Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Intermediate Debussy

I would like to learn a piece by Debussy. Objectively, I am an intermediate pianist, perhaps in the lower half of the enormously large range for intermediates. I really don't care for "easy" pieces, but I don't have the skills to play advanced pieces. I understand that Debussy's pieces can be challenging for players like me who don't have advanced skills.

Can anyone recommend an intermediate Debussy piece? If it helps, I have been playing for about 6 years, and practice about 2 hours per day, but I didn't begin playing piano until I was 57 years old. So advanced pieces are beyond my skill level.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Welcome pianostu!

Debussy is one of my favorite composers, yet I'm intimidated by even his technically easier pieces, because they require a lot of effort in terms of controlling tone and fine shading of dynamics to pull off. I often get frustrated with my piano when I try to polish his music. :P

With that said, there are a lot of accessible pieces, and all of them are really beautiful. One that immediately comes to mind is Valse Romantique, a very beautiful piece. You can also do selections from the Children's Corner suite (nevermind the name ), or a piece or 2 from the suite bergamasque. Or you could start with the preludes; the ones I'm thinking of include "La fille aux chevaux de lin" (girl with flaxen hair), and Bruyeres. In general, book 1 of the preludes is more "romantic" in nature than book 2, which borders on atonality sometimes. 2 more suggestions that I just remembered are the 2 arabesques and Reverie.

You may think some of these pieces are "easy", but it takes a level of skill to get them up to performance level. Check some of them out and tell me what you think. We can suggest pieces of different levels depending on what you think of those suggestions. I'm sure others here have a lot more suggestions, but I think this is as good a place to start as any

I am an early intermediate (and about your age, started 3 1/2 years ago) and have brought La Fille Aux Chevaux de Lin up to a decent level. It's very approachable. Recommended. The nice thing about it is that I never tire of practicing it. Most pieces that require as long as this one has taken are pretty worn out. But not this one.

I have started Reverie and am finding it a little tricky. But I think do-able eventually.

I, too, love Debussy and have found many pieces I would like to explore. Footsteps in the Snow, and Arabesques come to mind. But I am holding off on them until I become more technically proficient.

Thanks for the advice Pover and AZ Astro. I had also considered La Fille Aux Chevaux de Lin but I wasn't sure if it was too difficult to play well. (I am aware that the challenges come from the shading of colors and find control of dynamics and touch.)

With that said, I'm encouraged that both of you recommended a piece that I was also thinking about.

Thanks,

I would also recommend La Fille Aux Chevaux de Lin given your years on the bench. Although I found it originally difficult to work in this scale (Gb Maj) it start to feel quite natural fairly quickly. Still have not got it to performance level but one day.

Other pieces easier than this are Le Petite Negre & The Little Shepherd both quite rewarding to learn.

Ooh, lots of good suggestions in this thread, thanks.
I was intimidated by the key signature when I thought about tackling La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin (not "chevaux", which would give us the Girl with the Flaxen Horses . Ok, pedantic interjection over)
so it's good to read that it becomes manageable.

I'm intimidated by Debussy in general because the gap between "playing the right notes" and making it sound right is so very very wide - which perhaps is exactly why I *should* tackle it.

The two I've done are the Arabesque #1 and Dr Gradus ad Parnassum.

Both are late intermediate pieces, both are wonderful to learn and play. If I picked one it would probably be the arabesque.

I agree with all of the above choices. I have played La fille aux chevaux de lin and Arabesque 1. Both were wonderful pieces to learn. Arabesque, my favourite, is great for late intermediate, and is a true crowd pleaser. Once you get the 3 over 2 polyrhythm down, it doesn't present many challenges.

There's a big long graded list of pieces that does the rounds on the internet. Take the gradings with a pinch of salt - I have no idea whether they are supposed to relate to any particular exam board etc, and anyway everyone's strengths and weaknesses are different. However I do find it helpful to get a sense of how difficult one piece is likely to be relative to another.
Le Petit Negre is not on the list, but I think it's generally regarded as easier than La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin, and pretty much everything else is harder.
Here is how that list rates the various pieces mentioned above:

5 La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin
6 Arabesque 1
6 Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum
6 Pour le piano 2 - Sarabande
6 Debussy Reverie
7 Debussy Arabesque 2
7 Clair de Lune
7 Valse Romantique

I'm sure plenty of people will disagree, it's just one view.

Another old thread on this topic recommended Jennifer Linn's impressionistic pieces as a good option for easier pieces (with Les Petites Images being the easier collection):
http://jenniferlinnpiano.com/impressionist_style_collections

Satie might also be of interest, I just started on Gymnopedie #1 the other day. I think it's much easier to "play the notes" than Debussy, but still very challenging to get the right sound.

For an adult (not a child) I'd recommend Footsteps in the snow from Preludes book 1.
It's probably the best musical expression of loneliness I have ever heard.

It is easier to play than The girl with the flaxen hair, because there are fewer notes and it doesn't have all those voicing issues and chords that can sound too clunky if not carefully played. It's in an easier-to-read key signature. It is less well known as a student piece because children do not have the patience to interpret it well. Also, it's a great introduction to the more modern-sounding side of Debussy.

Lots of great suggestions. I agree with Heather about "des pas sur la neige"; fabulous, evocative, haunting music. "Feuilles mortes" from Book 2 has a similar poignancy, though it's performed less frequently. It's quite playable and has some challenging but doable passagework (e.g. bar 25ff) to make it technically as well as aesthetically rewarding for a sensitive, moderately good pianist. Actually one of his most "orchestral" sounding piano works.

Pianostu,
I just came across a new sheet music series by henle.de, called "Am Klavier". This is a series compiled for intermideates and returners. The booklet about Debussy might fit your needs, or at least the table of contents. (currently only available in German language)

Henle.de: Am Klavier - Debussy - 9 bekannte Originalstücke

HTH

The Little Shepherd from Children's Corner is 2 pages long, with only a few slightly tricky spots. It is also a great image piece - you can hear the distant thunder claps and the isolation.

Jumbo's Lullaby, also from Children's Corner, is longer, slightly harder, but also a wonderful piece.

I found the other 4 in Children's Corner to be a good deal more difficult.

The Sunken Cathedral prelude (http://imslp.org/wiki/Pr%C3%A9ludes_%28Book_1%29_%28Debussy,_Claude%29) is somewhat difficult, but it's a great first experience with the kinds of amazing chord progressions Debussy uses.

OMG!!! This forum is incredible.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I truly appreciate the well-considered advice and recommendations.

I have some listening and looking to do based on everyone's responses. Can't wait.

Special note to Carlos88. I love your tagline. I am going to adopt it as my own personal mantra and I'll quote you with a smile whenever I play a piece badly.

Catherine Rollin has a book of Impressionist style pieces (Spotlight on Impressionism) to prepare students for Debussy.

Here's one of the pieces Sous la mer

(It's on my list of must-play-someday-soon) It's really beautiful as are the other pieces in the book.