Classical Piano Music for Beginners: 6 Well-Known Compositions
Published on Monday 10 August 2020
Since most composers don’t mind boasting their complex melodies, harmonies and use of keys, it can be a bit of a struggle for fledgling pianists to find a piano book with easy-to-play yet great-sounding pieces. Fortunately, composers such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart have also written beginner-friendly music that might even sound familiar to your ears. For this blog, I’ve put together six well-known classical piano compositions for you to get started with, including links to the sheet music. Don’t be intimidated by the elaborate names and good luck!
- #1. Minuet in G-major – Christian Petzold
- #2. Prelude in C major, BWV 846 – Johann Sebastian Bach
- #3. Minuet in G major, K.1 1e – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- #4. Gymnopédie No.1 – Erik Satie
- #5. Fröhlicher Landmann – Robert Schumann
- #6. Für Elise – Ludwig van Beethoven
#1. Minuet in G-Major – Christian Petzold
You’ve undoubtedly heard the melody of this minuet before. Since so many people know it, it’s a great one to begin with! Written in G-major and only 32 measures long, Petzeld composed the piece shortly after the start of the eighteenth century. However, for over 250 years, everyone thought it was Bach that wrote it, since his wife had included the work in a book with a collection of pieces from Bach himself, as well as several other composers. If you’re wondering what those strange symbols a-top some of the notes mean, you’ll have to listen the minuet. You’ll hear what you’re supposed to do and should give it a try yourself. If you can’t do it, it’s perfectly fine to just play the notes alone.
The intro:
Full sheet music:
#2. Prelude in C-major, BWV 846 – Johann Sebastian Bach
This prelude consists of a series of chords that are played in arpeggio, or note by note. The easiest way to go about things here is to practice chord by chord, meaning that you’ll want to play each of the eight notes of each group simultaneously. Once you master that, you should be able to play the piece as it’s written, note by note. While the prelude begins and ends in C-major, the key actually changes a couple of measures in, so pay close attention to any drops or raises in pitch. The Prelude in C-major BWV 846 is an authentic Bach piece, and is part of a series of 48 preludes and fugues. It’s immediately followed up by a Fugue in C-major, but that one is a little trickier to play.
The intro:
Full sheet music:
#3. Minuet in G-major K.1 1e – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Backed by an insanely productive career, Mozart is probably the most famous composer ever and started playing piano at age 3, and composing almost instantly after. This minuet is written in G-major, meaning any F-notes are played as F-sharps, and you’re to use right your hand for the melody while your left hand plays pretty much the same thing but lowered by nine notes. As an early adopter of intervals, Mozart understood all too well how he could use these in his music. Keep in mind that he was only five or six years old when wrote this! This minuet, along with other short compositions from Mozart, is written in the Nannerl Notenbuch, a book written for Wolfgang’s sister, Nannerl, by their father. The full sheet music can be found below, including the slightly more difficult Minuet in C (from measure 20 onwards).
The intro:
Full sheet music:
Full sheet music for all of Mozart’s pieces in the Nannerl Notenbuch:
#4. Gymnopédie No.1 – Erik Satie
Compared to the previous two, this famous piece from Satie is a little more modern, and was written in 1880 during the rise of impressionism; a more liberal period that did away with the standardised construction of compositions and saw the introduction of chords that were deemed previously unusable. There’s a fair chance that Satie’s Gymnopédie No.1 includes a number of chords you’ve never heard or seen before, so take a good look at which notes you’re supposed to play! The two sharp symbols following the G-clef indicate that the F is played as an F#, while the C is played as a C#. In addition, you’ll be playing the melody with your right hand and taking leaps with your left to play the bass notes and the chords. If you find yourself having trouble, it’s worth looking up a tutorial on Youtube.
The intro:
Full sheet music:
#5. Fröhlicher Landmann – Robert Schumann
You might recognise the melody of Fröhlicher Landmann (Happy Farmer) from the Wizard of Oz. It appears on Schumann’s Album for the Young (1848) and while it’s probably not the easiest one on the list, you should be able to manage by starting slow. You might already be familiar with the melody, making studying it even easier, but bear in mind that it must be played with the left hand. So get some serious practice in before you attempt playing the piece with both hands!
The intro:
Full sheet music:
Full sheet music Album for the Young:
Download PDF (The first 19 are for beginners)
#6. Für Elise – Ludwig van Beethoven
No list of classical pieces is ever complete without Beethoven’s Für Elise, of course. You might have even tried to play it yourself at some point. Most people only know the first part, which is probably also the best part to start with since, in the first 23 measures, you generally only play a single note at a time. After that, it becomes more complicated and much less beginner-friendly. FYI, you can make the melody a lot smoother by using the right foot pedal. Press down the pedal directly after playing the first note wherever it says ‘Ped.____l’ , and release it where the ‘hook’ stops. Beethoven may have written the piece for Elise over 200 years ago and now, you can play it for your friends and family!
The intro:
Full sheet music:
Do you have about tips about easy classical piano pieces to share? Let us know in the comments below!
See Also
» What’s the difference between a keyboard and a digital piano?
» Learn to play piano or keyboard: also for adults
» How to play basic piano chords?
» What’s the best keyboard for me?
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