Classical Piano still forms the basis of all music learning, and you can still hear classical music being used as the soundtrack for most Hollywood movies. Here’s more on classical piano music for beginners, find classical piano lessons and easy classical piano songs.
Classical Piano Music for Beginners
Popular Piano Classical Music Styles
The most common styles of piano classical music include:
Piano Concerto, Piano Sonata, Piano Trio, Piano Quintet and Solo Piano (includes Etude, Prelude, Polonaise, Nocturne, Mazurka, Waltz, Ballade and the Scherzo).
Also read: Classical Music: Guide & Best Resources
Classical Piano for Beginners: Is It Boring?
As for the boring part, it again depends on what you like. If you do not enjoy this style of music, you can definitely choose to play in some other style.
You can just read through so that you are aware of what is involved, just for your knowledge!
If you want to give it a try and if you are not sure what pieces to play then try getting yourself a good book on classical songs.
A couple of good books on easy classical songs are The Joy Of 100 Best Loved Piano Classics and Easy Classics To Moderns by Denes Agay.
Popular & Easy Classical Piano Music Pieces
There are hundreds of good classical songs but some of the more popular ones are listed below. In case you want to learn classical songs, make sure you can play some of these!
- Mozart – Turkish March, Marriage of Figaro, Serenade
- Beethoven – Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata
- Chopin – The entertainer, Nocturne, Funeral March
- Bach – Minuet in G
- Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture
Also check out this video showing how to play Fur Elise on piano the right way.
Characteristics of Classical Music
The following are the characteristics of Classical Piano. You would already know some of these as they are the basics of piano playing!
- Trills – Alternate your fingers / notes.
- Arpeggios – Chord played one note at a time in quick succession.
- Scales – Play some section of Major / Minor scale as fill-in.
- Octaves – Use this music interval frequently.
You will normally use trills, arpeggios and scales while playing songs or sections of pieces that are soft and melodic. But there are many other compositions which can be loud and dramatic where you will be required to play thumping octaves.
Classical Piano Lessons: Is it Difficult to Play?
Whether any particular song is difficult to play will depend entirely on the complexity of the song.
Just because you like some particular piece does not mean you should start learning that piece; you may not be ready for it yet.
So learn slowly and steadily!
But in case you really want to play a song on the piano (or for that matter on any musical instrument) and it is taking some time to play it, here is what you should do.
If it is a lengthy song, break it down into pieces,… say around eight bars and try to learn the song one section at a time.
Once you have learnt the individual sections, try playing the entire song at one go.
If there are difficult passages in the song, go to the difficult section and try to play that section at a much slower tempo. Make sure you maintain that slow tempo and your fingering is correct.
If you can play it correctly three times in a row at that tempo, increase the tempo and repeat again till you can play at the required tempo.
Books of Classical Music
Here are the top ‘first books’ of classical music for the beginner piano student.
If you are in your first year of piano lessons, do checkout these books to get started with your first classical pieces on the piano. These are all great books for the beginning pianist but can be enjoyed by intermediate players as well. These books have a mix of mostly easy as well as somewhat difficult arrangements, some books also include arrangements for the virtuoso player.
These books are also great introduction to classical music and to great composers like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner and more. Most of the songs are familiar tunes that have been made short to fit in one or two-pages.
Although these books are for beginners, you should know how to read the notes (at least the basics so you could figure out what is mentioned). The easy songs use whole, half and quarter notes. However, some songs may use more advanced rhythms including triplets, dotted eighths, & sixteenths.
Most of the songs are based on the key signatures (F, G, D, D), which means you won’t be playing only the white keys. Many songs use bass and treble clefs. Songs are in various time signatures such as 3/2, 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 3/8, 6/8.
These books are easy enough so that you don’t get frustrated, yet challenging enough to give you a sense of accomplishment. Importantly, your repertoire will now include some popular classical songs.
Comparison Chart:
- The Library of Piano Classics: Popular songs ranging from easy to virtuoso.
- The Joy Of First Classics: Popular classics in easy arrangement.
- Favorite Classics, Bk 1: Solo: Nice collection of classical songs for beginner and intermediate level
- Big Book of Beginner’s Piano Classics: As the name suggest, a big book, with several classical pieces
- 59 Piano Solos You Like to Play: Great collection of songs, can be used by intermediate as well as advanced players.
The Joy Of First Classics (by Denes Agay)
Its a great book to play classics. Even though it begins with short, easy classical pieces, the pieces increase in difficulty to an intermediate level. This book could keep you occupied for another couple of years or so after your first year of lessons.
- The book has over 60 easy pieces and keyboard miniatures by master composers.
- There is a wonderful mix of pieces with works by the likes of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and also lesser-known composers, set for piano solo.
A First Book of Classical Music: 29 Themes by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and Other Great Composers in Easy Piano Arrangements
A First Book of Classical Music includes 29 themes by music greats such as Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and other great composers, laid down in easy to play Piano Arrangements.
This book has easy arrangements of popular songs. Every piece starts with a short paragraph that gives a little bit of history of the piece and/or composer.
Fun-to-play, pedagogically sound piano arrangements include themes from Beethoven’s “Pathetique” Sonata and Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony, along with such favorites as Schumann’s Traumerei, Brahms’s Lullaby, Chopin’s Prelude, Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave, Moussorgsky’s Promenade (from Pictures at an Exhibition), and many more.
Adult students will love this book because it covers several familiar classical tunes. Its recommended for all those in their first year as a pianist.
Big Book of Beginner’s Piano Classics
This book has many more easy to play, well known classical piano pieces. It has a great mix of very easy to play pieces, all are beautifully arranged and not very challenging for the beginner piano student.
Includes Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” Chopin’s “Funeral March,” Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” Mozart’s “Rondo alla Turca” and Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, plus compositions by Schubert, Debussy, Handel, Mendelssohn, and others.
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