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This thread is to discuss beginner level repertoire from all sources.

Everyone is welcome to participate. My hope is that this will be a place for the beginner to share their trials and experiences, as well as recordings, while working through material. Genre should not preclude participation. All beginner level material is welcome. If necessary, we can open new specific book/series discussion topics.

This should be a place of support, motivation and a source of inspiration.


Book/Series Specific Topics:

Masterwork Classics, Level 3

Right now I am working through the Faber Adult level 1, and playing some of my favorites from the Alfred Adult level 1 series. I've put my AIO 2 on hold for now. I have learned several pieces from the Masterwork Classics Level 1-2, but haven't played any of those for several months. I guess, with these two threads, I will pick it up and see if I can complete it and then move on to Level 3.

I've also learned a few of the "Keyboard Classics" from the Free Piano Music (Gil DeBennedetti)site, like the Latour Sonatina, and Musette.

It will be interesting to see what other beginners are playing. I appear to be a really slow learner, even by self-teaching standards, so I may be in these threads forever. LOL!

My digital does record, but I've never managed to get a decent recording (severe red dot fever as well as never remembering exactly how to work the record function). I also have no way of getting any potential recording onto my computer which is a desktop and on a different floor from the piano. So for now, I will obviously not be posting any recordings, but would love to hear anyone else's.

"...as well as recordings"

Excellent idea. I'm going to post audio files from my starting place which is:

Robert Schumann: op.68 Album fur die Jugend
43 studies, level 1-5 as rated by Henle

I've said this before, I will say it again. And again and again.

'Fundamental Keys' by Rachel Jimenez is the best piano method I have ever seen, by a VERY WIDE MARGIN.

It's the only book you need. It has SO MUCH really good classical music, starts out very easy and ramps up VERY slowly. Every 'learner' pianist should have a copy of this book.

http://fundamentalkeys.com/

I posted this somewhere else but it may help you. Essentially, these are all the pieces I was given in the first year to year and a half, before the level of Chopin Nocturnes:

Bach - Prelude 1 in C major, WTC book I
Haydn - Folk Song, 76/3
Schubert - Sonatina in G, (don't know op. #)
Schumann - Berceuse (from Albumblätter), 124/6
Beethoven - Gertrude's Dream Waltz (no op. #)
Beethoven - Adieu to the Piano (no op. #)
Schumann - Knight Rupert (from Album for the Young), 68/12
Mozart - Rondo alla Turca, K331/iii
Mendelssohn - Romance (from Songs w/o Words), 102/6
Mendelssohn - Confidence (from Songs w/o Words), 19/4
Schumann - Traumerei (from Kinderszenen), 15/7
Liszt - Landler in A-flat, (don't know op. #)
Chopin - Mazurka, 68/3
Chopin - Prelude, 28/7
Chopin - Prelude, 28/20
Brahms - Waltz, 39/15

I consider this to be a "dangerous" list to give a beginner. Many (most?) will not be able to tackle any of these pieces within the first 1.5 years, hopefully they will be approaching them at that point. These are definitely early intermediate - or even, in some cases, late intermediate works.

Chopin Nocturnes are early advanced upwards.

Fair enough! Teacher knows best, that much is certain. Just an example of my own beginner repertoire--It may not be of help as everybody is different. Chopin nocturnes, waltzes, preludes, and some Beethoven sonatas were intermediate. Chopin ballades, scherzi, sonatas, and much Liszt and Rach, were advanced.

Good luck to the OP!

Changed my mind. I will start with Mozart 15 Easy Piano Pieces. First up, KV6 (I)

Hi everybody, here's a list of the beginner classical pieces I studied in the second half of 2013. My main sources are Pianist Magazine and the First Lessons in Bach books. They are all 1 or 2 pages and last about 1 minute. I ordered them by (my perceived) difficulty. For some of these there are recordings in my soundcloud page.

Bischoff - The Industrious Student (Op. 31 no. 3, Pianist 74)
Attwood - Minuet from Sonatina in G (Pianist 73)
Corelli - Sarabande in Dm (Pianist 73)
Clementi - Arietta in C (Pianist 73)
Czerny - Study in D (Op. 187 no. 49, Pianist 66)
Telemann - Gigue à l’anglaise (Pianist 66)
Mozart - Allegro in F (K1c, Pianist 74)
Mozart - German Dance in F (K605, Pianist 71)
Haydn - Gipsy Dance in Cm (Pianist 71)
Schumann - Melodie (Op. 68 no. 1)
Bach - Minuet in Gm (First Lessons in Bach 8)
Bach - Minuet in Gm (First Lessons in Bach 7)
Bach - Musette in G major (First Lessons in Bach 11)
Bach - Little Prelude in C major (BWV939)
Tchaikovsky - Italian Song (Op. 39 no. 15)

I found this work very useful, it really gave me a boost last year when I felt I wasn't getting anywhere with Alfred's book 3. I think they showed me a good variety of patterns and techniques, and although they all look very simple and easy to play slowly, I found some of them quite hard to polish.

In the next few months, while also learning a couple of early intermediate pieces, I intend to continue with this kind of work and add more grade 1-3 short pieces like these. At the same time I'm also reading 1 or 2 pages every day from Beyer's op. 101 and Czerny's op. 599, and find it quite useful and relaxing.

sinophilia, that is a nice list. From your past comments I started to pick up copies of the Pianist Magazine. It has not been so easy to find in the US. The teaching articles are very good, including the ones by Graham Fitch. And the leveled scores (beginner, intermediate, advanced) are terrific - having only tried the beginner ones. As I accumulate issues, I look forward to trying the more intermediate ones down the road.

scorpio, don't forget to check the videos on Pianist's YouTube channel, they are invaluable, even if one already has a teacher. I receive the digital issue of the magazine and then print out only the scores that I want to learn. I'll be able to tell you what's on the next issue at the end of the week. Most classical pieces are also available for free on IMSLP but I need all the technical advice I can get.

Just a reminder of this spreadsheet that lists quite a few classical pieces by composer and grade (and can be sorted). It can be used as a starting point to find pieces at one's level.
link to graded pieces Excel spreadsheet

Most of the pieces will be in various books or available for download at IMSLP here.

That's a really good idea - never thought of the digital version. I plan to look into it. I do like the CD that comes with the hardcopy.

Here are the primary books I am currently working with:

• Suzuki Piano School- New International Edition- Volume Two
• First Lessons in Bach: 28 Pieces (Schirmer Performance Editions)
• Burgmuller, Czerny & Hanon: 32 Piano Studies for Technique and Musicality

If you want to check the grading on a piece of music the Piano Syllabus website has a searchable database of many thousands of pieces.

Terrific website. Thanks for the resource.

Henle also has a pretty good grading system. Some beginner repertoire I like and used to play:
Bach: a couple 2-part inventions, preludes
Czerny exercises (just work through them gradually through the years)
Kuhlau sonatina (the famous one)
Beethoven op 49 no 1 and 2 (harder to play well than the others IMO)
Chopin polonaise in g minor
Some easier Mozart sonata movements
Schumann album for the young

The new issue of Pianist is out and there are a few nice beginner/intermediate pieces... Mozart's Minuet K6, Delibes' Waltz from Coppelia (very well known tune), Schubert's German Dance D783 no. 5, Burgmuller's Ballade op. 25 no. 15, and Tchaikovsky's In Church. All available from imslp I guess.

Which Kuhlau would be the most famous one? I have never played Kuhlau and haven't heard much of his work either.

Found it, it's op. 20 no. 1