Hi

does anyone know some good pieces which are between G5 and G7, and don't have lots of twiddley left hand stuff?

Any suggestions are welcome!

By twiddly left hand, do you mean ornaments, you should try looking at the Bach inventions and maybe the French Suites. Poulenc, mouvement perpetuels is very good for LH continuity.

I don't actually know what you are able to do with your left hand lol but....

Beethoven's Sonata in G Op.49 No.2

Or get some past grade 5-7 exam books and work through them

Well I've got the Allegro from G6, but I can't make my left hand move as quickly as my right, so it sounds like two pieces at once! I haven't tried Poulenc before, (coz I hate it) but it's worth a go. I've got a couple of Bach inventions, so I'll see if they're ok, thanks.

I was just looking for something for your reason Nat: If I'm expected to play at uni, what am I gonna play?!

See, I've got you thinking now haven't I! Panic stations!

NOOOOO! Unlike you, I'm not panicking, yet!

I can still play my grade 5 pieces, so I can play those. It's just I did grade 5 2 years ago, and I want to see some evidence that I have progressed, even if I can't manage the Grade 7 pieces I was playing coz of my stupid wrist! If I can when I get there, great, If I can't, well at least I have a back up plan!

But I don't want to play the same grade 5 pieces for the next 30 days!

Back up plan hmmm. I need an orignal plan!

I'm getting good at Postman Pat!

That and chopsticks!

ooh yes, I'll learn that and When the Saints, and erm Bob the Builder!

The Mozart from the last Grade6, Andante Amoroso is good, but it has a few trills and stuff in it....

ooh I've had a quick go at that!

Thanks, I'll have a look at that! Trills or ok, as long as I don't have to play them fast, and even then I can miss them out!

It's a lovely piece when played properly i.e. not by me!

Oh and guess what! I've mastered Postman Pat! YAY!!!

If you haven't got them, see if you can get hold of

Classics to Moderns and More Classics to Moderns book 5 - and maybe book 6 if you're feeling well off. Published by Yorktown.

Keyboard Anthology (publ AB) book 3 is about grade 5; you might want to look at book 4.

Romantic Sketchbook (AB) books 3 and 4.

Write some variations on Postman Pat !

Ooh I've got some of those books

Elmo- that is your next task after my composition! Write variations on PP!!

lol We've mastered it in every key on the white notes! Aswell as chopsticks! It's just getting a duet partner who will play without thinking or who knows their keys inside out! Otherwise, it's very....erm 20th century!

We've been banned from playing either in the music rooms

What's in the keyboard anthology books?

This is probably a bit easy but i love it anyway...The happy farmer by Schumann!

Keyboard Anthology first series book 3 which I just happen to have in front of me ...

Couperin Allemande in D minor
Richard Jones Giga from Suite no 1
J S Bach Prelude in D major
D Scarlatti Sonata in A
Handel Corrant from suite in Bb
Daquin Les Vents en couroux
Clementi Sonata in D second mvt
Beethoven Bagatelle in G minor
Mendelssohn Venetian Gondola Song
Schumann Reiterstuck
Heller Prelude in F
Greig Folk Song
Deodat de Severac Les petites Voisines en Visite
Gliere Le Soir
Cesar Franck Petite Piece

I bought those two Romantic Sketchbooks today . From the quick look I had at book 3, it doesn't seem too bad. I think book 4 is going to be closer to my standard though. Still, there's no harm learning more pieces for experiece

What are the Classics to Moderns like?

A wider range of styles (than the Romantic Sketchbooks, which represent approx 1830 to 1930).

The C to M's include pieces from the periods that their name suggests, plus stuff in between, so cover maybe 300 years plus.

More C to M no 4 has J S Bach through to Satie and Villa Lobos, including Handel, Rameau, Haydn Schubert, Schumann, Chopin and Kabalevsky etc.

C to M no 5 has W F Bach to Debussy and Prokoviev, including Haydn, Mozart, Schumann, Greig, Chopin, Mendelssohm, Scriabin and others.

These are just two I happen to have to hand.

I've got Classics to Modern book 5, I like Debussy's The Girl With the Flaxen Hair, I started learning it but haven't played it in ages.

I bought a friend 2 other of these C to M's and I think they are good

I remember you starting to learn that, Nat ! How far did you get ?

Not very! Well the 1st page was going ok, got a bit stuck in this octave part but then I stopped learning it because of my grade 6 and A2 recital. I tried it again the other day but I was awful at it.

Why don't you have another go ?

I'd like to, but I'll be awful at it for ages, and I'll need to think again and people listening will probably think what on earth is she doing

I got to there in it aswell! I liked the first page, but I had to work out the chords one by one, and write the notes above it, coz it was too difficult to read while playing!

I like au clair de la lune aswell.

I'm playing rondo alla turca (without the octaves in the left hand), but there's two bars which I don't know the chords for coz I gave my music back after AS, and wanted to finish learning it

Yeah I can't read and figure out 5 flats at once! I just can't do it! Is it where the RH plays the top note of part of the LH part- if that makes sense?! Impossible!

Yeah, that's the bit! And the copy I had was printed so small I had to squint at it!

I have 2 copies, and they are both as hard as each other! I could sit there for an hour learning it and working it all out get it ok, then an hour later forget it again!

I hate pieces like that. I've got some chopin, and I'll sit and work at the same line for ages, then try and play the whole line and get nooooowhere!

Yeah, I tried the 2 mvmt of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and did the 1st 2 lines for ages, came back after a 5 minute break and couldn't do any of it without staring blankly at the notes for ages!!

Actually it's 6!!

Have you tried playing through the notes of G flat major scale a couple of times first - just to establish the note patterns in your mind? You don't need to do hands together or lots of octaves. I know there are lots of accidentals in the piece, but it's a basis to start from. Remember you're playing all the black keys plus C flat and F.
F is ALWAYS F NATURAL except in bars 8, 9 and 15. Every thing else is flat most of the time.

The first two beats of bars 20 and 21 use the same notes in different octaves.

Have confidence!

It's really worth persevering with pieces that have lots of flats or sharps in the key signature. Once you've learned one piece, playing (or sight reading) in that key becomes much easier.

I played Gliere's Sketch in D# minor for my Grade 7 last year, and I find sharps and double sharps much easier now. I must have a look at the Debussy now, to improve my flat reading.

My sax-playing son can read up to 6 sharps with relative ease as he's always being faced with hymns in G, D and A majors when he plays in the church music group (which become E, B and F# majors for him, of course). He's not terribly good at playing flats, however.

Nat - if you're working up to Girl with the Flaxen Hair again, you could try "The Little Shepherd" from the Children's Corner Suite - it's got a lot of similar ideas. The whole suite is great actually - I reckon it's the sort of thing you can start tackling around G5-7, and then spend the next few years getting really on top of (especially the Snow Is Dancing and Dr Gradus ad Parnassum!).

disclaimer - the following isn't a brag!!!
I've been playing a good 25 years now (oh blimey - it is 25 years this year...) and key signature isn't something I really worry about anymore (hmm, after 25 years you'd hope not!). I'm trying to remember at what point that happened. As andante_in_c says, the more you try it, the less of an issue it becomes. But rest assured - there will come a time when you don't give it a second thought!
Doesn't mean you get it right all the time though. Playing Ravel's Sonatine at the moment, and having real trouble keeping my D's natural - for some reason just want to play a #...

Try not to think about coping with 6 flats just coping with one natural that seems like a lot less to deal with!

I'm a lot better with many flats than I am with many sharps (although not necessarily that good!): my brain just doesn't like D being sharp for some reason.... It's strange that some people are better at many sharps and others at many flats, I guess it just what one has come across most. I've decided to play the piece in B major from grade 5 list B going with the theory that if I've played something with that many sharps I'll get more used to it! Anyway as people have said keep persevering I'm sure that you'll get it.

I actually find all of the sighreading practise books quite bad for learning this: when they introduce another sharp into the exercises they don't make the tests any easier to compensate to make up for thinking about more (or if they do there's only one, four bar, easy one to start with and that's it). I was actually wondering the other day if it would be better to introduce horrible keys right from the start then, although the tests would be harder at that stage, at least one wouldn't be thrown in at the deep end later on. I was actually considering going back to the grade 2 sightreading books and imagining they all had 5 sharps to get used to it for easier pieces: they usually sound quite hideous to start with (particularly the Paul Harris ones!) so I don't think throwing in a few extra sharps would make them sound that much worse!

I hate flats because all the stuff I began with on the clarinet were sharp keys, and now I can play lots of things with sharps in on my instruments, but as soon as I get a Db I have to think "oh that's C#" before I get anywhere! Playing the girl with the flaxen hair and a clarinet sonata with flats in *seems* to be helping a little bit

Ditto AP...and ditto (although I've chosen this piece because I thought it sounded lovely!) (won't be doing the exam until March though, so must press on with some Bach in the meantime )

I'm ok with sharps and better with sharps/flats on sax than I am on piano. I played a piece with 5 sharps in for my grade 8 sax and I found it easy. I find it completely different with piano though

Ah I thought it was 6 and then changed it to 5!! lol



I have tried to stick at it with pieces like that, but I really do not seem to get anywhere with them. I'll practice it for ages and then after a break I play it like I've never seen it before

I might re try it again though, because I do love the piece

I tried it again today, and mum told me off for talking to the piano! Might have to do some more flat sight reading!

I was talking to my teacher today, and he said something about an Alexander method, but didn't explain what it was! What is it?!

I tried again too!!

Got as far as the 'cedez' instruction before giving up!

lol yea, I started cursing at that bit!

We are quite alike, it is scaring me!!

Anyway if I can get up to that bit tomorrow I'll be impressed!

All those flats give me a headache

Up to Ab I can sort of cope with, but as soon as there are any Gbs. I panic!

Never mind Gb's ....if I see a Bb flat I panic!! LOL!!

Narh, I'm wondering if I'll just never be able to play this piece. There are 3 pieces that I never seem to get anywhere with

Debussy - Girl with flaxen hair
Beethoven- 2nd mvmt of Moonlight
C.P.E. Bach- Solo per il cembalo in E flat

ARGH to them!

You have Gb Ab Bb all black keys in a row - look on it as being no more difficult than G A B all white notes in a row

No ?

Logically that makes sense. Will try that!

OR we could tranpose it to sharps, except with that many flats I think it would be the same amount of sharps!

No! That's easier! Read the notes with no flats, but stick a D minor key sig at the beginning and read it like that!

And put all accidentals a semitone down!

Sorted!

Except it looses some of it's sparkle

Explain in English dear!

Imagine there are no flats at the beginning and play the piece with C#s and Bbs as you read them. It should work! Just read the notes as white notes instead!

Right