Hi, guys.
Welcome back to another episode of OneSet Piano.
I today have two very special guests with me
who will help me rank 30 piano pieces
from Easy to Ling Ling Level.
- Hello! - Hello!
My name is Brett.
And my name is...
Ed-oui-oui.
And we're here to help Sophie Oui Oui.
So Sophie,
please tell us how we rank all of these pieces.
So first of all, I have to say
this is an incredibly difficult task
because there are pieces that are technically not so difficult,
but musically extremely difficult.
And so where do you put the bars...
But...
we can try.
Brett: First one is...
I mean, the first movement...
Almost every beginner plays
because obviously from the notes, it's not so difficult...
- just playing the notes. - Mm-hmm.
But for me, personally,
playing this first movement really well...
is extremely difficult.
- Ooh... - Sophie: So...
And also the second movement,
obviously, is difficult technically, too. So...
I don't know. Let's put it to God Level.
OHHHHH!!
That escalated quickly!
Really!?
Sophie: Yeah, let's start strong.
Sophie: Really. I mean, the first movement, it's just...
It's very tricky with sound production,
and keeping the long line going, and...
'Cause if you just play, you know...
Yeah, everyone's already fallen asleep. So...
There are virtuoso pieces
that if you practice them enough,
you can play them.
But then there are pieces like,
for example, maybe this first movement.
If you don't have a good sound production,
or if you don't... I don't know...
feel the music,
you won't be able to get it right,
no matter how much you practice,
if you practice 40 hours a day.
- That's true. - Ooh... - Sophie: Yeah.
As a violinist, I also agree.
I humbly accept your verdict.
Brett: All right, next one!
Ooh.
- I mean, of course it's extremely difficult... technically. - Okay.
Technically.
- I would put it in "Hard." - Okay.
- Okay. - That's interesting.
- Easier than Moonlight? - Because I feel-
Not easier. But I feel like...
if you like, really work on it, you can tackle it.
Got it.
- Yeah, it makes sense. - That makes sense. - If you practice it enough.
Brett: Yes.
I guess it's like...
- Bach. - Paganini La Campanella versus...
- Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata. - Yeah.
- Oh yeah, I know what you mean. - Kreutzer Sonata is harder.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Brett: Yup.
Exactly.
Eddy: Oof!
- I think I'm gonna guess what Sophie's gonna say. - Yeah.
I'll say it to the mic first.
Ling Ling.
No, it's definitely not easy.
It's not medium. It's not-
I would put it God Level, too.
- Oh... - Ooh! Okay!
Damn, I was wrong.
I thought you were gonna say Ling Ling.
Damn!
I have to save the Ling Ling.
- I don't know. I don't dare put Ling Ling. - Yeah, exactly. You gotta save the Ling Ling.
I feel like it's such a monumental concerto.
And it's equally hard, I think, technically and musically.
You need to have goosebumps when you listen to that.
That's true.
And so it's definitely up there.
You know I found out
Rachmaninoff dedicated that concerto to his hypnotist.
- Mm! - Did you know that?
- No, I don't know. - 40 hours a day...
Because he was going through depression,
and he went to hypnotherapy.
And the hypnotherapy cured him.
And so he dedicated it to him.
Maybe the beginning...
Eddy: Yeah, the...
- Maybe. - Yeah!
My hands are too small.
I can't reach those chords.
It's kind of sad.
My sister can, but I can't.
- Aw... That's cheating! - Aw...
Genetically cheating.
Brett: Next one we have... what's it?
"Schumann, The..."
"The Traumatiser?"
What is it?
It's "Träumerei."
Dreaming.
- Ah! It's dreaming. - Yeah.
- Brett: Oh, over here. - Um...
It's a very slow piece.
But musically, very, very challenging
to have the calm and the long lines, and...
- I would put it in Medium, I think. - Yeah...
- I called that. - My gut says Medium.
A lot of people play it as an encore.
- Nice! Okay. - I love the piece.
It's very nice.
Eddy: Next.
It's you, Eddy.
Okay, it's pronounced "Ständchen."
- "Ständchen." - What does it mean? Like a...
standing Eddy Chen?
- It says serenade. - Yeah, yeah.
- Oh. - Serenade. - Ha ha ha ha!
- All right, fair enough. - Originally, it's a song actually.
Oh, so it's easy.
- And... - Ah, so "Easy."
For not making it too complicated...
Yes, let's put it in Easy.
But it is in fact NOT EASY!
But it's easy because it's a song.
- Let's just put it out there. - Mm.
- Yeah. - No, no, no, it's-
Schubert is never...
...easy to get right musically.
But to make this rating thing not too complicated,
- let's put it there. - Okay. - Okay.
- Eddy: Ooh... - Brett: Ooh!
- Okay, I would put it in God Level. - OOH!
The third movement is the slow funeral march that...
is VERY difficult to get right.
If you're sitting in the audience
and you are starting to get tears in your eyes,
then it's right.
Whoa...
Have you ever cried in a concert from a pianist?
Not like straight-up bawling, but...
having tears in the eyes because it's so beautiful.
I mean, I don't know if you know,
but the middle section in this funeral march,
it's like...
...heaven, basically.
It's so beautiful...
if it's played that way.
- That's why I would put it in God Level. - Okay.
Because the other movements are also technically very difficult.
I've never cried, but one day.
That means none of them played it good enough for you, Brett.
Yes. One day, someone will touch my heart with their piano playing.
Mm...
Again, for this purpose, I would put it in Easy.
It's kind of a piece that every beginner also learnt.
- And just from... Because it has... - I mean, I've played it in the virtual tour. - That's true.
You know, the notes, they're not so far apart.
- And it's good for learning, and- - I got a question.
Beginner things. Yes?
Do you pedal that piece, or no pedal?
A little bit.
- A little bit. - Mm...
- 'Cause I couldn't decide when I was playing. - I always heard from my teacher,
"Good pedaling in Bach
- is when you don't notice that you're using the pedal." - Yeah...
But it makes the sound more round and more beautiful.
Ah...
For playing the notes, it's not difficult.
Then obviously, musically, it's a different story.
But let's put it there.
Okay, I'm going to do something very bold.
I'm going to put it in Ling Ling Level.
HUH?!!
Ha ha!
- You're not trolling, right? - No.
- Whoa! - Wait, wait, wait...
It's the "facile sonata" which means easy.
- "Which means easy?" - Sophie: But... Yeah.
But it's actually one of the most di-
I mean, Mozart is always difficult on the violin,
as well in every instrument.
And this sonata, there's not that much material.
It has to be so on point that...
you know, it comes across well.
And I think Lang Lang, he did some recording of...
so-called "easy piano pieces."
Like Für Elise was also there,
and this was also there.
To show, you know, that these pieces are not easy.
Now that I think about it, in the virtual tour...
I feel like my Mozart, I struggled more than the...
Shostakovich Cadenza.
- Mm... - Eddy: Even though...
- you think the Shostakovich Cadenza is a lot harder - Yeah.
than Mozart Concerto.
- No, Mozart's harder, yeah. Yup. - But the Mozart, to like...
- actually nail it properly- - Mozart is always Ling Ling Level.
Eddy: Yeah.
Mm...
I've played it before also.
There are four ballades. It's not the hardest.
- Okay. - I would say No. 4 is the hardest.
I would put it in Hard.
- Okay. - 'Cause obviously, it's not an easy piece.
Like, the coda is technically difficult...
But it's... it's doable.
- Mm. - Nice.
Brett: Here's another Chopin. There you go.
What? Okay, okay.
Yeah, I would put it in Hard.
I was thinking Medium,
but I think I'll put it in Hard.
- Really? Don't let me influence you. Are you sure? - Because...
No, no, no. Let's put it in Hard.
- It's really long lines in this one. - Uh-huh. Long phrasing, right?
And of course, on the piano,
you don't have like on the violin,
the bow... or the vibrato.
- You push the key, and... - That's true.
You have to give the feeling that it's sustained
even though it's physically not.
- Yes. - And that's difficult.
Phrasing is not easy, guys.
Brett: Next one.
Ah, "Don Juan!"
- That's gonna be God Level. - Mm.
This one, I'll put Ling Ling Level.
Oh! Yeah, okay.
I've played it as well,
and it is extremely difficult.
There are places that you have to...
maybe I shouldn't say this, but like...
...arrange a little bit.
- Sounds about right! - Yeah.
No, I mean, of course you play what's written,
but you have to find your own way, how it works.
There are places that are just like...
very very difficult.
It's definitely one of the most difficult Liszt pieces
'cause Liszt was a pianist himself.
And some pieces, they work very well,
and they sound much harder than they are.
But this one, I can say, is very difficult.
- Mm... - Oh-la-la!
- Easy. - Okay, that's Easy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I was like, "If you put that Ling Ling,
then I'm Ling Ling."
Yeah.
- I love the piece. - That's also not really a piece that pianists play though.
Is it? I've never really...
I mean, everyone knows it,
- Yeah, it's kind of like, Canon in D, - Sophie: but...
- I can imagine. - I guess, for pianists.
- It's just so overly popular. - You don't even learn it. You just...
By the time you can play,
- you really can play the piano so well. - Yeah.
Brett: Ooh.
Let’s…put it Medium? That looks nicer.
- Dude. - No.
- This is like…it’s like the visual…balance. - Nice. - It's obviously not…
Yeah…!
- “Medium looks a bit empty!” - No. - "Is it..."
No, it’s obviously not easy, but it's the…
…it’s the Black Key Etude.
- Is that the one Lang Lang played with an orange? - It…yes.
Oh!
Yeah.
Right hand, it's all on black keys.
- Dude, that’s medium! That’s messed up! - And for me, it’s…it's good, it lays well in the hand.
No, no, no, wait!
Disclaimer: for me,
this lays well in the hand, because…
- “For me, it's medium.” - Yeah!
- Dude, but it plays well under the orange too, - No, wait!
so it's not too bad.
I think on the piano, it's more extreme than on the violin,
that there are certain techniques that for some people are very easy,
where the others can't do it, no matter how much they practice.
And it has nothing to do with whether your technique is bad or good.
That's me with upbow staccato!
- “It's not a technical thing, some people just can - I mean…
- and some people just can’t!” - You have the…
- “I practiced it!” - No you have it on the violin, too!
But I feel like on the piano it’s…
Easiest example on the piano is if you have too-small hands,
there’s just things like me, the Rachmaninoff,
- I can’t, I have to roll it. - That’s true.
Of course, this etude is not easy,
but for my rating now, I would put it in Medium.
- Mmm. - Got it.
Okay, so we need one more Medium,
one more Ling Ling to make it balanced.
- Medium. - Okay, that I would put it in Hard.
- Ooh!!! - Like, on…over the other etudes.
- Okay. - For me, again.
- It’s the Ocean Etude, it's the... - Oh, yeah.
Is that the one you played in the charades game?
Is that Chopin?
- Yeah! - Yeah.
- Nice! - I still remember.
- Hmm… - Ling Ling.
Pathétique…
- God level. - She’s gonna surprise us and pick Easy.
- Let's put it Medium, I'm not sure though, Medium or Hard. - Ohh!!!
Ohh, nice!
So it's quite a bit easier than Moonlight!
- Look at that comparison! - Wow!
That's crazy!
- I mean, I don't know piano, so... - Wow...
...but yeah, there you go!
Sorry, can I just do something?
I'm not quite sure about that one, but let's leave it there for now.
Yeah, yeah, you can...yeah.
- Yeah, that looks better, yeah. - More symmetrical. - Wait.
Yes, this...
But put the etude over Träumerei, maybe.
- Oh, but now it's not symmetrical anymore. - Okay, there you go. Technically, okay. - I mean, technically, but...
- It's alright. - This is difficult!
- (Brett) First time, popping in the scene. - (Eddy) Oh!
- Okay, that's Ling Ling level, everyone knows that. - Yeah.
I haven't played it yet, but it's...you know.
- It sounds like it's gonna be like Ernst... - People say [it's] the hardest piece ever,
- especially Scarbo, and...I believe it, so... - Whoa...
- Yeah. - Whoa...
But it's cool too, because it's like,
actually really nice to listen to as well,
- it's not just like... - Whoa...just technique... - Yes.
It's so difficult technically, but you still have to make it...
...musically an interesting piece,
'cause if you just play fast and many notes it's not so...yeah.
- Yeah, yeah. - That's true, yeah, that's true.
(Brett) Now we have Mr. Tchaikovsky!
- God level, I would say. - Ohh!
- (Eddy and Sophie) Yeah. - Makes sense, it's a pretty big concerto.
You need to have sound.
How would you compare it to Rachmaninoff, though?
- Mmm. - Two of the biggest piano concertos ever?
I mean, of course they're slightly different styles,
- 'cause they're different composers, obviously. - Mm-hmm.
But they're both very big...concertos,
and you need to have a big sound, to even be heard,
over the orchestra.
There are parts in these two concertos
- where it's just the whole orchestra. - Yeah. - That's true.
- The orchestra is a different league... - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Playing out their heart, and...
It should be like that, the orchestra shouldn't...you know,
- take themselves back too much. - That's true, it wouldn't sound as epic. - Yeah.
- I reckon Sophie's gonna say...Medium. - Medium.
I mean, it would look very symmetrical in Medium.
- Ohh. - Do it, come on, do it.
- I mean, I would put Medium or Hard. - Ooh.
Okay.
Hmm...
- Don't let us sway you. - Yeah.
- But it would look very symmetrical. - Yeah, let's put it in Medium,
- it looks nice in Medium. - Okay, yes. - Yeah, nice.
(Eddy) I don't know this piece!
To be honest, I also don't really know it.
- Okay, so we'll just put it back then. - Fine.
I mean, my gut would say to put it in Hard, I think that's safe.
- Okay. - 'Cause it for sure isn't easy. - Yeah.
- And for sure, it's not "Ling Ling". - Oh wow, now it looks very symmetrical.
- Oh yeah, look at that! Let's just keep going! - Whoa!!!
- It's like a sideways tower. - Yeah.
That wasn't even on purpose.
Well, I think we have to keep going, right?
Yeah.
No, wait!
We gotta keep it even!
(Brett) Ooh, who is this?
- (Brett) Balakirev! - (Sophie) Ohh, it's the other...
- (Eddy) Islamey. - (Sophie) Ahh.
- Mmm...I haven't played it, but... - God level.
...I think it's Ling Ling level.
- Ling Ling. - Ohh!!! - It's supposed to be next to Gaspard de la Nuit,
the hardest piece ever.
I haven't played it, so I can't like, say how it is for me,
but um, it's...incredibly difficult, I'm sure.
- (Brett) Beethoven! - (Eddy) Ooh!!!
- (Eddy) Alright, this, I'm guessing this will be Ling Ling too, right? - Hammerklavier!
- Ling Ling? - Ooh.
- Yeah it's either God level or Ling Ling. - Okay.
What would be the deciding factor
for God level or Ling Ling for this one?
I don't know, I'm kind of doing this all by gut feeling.
I'm in the middle, I could just let go of my mouse and see where it goes.
Let's put it...let's put it Ling Ling, 'cause it's...
...it's a very difficult piece to listen actually, in the audience,
because it's very long, it's very complicated,
and it's musically very difficult, and not so easy to follow as a listener.
So the player really has to do a good job in
having the whole thing under one...
- That's interesting dude, it's difficult also for listeners. - Oh, I want to listen to it, yeah. - ...globe, I don't know.
For me, sometimes when I listen to it, it's like,
- "Huh?" - Yeah, "Huh?'
Yeah, so it's hard to follow.
That means the pianist wasn't good enough for Sophie.
No, but you have to be extremely,
I think, mature, as a pianist also to play it.
Like I didn't play it yet because I feel like...
- ...not yet, you know? It's so... - Yeah.
- ...one of those pieces that you don't want to play too early, I think. - Mmm.
(Brett) Next one, Rachmaninoff!
Hard, or Medium.
- Well done. - I would say Medium or Hard.
- Medium well, rare. - Medium well.
Okay, Medium well, right here.
- Let's put it Medium, yeah. - Okay, yeah.
Nice!
Easy, for Sophie, I think.
Probably not for other people.
It's one of those pieces again that...
It's like Cs-ar-das (Csárdás).
The notes are...
Oh it's actually "char-dash".
- Oh, "char-ds". - "Chal-das".
I think she's going to say the opposite,
- Yeah, she's gonna go...she gonna be like Ling Ling. - It sounds easy but it's actually really hard.
- Okay, for this thing let's put it in Easy, but...it is not! - Alright. Easy!
Dude, I think this Easy tile needs to like, bracket...
- Yeah, "Easy, but it's not." - Needs to bracket "but it's not".
(Brett) Oh! Totentanz!
- Alright, I'm gonna guess God level. - Yeah, same.
(Eddy and Sophie) Yeah.
- Yeah, it's gotta balance out the square! - Sounds good. - Exactly.
It's gonna be five-by-five!
So clearly the next one has to be Easy!
- Clair de Lune! - Oh!
Yeah, I...
- Yeah, my favourite piece, but, probably Easy. - Actually?
- We'll put it in Easy. - Yeah.
But again, it's not.
Okay, we have five left, Sophie.
Our job is to fit one in each!
Alright, Für Elise...
Actually, can we put all five down,
- and then Sophie can tell us if we get it right. - Okay, okay, Sophie you tell us,
we're gonna do it ourselves first.
Yeah, done!
How would you rate that, Sophie?
Hmm...
How about now?
- Nah, Für Elise can't be "medium". - I don't know. - Yeah it can't, I played that.
That's like...
- Actually though, Für Elise is really difficult to play well, in concert, - (Brett and Eddy) Oh.
because everyone knows it's such an easy beginner piece.
I actually would put...
...Liebesträume at "Ling Ling".
(Brett and Eddy) Ooh!!!
- I was wrong! - Yes...
Okay, let's put the Fantaisie-Impromptu in...
- ...God level, I guess? - Mm-hmm.
Yeah, then the Nocturne on Hard.
Ooh.
- I mean, it's not quite...but, it's okay, - We seriously got a perfect box here.
Is there anything you want to change,
before we lock it in, Sophie?
Actually, maybe let's...leave it like that,
- because that's how it...got created. - Yes?
- (Eddy) Mmm! - (Brett) Wow, look at that!
(Eddy) Wow!
There you go, everyone!
Oh, Sophie, you're supposed to finish the video, we're your guests.
Oh, yeah. Thank you for being my guests.
- You're welcome. - (Sophie) It was an honour.
- Thank you for your help, in rating these pieces. - Yes.
Thank you, no worries.
We're glad we can give our advice, and expertise.
Please subscribe to our channel on TwoSet Violin,
check out our channel below.
But on a serious note, check out Sophie,
- she's a boss pianist. - Yes, she came on tour with us before,
- you might see her in the future too. - Yeah.
So, oui oui.
Bye-bye.