Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum The age-old problem...

...of what to learn next? I had a lot of stuff going on for the past 8 or so months. Didn't play nearly as much as I would have liked to. I didn't even finish last year's New Year's resolution which was to learn three "full-length" piano compositions front-to-back. I made it through 2.75 pieces Well this year I am coming back with a vengeance and am setting a goal of 5.

Which leads me to the purpose of the post... I am fresh out of ideas for stuff to learn. It has been so long since I have explored this hobby. What are you all working on, or wanting to begin? What have you heard lately that you have enjoyed?

Generally I like playing classical or neoclassical. Another genre I have enjoyed listening to in the past is video game music, especially Final Fantasy. I am not much of a gamer, so I wouldn't know where to begin.

Feel free to post other genres, though, as I am sure there are other members looking for new stuff who may have a taste different than my own.

The ABF recital index is a wealth of information on what the folks on the forum like to play:

http://recitals.pianoworld.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

I'm sure you'll get some ideas from the many recital lists.

Oh wow I didn't realize somebody had indexed all the recitals like that. Shows how long I've been away That is a great resource, thanks for the link.

Since you mention Final Fantasy, you're probably already familiar with the Piano Collections, but I hope it is worth mentioning. The books are quite affordable and reasonably varied. I have no idea how advanced you are; some of the pieces are very difficult (and far out of my reach!)

The one from Final Fantasy X has popular pieces like To Zanarkand and Via Purifico. Final Fantasy IX has a few beauties in Eternal Harvest (fast piece, sounds much better than in the OST), well-known Vamo Alla Flamenco, Roses of May, Melodies of Life, and the evil The Final Battle. There is a relatively new book, Final Fantasy Piano Opera, with new arrangements from various titles.

That link is fantastic. I was looking for December's recital yesterday but could not find it. Great to have the link. Is there a place on PianoWorld.com where the link is located, or do I have to bookmark the page? Maybe there are other links I am missing. Thank you Sand Tiger!

The correct place would beThe link is in the "Important Topics Post" near the top of the forum page. That hasn't been updated for a while though. Moderators - can you make that happen?

Thank you Andy. The link is on that page, "ABF Quarterly Recitals"

Ooops, didn't see it there when I looked!

Mendelssohn - Themed Recital

beechcraft,

It would be easier to make suggestions if you told us what last year's pieces were.

eg.. Do you favor slow, dark and brooding, or bright and upbeat with some pep?

None of the tunes I have played in the past reflect my current playing abilities and noodling skills. Since a lot of time has been spent just trying to discover these beautiful tunes to begin with, and since I really love the melodies in them, a good solution to the "what to play next" problem is to simply play your older stuff all over again. Possibly in a completely different way.

Sometimes I'll take a piece I can play and turn the rhythm into a waltz type of beat just for the fun of it. It can actually change the entire sound of the tune as well as open up all kinds of new avenues to musically explore.

Music is NOT the fashionable ensemble that can only be worn once. Come to think of it, depending on how you approach it, you can really squeeze your moneys worth out of a tune if you keep changing it up all the time; not to mention the improvising skills you are acquiring in the process!

Don't toss the old stuff but rather re-learn it and make it even better the second time around.

I do enjoy the dark, brooding type music. I have attempted some Chopin, the two I have recorded are Raindrop Prelude (which I play different now than how when I recorded) and Waltz/Amin. I'll put YT link @ bottom. The last thing I learned, which I never recorded, was called 'Finn McCool' by Michelle McLaughlin. I have barely touched the keys in months, so I won't be able to tackle any Chopin again for a while.

I may have to look for that FF book someone above mentioned.

YT channel Not much in there, honestly lol.

When ready for some more Chopin, both the b-minor and e-minor preludes (#28-6, 28-4) are similar in difficulty to your A- minor waltz. Both have that dark quality.

For something a little less challenging than the Chopin you might like Khatchaturian' s Ivan Sings, which is part of a suite of Ivan pieces. It has interesting harmonies and rhythms.

Ravel's 1913 Prelude in G has somewhat dark, other-worldly harmonics, interesting rhythm and a nice mix of challenges with arpeggios and octaves.

Good luck. There's a ton of great pieces out there to be discovered.