Frustration is just a word for those who don't have patience. I sight read through the piece, I think that piece should be attainable for intermediates and some advanced beginners IMO but yeah they would have to put the work in.

So only attempt if you are a beginner or intermediate with fairly long fingers. He uses frequent harmonic shifts and 10ths in his playing so if you can’t reach a 10th you have to come up with a work around.That is true, there is a 10th in there and I don't have a problem playing those but some even advanced players have trouble playing 10ths. I think it would be beyond frustrating for beginners to try to play these pieces. I have the sheet music for Over the Rainbow and it’s more demanding than Shenandoah. I’ve played his transcription of Shenandoah. Jarret’s transcriptions are around an RCM 9 level. To truly master, well that is a whole other story, but who ever really masters a piece? Martha Argerich used to say how she never felt like she mastered a piece that there's always another level on which to improve upon. For intermediate pianists this piece should not be difficult to play. That drove my practice, not testing, a critical teacher, or other external factors. I can't remember a time in the past 40 years where I saw playing the piano a chore and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I learned almost exclusively by just playing music that inspired me or challenged me. I personally think far too many adults who unlike children genuinely want to learn the instrument drop out because they are not seeing results or playing music that inspires them. From a pedagogical perspective I could see why many teachers would say this piece is unnecessarily challenging but if an advanced beginner were to learn a piece like this it can be the reward that keeps them in this art for a lifetime. The piece is slow enough and not so note heavy that they can learn the piece if they put their mind into it.

Somewhat more advanced beginners I think they could do it. They just have to figure their way around the keyboard. Over the Rainbow is about four pages long, so if it takes someone months or a year to learn it, this would generally be inappropriate from a pedagogical perspective.Complete beginners I wouldn't have them even try such pieces. He uses frequent harmonic shifts and 10ths in his playing so if you can’t reach a 10th you have to come up with a work around.Īlthough both those pieces are magical, I think they're way too difficult for beginners and even many intermediate players. A lot more fun than exercises and scales wouldn't you say? When I was teaching myself the piano (past childhood), these were the kinds of pieces I worked on to challenge myself in the early years. For those a more experienced it's not that difficult to sight read through this piece if you like it. For many with some determination you can get through a piece like this but it could take a long time (months, a year?) but really it's not that difficult if you really want to learn it. Don't worry all the beginners out there your hands won't fall off if you attempt a piece like it. That piece is easier than Danny Boy so some may want to try it.

Hoping he can find peace somehow and stays healthy.Glad you liked it. I wish I had seen him when he played at Carnegie a few years back. Love Jarrett and somehow missed the news of what happened to him post-2nd stroke until only recently (dealing with Covid recovery, both my own and my dad's had me in a fog since November).

Keith jarrett danny boy transcription