The best Chopin pieces to start with

When I ask adult piano students about the music they dream of playing someday, Frédérik Chopin is often one of the first composers they mention.

And I totally get it! Chopin is truly a one-of-a-kind composer who left us a timeless body of work that endures to this day. In fact, Chopin’s music is all around us – his piano compositions remain a staple everywhere from the main stage of Carnegie Hall to the latest TikTok trends on your fyp.

Okay, so we all love Chopin. But if you’re interested in learning your first piece, where should you begin?

In this article, I’ll give you a bit of background on Chopin’s life and music and make 3 recommendations of pieces to start with. You’ll also find links to recommended sheet music and other resources at the bottom of the page.

Chopin in 1849

This is one of only 2 known photographs of Chopin. You can see the other one from 1847 here.

A bit about Chopin

Chopin was a Polish composer and piano virtuoso who lived from 1810–1849.

Today, he is considered an icon of the Romantic period – that span of time in the 19th century during which composers turned inward to express their complex inner emotional landscapes and the ephemeral qualities of human experience. In the eyes of the Romantics, dreams, light and shadow, memories, and nostalgia made for evergreen musical subjects.

Chopin stands out among his contemporaries in that all of his compositions include the piano, with most written for solo piano. Chopin was also one of the earliest composers to achieve a great deal of celebrity during his lifetime as he rubbed elbows with the Parisian cultural elite, had a number of infamous love affairs (a story for another time), and eventually succumbed to illness and his untimely death at just 39 years old.

So where to begin? Here are 3 recommendations for excellent entry points into Chopin’s rich musical world.

#1 – Waltz in A minor, B. 150

A waltz is a dance in 3/4 time, but Chopin did not compose his waltzes to be danced to. Some have described these works more as “impressions” of the waltz, in which some elements of the dance remain but with a greater degree of freedom with regard to tempo, timing, and expression.

Chopin’s Waltz in a minor, B. 150 is somewhat shrouded in mystery, as its original date of composition is unknown and it was only published in 1955 – that’s over 100 years after his death. The work’s melancholic, wistful melodies and elegant left hand waltz patterns have made this work an enduring staple of the intermediate piano repertoire.

#2 – Prelude in E minor op. 28, no. 4

Chopin’s Preludes are celebrated for their wide-ranging characters and dramatic musical narratives, despite their brevity. While the prelude is historically an introductory or even improvisatory piece, Chopin elevated the genre with his Op. 28 set which includes 24 preludes, each in a different key.

The Prelude in E minor op. 28, no. 4, published in 1839, features a plaintive and melodic right hand that sings over dark, pulsing harmonies in the left.

On a technical level, this prelude is an excellent exercise in building left hand control, voicing a sustained melody, and creating a cohesive musical narrative.

#3 – Nocturne op. 15, no. 3 in G minor

A nocturne is a musical work that evokes or references some aspect of night time. Chopin’s Nocturne op. 15, no. 3 in G minor, composed in 1830-31, has all the typical features of the genre: a lyrical melody in the right hand, an introspective and melancholic character, and just enough drama to grab ahold of your attention and not let go.

With its dense use of accidentals in the middle section and more complex musical demands, this could be a challenging yet rewarding first piece to tackle.

Next Steps

Interested in trying one of these works by Chopin? If so, I highly recommend picking up a hard copy of the sheet music before diving in.

All 3 pieces are included in the Henle Urtext book “Frédérik Chopin At the Piano” linked below. This well-researched and cleanly notated edition also features a wealth of editorial commentary on each work, which makes for inspiring reading!

Additional Resources

• Frédérik Chopin At the Piano – 17 well-known original pieces (Henle Urtext)