Pentatonic piano music
I’ve recently realized how much I’m drawn to pentatonic piano music, and thought it might be interesting to start a thread about it.
By “pentatonic,” I mean music that is built wholly or partly around five-note scales, whether in a clearly folk-style, an impressionistic/coloristic way, or something more modern and stylized. The whole spectrum: pieces that sound simple and transparent, pieces that feel atmospheric and meditative, and also where pentatonic writing becomes technically or musically more obvious.
What pentatonic piano pieces have you played, worked on, or simply loved listening to? Which ones stayed with you? Did they feel easier under the hands because of the scale patterns, or in some ways harder because of making “simple” material sound expressive? Did learning them change the way you think about melody, harmony, or keyboard geography?
My interests have long been somewhat Asia-oriented (I studied sinology and Mandarin), so I have tried learning some of Tan Dun’s Eight Memories in Watercolor, but they did not quite stick with me. Ginastera, too, has a few striking little pentatonic preludes. I’d love to explore more genuinely Chinese piano pieces, but I feel quite at a loss about fingering and technical patterns that are used.
17 replies
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I don't know how relevant this is/whether this is what you mean at all, but Chopin's Etude Op. 10 no. 5 is mostly based around a pentatonic scale.
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Don't know if you've heard these before, but here's some pieces I'm familiar with that are from Chinese composers:
Chen Peixun - Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake, recorded by Lang Lang
Lots of pentatonic arpeggios + rolled chords in this one, mimicking the sounds and textures you'd get from traditional Chinese plucked stringed instruments which are usually tuned in major pentatonic scales. It's been a while since I learned this piece so I don't remember much but it being pentatonic in D-flat major/mostly black keys definitely helped with getting the arpeggios fluid. I can also say that it felt more difficult for me personally to find the right phrasings for the melody lines because they were on the more "simple" side. This recording is from one of Lang Lang's albums of piano works from Chinese composers (including Tan Dun's Eight Memories in Watercolor) if you haven't checked that out already! Chen Peixun also has another piece called Thunder in Drought Season which is included in the ABRSM Grade 8 repertoire list.
Not much to say about this one since I never fully learned it but it's a fun one to play and listen to!
Hope this helps! This is pretty much all I can contribute for both Chinese piano music and pentatonic music in general 😅
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Henle recently published a collection of pieces by Chinese composers. I have never played them so I am not sure if they also include pentatonic components but it would appear to align with your interest of exploring Chinese piano repertoire (and fingerings are included!).
https://www.henle.de/en/hn1453
Edit: The description of this collection does in fact say:
Predominantly pentatonic in character, these works unite the magic of Far Eastern music with the sound of the piano.
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Definitely an "impressionistic" usage of the pentatonic scale and probably not what you are looking for, but Debussy's Pagodes from Estampes and uses the pentatonic scale, but not exclusively. I believe Prelude (and some of the other movements) from Le Tombeau de Couperin also use the pentatonic scale, together with the Dorian and Mixolydian modes.
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Yes , I would also have mentioned Debussy’s use of pentatonic scales in his music .
beyond that , perhaps a little further afield, I have an interest in Jazz, where contemporary improvisation makes a lot of use of pentatonic scales both major and minor , in order to create a more ‘modern’ feel ( not necessarily oriental)
I myself have tried introducing practiced pentatonic lines into my own improvisation
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There’s also the 30 Famous Chinese Pieces, a few which overlap with Henle’s, which is available on Amazon. A couple are included in the ABRSM diploma repertoire. The one I find most purely pentatonic is ‘Embroidering Golden Silk Banner’ and is such a lovely tune https://youtu.be/8zhO4vZyDqc?si=wonXKRAd0Lfpn6j8
I’m also fascinated by some of Bartok’s and Spanish music that weirdly sound similar to Chinese folk musid.
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I also have a deep appreciation for pentatonic-based music. Recently our teacher's group organized a Sound of Asia piano competition for students in our region, where we had the opportunity to hear many many beautiful works by composers of Asia heritage. we will continue this project this year, and I would be very happy to share more repertoire by Asian composers wit this community. I also warmly welcome composers and musicians interested in Asian piano music to connect, share and exchange ideas!