Like a lot of other Asian American kids, I grew up taking weekly piano lessons. I hated them – not because I hated the sounds the piano made, but because I hated the way my instructor would shake her head disapprovingly about how I didn’t practice and write little notes all over my sheet music and nip the flesh of my fingers with her nail clippers (I never let her cut my fingernails again after that). Eventually she came to understand that I was never going to start actually practicing, and I quit soon after. Although over the years I would occasionally go back to the piano to enjoy its harmonies and the feeling of having a skill, I never took it seriously after that because I thought I would hate practicing.

Turns out I was wrong, and I spent almost as much time practicing in the second half of last semester as a light class (around 7 hours a week). How did this happen? I was bored and opened up some sheet music sitting on top of the piano at my old fraternity. It was Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1, a simple yet elegant piece. After spending an hour or so fiddling with the keys, relishing the melodic variations of the piece, I realized that I was measurably getting better – I could practice without using too much brainpower, a welcome break from hectic school life, and even sound reasonable in the process! I do actually credit most of my revived interest in piano to the fact that I found a piece that is both easy and sounds pretty, in contrast to other pieces I’ve tried to learn in the past, like Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag and Liszt’s Un Sospiro. Obviously, my appreciation for classical music now goes beyond just “sounds pretty,” but not by that much honestly. It’s hard to describe without using vague gestures how I feel about pieces, but I’m sure the classical music community has developed some terminology by now.

Right now, I have learned or am trying to learn the following pieces (aside from the ones above):

  • Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2
  • Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1
  • Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 48 No. 2
  • Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 72 No. 1 (Posthumous)
  • Chopin’s Etude Op. 10 No. 3 (Tristesse)
  • Chopin’s Etude Op. 10 No. 5 (Black Keys)
  • Chopin’s Etude Op. 10 No. 8 (Sunshine)
  • Chopin’s Ballade No. 1
  • Rachmaninoff’s Elegie Op. 3 No. 1
  • Samuel Barber’s Nocturne Op. 33
  • Debussy’s Prelude from Suite Bergamasque
  • Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1

As you can see, I might have a bit of a preference. Recently I’ve really fallen in love with Scriabin’s sonatas as well (especially the later ones, if you know you know). They’re quite difficult and I’m not sure if I can hope to play them. I at first really wanted to learn his Sonata No. 5, until I found out that it’s considered one of the hardest pieces in all of classical repertoire? Now I might try to learn his Sonata No. 4, but I don’t know if it’s much better.

Further reading: