This is a great one, my go-to show off piece for many years. It sounds so impressive when you get it up to speed! The A sections are OK and once you get the hand overlapping trick down, the B section is a doddle.
Honestly the trickiest bit is the slower middle section, which has some scrunchy chords and a few weird polyrhythms. But you can just play those rubato and it won't seem out of place!
Wow TIL this beautiful piece!!! I'm definitely lower than OP's level (never formally assessed), and have NO IDEA how to play it at that crazy tempo, let alone figure out all those dissonant chords.
Is there a "guide" to the techniques/skills needed for its different sections, and tips on how to learn those skills???????
It's really beautiful for sure, it's so full of drama and the dissonances are gorgeous. You need to make the most of the contrasts, really lean into the changes in mood. As with any piece, start slow. Get a proper edition with fingerings (Peters is good) and work through slowly from the top.
A lot of those big chords move in parallel so the fingers will pick it up fast. Be patient with the semi quavers on the first page, take your time to get used to the right index finger crossing over your thumb.
When you get to the 2nd page and the triplets, the repeated Bb that opens the section is probably the trickiest bit to get even - practice the alternating fingers on the table! The right hand jumps need careful aim but you'll be fine. The runs up and down in the middle and end of this section are much easier than they sound, the shapes are the same all the way up and down the keyboard, and if you've been practising the bits before, you should be able to keep the arpeggios even between the two hands.
The middle section is probably the most difficult one as it's so different. Try to resist the temptation to rush it, let it breathe to make the most of the contrast. I joked about it in my previous post but if you can get the tuplets right, it'll sound so much better.
If you can get that far then you're done! Everything that comes after you'll have already played! Enjoy this mad piece, it's easier than you think and you'll have it up to tempo in no time.
Thank you for the detailed break down!! I'll keep your analysis in mind if/when I give this piece a try.
> the dissonances are gorgeous
Well said! Agreed.
Unfortunately not, he only died in 1978 so his work is still in copyright. There are some versions on Musescore but I wouldn't recommend them, most of them are very poorly laid out and hard to read. Get a paper copy of the Edition Peters version, it's very good, and cheap.
It's really not difficult (for his current level). Now, memorizing everything in 3 weeks might be short, it really depends on how many hours daily he can commit to it.
At any rate, like others here I would advise against presenting at a recital a piece that he just learned. But the suggestion can still serve for the next occasion.
Debussy's Arabesques ? (the second being more difficult)
Debussy's Passepied
Debussy's Tarentelle Styrienne !! Another show-off suggestion ! Slightly easier maybe and also shorter to memorize I think.
Beethoven's Pathétique.
Well just look into ABSMR level 8, I see the Khachaturian Toccata is in there actually.
Solfeggio in c minor by CPE Bach. It’s below your level a little bit but fun and does sound impressive to non musicians.
Chopin nocturnes can be great choices if you pick up his style of music quickly. (Edit: I do wanna emphasize that getting the notes down is not enough for playing Chopin well)
Reverie in F minor by Dennis Alexander is fun.
Otherwise just play a piece that you’ve already been practicing.
>Chopin nocturnes can be great choices if you pick up his style of music quickly.
Couldn't disagree more. I feel those are the kinds of pieces that sound easy but are more difficult than the fast difficult sounding pieces.
I mean idk how experienced or good you are, but generally speaking, it's quite easy to convince oneself that you have picked them up, but to actually be able to play them with the right dynamics, articulations, pedal work, etc is a whole other thing. Playing the right notes is like 30% of the job. Playing the notes right is something very few can pull off.
I wholly agree with you. Mastering a piece can take months beyond picking up the notes. I’ve been playing for 19 years and have a good ear for dynamics and articulation. So I just sorta forgot that Chopin’s nocturnes can be really technically or emotionally challenging for most people.
>I’ve been playing for 19 years
I do believe you in that case.
>So I just sorta forgot that Chopin’s nocturnes can be really technically or emotionally challenging for most people.
Exactly. I think it takes about a decade till one has the kind of control on their fingers that one needs to play a nocturne well. So I wouldn't personally classify them as easy. At the same time I feel they're nevertheless good pieces for intermediate players too. I don't believe that one must unconditionally only okay it the "right" way whatever that means. Just wanted to comment my thoughts that's all.
Definitely. I’m now remembering a Chopin nocturne I picked up in about two weeks, played it for my level 9 RCM exam a few months later. Two years later, I heard a person a few years younger than me play it at a recital and it sounded so mechanical in comparison to my playing. A lot of these romantic era pieces really emphasize a lack of emotional understanding.
And I appreciate the comment! I sometimes forget that I’m actually good at piano because so many people are better :}
Bro, I recently learned Solfeggio! At first it sounded hard, but I learned it in 6 days with 30 minutes of playing! It's so easy. Until you start going full speed 💀
omg I played the first few bars and stopped, now my friend has already memorised the whole piece and it's shocking! it sounds so wholesome(if that's how u describe it?)
Honestly, If they are majorly non-pianists, a trick that usually works is a combination of known popular songs and hands crossing.
Bohemian rhapsody doesn’t sound too impressive but when people watch you play it *looks* more impressive.
In my experience movie soundtracks usually work better to impress non pianists
I had that chosen for me for a jury piece and it made me want to claw my eyes out. There were notes so high, they had to write them in the margins of the page. I had to count staff lines on my fingers just to figure out what they were.😂
It just falls so easily under the fingers though, and sounds so lovely and “impressive” but there is no real technical difficulty there imo. I think you should listen to recordings and get the piece in your ears, then when you go to learn it from the score it won’t be such a struggle. Those high notes are just the melody an octave higher or whatever. Analyze the piece a bit and you’ll learn it much more quickly. Jmo
I absolutely love Paasacaglia! ♡ I remember feeling guilty from all the compliments I received because how relatively simple it is to learn (I love patterns in music!). Nonetheless, the piece is wonderful.
If you have never heard of the Jacques Loussier Trio - they are a jazz trio that specialize in baroque (esp. Bach) music turned jazz. Their passacaglia is very fun.
Agree, I am a beginner and passacaglia was a breeze to learn, it’s so beautiful. Although I think what I am playing is the modernized version that is common on youtube, not the original one. Still absolutely gorgeous though
The easiest hard-sounding piece I know is on the grade 8 syllabus now - O Polichinelo by Villa Lobos. The notes are extremely simple to memorise but if you have a good tremolo between the hands it's super impressive. Here's our Paul playing it:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSbcpgkp5d4&ab\_channel=PaulBarton](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSbcpgkp5d4&ab_channel=PaulBarton)
The right hand just plays white note root position triads and the left hand generally just a cluster of black notes over the top moving up and down the pentatonic scale by step and which could feasibly be played by a closed fist. Rhythmically and melodically it's also very simple yet catchy.
It's really fun except for a few bars near the end - you'll see haha. Don't get confused by all the accidentals - it's just whatever black notes are next to each other!
Yes I can imagine that! The piece is from a suite of pieces whose title translates to "the baby's family" meaning the baby's toys. This one is "Jack-in-the-box".
If there’s a flat on the left hand and then the right hand plays the same note in the same measure is it flatted too or only if they put a flat in front of it on the right hand too?
Only if it's in the right hand too - Villa Lobos has been very generous with his cautionary naturals. For the main part of the piece the RH only plays white notes, the LH only black.
Rustle of Spring by Sinding
The fluttery Arpeggios in RH are repetitive and easy but sounds impressive with the flurry of notes you're playing
Edited: misspelled Sinding
This is a good answer. A veritable grab bag of showy effects, none particularly difficult.
The trick, as with most pieces like this, it to be sure to make it musical enough so it doesn’t sound like finger exercises
Personally I think you're setting yourself up for a disaster trying to learn something and play it to people in 3 weeks.
Pick something you already know how to play. It will be much more impressive and enjoyable for the audience, and for yourself, if you play something youve had time to properly work on.
All the best!!
No, I've done it before; its a really small show that im doing where a bunch of people play, and i learn stuff quite quickly, so it'll be fine. Thanks though :)
hey I'm confused here about the downvotes. 3 weeks is definitely enough for some people to master a piece
edit: for context the comment i replied to had -8 ⬇️ at the time
Yes I upvoted this. People learn pieces at vastly different speeds. I recently had an 11 year old student learn a whole grade 6 piece in a week - he just got it straight away.
I agree, do it all the time. I just learned In the Stars for my dog I had to put down last Sunday, already mastered it (it took me about 50 times of playing through the song to get it perfect)
I don't really know if this is within your grade level, tbh, I never really interacted with the grade system, but if it's just a small piece you want, then I'd say Rachmaninoff's c# minor prelude is a great option. It's maybe a little heavy, but you can go all in on romantizism and show off your dynamic control and the middle section sounds extremely virtuosic, even though it is, in my opinion very playable.
Boogie Woogie 😁 welp once you get the 12 bar blues down it becomes a lot easier and you can do any run.
I’ll see myself out 😂
Edit: I’ll add stride piano style/pieces seem quite difficult but if you’re used to octave jumps on the left hand and a bit of improv right hand side, you’ll get a massive wow effect quite easily.
I’ll see myself out again 😂
>Boogie Woogie 😁 welp once you get the 12 bar blues down it becomes a lot easier and you can do any run. I’ll see myself out 😂
No but really, people are the most impressed by stuff they recognize.
G minor Bach Arr. Luo Ni. The entire piece follows pretty much the same rhythm and melody with subtle changes, and it's just 3 pages. It's moderately fast, so non-musicians will think it's a hard piece.
Mariage d'Amour.
I learned it 3 months into learning the piano and just a bit after a year I was able to play it [at this level ](https://youtu.be/UhU6D2IRzbs?si=T1ED5mkm8fYL1GSt).
Not hard at all. Just sounds fast.
That's an amazing performance for someone only a year in. Maybe it's an easier piece than I realised, but I'm 3 years in and wouldn't expect to be able to play it that well!
Transcendentals even most of Alkan's etudes are easier than Chopin's, in general. I got to play few transcendentals and Alkan Symphony much earlier than any Chopin etude.
mmmm the first half (of difficulty) of transcendentals are easier than a few chopin etudes but no 10, 8, 4, 5, 7 , 12 are harder than the chopins and you could really argue a couple others. On the other hand A lot of chopins etudes are fairly easy. Alkans are definetly way harder.
I find jumps and chords much easier than fingerwork. To me Chasse-Neige is one of the easiest one. And that's why most of Alkan etudes are also easier to me than Chopin's.
And in Chopin sound must never be thick. Quite hard to keep a clear light sound on a modern powerful Steinway.
Definitely! The whole suite is really easy to learn and flows together really nicely. 5 minutes for all 3 parts, No. 1 is the longest by far. There are some really cool bits in 2 and 3, I'm always sad they don't get as much love as 1.
Bruce Liu (winner of most recent Chopin competition played this piece as an encore and got a standing ovation) there’s a lot in this piece even though it’s “slow”
Yeah! My daughter learned to play it (I wanted to learn it... but she put it in her folder accidentally and her piano teacher started teaching it to her, so now I'm stuck playing something else).
I think it sounds fantastic, especially measure 21!
I think you could make a case for Clair de lune. Everyone loves the piece, even the most casual music enjoyers, so I'd say that's already half the battle. It also has some moderately fast and passionate arpeggios that will sound impressive to non-pianists, even though they're not actually *that* hard to execute. The real difficulty comes from interpreting it musically and tastefully but if the audience is mostly non-pianists/musicians, they probably won't care as long as you hit the right notes and sound passionate.
Like half the repertoire from the romantic period.
Something like Chopins E minor prelude but being able to play the notes doesn’t mean you can play it well
I managed to learn Sibelius Op 75 No 5 "The Spruce" in a week or so. It has flowing sections that sound impressive but aren't really that hard. The beginning and the end are pretty similar as well. I think it's ABRSM 7/8.
Oh they can get hairy when it modulates to Gb. I have short fingers so I have to do a really exaggerated finger spread/roll to get close. On the whole though, it's really not as hard as it sounds as most of the melody is broken chords.
You’re at ABRSM 8. Doesn’t basically everything you already know sound impressive? That’s basically the end of the line isn’t it? You’ve completed it quite fast in 6 years!
Grade 8 is not the end of the line, you're just getting started. There's ARSM, LRSM, and FRSM after that. And the progression is not linear, there's a huge leap of difficulty between grade 8 and ARSM. For reference, Debussy's Reverie is in grade 8 this year, and that's like his easiest piece.
Rach's Prelude in C# minor is pretty straightforward. The big block chords at the start and end sound fantastic to a non-pianist and if you can get a decent speed up on the triplets in the middle section that can sound pretty impressive too.
Any middle-difficulty Chopin would be a good choice. Etude #3, Waltz in C# minor. Other commenters said Fantasie-Impromptu which is also solid as long as you can nail the polyrhythm
Agree with this. And it’s well-known so I feel like you can’t just half ass it. I think it’s hard to express all the different moods of the piece effectively.
Etude #3 doesn't sound impressive, except for one part (the diminished 7ths bit), which is just as difficult as it sounds. It is beautiful though, and kudos to you if you can learn it in 3 weeks.
I disagree, it sounds impressive but fits your hands well. Both hands are playing the same chords but split apart, so it's easy to learn the hand positioning. Lots of chromatic chord changing and predictable patterns. I think if you can nail this section, the rest of the piece is easy sailing and it's not very long.
Probably depends on your hand shape and size. I find that at tempo, the change of chord position with the same fingers (e.g. from 1-3 to 1-3 or from 2-5 to 2-5 in both hands at the same time) can be risky.
If you have small hands the fingering will be more difficult but this is true for most pieces.
The tempo of this section is open to interpretation IMO. You really don't have to crank it to Molto Vivace for it to sound impressive. Given three weeks of practice, I think its reasonable to work up to playing this moderately quickly.
Flight of the Bumblebee is the correct answer in all cases. It's just a chromatic scale with a simple rhythm, extremely fun to play, and sounds fucking impossible to anybody who doesn't know advanced piano.
One that I can really recommend in this case is Flood Time by Eric Thimann. I was listening to it (played waaaay faster than originally intended) and it seemed impossible. But then I looked up the score and I couldn’t be happier: so easy, so well crafted yet simple.
Took me around 2-3 weeks to play it fluently. It really allows you to play with dynamics and tempo.
It’s perfectly possible for a grade 8 pianist to play a piece in 2-3 weeks but it has to be correct standard.
I actually was thinking about this piece suggested also
https://youtu.be/ynuCDTOkgbE?si=yfH6LlqrIHDjc4kC
It was a grade 5 piece, perfectly playable to high standard in 2-3 weeks.
Most of the other suggestions are too hard to play for a grade 8 player in 2-3 weeks and even diploma standard players could not play grade 8 pieces in only 2-3 weeks.
My other suggestion would be a fast pace Italian tarantella which was also at grade 5
https://youtu.be/98OlKJuCbVU?si=oQ5n-kpMqEKu_kfG
Exactly!!
I watched it as a kid and was so amazed by it. Now that I watched it again years later, it doesn’t sound as great 😅 (not to say: really bad)
But still! The kid is three - holy moly!
Tarantelle in A minor by Albert Pieczonka sounds impressive but is probably only grade 6-7 standard.
[https://imslp.org/wiki/Danses\_de\_salon\_(Pieczonka,\_Albert)](https://imslp.org/wiki/Danses_de_salon_(Pieczonka,_Albert))
To me, as a beginner pianist, ode to joy my bethoven. If you manage to learn the left hand and right hand parts, it will sound super hard but be super easy!
I started playing in December and I’ve been able to learn sus (extended version) by mistfulplays. It was little difficult at first but it took me three-four weeks and it sounds really good. I think it’s worth a try even if you won’t play it.
A lot of the typical classical pieces you hear people play on public pianos. Not to take anything away but most aren’t too difficult if you understand the piano well. They know they enjoy playing it and put the time to learn it so I give them that.
One example is Chopin’s Op. 9 No. 2 Nocturne in E Flat Major. It actually is a little more difficult than it sounds but it certainly isn’t that high up there.
Summer by Vivaldi is a Between Intermediate and Advanced Level. Vivaldi just tends to use Arpeggios and Scales, if you know how to do scales you'll be fine.
I find a lot of people saying that three weeks is nothing, and that I won't be able to complete the piece in time. Firstly, the performance that I'm doing is a small one, it's a show where I'm not the only one playing. Secondly, I learn pieces quickly; for reference, I learnt my four grade 8 pieces in a little over two months and got a distinction. Don't worry guys, I've done all of this before, I'll have time to learn it.
Thanks for all of the nice suggestions though, I'm definitely going with Khachaturian's toccata
Fur Elise is too easy for what OP wants, but Turkish March *played well* is fun. It must be played fast, perfectly evenly, etc or it’s a dud. I wouldn’t choose it but it could work
"The Turkish March does not need to be fast, but it needs to be Turkish"
Thanks for this, i feel like it's a mindset that can translate across a lot of pieces
"The Minute Waltz does not need to be a minute, but it needs to be a Waltz." or something
Chopin fantasie impromptu
Also revolutionary etude to some extent although it’s definitely not easy but sounds way impressive than it actual difficulty. But you have very small time window so don’t think it’s relevant
https://pasteboard.co/st4LZO0lgcJ8.jpg
I don’t know if there are a lot of overlaps with your edition but for me some of these changes worked a lot better than the henle suggestion
How th is impromptu a piece that "isn't actually that hard" and can be learned to performance standard in 3 weeks? I'm post grade 8 too but still it seems really tough to get the tempo going.
Mozart K545 Sonata Facile. It sounds hard but couldn't be easier to learn if you've mastered your scales and arpeggios.
Short list:
Debussy arabesque 1
Chopin preludes 4 and 7
Bach Aria from Goldberg Variations
Mozart Fantasia in d minor if you learn quickly, (you may need more than 3 weeks for this one but doable and impressive to non musicians. )
Sonatina in A Minor by Benda is my favorite, for you it should be pretty easy but it sounds impressive (in my opinion) https://youtu.be/kXO52j-biOU?si=kCTzqGBgSiUJtdsr
There’s a piece called FLOWERS I DONT REMEMBER THE COMPOSERS NAME BUT IT IS FIVE PAGES (sorry bout the caps) of 1st 2nd and 3rd inversions played as broken chords in treble and a couple half notes in the bass. People love it especially if they can see your hands bc they be all over the keyboard playing first inversion and so on up the keyboard.
Opening - Philip Glass
Utilizes polyrhythms, but once you wrap your head around that it’s pretty simple. One of the first songs I learned. When I played it for my Mom after playing for a month or two she was like “I had no idea you were so advanced!”… maybe that was just Mom talk tho.
Always give yourself enough time to prepare for a performance. 3 weeks is a bit short. I’m worried about your goal of trying to impress people, rather than just presenting an artistic performance. Work with a good teacher rather than seeking advice from random folks on the internet. A few of the suggestions you’ve received are good, depending on your skill level and ability to read and learn music quickly. Solfeggietto has repeating patterns. It’s fast with continual 16th notes. Fairly short - there are a couple of tricky spots where the hands run into each other and require good fingering. The Khatchaturian is another good suggestion again depending on your ability and whether you have a good teacher to guide you through it. The Rachmaninoff C# minor prelude is a bit more challenging but not much. It’s harder to read than to play, using 4 staves in places and a lot of double sharps. I remember learning it quickly back in high school. It’s helpful if you have a pretty good span. Big chords spanning an octave in both hands. The thumbs interlock constantly in the first section. There is a lot of harmonic repetition throughout the piece, which makes it a little easier to learn. Good luck.
Khachaturian Toccata
This is a great one, my go-to show off piece for many years. It sounds so impressive when you get it up to speed! The A sections are OK and once you get the hand overlapping trick down, the B section is a doddle. Honestly the trickiest bit is the slower middle section, which has some scrunchy chords and a few weird polyrhythms. But you can just play those rubato and it won't seem out of place!
This used to be my show-off piece but people thought I was weird. Play some Billy Joel and they'll go wild tho.
Billy Joel's music isn't just about the piano playing, though. Play it and sing it well, and then you have something. Root Beer Rag is fun, though!
Wow TIL this beautiful piece!!! I'm definitely lower than OP's level (never formally assessed), and have NO IDEA how to play it at that crazy tempo, let alone figure out all those dissonant chords. Is there a "guide" to the techniques/skills needed for its different sections, and tips on how to learn those skills???????
It's really beautiful for sure, it's so full of drama and the dissonances are gorgeous. You need to make the most of the contrasts, really lean into the changes in mood. As with any piece, start slow. Get a proper edition with fingerings (Peters is good) and work through slowly from the top. A lot of those big chords move in parallel so the fingers will pick it up fast. Be patient with the semi quavers on the first page, take your time to get used to the right index finger crossing over your thumb. When you get to the 2nd page and the triplets, the repeated Bb that opens the section is probably the trickiest bit to get even - practice the alternating fingers on the table! The right hand jumps need careful aim but you'll be fine. The runs up and down in the middle and end of this section are much easier than they sound, the shapes are the same all the way up and down the keyboard, and if you've been practising the bits before, you should be able to keep the arpeggios even between the two hands. The middle section is probably the most difficult one as it's so different. Try to resist the temptation to rush it, let it breathe to make the most of the contrast. I joked about it in my previous post but if you can get the tuplets right, it'll sound so much better. If you can get that far then you're done! Everything that comes after you'll have already played! Enjoy this mad piece, it's easier than you think and you'll have it up to tempo in no time.
Thank you for the detailed break down!! I'll keep your analysis in mind if/when I give this piece a try. > the dissonances are gorgeous Well said! Agreed.
You're welcome! Do try it, it's worth the effort, and sounds great even at slower tempos.
Oh! By the way do you know of a way to get a PDF of a good version of this piece???
Unfortunately not, he only died in 1978 so his work is still in copyright. There are some versions on Musescore but I wouldn't recommend them, most of them are very poorly laid out and hard to read. Get a paper copy of the Edition Peters version, it's very good, and cheap.
100% agree
Yep this is the other one!
I’ve never heard of this piece until your suggestion, are you saying it’s possible for the OP to learn it in three weeks?
It's really not difficult (for his current level). Now, memorizing everything in 3 weeks might be short, it really depends on how many hours daily he can commit to it. At any rate, like others here I would advise against presenting at a recital a piece that he just learned. But the suggestion can still serve for the next occasion.
In your opinion if someone can play this Toccata, what other more famous pieces are at the same level
Debussy's Arabesques ? (the second being more difficult) Debussy's Passepied Debussy's Tarentelle Styrienne !! Another show-off suggestion ! Slightly easier maybe and also shorter to memorize I think. Beethoven's Pathétique. Well just look into ABSMR level 8, I see the Khachaturian Toccata is in there actually.
Solfeggio in c minor by CPE Bach. It’s below your level a little bit but fun and does sound impressive to non musicians. Chopin nocturnes can be great choices if you pick up his style of music quickly. (Edit: I do wanna emphasize that getting the notes down is not enough for playing Chopin well) Reverie in F minor by Dennis Alexander is fun. Otherwise just play a piece that you’ve already been practicing.
Solfeggio is a good one for only having 3 weeks.
Happy cake day
>Chopin nocturnes can be great choices if you pick up his style of music quickly. Couldn't disagree more. I feel those are the kinds of pieces that sound easy but are more difficult than the fast difficult sounding pieces.
Hmm. I guess that’s true. I pick them up fast, so that one is biased toward my style of playing.
I mean idk how experienced or good you are, but generally speaking, it's quite easy to convince oneself that you have picked them up, but to actually be able to play them with the right dynamics, articulations, pedal work, etc is a whole other thing. Playing the right notes is like 30% of the job. Playing the notes right is something very few can pull off.
I wholly agree with you. Mastering a piece can take months beyond picking up the notes. I’ve been playing for 19 years and have a good ear for dynamics and articulation. So I just sorta forgot that Chopin’s nocturnes can be really technically or emotionally challenging for most people.
>I’ve been playing for 19 years I do believe you in that case. >So I just sorta forgot that Chopin’s nocturnes can be really technically or emotionally challenging for most people. Exactly. I think it takes about a decade till one has the kind of control on their fingers that one needs to play a nocturne well. So I wouldn't personally classify them as easy. At the same time I feel they're nevertheless good pieces for intermediate players too. I don't believe that one must unconditionally only okay it the "right" way whatever that means. Just wanted to comment my thoughts that's all.
Definitely. I’m now remembering a Chopin nocturne I picked up in about two weeks, played it for my level 9 RCM exam a few months later. Two years later, I heard a person a few years younger than me play it at a recital and it sounded so mechanical in comparison to my playing. A lot of these romantic era pieces really emphasize a lack of emotional understanding. And I appreciate the comment! I sometimes forget that I’m actually good at piano because so many people are better :}
I was gonna say that
It’s a great piece. Haven’t played it in years, just looked up the sheet music for it and I could definitely master it in a day haha
YES Solfegietto is actually much easier than it sounds since you're just alternating hands.
Yup I just learned in for my RCM exam it took me no more than a few days really fun to play too!
It’s a piece that stuck with my muscle memory for like 5 years after I stopped practicing the piece. Really fun one to know!
Bro, I recently learned Solfeggio! At first it sounded hard, but I learned it in 6 days with 30 minutes of playing! It's so easy. Until you start going full speed 💀
omg I played the first few bars and stopped, now my friend has already memorised the whole piece and it's shocking! it sounds so wholesome(if that's how u describe it?)
Honestly, If they are majorly non-pianists, a trick that usually works is a combination of known popular songs and hands crossing. Bohemian rhapsody doesn’t sound too impressive but when people watch you play it *looks* more impressive. In my experience movie soundtracks usually work better to impress non pianists
Handel's Passacaglia. Super easy and punchy and passionate. Or. Grandmother's Minuet by Grieg.
I love Passacaglia. Very easy to learn. Also it's nice to improvise with the left hand pattern
[удалено]
https://youtu.be/GAIZxaToV2A?si=AOFWbvYpKOCUC2AG
Do either of you have a score for it?
Can you explain a little bit more you mean or generally "how" to improvise this? any tips at all would be appreciated!
Play the pattern of the left hand and then let your right hand do the magic !
Handel or Handel halvorsen?
I've never played anything by Grieg that was easy. I used to be convinced he hated pianists.😂
Wedding Day at Troldhaugen!!
I had that chosen for me for a jury piece and it made me want to claw my eyes out. There were notes so high, they had to write them in the margins of the page. I had to count staff lines on my fingers just to figure out what they were.😂
It just falls so easily under the fingers though, and sounds so lovely and “impressive” but there is no real technical difficulty there imo. I think you should listen to recordings and get the piece in your ears, then when you go to learn it from the score it won’t be such a struggle. Those high notes are just the melody an octave higher or whatever. Analyze the piece a bit and you’ll learn it much more quickly. Jmo
Is there a more romantic, gorgeous piece of music? God I love it.
Haha! Try Aria from the Holberg Suite. Another miniature masterpiece that's pretty easy.
I absolutely love Paasacaglia! ♡ I remember feeling guilty from all the compliments I received because how relatively simple it is to learn (I love patterns in music!). Nonetheless, the piece is wonderful.
If you have never heard of the Jacques Loussier Trio - they are a jazz trio that specialize in baroque (esp. Bach) music turned jazz. Their passacaglia is very fun.
Agree, I am a beginner and passacaglia was a breeze to learn, it’s so beautiful. Although I think what I am playing is the modernized version that is common on youtube, not the original one. Still absolutely gorgeous though
however you play it - joy is joy
The easiest hard-sounding piece I know is on the grade 8 syllabus now - O Polichinelo by Villa Lobos. The notes are extremely simple to memorise but if you have a good tremolo between the hands it's super impressive. Here's our Paul playing it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSbcpgkp5d4&ab\_channel=PaulBarton](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSbcpgkp5d4&ab_channel=PaulBarton)
I didn’t have longer look but why is that easy to remember?
The right hand just plays white note root position triads and the left hand generally just a cluster of black notes over the top moving up and down the pentatonic scale by step and which could feasibly be played by a closed fist. Rhythmically and melodically it's also very simple yet catchy.
I’ve played my whole life and that looks hard lol, that looks harder than flight of the bumble bee
It really isn't! You hardly have to move your fingers!
Fine, I’m gonna try it out and get back to you 🤪
It's really fun except for a few bars near the end - you'll see haha. Don't get confused by all the accidentals - it's just whatever black notes are next to each other!
I loved playing this in HS.
Me too it's a weird feeling I've just been teaching it to one of my grade 8 students and I played it myself for my grade 8 like 25 years ago
The song sounds like it belongs in a movie where the good guys are trying their best to accomplish a hard task in a very difficult environment lol
Yes I can imagine that! The piece is from a suite of pieces whose title translates to "the baby's family" meaning the baby's toys. This one is "Jack-in-the-box".
If there’s a flat on the left hand and then the right hand plays the same note in the same measure is it flatted too or only if they put a flat in front of it on the right hand too?
Only if it's in the right hand too - Villa Lobos has been very generous with his cautionary naturals. For the main part of the piece the RH only plays white notes, the LH only black.
Asturias (Leyenda) by Albéniz (originally called Prelude I think) … if that piece is too short, you could add Tango (or Granada) as an intro
Another good one!
Rustle of Spring by Sinding The fluttery Arpeggios in RH are repetitive and easy but sounds impressive with the flurry of notes you're playing Edited: misspelled Sinding
This is a good answer. A veritable grab bag of showy effects, none particularly difficult. The trick, as with most pieces like this, it to be sure to make it musical enough so it doesn’t sound like finger exercises
The Solfeggietto in C Minor by COE Bach is a great way to impress people but is not nearly as difficult as it sounds
Personally I think you're setting yourself up for a disaster trying to learn something and play it to people in 3 weeks. Pick something you already know how to play. It will be much more impressive and enjoyable for the audience, and for yourself, if you play something youve had time to properly work on. All the best!!
That's a sign you don't sightread enough.
No, I've done it before; its a really small show that im doing where a bunch of people play, and i learn stuff quite quickly, so it'll be fine. Thanks though :)
hey I'm confused here about the downvotes. 3 weeks is definitely enough for some people to master a piece edit: for context the comment i replied to had -8 ⬇️ at the time
Yes I upvoted this. People learn pieces at vastly different speeds. I recently had an 11 year old student learn a whole grade 6 piece in a week - he just got it straight away.
I agree, do it all the time. I just learned In the Stars for my dog I had to put down last Sunday, already mastered it (it took me about 50 times of playing through the song to get it perfect)
I don't really know if this is within your grade level, tbh, I never really interacted with the grade system, but if it's just a small piece you want, then I'd say Rachmaninoff's c# minor prelude is a great option. It's maybe a little heavy, but you can go all in on romantizism and show off your dynamic control and the middle section sounds extremely virtuosic, even though it is, in my opinion very playable.
I agree.
Bach's Prelude in C major....but I agree with another poster, best to stick with something you know and make it as polished as you can
The pirates of the Caribbean theme apparently
Boogie Woogie 😁 welp once you get the 12 bar blues down it becomes a lot easier and you can do any run. I’ll see myself out 😂 Edit: I’ll add stride piano style/pieces seem quite difficult but if you’re used to octave jumps on the left hand and a bit of improv right hand side, you’ll get a massive wow effect quite easily. I’ll see myself out again 😂
Those classic left hand stride piano jumps _are_ really hard though. Even after you get used to them, they require practice to keep accurate.
>Boogie Woogie 😁 welp once you get the 12 bar blues down it becomes a lot easier and you can do any run. I’ll see myself out 😂 No but really, people are the most impressed by stuff they recognize.
Yeeppp I’ve seen people losing their mind over someone paying a simple boogie progression 😅
Yeah if you're effortlessly doing stride stuff, might as well just go for something that's hard hard, instead of easy that sounds hard
G minor Bach Arr. Luo Ni. The entire piece follows pretty much the same rhythm and melody with subtle changes, and it's just 3 pages. It's moderately fast, so non-musicians will think it's a hard piece.
Mariage d'Amour. I learned it 3 months into learning the piano and just a bit after a year I was able to play it [at this level ](https://youtu.be/UhU6D2IRzbs?si=T1ED5mkm8fYL1GSt). Not hard at all. Just sounds fast.
That's an amazing performance for someone only a year in. Maybe it's an easier piece than I realised, but I'm 3 years in and wouldn't expect to be able to play it that well!
[L'Orage Burgmuller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2BcRhnn7EY)
First 20 bars of Rach 3. You'll get to impress people for 30 seconds
Mazeppa
Lol there's a difference between "easier than it sounds" and "not hard"
Transcendentals even most of Alkan's etudes are easier than Chopin's, in general. I got to play few transcendentals and Alkan Symphony much earlier than any Chopin etude.
mmmm the first half (of difficulty) of transcendentals are easier than a few chopin etudes but no 10, 8, 4, 5, 7 , 12 are harder than the chopins and you could really argue a couple others. On the other hand A lot of chopins etudes are fairly easy. Alkans are definetly way harder.
I find jumps and chords much easier than fingerwork. To me Chasse-Neige is one of the easiest one. And that's why most of Alkan etudes are also easier to me than Chopin's. And in Chopin sound must never be thick. Quite hard to keep a clear light sound on a modern powerful Steinway.
Erik Satie - Gnoissenne No. 1
Or do the whole suite, it’ll be more challenging but not TOO challenging
Definitely! The whole suite is really easy to learn and flows together really nicely. 5 minutes for all 3 parts, No. 1 is the longest by far. There are some really cool bits in 2 and 3, I'm always sad they don't get as much love as 1.
It doesn’t sound impressive though… it sounds sleepy.
Bruce Liu (winner of most recent Chopin competition played this piece as an encore and got a standing ovation) there’s a lot in this piece even though it’s “slow”
Yeah! My daughter learned to play it (I wanted to learn it... but she put it in her folder accidentally and her piano teacher started teaching it to her, so now I'm stuck playing something else). I think it sounds fantastic, especially measure 21!
My understanding of Gnoissenne No 1 is that it’s written in “free time” and doesn’t have any bars or measures.
Oh sorry I thought you were talking about Bruce Liu playing Waltz in A Minor.
I think you could make a case for Clair de lune. Everyone loves the piece, even the most casual music enjoyers, so I'd say that's already half the battle. It also has some moderately fast and passionate arpeggios that will sound impressive to non-pianists, even though they're not actually *that* hard to execute. The real difficulty comes from interpreting it musically and tastefully but if the audience is mostly non-pianists/musicians, they probably won't care as long as you hit the right notes and sound passionate.
Chopin Fantasie-Impromptu
Like half the repertoire from the romantic period. Something like Chopins E minor prelude but being able to play the notes doesn’t mean you can play it well
Joplin "The entertainer". I've never known a pianist, no matter how bad, who couldn't master it.
I managed to learn Sibelius Op 75 No 5 "The Spruce" in a week or so. It has flowing sections that sound impressive but aren't really that hard. The beginning and the end are pretty similar as well. I think it's ABRSM 7/8.
Tony Banks - Firth of Fifth (intro): https://youtu.be/uhVFcsTpn34?si=AIk7YOX1AbRxD1MZ
Some of the arpeggios a bit of a stretch but relatively easy to play
Oh they can get hairy when it modulates to Gb. I have short fingers so I have to do a really exaggerated finger spread/roll to get close. On the whole though, it's really not as hard as it sounds as most of the melody is broken chords.
Khachaturian Sonatina!! And a little more difficult but sounds wayyyyyyy more difficult is his Tocatta!!
Moonlight Sonata Beethoven could be sightread fairly easily, play it faster to sound more impressive
You’re at ABRSM 8. Doesn’t basically everything you already know sound impressive? That’s basically the end of the line isn’t it? You’ve completed it quite fast in 6 years!
Grade 8 is not the end of the line, you're just getting started. There's ARSM, LRSM, and FRSM after that. And the progression is not linear, there's a huge leap of difficulty between grade 8 and ARSM. For reference, Debussy's Reverie is in grade 8 this year, and that's like his easiest piece.
Yah I’m learning it right now. But I think it sounds impressive to non-pianists no?
Maple leaf rag, the notes aren't very hard but the speed is hard
i cannot move past halfway through that 💀but im just a lurking amateur
Rach's Prelude in C# minor is pretty straightforward. The big block chords at the start and end sound fantastic to a non-pianist and if you can get a decent speed up on the triplets in the middle section that can sound pretty impressive too.
Any middle-difficulty Chopin would be a good choice. Etude #3, Waltz in C# minor. Other commenters said Fantasie-Impromptu which is also solid as long as you can nail the polyrhythm
Etude 3 is harder than it seems
Agree with this. And it’s well-known so I feel like you can’t just half ass it. I think it’s hard to express all the different moods of the piece effectively.
Etude #3 doesn't sound impressive, except for one part (the diminished 7ths bit), which is just as difficult as it sounds. It is beautiful though, and kudos to you if you can learn it in 3 weeks.
I disagree, it sounds impressive but fits your hands well. Both hands are playing the same chords but split apart, so it's easy to learn the hand positioning. Lots of chromatic chord changing and predictable patterns. I think if you can nail this section, the rest of the piece is easy sailing and it's not very long.
Probably depends on your hand shape and size. I find that at tempo, the change of chord position with the same fingers (e.g. from 1-3 to 1-3 or from 2-5 to 2-5 in both hands at the same time) can be risky.
If you have small hands the fingering will be more difficult but this is true for most pieces. The tempo of this section is open to interpretation IMO. You really don't have to crank it to Molto Vivace for it to sound impressive. Given three weeks of practice, I think its reasonable to work up to playing this moderately quickly.
I played Etude 3 at a talent show, someone else played Debussy’s 1st Arabesque. My friends all agreed my piece sounded much less impressive.
Flight of the Bumblebee is the correct answer in all cases. It's just a chromatic scale with a simple rhythm, extremely fun to play, and sounds fucking impossible to anybody who doesn't know advanced piano.
Almost everything by Philip Glass
River Flows in You by Yiruma
it’s the Stairway to Heaven of the piano world in my opinion
But... I love both :'(
One that I can really recommend in this case is Flood Time by Eric Thimann. I was listening to it (played waaaay faster than originally intended) and it seemed impossible. But then I looked up the score and I couldn’t be happier: so easy, so well crafted yet simple. Took me around 2-3 weeks to play it fluently. It really allows you to play with dynamics and tempo.
It’s perfectly possible for a grade 8 pianist to play a piece in 2-3 weeks but it has to be correct standard. I actually was thinking about this piece suggested also https://youtu.be/ynuCDTOkgbE?si=yfH6LlqrIHDjc4kC It was a grade 5 piece, perfectly playable to high standard in 2-3 weeks. Most of the other suggestions are too hard to play for a grade 8 player in 2-3 weeks and even diploma standard players could not play grade 8 pieces in only 2-3 weeks. My other suggestion would be a fast pace Italian tarantella which was also at grade 5 https://youtu.be/98OlKJuCbVU?si=oQ5n-kpMqEKu_kfG
Lol were you watching the video of that little kid who played it ten years ago?
Exactly!! I watched it as a kid and was so amazed by it. Now that I watched it again years later, it doesn’t sound as great 😅 (not to say: really bad) But still! The kid is three - holy moly!
Chopin op 9:1 sounds very beautiful and impressive. I did learn it in 3 weeks. YMMV.
Tarantelle in A minor by Albert Pieczonka sounds impressive but is probably only grade 6-7 standard. [https://imslp.org/wiki/Danses\_de\_salon\_(Pieczonka,\_Albert)](https://imslp.org/wiki/Danses_de_salon_(Pieczonka,_Albert))
To me, as a beginner pianist, ode to joy my bethoven. If you manage to learn the left hand and right hand parts, it will sound super hard but be super easy!
What version? Send me
Flower dance
Debussy’s 1st Arabesque. Any of Schubert’s Op. 90 impromptus. Gershwin’s Prelude No. 1.
Waltz in A minor Chopin should be easy to learn and has a few “impressive” sections if you have good dynamics!
Fly by Ludovico Einaudi
A less well known piece but perfect for your problem: "rustle of spring" by C. Sinding. https://youtu.be/a4Gaddlgqgo?si=z3cvvihbcSbLjfHy
I started playing in December and I’ve been able to learn sus (extended version) by mistfulplays. It was little difficult at first but it took me three-four weeks and it sounds really good. I think it’s worth a try even if you won’t play it.
A lot of the typical classical pieces you hear people play on public pianos. Not to take anything away but most aren’t too difficult if you understand the piano well. They know they enjoy playing it and put the time to learn it so I give them that.
One example is Chopin’s Op. 9 No. 2 Nocturne in E Flat Major. It actually is a little more difficult than it sounds but it certainly isn’t that high up there.
BWV 999. It is easy but so impressive that many professionals play it.
Summer by Vivaldi is a Between Intermediate and Advanced Level. Vivaldi just tends to use Arpeggios and Scales, if you know how to do scales you'll be fine.
I find a lot of people saying that three weeks is nothing, and that I won't be able to complete the piece in time. Firstly, the performance that I'm doing is a small one, it's a show where I'm not the only one playing. Secondly, I learn pieces quickly; for reference, I learnt my four grade 8 pieces in a little over two months and got a distinction. Don't worry guys, I've done all of this before, I'll have time to learn it. Thanks for all of the nice suggestions though, I'm definitely going with Khachaturian's toccata
Turkish March or Für Elise
Fur Elise is too easy for what OP wants, but Turkish March *played well* is fun. It must be played fast, perfectly evenly, etc or it’s a dud. I wouldn’t choose it but it could work
The Turkish March does not need to be fast, but it needs to be Turkish. Almost nobody plays it “correctly”, including many virtuoso pianists
"The Turkish March does not need to be fast, but it needs to be Turkish" Thanks for this, i feel like it's a mindset that can translate across a lot of pieces "The Minute Waltz does not need to be a minute, but it needs to be a Waltz." or something
I hate the way Lang Lang played it
Einaudi bullshit
Chopin fantasie impromptu Also revolutionary etude to some extent although it’s definitely not easy but sounds way impressive than it actual difficulty. But you have very small time window so don’t think it’s relevant
Revolutionary Etude, bars 29-32 💀.
It’s pretty manageable I think based on the level he said, I don’t know if in 3 weeks though
God the amount of slow practice and hands separately in that section I did 😀
I’ve got a solid alternative fingering if you‘re interested
Oh yes please, I'm very curious about it. I'm using the one from Paderewski edition.
https://pasteboard.co/st4LZO0lgcJ8.jpg I don’t know if there are a lot of overlaps with your edition but for me some of these changes worked a lot better than the henle suggestion
Thank you! Will definitely try this one.
The Flight of the Bumblebee is the first thing that comes to mind.
Comptine d'une autre ete
fantaisie impromptu, if you get used to the rhythym! the piece has a lot of repeats, so it should be easy to learn too
I’ve heard this piece played badly so many times. I feel like OP should pick any piece but this one.
How th is impromptu a piece that "isn't actually that hard" and can be learned to performance standard in 3 weeks? I'm post grade 8 too but still it seems really tough to get the tempo going.
Buzzing Bee by Mark Nevin. If you really relax into it at 160 bpm, this easy piece zooms people’s eyeballs off!
Rachmaninov’s prelude in C# minor
Flight of the Bumblebee
The theme from Inception.
Schubert impromptu no. 2, Chopin minute waltz (op. 64 no.2), Bach invention no. 13.
Mozart K545 Sonata Facile. It sounds hard but couldn't be easier to learn if you've mastered your scales and arpeggios. Short list: Debussy arabesque 1 Chopin preludes 4 and 7 Bach Aria from Goldberg Variations Mozart Fantasia in d minor if you learn quickly, (you may need more than 3 weeks for this one but doable and impressive to non musicians. )
Sonatina in A Minor by Benda is my favorite, for you it should be pretty easy but it sounds impressive (in my opinion) https://youtu.be/kXO52j-biOU?si=kCTzqGBgSiUJtdsr
BENDA!!!!!!
Saving this post so I can learn the pieces lol
There’s a piece called FLOWERS I DONT REMEMBER THE COMPOSERS NAME BUT IT IS FIVE PAGES (sorry bout the caps) of 1st 2nd and 3rd inversions played as broken chords in treble and a couple half notes in the bass. People love it especially if they can see your hands bc they be all over the keyboard playing first inversion and so on up the keyboard.
Chopin's fantasie impromptu.
Here to say Chopin but he's never easy to play
Opening - Philip Glass Utilizes polyrhythms, but once you wrap your head around that it’s pretty simple. One of the first songs I learned. When I played it for my Mom after playing for a month or two she was like “I had no idea you were so advanced!”… maybe that was just Mom talk tho.
I'm a grade 6 and am currently learning Bach's Praeludium 1. It isn't exactly easy to get the timing right, but it impresses everyone that hears it
Turkish march by Mozart. Sounds hard, sounds impressive, it's child play. I learned to play it at age 12.
Prokofiev Toccata in d minor... ;-) just kidding!
False Noble in A Minor by Franz Schubert
Debussy's Arabesque n.1
Les Barricades Mystèrieuses -Couperin
Mariage d'amour is quick and very fun https://youtu.be/PYPV4mhU5HQ?si=vyOLwn_Sliz4rBVf
4th movement of Beethoven sonata op2 no1 or op10 no1, they sound really impressive to me at least
La Campanella
A classic: Chopin fantasie impromptu. Rly, it isn't even that hard! You just have to get used to it!
Rush E 😂
I would etude opus 10 no 12 (revolutionary) its not easy but its MUCH easier than it sounds.
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody #2 It's a banger that everyone knows the tune to, so everyone will love it and it's not too hard
Always give yourself enough time to prepare for a performance. 3 weeks is a bit short. I’m worried about your goal of trying to impress people, rather than just presenting an artistic performance. Work with a good teacher rather than seeking advice from random folks on the internet. A few of the suggestions you’ve received are good, depending on your skill level and ability to read and learn music quickly. Solfeggietto has repeating patterns. It’s fast with continual 16th notes. Fairly short - there are a couple of tricky spots where the hands run into each other and require good fingering. The Khatchaturian is another good suggestion again depending on your ability and whether you have a good teacher to guide you through it. The Rachmaninoff C# minor prelude is a bit more challenging but not much. It’s harder to read than to play, using 4 staves in places and a lot of double sharps. I remember learning it quickly back in high school. It’s helpful if you have a pretty good span. Big chords spanning an octave in both hands. The thumbs interlock constantly in the first section. There is a lot of harmonic repetition throughout the piece, which makes it a little easier to learn. Good luck.