just want to see what's the first original piece everyone ever learned when you start playing (any Hanon or others' exercises are not included)?

for me, it's Fur Elise, but i only learned the first part (till repeat bar) then. i guess many people start on this piece, and we'll find out...

I think my "first" was Glinka's "The Lark"
Virginia (from Virginia)

If you're talking about classical, I haven't learned one yet. If you're talking about a piece that's not just an exercise in a method book, my first "piece" was Silent Night.

maybe i should clarify the words of 'original piece' little bit more: which should mean any piece written or transcribed for piano solo originally, not a simplified version of such a piece/song, whether it is classical or not.

For me, its a Minuet in G from the Anna Magdalena handbook. My teacher has me in the final stages now - I've got it memorized, and we're working on hand motions, specifically getting some upwards motion at the end of phrases and what not. I"ve also been working on playing it with my eyes closed. Its the first piece I've played worthy of such attention. Already started on another Bach Minuet, quite a bit more challenging for me than the first. Good stuff, that. I have taken a look at Fur Elise, but its way over my head at this point I'm sorry to say. Perhaps next year.

HM

Fur Elise - all of it.

My first piece (just recently learned) is Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, which I learned with my second piano teacher. I am so glad to be an adult and be able to play whatever I want now. Before, my first pieces consisted of Schaum arrangements of classical pieces. While they did introduce me to pieces I'd like to play later, it is an accomplishment for me to say, "Hey, I can play something real"

I was going to save myself retyping the answer to this question by finding my old post in P.C. and link to it, but the search function is not all it should be.

The question perhaps needs clarification--first piece "learned" as in started and understood, or first piece brought to performance level? My answers would be different either way.

I am the original idiot. I decided to teach myself piano as a freshman in college with access to a herd of new Steinway grands. So I went out and bought Ernesto Lecuona's Andalusian Suite and started with "Malaguena". It didn't dissuade me in the least to have other students comment, "Have you met the idiot who's starting with Lecuona's 'Malaguena'?" But lack of access to a piano DID dissuade me the next year. When I bought myself a new piano several years later (my first ever installment purchase), I picked up right where I left off, with the Lecuona. While I could read it and finger it all, some of it rather well, there were portions of it where an upright just didn't cut it--those two pages of fast quintuplets on pages 2 and 3--the upright couldn't return the hammers fast enough. Nor generate the complexity of building tone I was after. So I worked on other things in the little time I had available for practice for about a year. Until the working world and a 100-hour per week job killed all practice time.

Fast forward 20 years to quitting that job and buying a concert grand and devoting myself to piano full-time after 20 years of not playing a single note, literally. So out comes the old yellowed and dog-earred Lecuona. Only now, the piano can deliver what my mind and fingers want on those fast quintuplets with contol at PP and every shading I'm after while building to those FFFF crescendos. Meanwhile, while working that piece regularly, I committed Satie's 6 most common Gnossiennes and Gymnopedies to memory and consistent performance level. And finally worked up the nerve to tackle the 3rd Mvt. of LVB Op 27, 2. (I'd done 1 & 2 on the upright and refined them enormously on the grand). And on a good day, that's performance level as well (enough to fool neighbors they're hearing a "great CD"). And I can wing my way through a sizeable number of other things as well.

But I'm still working on polishing the Lecuona. I did play it once, but only once, that satisfied me absolutely. That left me exhilarated. But most other days, I can only come close, but see very specific elements I could have done better (always those quintuplets--maintaining speed and uniformity until the right gets a rest on page four is demanding). But I still put in the patient and focused practice time each week to make it more consistent eventually.

So I have not truly left my beginning behind even yet, though I've learned a lot alongside that effort. I'm just not that linear, I guess. And no one ever accused me of being reasonable about expectations or demands.

So after I finally "finish" that "first" piece, I'll tackle the next, "Rhapsody in Blue", which I went out and bought a half-hour after the grand was delivered.

Bach's fugue in C from WTC book 1. I know I set my sights kinda high, but I was absolutely obsessed with Bach and the WTC in college. It was also the 1st piece I learned when I started playing again after a 20 year break. (Why did I ever quit?)

If with folly on this one, I also learned moonlight sonata, but just the first movement. Didn't really like the second and the third is too hard so maybe later.

--DR LO

Allegretto in C by Diabelli.

First original piece learned: A Bach minutet.

First performed: Chopin Mazurka in G minor, Op. 67, No. 2

If I had it to do over, I wouldn't have gone with that particular Chopin piece. There are easier ones in my Chopin book that sound just as nice. Live and learn, I guess.

Herman - I started laughing when I went and found the Bach Minuet in G - I love it when I already know a song - for us oldies - "How gentle is the rain? That falls softly on the meadow?" What is it? - Toys 1967? Don't despair - Fur Elise isn't that bad - I bet you'll be at it before you know it.
I have only recently begun to play any Bach at all and I really like him - I think there's a lot of good learning in his music, for me anyway. I'm currently working on a Prelude in D Major that is driving me nuts! Holding the voices while playing others at totally different counts is really hard. I don't know why this particular one is giving me such fits.

Has anyone else done this piece? Am I just brainless or is it really hard?

Chick I did exactly the same thing to Lecuona while I was in college. Of course I learned Malaguena on the guitar first.

Other than Thompson Method, my first peice was sheet music for "A Summer Place" that I found in the piano bench. It had pretty easy repetitive chords that I labelled on the music. Then I went into a major Bach phase starting with Two-part inventions. Bach rocks.

Julie

Rach 3 in a piano showroom.

I found "Meet The Flintstones" blown into my hedgerow one fall. Haven't felt inspired to try it.

The first piece I learned as an adult that wasn't in a method book was Tchaikovsky's "June Barcarolle" from The Seasons.

Ditto. I played it so much im turned off fur elise for life now.

:D

I really can't remember what my first piece was. Some of the earliest I can remember playing are: Fur Elise (of course! ), "Born Free," a series of piano duets from "Sound of Music," and some simplified themes of Chopin's work.

My first "real" pieces were an obscure Bagatelle-thingy by Beethoven (in my book it was named "Farewell to the Piano," with no opus or WoO --note--not "Adieu to the Piano," this was different) and Chopin's Raindrop Prelude. For some reason I was entranced by Clair de Lune and learned that pretty early on as well. Weird, since I don't think I play Debussy all that well today. (I probably didn't play Clair de Lune all that well, but folks loved hearing an 11 year old play it! )

Nina

My first piano had to sit in the garage while we finished the room addition. We were living in San Diego so it wasn't a problem. I started on a keyboard and then when I went to my first lesson with my real first teacher the first piece she gave me was Fur Elise. Good thing I had the real piano because there weren't enough E's on the keyboard! I'm sure the neighbors got sick to death of hearing me doodly doo away on Fur Elise - not to mention my husband. Of course I play everything I learn a million times! But I certainly would never put Fur Elise on my cell phone ring. Hmmm that could be a good new topic!

I'm still not sure what the question is. The first thing I learned after a C Major scale was something titled "German Folk Song" from the Bastien Older Beginner book 2.

I have a clearer question with which I'm thinking of starting a new thread...

The first real, non-arranged piece would be the first part of fur elise. I spent maybe a month on it before I moved on. Unfortunately, it is so over played it has become annoying.
Jon

yes, Fur Elise is over played and many people get sick to death of it, but if you think back when the first time you heard it, it was such a striking little piece which seemed having stucked in your mind ever since. that might be why many people start playing piano just to learn to play this one!

And everybody is playing the beginning usually! And it's the middle that's interesting. That piece is definitive Beethoven in Reader's Digest "condensed" form, but only if you realize all the depth is the middle where all that defiance surfaces amid all the mannerliness of the beginning and end. There's some real passion in that middle and it's not even very hard. Great little piece to learn a range of expression.

CoolNerd! How are you? I have missed you! Is your sister lurking? We would love to include her in any New England PW events!

I don't remember my first piece, I do remember Fur Elise when I was about 13. (All my old John Thompson books have the date written when each piece was assigned..scary! )

As an adult starting over after 25 years, the first piece I felt I "knew" was known as "First Loss" from Schumann's Scene's from Childhood.

While relatively easy technically, this was a difficult exercise in playing musically and learning all the subtle ways to get the sound to speak....My teacher taught me much with that "simple" piece...

I remember Good King Wenceslas and Little Brown Jug in Alfred's Adult I book. Among my first Classical pieces were the Clementi Sonatinas Op 36 1-3. I'm playing Jig by Archer, Verso in E minor and a Beethoven Sonatina in F in the gd 5 Repertoire. Fur Elise is in the RCM gd 7 Repertoire. I think teachers are avoiding this piece. I haven't heard Fur Elise played in any recitals.

The first two pieces I ever learned as a child were "Chopsticks" and "The Entertainer." I think that was followed by heart and soul. I think that's one of everyone's firsts!

my first piece learned to performance level was Chopin Prelude in Eminor. I still love playing it!

Let's get serious folks....you're probably all talking about the first "serious" or "real" piece that you learned. But in so doing, you are overlooking all the joys of the first pieces that many learned as children including "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Big Chief Indian", and "Jingle Bells". Sheesh....Chopin? Beethoven? Gimme a break. Too mature.

my first piece was "march of the wee folk" if memory serves.

Ken

Isn't this forum for Adult Beginners? it would imply then that we didn't learn tunes as children :-)

actually I think, as an adult, the first thing I learned, from page 2 or whatever of a method book, was, umm, a stripped down Danny Boy theme!

I progressed quickly, I was learning Chopin's Prelude in Eminor after 2 months of lessons I think.


-Paul

Mound,

SPot on about the children comment. I studied for a year when I was about 11 or 12 because my parents forced me too (though obviously not hard or long enough). As such, a full 20 years later, I am at it again, having just taken my second lesson in 1.5 weeks. This stuff ain't easy, that's for sure, but it sure is fun. It's the tempo that gets me bogged down more than the notes.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I can still remember "Big Chief Indian" after all these years. What's worrisome is the notion that it has been playing around in my head for all these years.

Working on Mozart's Minuet in B flat now. Apparently, he wrote it when he was 6. At that age, I think I was just discovering that you shouldn't eat rocks or dirt.

You are right, Chick - it's the beginning and middle that make it a piece worth learning, in my opinion. And it isn't very hard.

I'm probably dating myself, but as a kid I remember "Spinning Song" from one of the Michael Aaron method books. Anyone remember that one?

WynnBear - I played that one just last year. Spinning Song, Albert Ellmenreich OP 14 No 3.

I remember talking with my teacher when I was a child. I remember how I told her I hated Beethoven and I didn't want to learn anything he had written. My father had recordings of the symphonies which he played nightly, alternating with recordings of other of Beethoven's works. I learned the Bach's prelude in C and fell in love with its quiet cadence and reflection of life living. On and on, over and over; I've rocked myself out of sorrow, lived my life in minutes and resolved all my problems.

I learned Fur Elise on classical guitar. I too am kinda sick of hearing it though..

WynnBear: That's too strange, my teacher just handed me two new pieces last Saturday, Spinning Song and the theme from Mystic River.
Jon

Fur Elise - It was the first thing I played on the piano...........I mean ever. I couldn't read a note of music but I had to play it. Thats how I started.

Humoresque in G Major

It is from level one of the Royal Conservatory system.

for someone who started piano during their freshman year in college, you sure understand quite alot about what to look for in music...

o and my first piece-.-'' , either fur elise or mozart's alla turka (of course i didn't do a very good job on the latter one.)

Wow after seeing all the above posts, it's so encouraging and I cant wait to start ...

By the way, when you talked about your first piece like fur elise, how long does it takes you to play starting from zero (meaning dun know the fingerings, see notes etc etc ..) is it 1 yr ? 2 yr or more ?

As a beginner in fifth grade: "The Woodchuck" from Schaum's A book

Restart #1 (in college after a 5 year break from lessons): Bach 2-Part Invention #1 (in C major)

Restart #2 (almost two years ago after a 23 year break from lessons): Mendelssohn's second "Venetian Gondola Song" (Opus 19, No. 6)

Interesting note of Fur Elise: my teacher says that a common question parents have when starting children with her is "how long until they can play Fur Elise?" (or as she puts it "how much will it cost until they can play Fur Elise?").

I don't really count my John Thompson book pieces as "real" pieces (from 25 years ago), so I'll just go by what I played in my first recital, which was "Baby Elephant Walk". I really didn't like playing that, but I had to. My second recital piece was "Fur Elise" which I can still play but need to polish with more legato.

I'm sure I did some of those very simplified beginner pieces too, but to me Spinning Song was the first piece I did that sounded like real music.

Enjoy it!

My first real classical piece was Sonatina in G by Beethoven. I don't consider pop pieces or arrangements to be real pieces.

Same here.

Maple Leaf Rag was my first piece, unless one would consider March in D or Minuet in G from Anna Magdalena to be real pieces.

Maple Leaf Rag? What speed did you play it at?

And yes, I do consider those other pieces to be "real".

The recording I have from right after I had the whole piece memorized and in my fingers drifts between 90 and 100 quarter notes per second, for a total of 3:04 to play the whole piece, all repeats included.

But it wasn't my first piece, if one considers those others.

Is the basic meter of the right hand in 8th notes or 16th notes? I don't have a copy handy.

I think the basic meter is in eighth notes. The left hand part is generally 4 1/8th notes per measure.

I am learning myself from my daughter's lesson books and playing first piece "Clementine". Does this count ?

Nope. Signa, the original poster in the thread, defined original piece as "any piece written or transcribed for piano solo originally, not a simplified version of such a piece/song, whether it is classical or not."

Don't feel bad. I've been at it for nearly a year and haven't finished my first "piece" yet either. Although I'm working on Fur Elise and should have the first part of it done by the end of the month. I have the fingering and timing down, I just need to get it up to tempo. The other two thirds may take a little longer.

The first real piece I ever learned was Fur Elise--the entire song when I was 15. (I did have a few other putt putt songs I learned, but I can't remember them.) I only took lessons from my mom for a year or so. I taught myself to play Fur Elise.

After that I learned the 1st Movement of Moonlight Sonata when I was 20. It took me about 6 months to really play it sort of well. It took me a year to play it with any sort of feeling. That was over 15 years ago. I just started up again 1 month ago and I practice 1 hour or so a day--at night.

I am learning Wedding Day at Troldhougen now. I am almost through the entire song now and can play it fairly well with some serious rough spots. (The 16th notes on the left hand.) But, anyone who knows the piece can recognize what I am playing.

I am playing on a serious junker Kimball that is 100 years old and was free. I have played alot of the Chinese grands and I can't stand the action or the bass response, (non-existant). I will probably buy a Kawai or a Yamaha (baby grand) soon as I can't stand it any longer.

I will someday learn Fantasy Impromptu and finally the 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata. After that, who knows? Any suggestions?

I think in the next world I will personally find Beethoven and thank him for writing Fur Elise. He introduced me, and many of us, to the beautiful world of piano music. Now, my kids play it ALL THE TIME. I don't believe I will ever tire of that piece of music.

David

Oh thanks so I still have not reach the stage of playing "my first piece" as yet. Well, no despair

My daughter piano teacher is very kind and she gave me a theory grade one book as a gift and she bought for me the Alfred piano lesson grade one as well. I am learning hard on my fingerings especially the 4th & pinkie.

David: Glad to hear you are playing again. Do you have an instructor yet or are you just working on things by yourself?
I would recommend reading some of the posts in the piano forum before rushing out and buying a Kawai or Yamaha. There are so many awesome choices for about the same money.
Just my $.02
Jon

how funny, but i do agree, even though many people are tired of it. glad too that you are back playing. Moonlight's 3rd movement will be hard, and i won't attempt at it for quite a long time. i guess Tempest's 3rd movement is easier, at least i have tried 30 some bars of its opening.

Luckychwee,

I certainly did not mean to offend you. If I did I sincerely apologize. What I meant to say is I never really learned any "real" music until Fur Elise. (By real I mean a piece which is more than about a page long--if that--with nothing more than a few simple notes.)

I got bored with the "simple" songs and then decided if I was going to spend my time learning something, then I was going to learn something I wanted to listen to.

Keep up the interest and the motivation in the piano! You will not learn the piano and fingerings overnight--but time in your life will pass anyway, regardless of what you do. You can spend it watching Oprah or leaning to play the piano. Either way you will grow old. In a few years you will not remember any of the Oprah--but you may play Fantasy Impromptu if you really try. (No offence meant to Oprah fans here--my wife is one of them--I am just using that as an example. I hope you understand.)

Interestingly, the same goes for me in my professional life as well. It takes just as much time to make a Pinto as it does a Cobra...so why not make a Cobra when it is so much more beautiful?

jdsher,

Thank you for your kind words. I do not have an instructor yet, but I have seriously thought about getting one. I guess I have just been turned off by my old teachers and I am impossibly overworked at my business so I have just been teaching myself. I am, however, getting to the point I think I may be teaching myself bad habits! The worst part is I don't even know what they are.

I have read the posts on the pianos and am probably more confused than when I started. I do know they all say to go and play the pianos. I have played several of them now. The Chinese pianos, IMHO, are complete junk. Of course, they may not have been prepped very well at all by the dealers. The action is heavy and uneven. The bass is simply non-existent, the treble is harsh and overpowering.

My sister bought a "rebuilt" 100 year old Steinway and I refuse to play it as it is so bad. It is a real shame. Sticky keys, runs in the finish, notes that don't play, notes that fly away from your fingers...you name it.

I am not rushing out yet...of course, I think otherwise when I play on my piece of junk! Good thing I play at night when the stores are closed. Every night I promise myself I will buy a new piano the next day but cooler heads prevail by morning and I go and study some more. I am more interested in how a piano plays, than how it sounds. I, frankly, do not like the sound of the Kawai or the Yamaha...but I do like the actions. If the piano won't repeat fast enough on a trill, then who cares how it sounds because it can't make the sounds you want it to anyway.

If you have any suggestions on a piano, I am all ears! I would love to hear from you.

Signa,

You have only tried 30 bars??? Get back out there and try the rest!!! Keep it up! Thank you for your kind words. I will never tire of Fur Elise. I was playing it the other day at my parents house and my dad came walking into the room--late at night. When I finished he asked me if I would play it at his funeral...I guess it was a sombering moment and yet, somehow special as well. He had to listen to all of his kids play that a million times over the years so I guess he wants to hear it "one more time." I, of course, told him I was glad "I had a long time to keep practicing."

David

thanks, David, and i guess i will try the rest of Tempest (at least the 3rd movement) but maybe little later, as i have some pieces waiting to be finished now. how touching that moment was with your father! i do agree with you 100% about learning piano vs. doing some useless things with the same amount of time. life is short anyway, while music lives.

Hi David

Why you says that ??? haha and it's absolutely not at all offending and I take every piece of advice as "Good" advice. This is a good piano forum whereby most of you share how you learn, problems you face etc etc ...

By the way, I am really new but what do you actually think is time wasting ??? I got confusion here .. Do you mean that instead of practising the same song/fingering you proceed further much faster pace ?? But problem is that if you do so, will you be facing more problems later ?

Sorry for these questions and hope someone can explain to me.

Thanks & God Bless ...

Luckychwee,

I am glad I did not offend.

What do I think is wasting time? Well, at our shop we call it "wander mode." That is when your brain shuts off and you wander around wondering what to do but can't seem to motivate yourself to do anything.

Just sitting down and mindlessly watching the TV is, IMHO, quite a waste of life. I imagine 10 years from now, few will remember who won the NCAA championships, or the Superbowl, but in 10 years you can get a BS. MS. and Phd. in pretty much anything your heart desires. (Or learn the 3rd Movement of Moonlight Sonata).

I guess all I am really trying to say is time will pass for all of us. Even Bill Gates only has 24 hours in the day and no more. What you do with your time is what you do with your life, because time is what life is made of.

You can learn anything you want in this life if you will try hard enough. I started learning Polish when I was 30 and now speak it quite fluently. When I first arrived in Poland EVERYONE tried to convince me to not even try as the language was so difficult to learn. It was an unbelieveably hard battle to learn that language. Nevertheless, today I am the only person I know who is not a native of Poland who speaks their language and can readily converse on technical/engineering subjects.

(I own a factory in Poland where we make our cars. I realized from the beginning if I could not speak their language I would be at the mercy of whatever they decided to tell me and the company would fail.)

I figure if I can learn Polish then those left hand 16th notes which are so intimidating can't really be all that bad. I just have to try harder. Just another mountain to conquer in the quest of life. I guess I simply love the challenge of the struggle more than arriving at the finish line.

Will I be facing more problems later with fingerings, bad habits...well, frankly, yes. But I would rather have "bad habits" (on the piano at least) than no habits. If I never start, then it is impossible to finish. I guess I will just view the bad habits later on as another mountain to climb.

David

David, I hope you'll be able to submit your full version of Fur Elise to the CD project. I'm only going to be able to submit the first easy section, and I'll be lucky if I can get the tempo up over 100 by the end of the month.

David: If you like the action of the Kawai, I would recommend trying a Shigeru Kawai. They have a beautiful sound and nice action as well. There was an interesting thread Dear Kawai experts that you should read regarding the Kawai action. However, what I would say is the most important thing about buying a new piano is that you play as many different brands as possible to figure out what you like.
Jon

Bob,

I don't know anything about a CD! What are you guys cooking up? Sounds like fun. Of course, you would all shoot me if I recorded anything on the piano I have right now!

Jon,

Thank you for the comments. I will definately check the Shigeru Kawai out. Is it a different version of the Kawai? Thank you for the link. I am not sure if I can play 6 notes/second or not, but I certainly would not want to be limited if I ever could play more. I will go and play some more. Thank you so much for your comments.

Why is buying a piano so hard?

David

David, here's the forum devoted to the CD project:
CD Project Forum

And here's the thread in that forum that talks about the goal of the CD project:
Piano World Member\'s Recording Compilation Project, Vol. 1

If you don't want to record off your piano, maybe you can record to a disk on a digital at a local piano store. Better yet, record from a digitalized Yamaha or similar.

"Why is buying a piano so hard?"

I think you're making it hard. You're trying to find the perfect piano in too short a period of time while you're miserable with the piano you have. Do what I did.

I wasn't ready to buy the perfect piano for several reasons, so I found a decent used Samick 5'7" for $5,000 plus about $350 moving fees. While it's not perfect, it will certainly do me until I'm ready to find my "perfect" piano.

You've got to be kidding me.

Seems like opinions about Fur Elise are drastically different from the Pianist's Corner in here.
I think it's an overplayed grating mediocre little miniature botched by millions every year.

That may be a bit harsh but I've heard it so many times it's driving me crazy. My school librarian banned it from being played on the library piano.

While these statement may be personal opinion, I really don't think it is up there in terms of musical calibre when compared to some of the other things.

Hello,
"Fur Elise" seems to be hard for a very beginner like me.
I started lessons with a teatcher 5 months ago and my first piece was a Menuet of JP Rameau.
It is a baroque piece, which fingerings are simple and intuitive. I worked 6 weeks on this piece to learn and memorize it properly.

"Seems like opinions about Fur Elise are drastically different from the Pianist's Corner in here."

Um, yeah. One of the many reasons I'm glad a forum separate from the advanced players was created.

""Fur Elise" seems to be hard for a very beginner like me."

I've been playing for a year and it's very difficult for me too. Getting the notes down for the first part wasn't too bad, but getting it up to tempo is going to be difficult. Definitely doable though.

I'm probably not going to be ready for the other two thirds for another year. What a challenge they are!

Valarking,

I have no doubt Fur Elise is, as you say, “botched by millions every day.” I can, no doubt, be counted among those of whom you speak. I believe that is what makes the piece so great—simple enough for those of us who are so clumsy with the “ivories” that we are only able to make some small semblance of what Beethoven had in mind when he wrote the piece, yet so undeniably captivating as to entice even those of us who are beginners to at least attempt the music of the great classical composers--and possibly even motivate us to move on to more "challenging" pieces. I know it has motivated me. I know of no other piece of music which has so universally captured the musical fingers of players across the world.

As for the piece being “grating [sic] mediocre little miniature” I must confess, I wish I had 1/1000th of the genius of Beethoven to have been able to have written such a wonderful piece--which has influenced countless pianists, and non-musicians alike—for 200 years now. I doubt anything I do in this life will be of much consequence 200 years from now.

As for Fur Elise being on the CD Project Forum, I can not think of a more representative piece of music that, perhaps, all of us have learned to play, however haltingly, and all of us have certainly heard. I believe the CD should be representative of all of our abilities as I do not believe many of us here are on the level of Listz in our ability to play the piano. Now, whether or not my unwieldy fingers would be called upon to do the job of playing Fur Elise is probably a call for someone far more skilled than I. Regardless, I believe a few beginners should be represented as well.

Of course, these are only my opinions and I certainly do not mean to offend.

Bob,

You are probably correct. I am making it too hard.

David

i agree. Fur Elise is a universally known piece, despite some sophisticated pianists may think it is too trivial (for them at least). i only want to point out one fact though that even some famous pianists recorded this piece, such as Alfred Brendel.

I happen to think Fur Elise is one of the greatest love songs of all time -- and I think that's why it has captured the imagination of millions and why it has had such "staying" power over the last century. I remember reading the fascinating story about this piece years ago. Apparently Beethoven was quite deaf when he wrote it -- he was living with his landlord and the landlord's daughter, named Theresa. Fur Elise was not published until after Beethoven's death. "Fur Theresa" was scribbled across the top of the music, but this was mis-read by the publisher who thought it said "Fur Elise" -- and so it was published as Fur Elise -- and few realize that it was written for Theresa. Whenever I play Fur Elise I picture deaf old Beethoven totally smitten with young beautiful Theresa -- I imagine his heart drumming the beat in one section, and think of Theresa scampering away after a brief encounter with the great composer. And for some reason I find the fact that Beethoven wrote it in the Key of "C major" to be very poignant -- one might say the "perfect" key -- with just a hint of melancholy at the end of the piece. I warm up with Fur Elise on occasion. Last week while riding the Metro to work I chuckled when a beautiful young woman answered her cell phone which was playing "Fur Elise." Love always survives -- and so will Fur Elise. One of my favorites.
Virginia (from Virginia)

"for some reason I find the fact that Beethoven wrote it in the Key of "C major" to be very poignant"

The reason it sounds a bit melancholy at the end is probably because it was written in A-minor. The minor key makes it much better for an unrequited love don't you think?

The first piece I learned was Rachmaninoff's C#- Prelude. The piece inspired me to learn how to play. We have a spinet that was more a piece of furniture than a legitimate instrument, so I bought a Yamaha P60.

It took about a week for me to be able to muster out the first three chords (after the slow octave intro) hands together at a reasonable tempo, and it was surprisingly painful - I have small hands and at the time could barely manage an octave. The rest of the piece was learned at a similarly slow pace; it took all summer (2003), but it was worth the effort.

Of course, it was probably a bad idea to have started with that piece, and my interpretation of it was pretty sloppy initially. This summer, I've been working on Chopin's Ballade #1...

My recital piece was Mozart Minuet in F Major.