Recs for piano music?

[luzula]

My new house has a piano, which the previous owners left behind. It was terribly out of tune, so I had it tuned--well, at least it is now internally in tune, as the piano tuner who came to do it said that it probably hadn't been done in 20 years and he couldn't tune it all the way up without risking it breaking. He said to call him again in a year.

I played piano in my youth, and it has been fun picking it up again--it's surprising how easy it has been to re-learn things I played then (although ten years ago I did live for a few years in a place with a piano and played a bit then too, so that probably maintained my playing). But I find myself wishing for some new music to play and not sure what I might like? I am open to any genre really. If you play the piano, what is your favorite piano sheet music?

What I played earlier has often been determined by what sheet music happened to be available. The most difficult piece I can play is probably this, to give you an idea of what level of difficulty I'm looking for (though it would also be nice with some easier stuff, as that took a long time to learn well). I went to the library and came home with some Telemann, which is pleasingly patterned and is nice to practice on. But I am not sure where I should go next.

Comments

So many talents

[jesse_the_k]

I've been lucky enough to hear your sung fan works -- and today I learned you play the piano!

Are you interested in vocal music as well?

[sanguinity]

Grrlpup recommends Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style: 24 Short Piano Pieces in All Keys by William L. Gillock. Quoth she, "The pieces are short and have different moods; they're quite simple without sounding dumbed-down; and for me it's also a good way to get used to all different keys."

I'd also recommend looking at music publishers' graded-by-difficulty compilations, just to try out a bunch of things and see what you like.

And I see you're already checking out your library's sheet music collection, which is an awesome way of just trying a bunch of stuff.

[mergatrude]

This is a pretty good site: https://musescore.com/sheetmusic/beginner/piano

I downloaded some Ludovico Enaudi, but it varies in skill level. Otherwise I usually check second hand booksellers and market stalls.

[chestnut_pod]

That's interesting; when the tuner comes back, will the wood (?) have adjusted enough to tune it the rest of the way?

I'm glad this is something you're enjoying picking back up.

Re: So many talents

[luzula]

Are you interested in vocal music as well?
Do you mean, as in piano accompaniment to vocals? Probably not, I'm the only one in the household who sings, and I don't think I'm that interested in accompanying myself while singing?

ETA: Ha ha, and now I saw your icon. Truly the person who always has the perfect icon!

[luzula]

Thank you, and thank grrlpup! If the library has that, I'll check it out. Yeah, the library is great for browsing, I should do that more.

[luzula]

Ha, weirdly enough I've already played the first piece I get when I open that (Satie's Gymnopédie).

I had expected the classical music and the pop/rock, but not the amount of video game music in that list!

ETA: And yeah, I had not thought of second hand booksellers, but that could also be good.

[luzula]

Apparently the piano has a solid piece of iron in the back; it's what makes them so heavy. I had not thought of this, but he said that the iron is put under many tons of tension by the strings, and a sudden increase of that tension can even crack that solid iron! *boggles* He said he had fifty years of experience as a piano tuner, so I guess he knows what he's talking about. It's cool with people who have such a deep knowledge of such a specialist topic.

[nnozomi]

yay, piano! Depending on your tastes, I would go for some Bach, maybe the two-part inventions to start with, or whatever seems to suit your level at the moment (the Art of the Fugue if you're feeling slightly more ambitious...). Some of the Scott Joplin rags are not difficult, I think "Bethena" is the one I have in mind? Or look online for arrangements of folksongs, etc. that you like for piano?

[sanguinity]

Huh, that makes me wonder what's going on there, metallurgically speaking. Some form of work hardening, I would guess, but I wish I had access to all my old metallurgy wizards to explain it to me.

[luzula]

Thanks for the recs, that is helpful! : ) The Bach inventions have the advantage of being easy to find free online, and I have never played those. I'll check out "Bethena", too.

I went to the library and found some Simon and Garfunkel, which is childhood nostalgia for me, so I might try that as well.

[luzula]

I have no idea! Did you take physics or chemistry along with math at university?

[sanguinity]

Physics, yes, but I learned basic metallurgy on the job through an on-site course taught by a previous employer, a manufacturing firm that made things out of steel. We learned stuff about the crystalline structure of metals, how those structures responded to forming and heating, and how all that changed the metal's properties... It was a cool course!

[luzula]

Oh, very cool! What was your job at the company? (Probably not blacksmithing with a hammer and anvil and forge as I am now imagining, which would be very cool...)

[sanguinity]

Safety engineer. Which was a lovely job for someone who wants to know a bit about everything: how everything on the manufacturing floor works, and how every system of the human body works, and all the ways the two sets of things could interact with each other.

[de_eekhoorn]

When it comes to not-too-difficult music that will remain a delight to play over time, I can wholeheartedly recommend Tschaikovsky's Children's Album. My mother played the Old French Song and a number of others all through my childhood (and plays them still); I have played them myself for a good couple of years now and I still enjoy listening to them when I play.

[luzula]

Thank you! Just the sort of rec I wanted, and it's music that's easy to find free, as well. : )

[(Anonymous)]

Chopin has many works that are easy to play. Most of mazurkas are easy and some of the preludes too. Prelude in E minor is one famous example. Note that Chopin also has some very demanding pieces as well, so use your best judgement.

[luzula]

Thanks! : )