Week 1 Goal “Pick Your Piece!”

🎹 Week 1: Pick Your Piece!
(Starting September 15th!)

This week is all about choosing your Chopin repertoire. Whether you’re stepping into Chopin’s world for the very first time or you’ve played his music before, the goal is to select a piece that inspires you—and challenges you just enough.

We’ve curated a list to help guide your choice:


🎹 Beginner-Friendly Selections (Level 1–3)

Perfect for players new to Chopin. These works focus on melody, expression, and clarity of touch.

  • Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4

  • Waltz in A minor, B. 150 (Posthumous)

  • Prelude in B minor, Op. 28 No. 6


🎼 Intermediate Selections (Level 4–6)

For players ready to explore deeper expression, voicing, and rubato.

  • Nocturne in C♯ minor, Op. Posth.

  • Mazurka in A minor, Op. 67 No. 4

  • Waltz in C♯ minor, Op. 64 No. 2

  • Prelude in D-flat major, Op. 28 No. 15 “Raindrop”


🎶 Advanced Selections (Level 7–8+)

For seasoned players seeking to embrace Chopin’s full virtuosity and emotional range.

  • Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

  • Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31

  • Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 “Heroic”

  • Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27 No. 2


✅ Your Week 1 Task:

  • Pick your piece

  • Comment below with what you’ve chosen (and why, if you’d like!)

  • If you’re unsure, ask for recommendations—we’re here to help!

This week is all about inspiration and intention—no pressure to start practicing yet. Next week, we’ll dive into analysis and interpretation with Eloise Kim.

Let the journey into Chopin’s world begin!

141 replies

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    • Stephanie_Reuer
    • 7 days ago
    • Reported - view

    I’m starting the Revolutionary Etude and the B Major Nocturne with my new teacher. And I have a personal project to relearn the F Major Ballade. No possible way those will be ready to play for anyone in a month. I’d love to do the harmonic analysis on the Nocturne, that would be very helpful. Could I offer to play Mazurka #25 in B Major and do the harmonic analysis using the Nocturne?

      • Stephanie_Reuer
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

      - I’ll always trust your recommendations! For this one, I am already a BIG fan of Dunn’s recording…

      • Randi
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

      i can't wait to hear you play it! 

      • Randi
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

       thanks for the recommendation! 

      • Stephanie_Reuer
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

        - Thanks! I hope I can arrange to be near a piano when we are supposed to play. These events are usually at 2 pm EDT and I am at work. Just another reason to retire!

      • PViseskul
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       for these challenges, each of us post a recording in the final week ... so won't be playing live. The recordings will then be played in the watch party.

      • Roger_Ward
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

        I've had a belief that if I retire, my brain will atrophy. I haven't considered until now that working might facilitate neural death.  

      • Randi
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       there are SO many reasons. 😆

      • Have a growth mindset, no matter what!
      • Gail_Starr
      • 9 hrs ago
      • Reported - view

      We DO trust you!

      • Have a growth mindset, no matter what!
      • Gail_Starr
      • 9 hrs ago
      • Reported - view

       I did a 1/2 marathon right after the CD was released and listened to the whole thing on repeat during my entire race.  Since I'm SO slow, I got to listen to all of it a few times, LOL.

    • Fernando_Vago_Santana
    • 7 days ago
    • Reported - view

    My pick will be the Nocturne op. 62 no 2. I played the first one and would like to learn the second as well. 

    • Concertist in the making
    • Adriana_Lopez
    • 7 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Hello!!

    I like to present a little or one of the movements of the Sonata op.35 no.2 of Chopin.

    Why did I chose it? Because I love the inherent poetism that exists in each of the movements and especially the mysticism behind this piece... The well-known "Funeral March"... The first 2 movements that intertwine quite well... the last movement that is chaos...

    • meowong28
    • 7 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi all, I would like to pick Chopin, Ballade 1 in G minor. This piece always attract me a lot. The emotion is so intense, melody and harmony are so beautiful. I have a strong internal connection with this piece. I learned this piece a year ago, but couldn't complete it due to technical issue, especially the coda. So many big chords, big jumps, and super fast. I just think it's time to get it done and what a coincidence there's Chopin festival in tonebass. 

    • Owner of the world's tiniest piano store
    • clavierhaus_Vienna
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view

    No.3 in A-flat major from 'Trois Nouvelles Etudes'. Today is day 12 of learning it from scratch.

      • Pediatrician
      • a_weymann
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

       well, you clearly win the prize for “most original programming”. Can’t wait to hear this rarely played gem! 

      • Owner of the world's tiniest piano store
      • clavierhaus_Vienna
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

       

      • PViseskul
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

        I thought this is no 2? I was thinking of a different one when you said no 3 ... regardless ... nicely played :)

    • Banker, Amateur Pianist
    • Chris_Lee
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi all, tempted to choose both the Scherzo 2 and Ballade 1, pieces that I've worked on a long time ago, and only been brushing up again recently. 

    Due to work demands, my time spent on the piano has been very sporadic, but still necessary to keep those musical dreams and passions alive. :) So in recently exploring the intriguing AI Pathways in Tonebase, I'm excited to see how this journey will unfold a month or two later!

      • Kerstin
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Wow, love these pieces too. 😇

    • HengPin_Chen
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Hello everyone, I haven't participated Tonebase events for some time. Lately, I am working on Chopin Sonata Op 58. This beautiful, yet difficult large piece will take a lot of my time (which I don't have). I'll see how it goes in the following month and present maybe 2nd or 3rd movement.  I actually have only 2 weeks, since another 2 weeks I won't have access to a piano at all. But, I'll follow the forum and enjoy the music everyone makes. 😄

    • Doctor
    • Rashmi_Lahiri
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Hello everyone! I have just started to learn Chopin’s Prelude in E minor, inspired by Dominic’s Study Group. This 4-weeks of living with the piece would be amazing! Have started to work on the B1-4 LH chords and feel the escapement mechanism on my digital piano. 

    • Kathryn_K
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view

    I am choosing the “Raindrop” 

    • Joyrj1
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view

    I'm choosing the Ballade

    • tonebase_user.173
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view

    I’ve been learning concerto 1 in e minor so would like to work on the Romance, 2nd movement. 

    • Russell
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view
    • Waltz in C♯ minor, Op. 64 No. 2
      It's a piece that my students would enjoy listening to in class.

    • chuck_levin
    • 6 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Fantaisie, op.49, f minor.  In my mind, this is an underrated and underplayed masterpiece.  I'VE certainly underplayed it, so now's the time to make amends.  It contains a lot of magic.

Content aside

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