I am a 13 year old grade 5 piano student.

I have very small hands compared to ot

her people my age, my hand span being only 17cm (the distance between your thumb
and pinkie when stretched out as far as possible) so when I play my piano piece
s I find if there are any stretches past an octave I have to alter the notes.
I am playing Gymnopdie No.1 at the moment for my grade 5 piano exam and what I fo
und is if you cant reach some of the chords in the left hand change it so the to
p note of the chord is played in the right hand.
Today I had a go at playing Comptine D un Autre t, L Aprs-midi. Even though the left ha
nd stretch is only an octave in this piece I found my left hand getting too tire
d after just the first 4 bars. What I did was I cut out the low e and d and just
played the high ones, the b, and the g. This actually sounds quite good and mak
es the piece a lot easier for people like me who have small hands :)
Hope this helps!
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Sam Amy 2 years ago
Amy - as far as your small hands go, they do grow. So, you actually do them a di
sservice by being, effectively, lazy. You would be better served by playing prop
erly, which would actually exercise your hands and strengthen them.
Been there, done that.
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Dark_Space Sam
2 years ago
Improvising shouldn't be characterized as lazy. Most decent musicians add their
own flavor to songs, work around parts that don't work for them, and make them t
heir own. I realize that's more applicable away from classical music, but lazy i
s a better description for the kids who just give up on it at 13. Lazy is a pret
ty harsh, and not correct in this case, term to throw around at a teenager who i
s putting forth ideas around a clearly genuine interest in something.
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Dan Prunier Sam 2 years ago
They're saying they can't yet reach the notes so they adapted rather than give u
p and stop. I'm done growing and my hands stopped growing also years ago. I can
relate to what you mean because some people rather just skip parts than make an
extra effort in nailing them, but in the case of Amy I was mentioning it's not a
t all what you said. Simply unable so improvised to work through it.
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SteveThomas39 Sam 2 years ago
One of the pieces I've been working on has a very awkward four note ninth, that
I have abbreviated to a three note seventh because it is physically painful to p
lay. I am not being lazy, I am being sensible. Maybe one day I'll have the manua
l dexterity to play that ninth, but until I do, struggling to play it and riskin
g injury to my hand in the process would be foolish, and would only serve to dis
courage me from becoming better. Hopefully, Amy has a teacher with the wisdom to
recognize her ingenuity.
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sam 2 years ago
This is utterly ridiculous>
firstly, you are clearly not a pianist - you have no idea of the level of diffic
ulty of these pieces. "Comptine..." can be played reasonably well the first inst
ance, even with only mediocre sight reading skill. Clair de Lune, Bagatelle, Rev
olutionary Etude - these are in no way easy pieces. Even Moonlight Sonata 1st mo
vement requires great skill to play well, to distinguich a pianist from one whi
hits keys thoughtlessly. Either you are not a pianist, a terrible one, or one so
hugely prodigal and talented that one of Chopin's etudes is easy for you - but
I suspect simply ignorant.
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SteveThomas39 sam
2 years ago
Hmm. I play the Bagatelle passably well after two months practicing piano with n
o lessons yet (very excited to be starting them soon),along with a good portion
of the first movement of Mozart's Sonata Facile (which I think would be a great
candidate for this list) and all but the second jazzy section of Vince Guaraldi'
s Linus and Lucy (original transcription in A flat major). Granted, none are rea
dy to perform yet, but if I can do it just starting piano after my 50th birthday
, I should think that anyone can. I think Fur Elise is a great piece to start wi
th. It's just a matter of practice and desire. My goal is to be playing the thir
d movement of the Moonlight Sonata by my fifty-third...
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Gabriel sam a year ago
Completely agree...just because learning "Moonlight Sonata" , that is knowing wh
ich keys to press is not that hard, does not make it an easy piece because it re
quires a technical level and touch that if not done will just be butchering it!
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Jon sam 2 years ago
I am not one that plays the piano much, I more teach myself however Clair de Lun
e, a lot of it is repetition and quite easy. The only hard part about it is gett
ing it to tempo
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nothanks 2 years ago
Most of this list is laughable. You're going to make people who would otherwise
be good at piano think that they have no talent when they try and fail at learni
ng these. I've been playing for years and most of these are still way out of my
league.
There's this phenomenon where beginners come to experts for instruction, but exp
erts forget what it's like to be a beginner and just take this "lol it's not tha
t hard" attitude. Yeah, it's not that hard if you're exponentially better than t
he level of people you're trying to instruct. Otherwise it's a disaster.
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not so great pianist nothanks 2 years ago
Agreed. The demographic that is going to be looking at this page is younger pian
ists who are no where near skilled enough to play some of these masterpieces tha
t require many years experience.
It's going to discourage many people, myself included. Trying to play pieces tha
t exceed ones level could breed a pianist who ignores the technique and emotion
that are required to play these bigger pieces.
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minidude179
2 years ago
none of those are easy lol then again i do suck
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Mauricio 4 years ago
You are obviously amateur.
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kassandra 2 years ago
I don't know what kind of pianist you are but I have been playing piano for 13 y
ears and these aren't exactly "beginner" pieces
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Dan Prunier kassandra

a year ago
Not sure it ever said that they were "beginner" pieces. Not trying to put down y
our playing, but you can play for one year and be quite skilled and you can also
play for 13 years and be horrible (or not up to par). It really depends on to m
any "X-factors". One of which is challenging ones self. That I think is the abso
lute biggest I see people lack. People (not all) tend to never stray far from th
eir comfort zone, or challenge themselves one bit. I see it daily in people and
it's sad. I know a couple people that can play just about anything that you give
them in sheet music, but take that away and they'll just look at the piano. Tha
t and how so many people never sound good, period. Sure they learn the notes but
are the most mechanical sounding "pianists" I've ever had the misfortune to lis
ten to. Anywho, if these are to challenging now, revisit them down the road. If
down the road comes and they still are above you, then chances are you're keepin
g yourself at whatever level you're at. It's not necessarily a bad thing though.
If people are content with say, playing nothing but a few traditional folk song
s with very easy fingering, then that's fine, as long as they truly are content
with that. However, if they only play such music, or don't believe in themselves
, then they'll never grow. I think what I see a lot of are people that learn for
the love of the music, but get to that point where they just want to hear their
playing rather than work again at it and maybe sound mediocre once again. I can
relate to that one the most anyway since I think of myself as a mild casual pla
yer and when I play, I tend to want to use my time playing what I know since it'
s so rare these days that I bother.
This list is challenging, without a doubt, but none of the songs to me look outs
ide of the scope of the article. In fact, I never would have attempted a couple
had I not looked at them as described. Once I saw them played, I saw how repetit
ive they were and with some commitment, I'm sure I'll learn them just fine.
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Dub A
3 years ago
Etude Op. 10 12 is not an easy song. I love it none the less.
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Dan Prunier
2 years ago
Many thanks to the author of this great list. So many people are upset with this
list on here and you need to take a lot of comments with a grain of salt and si
mply imagine who googled what you did to find it. I understand the disapointment
so many are venting about, but I actually am ready for most of this list and li
ke the author would imagine others would want this list that were looking for so
ngs that sound much more difficult than they were to play. Sure, you could googl
e this after only playing a few months and be outraged. I'm nothing like pure ta
lent and I've only taken one piano lesson in my entire life. I play mostly by ea
r and have taught myself a little sheet music reading but still a very slow read
. I play only a hobby and 3 of the songs I've investigated on this list I know I
'll be able to play in a couple weeks each. Some songs (fingering) is easier for
some than others. For instance, Fur Elise was a pain for me to learn during som
e parts, yet Beethoven's Emperor seemed to pour out with ease. Now anyone that k
nows the two songs would never compare the two in difficulty but there are a lot
of x factors people don't consider. Basically it's a list I agree with because
maybe I'm just ready for such a list. However, I can easily see my own shock wit
h such a list if I found it with the same search years ago.
It's also extremely important people do not judge their own playing based on suc
h a list because the author was most likely talking to players of his\her own ca
liber. When I hear these pieces I hear the repetition and see the left hand move
ment falls into the category of what I too would say they are MUCH easier than t
hey sound. Some of these sound monumental and some that I would never consider t
ackling (or at least not yet), but glad I did the search and found this list bec

ause in just 3 days I'm already mostly done "The Heart Asks For Pleasure First".
That's a perfect example because listening to that is exactly what this article
is about. It sounds WAYYYY beyond my technical skills and seeing people play it
made me more weary. I was worried about playing it correctly and being able to
put the correct sharp emphasis on certain notes while maintain a moderate flow w
ith the others since it's so fast paced. The way this is played sort of makes su
re the keys you need to attack are played that way, so again, perfect song to co
me up with what I was hoping for. Two others I merely tried a couple of times bu
t already agree they are much easier than I thought they would be but not really
songs I care much about. The Heart Asks For Pleasure First I will master becaus
e it draws me in and I'm blown away how simple it is for me at my personal level
of playing skill.
Thanks again. Lots to learn from this list.
PS. Glad to see Moonlight Sonata. I love songs for their beauty and they don't n
eed to be over the top technical to be special like this. I attempted the third
movement years ago and I'm still not ready for that. Different strokes for diffe
rent folks.
see more
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jtwigz211
3 years ago
I found this other top ten list that is pretty good. It is more aimed at popular
songs that are more like sing alongs. but anyways I learned how to play a coupl
e of them and they will most likely prove useful with a younger crowd
http://SheetMusic211.com/sheet-music/10-great-pia...
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Beethoven
3 years ago
Whatever you say, there is absolutely no way that the Revolutionary Etude should
be on this list. I dare say even Mozart's variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little
Star is an inappropriate choice.
Difficulty is not only about complexity of notes, but in the speed at which they
are meant to be played. If I were to rationalise along your lines, I would pick
the 3rd movement (Presto) of the Moonlight Sonata - it is only arpeggios and so
me chords, after all. Recommend it to anyone who has been playing for less than
5 years and you'll see them struggle immensely.
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Lauren 4 years ago
Amazing list. Comptine D un Autre t, L Aprs-midi is very beautiful. I found the sheet m
usic, I am going to try to play it ^^ I just wish i could pronounce it xD
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Bellatrix
4 years ago
I learned Fur Elise when I was eleven and I just love it! I have to say I prefer
pop music to classical but being a piano player (and secretly wanting to be bet
ter than all my friends), I love playing the classics. Would also recomend the B
lue Danube though.
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eduardo jaramillo
a year ago
Bach's prelude in C is gorgeous and much easier than any of these pieces. I'm no
t sure if it was originally meant for piano, but it's w