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The book I have is called: "Easier piano pieces No.39 Chopin An Introductory Album" by ABRSM publishing.

I showed the piece to my teacher and she picked up a few things for me to look out for, one was to use the correct fingering otherwise I'd run out of fingers and the other was how to break it apart to practice and learn it.

Thanks for the advice on playing it. It certainly does still sound nice at a slow tempo so hopefully that will keep me satisfied until it's up to a faster tempo.

Thanks for the name of the book - I see it is easily available to me on Amazon ...time for a little present to my self methinks Mind you many of the pieces are available for free at

free-scores.com

I downloaded the Waltz69 N2 and Prelude Op 28N4 1 page,very slow...) and showed them to my teacher - she said she saw no reason for me to wait to start trying them out (not really studying them, but to start looking them over and getting a feel for them).


Did I mention I'm in a very good mood today?

I meant c# minor as I wrote. I think it was op 64. Cannot really verify the # now but it's a good one

The book I have (probably a similar selection) is Chopin: An Introduction to his Piano Works (Book & CD)

Andy,
You and I have the same book. I like the CD that came along with it. I especially like the tempo of the A minor posthumous waltz on that recording.

I was looking around for a book yesterday after reading this thread and found the one Andy linked to. I'm glad to see it endorsed here. Though... I have alot of Chopin recordings so maybe free downloads are the way to go... (I'm not ready for Chopin yet, but I keep a long wish list at Amazon)

FarmGirl, I had a listen to the Cminor (c sharp minor 64 n2) ...it is really pretty but I think I have to wait on that for a while indeed!

Glasslove - I remember you telling me about your Chopin book too - nice to see that Andy is enjoying it too.

We have quite a new little group of Chopin lovers growing here, don't we?

Absolutely! Lots of Chopin Lovers here! I am working on the Waltz in C# Minor and now I want to play the A minor waltz too. I am also working on the Nocturne in Eb Major (9 2), and relearning Nocturne in E minor (72 1). I absolutely love that one (72 1), but I never played it well in the past. Maybe this time around!

JimF just told me about the Prelude in B minor (Op 28 No. 6) ...... If you look at the music it is intimidating, but when you listen to it and hear how slow it is.... you feel you just might be able to do it.

I found another good site for downloading Chopin:

http://chopinfiles.com

There are 2 waltzes in A minor. I believe most of us are talking about the Posthumous one which (my research shows ) is refered to as Waltz No.19 in A minor, or Op.posth.P2 No.11 (BI 150)

But the other is Waltz in A Minor, Op. 34, No. 2
Here is a little performance by Horowitz -he makes it sound very easy!

SwissMs, Nocturne in Eb Major (9 2) is absolutely beautiful. I I love c# minor waltz too. I played it 3 or 4 years ago. That was one of the first pieces I learned with my current teacher. It's beautiful but not easy at all (LOL). I was sight reading Chopin's waltz after I found out that Cheryl is doing a minor. I have never played them before but I was able to play op 69 #1 and 2 with slow speed. But not the c# minor even though i studied it before, I will have to make effort to bring it back.

By the way, fellow Chopin lovers, I decided to create a little Chopin repertoire. Everyone loves his music. It will be nice to play some of his stuff whenever I have people over. If you are starting out with your Chopin pieces, it's a really good idea to keep them alive. I was looking at my books to see what I played before. I got quite a bit. A nocturne Op 72 - 1 (e minor p.h) from year ago when I briefly came back to piano in college. I am self studying the Op 9-2 nocturne. Besides the c# minor one, 2 waltz and 1 mazurka from my college days as well. a minor waltz and raindrop prelude from childhood. I know a couple of pieces are tough to sight read. See what I mean. I just tried Op 24 #1 Mazurka.. I could somehow play it with extremely slow speed. I have some hope. It's coming back and actually, my touch got a lot better now. Phew! I remember I used to struggle to get the rhythm and keep the left hand chord together and quieter. So I guess, it's my achievement of the day too.

I also discovered I studied another Mazurka... Op 68 #2. It was really fun to play. It makes me really ashamed now. My gosh, what have i been doing for all these years. I could have kept all those pieces alive.. And I should be much better than I am now. I guess this is what happens if you don't continue. ...Anyway, I work on building it up now from the c# minor waltz...

Bad thread! Bad thread!

I don't need more stuff to learn!

Okay, so I just listened to the A Minor (Posthumous) link posted by CAS--that recording is drop-dead gorgeous--and downloaded the sheet music. Off now to give it a test drive.

FarmGirl, I agree with you ...that is to say, as soon as I have any sort of Chopin repertoire, I will work hard to keep it fresh and pretty so that I can always have it at my fingertips!

I think it is wonderful that this thread has stimulated so much enthusiasm among us.

The only "problem" is that I foresee a life-long addiction in the making here. Nah, that's not a problem - at least not one I'm planning to worry about!

I can envision someone starts Chopin 12 step program thread. Not kidding you. My teacher told me a couple of adults (old adults like me) refuses to learn anything else.

As my screen name might suggest I absolutely love Chopin and especially his waltzes. I was happy I saw this thread because it seems to be a good place to ask this question rather than starting a new thread about it. I really, really want to learn Chopin's Waltz No. 14 in E minor. However, on the difficulty rating list it is graded as a 8 and I have only done level 7 pieces up to this point. Also graded at level 8 are his etudes and many other pieces I would be terrified to learn at the moment so I guess my question is just how accessible is this waltz? Reading through the music it seems doable, and seems to play to some of my strengths but with Chopin you really never seem to know until you start playing (at least for me). Just as a frame of reference some of the level 7 pieces I have played include Chopin's Minute Waltz, Nocturne in C# minor (post op), Claire de Lune and several Bach preludes. I'm currently a college student so I have no teacher to ask so hopefully some of you more familiar with the piece may be able to offer some advice! Thanks in advance for any help.

Thanks.
I've never heard this piece before, it is really nice.

I wanted to be able to play it so I just downloaded the sheet music.
I found it pretty simple to play right through the first time.
(Although it will take me a little bit to polish it so that I can play it as smoothly as in the link).

Maybe I am better at sight reading than I thought since I don't really know where I stand in comparison to others since I don't take lessons and almost always just play for myself.

But thanks for introducing me to this nice piece.

Yeah, e-minor waltz is beautiful. If you have done minute waltz and c# minor, it's within your easy reach. I don't think you need my advice. Just approach this as you approach other pieces. I usually 1) study the score first, 2)Play through slowly the piece without ornaments etc to find out tough spots, 3) make lesson plans (assign warm up exercises to those tricky spots that will derail you later, group up similar sections etc..) i do hand separately whenever i find tough spots and when I am memorizing long phrases (i memorize base first - because I am a memory retard). If i cannot even play a few bars without holding my head, that's usually a sign that the piece is beyond my ability and consult my teacher since I have one now. Hope it helps you... BTW the nocturne is super beautiful. I don't have it in my book - it ends at nocturne number 19. I just downloaded it from sheet music plus. Thank you for this.

Thanks for the response! I am really excited to start learning it because it seems like a lot of fun to play. I'm glad to hear that it should be in my reach. Also you're welcome for the Nocturne, it is really wonderful and one of my favorite Chopin pieces. It is actually used in the beginning of the movie the Pianist and after I heard that(and several other Chopin pieces in the movie) a few years ago, I really started to become obsessed with his music haha.

That movie seems to deserve a lot of credit for turning people here on to piano playing and Chopin! I was already a Chopin addict when the movie came out, after hearing a work colleague sight read a waltz on our boss's baby grand. First, I loved the music. Second I was insanely jealous that she could sight read such a difficult piece when piano wasn't even her primary instrument (she played violin) and in any case hadn't played in a long time. That was probably the peak of my anger/annoyance at my parents for not getting me lessons as a kid. I can credit a movie with turning me on to the Goldberg Variations, though (32 short films about Glen Gould). I only have myself to blame for not starting lessons then!

Theres no doubt Chopin Waltzes are special...

My daughter is having a reasonable stab at the Amin at the moment - but although she has all the notes, dynamics, structure etc well down pat, she really struggles to get the feeling of her phrases sounding clean... Perhaps its a maturity thing that is beyond her years? (Its only her 8th birthday today).

I love playing the C#min (64 #2). It spretty straight forward to play once you've got your right hand around the rapid ascending flourish and the whole thing can be beautifully mournful if played slowly or sparkling and robust if played a little faster.

For my mind however, the heart wrenching beauty of Chopin comes from his Nocturnes - I've been addicted to them for decades and really look forward to sitting in on daughters lessons when the time comes to hear what her teacher has to say on how to improve them (I learn SOO much from sitting in on her lessons!)