Every piano teacher has experienced

a second-year student asking to play Für Elise
or an early-intermediate student asking to play Clair de lune.

The good news is that these students have heard these classics and want to play them.

The bad news is that they aren’t ready, technically or musically. What is one to do?

As teachers, we are tempted to either say,

"No!"

or commit ourselves to an interminable project that will ultimately be fun for no one involved.

I'd like to argue that we have three other choices:

1. Teach an excerpt of the original

2. Offer the student a quality arrangement at his or her level

3. Teach repertoire in a similar style that provides a similar sense of satisfaction and/or prepares the student to play the requested great masterwork later on.

Finding all of these resources takes time - trust me, I know!

I've done all of the work for you and mapped out suggestions, complete with direct links to quality editions for TEN of the most-asked-for pieces:

1. Rondo alla turca by Mozart

2. Sonata K.545 (1st movement) by Mozart

3. Für Elise by Beethoven

4. Moonlight Sonata (1st movement) by Beethoven

5. Pathetique Sonata (2nd movement) by Beethoven

6. Nocturne in E-flat Major by Chopin

7. Liebestraum by Liszt

8. Prelude in C-sharp Minor by Rachmaninoff

9. Clair de lune by Debussy

10. The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag by Joplin

BONUS! Besides the outlines, which provide guidance for these 10 pieces, I’ve recorded 2 videos. One includes my teaching philosophy on this subject.

The other walks you through exactly how to use this resource, complete with my introduction to and thoughts about two of the included pieces.

Questions?

Use the contact button above to reach out.