# Piano: I can play Fur Elise! What now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316 "2008-05-14T19:00:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/1 "2008-05-14T19:00:26Z")
After taking up piano last year, I can finally play that students’ classic Fur Elise accurately and musically. I’ve also learned the waltz from Amelie. With whatever level of technical ability that suggests, I’m asking dopers, what should I learn next? My favorite part of Fur Elise is the bit in the middle where it gets intense and sort of bombastic–a piece that has a similarly ‘powerful’ feel could be fun to play. (Would that be more Beethoven than Bach?) Since classical composers have such large catalogues, specific works would be helpful. If it’s available free on the 'net, that’s even better 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/2 "2008-05-14T19:32:23Z")
I’m betting you’d like Edvard Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen. I can’t really remember how difficult it was (been a long time), but it was a fun piece to learn. You might also enjoy learning parts of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a suite of ten piano pieces, some of which are more-or-less playable even by a shlub like me. However, some of the pieces are way, way beyond a talented beginner (like you). There’s a recurring theme (Promenade?) which is by turns bombastic and delicate. Fun to learn. I’m an almost complete know-nothing, however. In the great tradition of early responses at the SDMB, I’ll conclude by saying that someone more knowledgable will be along soon. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/3 "2008-05-14T19:39:27Z")
Mozart’s Alla Turka from the Piano Sonata 11 in A is a lot of fun. (It’s often called the Turkish Rondo) One of my favorites to play is the first movement from Beethoven’s Sonata 14, the Quasi Una Fantasia. (Often called the Moonlight Sonata) The Grieg Wedding Day isn’t too bad either. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/4 "2008-05-14T19:41:43Z")
Ruby My Dear, by Thelonius Monk opposite end of the spectrum, to be sure, but an immensely powerful piece. One of my favorites to play. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/5 "2008-05-14T19:44:51Z")
Lucy and Linus the Penuts theme music. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/6 "2008-05-14T20:17:09Z")
[QUOTE=iwakura43] With whatever level of technical ability that suggests, I’m asking dopers, what should I learn next? My favorite part of Fur Elise is the bit in the middle where it gets intense and sort of bombastic–a piece that has a similarly ‘powerful’ feel could be fun to play. [/QUOTE] Eton John’s _Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding_. It begins as a funeral dirge in C-minor and modulates to the key of A to become a power rock ballad. Here’s a video so you can actually watch the fingering on a fairly decent arrangement. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yREqE8xUzpA/hqdefault.jpg "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yREqE8xUzpA) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/7 "2008-05-14T20:40:18Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Lucy and Linus the Penuts theme music. [/QUOTE] That’s _Linus and Lucy_. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/8 "2008-05-15T01:42:01Z")
A really useful resource is the Syllabus of the Royal Conservatory of Music - go [here,](http://www.frederickharrismusic.com/) click on your country and look under ‘Syllabi’. The cool thing is that they’ve graded all the repertoire so that all the pieces have similar technical & musical requirements, and yet reflect the different styles of different periods. If you go to [this site,](http://www.abrsm.org/?page=exams/gradedMusicExams/latestSyllabuses.html) the syllabus of the ABRSM is available for download as a pdf file. So, Für Elise sits in grade 7 of the Royal Conservatory so you can start exploring other pieces in the same grade. That same Frederick Harris website has collections based on the Grade; you’re after Grade 7 Piano Repertoire. Maybe we have some British teachers or students on the list who could say where it fits in the ABRSM grades - my WAG is around grade 5. Some other pieces from the grade 7 RCM list - Beethoven - Bagatelle in D major, op. 33, #6 Beethoven - Bagatelle, op. 119, #1 Chopin - Mazurka in a minor, Op. 68, #2 Chopin - Prelude in e minor, op. 28, #4 Grieg - Elfin Dance (#4 from Lyric Pieces, op. 12) Hope that helps, and congratulations on mastering a new piece. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/9 "2008-05-15T02:17:06Z")
Second Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turka, that’s a fun little piece to play, though a little more challenging than most of Fur Elise. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-i-can-play-fur-elise-what-now/449316/10 "2008-05-15T10:13:54Z")
[QUOTE=Le Ministre de l’au-delà] A really useful resource is the Syllabus of the Royal Conservatory of Music - go [here,](http://www.frederickharrismusic.com/) click on your country and look under ‘Syllabi’. The cool thing is that they’ve graded all the repertoire so that all the pieces have similar technical & musical requirements, and yet reflect the different styles of different periods. If you go to [this site,](http://www.abrsm.org/?page=exams/gradedMusicExams/latestSyllabuses.html) the syllabus of the ABRSM is available for download as a pdf file. [/QUOTE] A doubly-good suggestion, because a number of the pieces for each grade are published as a single inexpensive book, [$13.50 here for the Grade 5 one](http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?item=16574172&cart=34198198411426834&cm_re=289.1.4-_-Results+Item-_-Title). However, it’s the violin that I teach, so I’ve no idea about piano repertoire! Minor nitpick, BTW: ABRSM stands for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, collectively run by not one conservatoire but four, the [RAM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Academy_of_Music), [RCM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_College_of_Music), [RNCM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Northern_College_of_Music) and [RSAMD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Scottish_Academy_of_Music_and_Drama). There’s a [similar](http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=1474) graded exam system, with a somewhat larger and broader choice of music, in this case run by Trinity College and Guildhall School of Music & Drama.