# "Easy" Chopin



## flamencosketches

Okay, maybe "easy" is not the right word here, but bear with me for a moment. I'm a beginner to the piano, having been playing for about 3 months. I'm a big fan of Chopin and he is one of the reasons I picked up the instrument to begin with. What pieces among his are relatively on the easier side, such that a beginner like me might be able to pick it up to a fairly competent level within several months of rigorous practice? Are there any? I'm thinking of learning one or another of the Preludes, none of which I would describe as easy, but compared against his Etudes, Ballades, or Scherzos, they seem attainable. Particularly thinking of the E minor, C minor, or D minor. 

Should I go for it? Maybe there are some others that would be a good introduction to his works (I'm thinking maybe one of the Nocturnes or a shorter Mazurka)? Should I just give it a few years and keep playing other composers' music? For an idea of my skill level, my repertoire is limited to a handful of pieces: the Minuet from the Anna Magdalena Bach notebook, Für Elise, a four-hands transcription of Schubert's Serenade, Kuhlau's Sonatina in C major, Bach's C major prelude from the WTC, etc. 

Curious for everyone's input. Is anyone else here a beginner pianist and a Chopin fan? I'd almost considered making a similar thread about another one of my favorites, Scriabin, but... :lol:


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## bharbeke

I'd look into the polonaises or nocturnes. I know I entered a student piano competition with one of the polonaises, but I cannot remember which one anymore.

I was introduced to a lot of the major composers through the recital and repertoire books from the Alfred line. One such book is here, and it contains a Chopin prelude among its offerings.

Alfred Book


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## Larkenfield

You mention his Preludes. I would definitely try Nos 4, 6, 7, and 15. They should be quite doable in time with diligent practice. Also his Etude Op. 10, No. 3 and the 3rd of his 3 Nouvelles Etudes, Op. posth are not too difficult. Find a good teacher if you can. Half-hour lessons could do wonders and should be affordable. Good luck to you.

For something more contemporary and modern-good practice-try the: Béla Bartók Mikrokosmos and start at the very beginning and work your way through each volume. He takes some getting used to but they will be easy to play and be good ear training.

Good luck.


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## flamencosketches

Luckily, my girlfriend is a professional piano teacher, and a huge Chopin head so I think something can be arranged :lol: I will look into the third Etude too, the Tristesse, as it's called, no? That one always did sound a little more manageable than some of the others. 

I'll look into that Bartok too! I'm trying to keep my repertoire well-rounded, and I don't know how to play anything that counts as modern. I've been getting into his music lately; in fact I'm listening to one of his string quartets right now. 

Thanks!


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

If you've only been playing for 3 months, I don't think you're ready for Chopin yet. To give you a perspective, in the Canadian Royal Conservatory piano program, Chopin is not introduced until grade 8. There are a lot of techniques that you need to have mastered before playing Chopin, even the easy pieces.

Of course you can always learn an easy Chopin piece now and you'll likely play it poorly. Be aware of developing bad habits, if you try to force yourself to play pieces beyond your technical skills.


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## flamencosketches

What are some pieces or composers you'd recommend as an alternative for someone at my skill level? To "warm up" so to speak. 

I have no intentions of becoming a concert pianist, by the way. I'm only playing for myself, hence why I try to choose repertoire I enjoy. But I definitely see where you're coming from with your warning.


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## B e

I would definitely advocate against op. 10/3, the middle section is very tricky, there are easier pieces even among the etudes!

The preludes are definitely a good place to start, I would recommend no. 7 in particular.

The first pieces I played were the polonaise in g minor and the cantabile in b flat major if I remember correctly. You might like the cantabile, it's not very well known but relatively easy and sounds quite "chopinish".

Whatever you end up choosing, good luck!


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## Larkenfield

flamencosketches said:


> Luckily, my girlfriend is a professional piano teacher, and a huge Chopin head so I think something can be arranged :lol: I will look into the third Etude too, the Tristesse, as it's called, no? That one always did sound a little more manageable than some of the others.
> 
> I'll look into that Bartok too! I'm trying to keep my repertoire well-rounded, and I don't know how to play anything that counts as modern. I've been getting into his music lately; in fact I'm listening to one of his string quartets right now.
> 
> Thanks!


Stay positive. You never know what you can do when you apply yourself, and love can be a great motivator.


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## flamencosketches

Larkenfield said:


> Stay positive. You never know what you can do when you apply yourself, and love can be a great motivator.


That's for sure! 

I appreciate everyone's helpful posts. I dismissed the idea of trying the third etude pretty quickly :lol: I could maybe learn the first third of it, but it wouldn't be worth it. I may just move on with something else, but if I do decide on a Chopin piece I'm probably going to go for a prelude. I'm between 4, 6, 7, and 20.


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## hammeredklavier

flamencosketches said:


> I'm thinking of learning one or another of the Preludes, none of which I would describe as easy, but compared against his Etudes, Ballades, or Scherzos, they seem attainable. Particularly thinking of the E minor, C minor, or D minor.


the D minor Prelude is one of the hardest, together with the F sharp minor, B flat minor, E flat major which involve a lot of leaps and arpeggio, scale runs. I would start with some of the technically easier Etudes (Op.10 No.3, 6, Op.25 No.2, 7) or Waltzes or any of the less challenging Nocturnes (except Op.48 No.1) as an introduction to his oeuvre.


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## Schoenberg

If you have a biggish hand span (>10) 25/1 will probably be very easy for you to play.
As said before there are a few playable preludes, and a few of the waltzes (particularily the A minor) and of a few of the polonaises, Nocturnes, and mazurkas would also be playable.
It might be a bit out of your difficulty range but the berceuse is also a lot easier than it looks.


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## pickybear

Ha ha, no such thing.. However, the first piece I learned was "Raindrop" Prelude, Op 28, No. 15


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## dannyrichardson

Hi! If you really want to learn a Chopin piece then I would recommend Prelude in e minor OP28 NO4. This is something that beginner students can learn. You will not be able to play it with the proper dynamics, but it is one that you can really focus on your dynamics with. I learned this beginner piece early and it's truly beautiful.


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## dannyrichardson

Also, I found a really great resource that breaks down easier classical pieces with videos to help you learn! The Chopin piece I recommended is actually in this too:

https://keyboardkraze.com/best-classical-beginner-piano-songs-for-aspiring-pianists/


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## rice

flamencosketches said:


> I have no intentions of becoming a concert pianist, by the way. I'm only playing for myself, hence why I try to choose repertoire I enjoy. But I definitely see where you're coming from with your warning.


I agree. Play the music you like! It's a good if not the only way to keep the enthusiasm up.

I have no skill whatsoever and probably little to none talent. I know I can never be a concert pianist. But I'm learning and playing Rachmaninoff's piano sonata (the 2nd, 1931 version. Would try the original after this.) and I enjoy doing it Obviously it's way, way above my skill level, but I don't think I'd ever achieve the "proper" skill level for this piece.

For Chopin, I'd say start with the nocturnes? The somehow slower tempi would be more manageable.


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## Guest

Chopin's Prelude No.20 is not especially hard from a technical standpoint--a few big chords here and there. It's slow, so that helps!


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## sam93

There's a wealth of lesser-known works by Chopin which is quite accessible. 

- Waltz in A minor (Op.posth): A really beautiful miniature Waltz with a simple single-lined RH melody. A couple of small ornamental notes included, but a very nice introductory piece to Chopin. There's also the posthumous Waltz "Sostenuto" in E flat.

- The two early Polonaises (B flat major & G minor): Really pretty little polonaises from Chopin's youth. Include some passagework and hand crossings, but again, very accessible.

- Two Eccossaises: That's right... Chopin composed two of them! Very short and fun pieces in classical style.

These are just a couple of suggestions; there's many collections by the likes of Alfred publishing which include easier works. If you're really sure you'd like to tackle the harder genres, I'd suggest Nocturne in G minor Op.37 No.1; a couple of the easier Waltzes (Op.69 in B minor); and a couple of the Preludes (A minor, E minor, C minor).


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## flamencosketches

Well I've been learning the E minor Prelude. I'm gettin there. I can almost play all the notes without messing up too much, at least :lol: Obviously, there is some intense pathos to this piece, so it will be a work in progress for a long time.


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## rice

I always wanted to play the prelude op. 28 no.24
I really like this little piece, but gave up eventually 
Because my clumsy fingers cannot handle this 2 bars (the descend starts from the fortissimo)
Don't know what they are called, but I'm pathetic at it


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## flamencosketches

Yes that looks like a pain. The passage in the E minor prelude I'm stuck on is nowhere near that intense, but still tricky for me, being a newcomer to the instrument.


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## rice

flamencosketches said:


> Yes that looks like a pain. The passage in the E minor prelude I'm stuck on is nowhere near that intense, but still tricky for me, being a newcomer to the instrument.


I've been listening to Kissin's version of this prelude, and in his speed it seems impossible for me




In slower tempo that passage becomes somewhat doable with some intense practice


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## flamencosketches

Yeah Kissin is a monster of a player. I wouldn't hold yourself to his standard :lol:

I finally got that passage down, so I can officially play all the notes in this prelude. Now it's a matter of imbuing them with the extremely intense emotion that they are meant to bear.


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## caters

*Easy Chopin*

Here are some of the easier Chopin pieces I have played:

Nocturne in Eb:





This is the first ever Chopin piece that I played. Only really hard part is the polyrhythms and they only occur in a few places in the piece. Most of it will be easy if you are familiar with playing triplets in the bass staff. I was when I started learning this nocturne because I played a very famous theme from the slow movement of Piano Concerto no. 21 which has triplets almost throughout it. So you could say that Mozart prepared me for Chopin.

Mazurka in Bb:





This is the easiest mazurka of his that I have ever played. It is almost like a scherzo. My edition does not have that trill in the bass and it doesn't show up in the score in the video so I assume that is just some flair the pianist added to the mazurka.

Then there are his easier preludes. Here are some of his easier preludes:





Prelude in E minor, mainly concerns movement in the bass and most of the melody is stepwise motion. No crazy 9th intervals or anything like that.





Prelude in B minor, this is like the reverse of the Prelude in E minor because the melody is in the left hand and the bass line is in the right hand. Other than that, it is about the same. Still a simple, mostly stepwise melody. Still a moving bass.





Prelude in E major, this is harder but because of the slower tempo, it is about the same level of difficulty as the Nocturne in Eb






Prelude in A major, this is very easy even for someone who hasn't played a piece by Mozart yet. Typically the order of composers taught for a pianist goes something like this:


Bach
Clementi and/or Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Chopin

As you can see, Chopin is usually only taught at intermediate level and beyond whereas the other 4 are taught at beginner level. This prelude in A major though is easy, even for a beginner pianist. There is yet another prelude that is even easier. That is:






Prelude in C minor, it is pretty much octaves in the left hand and chords in the right hand. As a result, this is sometimes referred to as the "Chord" prelude, though I like to think of it as an "Octave" prelude because most of the chords include octaves.

And the reason the last 2 are links has to do with a limit on the number of videos per post.


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## flamencosketches

I can play the E minor prelude damn well now. Shame on everyone who tried to talk me out of trying Chopin 

I'm just kidding. I totally understand the apprehension. It was not easy, but I appreciate having taken on the challenge.

Going to try the C minor prelude now  hope my hands are big enough.


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## TapeMeasureTobias

They're seldom mentioned, but his Two Bourrées are so easy, that I initially believed that Chopin wasn't their author.


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## flamencosketches

TapeMeasureTobias said:


> They're seldom mentioned, but his Two Bourrées are so easy, that I initially believed that Chopin wasn't their author.


He wrote them near the end of his life too, wow. Good call.

Been working on the C minor prelude. Pretty easy as far as the notes/chords themselves, but quite a bit of dynamic skill is needed to sound good with it.


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