Searching for beautiful melodies, I suddenly remembered that Chopin believed that his theme for Étude Op. 10, No. 3 was his most beautiful melody. I first came upon it in childhood when I opened a music box containing a ballerina dancing to Tristesse (according to the label beneath); though Chopin didn’t name his composition Tristesse, it has become the popular title, so I defer!
You can listen to the original piece here, and watch a video of my intermediate arrangement below:
CLICK to print TRISTESSE (early intermediate arrangement)
Or click to print the original sheet music for Tristesse below:
Happy September! I think many of us are looking forward to the cooler days of autumn. With all of the recent disasters, I hope that playing your piano can remind you of all that is beautiful in your life.
I have some additional posts planned for this month, and be sure to leave a comment if you have a piano-related issue you would like me to address in a post. Do you have a favorite piece you would like me to arrange for beginning or intermediate piano? Remember, I can only give away arrangements of songs and pieces that are in the public domain (i.e. written before 1925). How is your practice going? Give us an update! Be well friends 💛
With love and music, Gaili
Author, Upper Hands Piano: A Method for Adults 50+ to Spark the Mind, Heart and Soul
I am playing piano all days and it make me go on,
un saludo desde Asturias
Isabel, I’m so happy to hear that playing the piano is helping you to cope. Lots of love, Gaili
Thank you, Gaili. Practicing daily. Your beautiful and skilled arrangements allow me to sound like a pro. My music is daily therapy. Blessings. Eph. 3:20-21
Dr. AnnRené Joseph
#MoreArts
Thanks Dr. AnnRené! That’s so true, music is therapy!
Hi Gaili,
That is such a lovely piece (Chopin “Tristesse) so thank you for that.
You mentioned that if we had any suggestions for any Intermediate arrangements to ask you. I also absolutely love Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (also called “Elvira Madigan”),
May I suggest this as a possibility?
Thank you for the Blog.
Keith R. Finch (England)
Oh yes, I love that piece. That would be a wonderful piece to arrange for piano. Thanks for your suggestion!
Hi Gaili,
Here’s a little progress report: I recently returned to Book 3 to improve my ability to play Diminished, 6th, major 7 chords. I get it now how they subtly enhance and improve the sound. Also, I’m comfortable enough with inversions now to play around with them on my own. The best of James Taylor has some beautiful songs and I’m working on Carolina in my Mind. It has many quick chord changes that I’ve been inverting to make easier to play and they actually sound better. For me that’s huge!
On another note, I can’t always access your blog posts past or present, and not sure if it’s because I’m using an iPhone, or if it’s on your end, or WordPress. Is your friend’s circle of 5ths lesson still available?
Hope you’re all safe from Covid and fires.
Nancy
Thanks for the progress report! How exciting to hear that you are gaining comfort with inversions. They really make a huge difference once you can use them with ease! And it’s great to go back and review the expanded chords. I’m sure they show up in your James Taylor book.
That’s troubling that you can’t always access the blog, I’ll look into it. I see that Fred Sokolow took his Circle of Fifths lesson off of his Facebook page and now offers a 70 minute class on it for $15. Sorry about that. I paid him for the use of his lesson for a month, then I guess that he took it down. Here’s the link to his website: http://www.sokolowmusic.com/instructional/general. He has many lessons that he sells for a 1-time fee, plus he teaches guitar, mandolin, banjo and ukulele! Thanks for writing Nancy! We are well, the fires are not too close to where we live in LA. Hope you guys are ok too.
Uh oh, did my long message just disappear?
Nope we got it!
HI Gaili,
For my birthday this year, I wanted to learn this piece but the original version is a bit too advanced for me at this time. I came across your website and was trying to obtain the music for the intermediate level of Chopin Etude Op10 no 3 but the link does not provide the free sheet music. I did noticed it was from 2020 so I was wondering if there is anyway I can obtain that version. Thank you.
Hi Nancy- thanks for reaching out! My free sheet music is only available for 1 year. Please send us an email: upperhandspiano@gmail.com, and I will send you the sheet music. Sorry I didn’t see your comment sooner! -Gaili