. 05 in F# (Op. 15 no. 2)
349 7 Chopin Nocturne no. 06 in Gm (Op. 15 no. 3)
427 8 Chopin Nocturne No. 07 in C#m (Op. 27 no. 1)
392 8 Chopin Nocturne no. 08 in Db (Op. 27 no.2)
393 8 Chopin Nocturne no. 09 in B (Op. 32 no. 1
389 8 Chopin Nocturne no. 10 in Ab (Op. 32 no. 2)
343 7 Chopin Nocturne no. 11 in Gm (Op. 37 no. 1)
421 8 Chopin Nocturne No. 12 in G (Op. 37 no. 2)
422 8 Chopin Nocturne No. 13 in Cm (Op. 48 no. 1)
390 8 Chopin Nocturne no. 14 in F# (Op. 48 no. 2)
344 7 Chopin Nocturne no. 15 in Fm (Op. 55 no. 1)
345 7 Chopin Nocturne no. 15 in Fm (Op. 55 no. 1)
423 8 Chopin Nocturne No. 16 in Eb (Op. 55 no. 2)
424 8 Chopin Nocturne No. 17 in B (Op. 62 no. 1)
425 8 Chopin Nocturne No. 18 in E (Op. 62 no. 2)
346 7 Chopin Nocturne no. 19 in Em (Op. posth, 72 no. 1)
348 7 Chopin Nocturne no. 20 in C#m
350 7 Chopin Nocturne no. 11 in Gm (Op. 37 no. 1)

Thank you both !!!!

EDIT: I'm embarassed to admit I don't know one from another. I never played Chopin during my childhood lessons. I have a couple of CDs of the Nocturnes, and while I listen to them occasionally, I've never distinguised them!

The other day a teenager played a beautiful piece in church, and when I asked her what it was, it was another Nocturne (still don't know which though...)

I'm open to recommendations.
Level 7 should be about right for me.

I just listened to my Harasiewicz album, and the weirdest thing happened. With earphones I can hear low but distinct humming of the melody on the recording!

My favorites are probably 9 1 and 2

My personal favourite is #13, op 48/1 in C minor. The one in C sharp minor Op. posth is also very nice and much more manageable for me.
I also rather like the one in B flat minor op 9/1 but I found the middle octave section rather slow going and not as fun to play as the beginning and the end. No 9/2 is probably one of the most recognizable nocturnes though.

I also rather like op 62/1 in B.

Grade levels are fine as a guide, but it is not always true that an 8 is more difficult than a 7.

I have practiced 55.1 (F minor- graded 7) and 32.1 (B major- graded 8) and I find 32.1 easier and 55.1 a bit tricky (what do you say Frycek ).

And 48.1 that is graded 8 is far more difficult than both of them.

R

What Frycek says is that some pieces are easier for some people regardless of Grade level. I found my nr 22 Prelude much harder to get "right" than I have 10/12 (Revolutionary Etude) even though the later is longer, faster, and sounds harder. Both are grade 8. I think 10/12 is my kind of a piece, 28/22 isn't.

Well, I read through 9/1 today, and other than the tricky timing of the ornaments it seemed pretty approachable.

So maybe I'll give it a whirl. Thanks for the thoughts. I'm saving them for future reference. I may change my mind when I get into it.

And I've been thinking a lot about octave fingerings thanks to ShiroKuro's recent questions, so this piece might be a good opportunity to work on that. That might be releavant to some of my Joplin pieces as well.

I absolutely love Chopin's Nocturne in Gm (Op. 15 no. 3). It is one my favorite pieces. Unfortunately it is out of my skill level currently and will probably be so for awhile (3 grades above me), but I will be able to play this piece someday.

FLMikeATT, it's good to have something to aim for! Perhaps you could just learn a bar or two, in readiness?

Hi rustyfingers.

> Well, I read through 9/1 today, and other than
> the tricky timing of the ornaments it seemed
> pretty approachable.

There seem to be a few of us ABFers learning this (although I'm stalled at the moment) so if you decide on it perhaps we should start a study group thread... I find the hardest bit is the legato octaves and getting una-corda ppp to tre-corda f to sound legit in consecutive bars!

I can't believe nocturne opus 9 no.2 is considered level 7... I learned it in pretty much a month...

Wow..

That's all i can say.

Gotta love chopin's nocturnes

I'd be into it, although I'd also be willing to wait for a little while.

Yeah, I could do this but I think I'll wait until I attain a little more skill before I attempt it. It's just not practical for me at this moment (I'm still having trouble with Cristofori's Dream lol).

Chopin's Nocturne in G minor is one of many (like 30 or 40) songs that I aspire to be able to play one day. The thought of being able to play them for myself and for others is what keeps me motivated even when I get frustrated and angry at myself. I guess overcoming self doubt, plateaus, and frustration is something every musician goes through.

Chopin's Nocturnes are the reason I wanted to play the piano!

My favorites are mostly posthumous:

C# minor
C minor
E minor (op.72 no.1)

Also like Op.55 No.1 in F minor.

There are other great ones, like Op 48 no 1 in C minor, but that one is long into the future for me.

diinin, the E minor posthumous one is one of my top favourites too. Chopin was only nineteen when he wrote it.

diinin: Many months ago, we had a study group for the 55.1, in case you are interested.

Here is the link.

Kathleen

Those are my favorite Nocturnes too.

Not too long ago, I played both the 72/1 and 48/1 in one sitting. (old Steinway B piano at some university).
http://www.box.net/shared/e4nah3dduz

C# (box.net took out the # symbol) minor - Op. Posth. (home recording on Kawai CA550 digital)
http://www.box.net/shared/mh0g465cv0

C minor - Op. Posth.
http://www.box.net/shared/8h873pfb7a
I think this is a tough piece to play musically well.

Very nice, LisztAddict; that old Steinway B sounds just wonderful. Your 10/3 playing was also great!