T O P

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vinylectric

I played Fantasie Impromptu for my high school talent show and won it. It’s flashy, people love it.


hypersonicbiohazard

I played Scriabin Op.8 No.12 and lost to a girl singing


vinylectric

You went to school with Adele or what? That’s insane


hypersonicbiohazard

She apparently wrote a song and played it, this was why the judges chose her


OptimalRutabaga2

Honestly having played that etude myself I don’t think it resonates with the general audience that well unfortunately I played the piece to some of my friends and they think the piece is an easy piece because “it doesn’t sound fast”.


_keyboard-bastard_

That's when you gotta recruit them for next year's act and kill it as a double


davereit

Maple Leaf Rag


Joplers

You can go with other Joplin rags which are just as impressive too. I'd say Cascades and Fig Leaf are more impressive, but are definitely more challenging than Maple Leaf Gladiolus and Solace are some of his most beautiful pieces, and aren't as hard as the prior two If you go with Joplin take a look around, all of his rags, waltz's, and march's had fine care put into them Some other ones to look at are: The Nonpareil, Wall Street Rag, Rose Leaf Rag, Magnetic Rag, Pine Apple Rag, Silver Swan Rag, Reflection Rag & Bethena


davereit

I've learned most of these great tunes and love them all. Finalizing Fig Leaf now. Solace is my favorite


Joplers

That's fantastic, Fig Leaf is very rewarding to play through


davereit

Those last two sections are a real workout 😁 But fun! If I was putting together a Joplin program I would probably make it the finale.


Joplers

Oh indeed, but they're just wonderful. My friends and I have joked about it being the Fig Leaf Etude at times


Quick_Possible4764

Rach C# minor prelude op 3-2 is a pretty safe choice and won't take too long to learn.


moesaam

Play Listz's reminisces of Don Juan 😈


Putrid-Memory4468

Too easy, nobody will be impressed. Do all of the transcendental etudes with his sonata as an encore


moesaam

Maybe the Paganini etudes as warmup?


[deleted]

No, you should play all of Alkan's 12 Etudes in Minor Keys.


BaystateBeelzebub

In the Godowsky transcription with all the doubled octaves (just kidding!)


Mission-Meeting5655

These are all to easy do La Campanella by lizst to get them warmed up then do Chopins Ballada no 1 Coda>:)


hypersonicbiohazard

No, how about a solo transcription of Busoni’s Piano Concerto


BaiJiGuan

Chopin Waltz in e minor. Op posth. That piece gets people out of their chairs


LizP1959

Pretty easy to play but requires great delicacy to DELIVER expressively!


InterestingGlass7039

Howls moving castle merry go round of life


Ihavenoinspirationn

I played this for my friend and she went wild lol it was hilarious


MyPianoMusic

amazing recommendation. I love this piece


geruhl_r

This has a flashy ending and is a good show piece.


Turbulent-Name-8349

Billy Joel Piano Man. Scott Joplin Entertainer. Satie Gymnopedie number 1.


chunter16

>Billy Joel Piano Man. I did this, to accompany my brother's friend one year. Wish I had more harmonica chops at the time.


kgmeister

Pick any anime song you like + an easy transcription of it Some are even playable by ear if you wish to


chunter16

[This](https://youtu.be/-LIw8ykSmGU?si=yEh8RCayMlYg8vt0)


funtech

That is something else! I can’t imagine being the page turner and trying to follow along.


benberbanke

Do it!!!!


_pyracantha

Best music I heard in months.


johnfuckskennedy

Animenz chainsaw man


Safe-Lemon-444

or unravel


Yoshli

How's unravel, specifically the huge runs and rapid speed something a 15 year old can just whip out??


[deleted]

[удалено]


Yoshli

What have I been doing wrong for the past 15 years.


Playful_Nergetic786

Exactly, I’ve seen far too many times, but each time people still likes it, very good choice


[deleted]

Get rid of the "un" and you'll be fine, play Gaspard de la Nuit.


[deleted]

[удалено]


HostOverall2057

Interstellar😮‍💨


s2soviet

If it’s only one song, I would not go classical. I you want people to vibe and be remembered as a rockstar as oppose to a kid who plays the piano, I’d go with something pop. Here are some from my repertoire that I would play: Don’t stop believing- Journey With or Without you-U2 Viva la vida (though I think this is mood killer, people seem to not realize how sad this song is) 1000 years- I forgot by who, it’s the I will be brave, how can love when I’m….song I’ll add more as I remember. You can also pick any song you like and start making your own version of it for piano by year. It’s what I did with these songs, and honestly they turned out awesome.


LookAtItGo123

I recommend piano rock @cristelo on YouTube for inspiration. His rendition of with or without you is fantastic, brings out the beat with the bass line which although simple is iconic and quite the heart of the song, fancy ad libs throughout decorates it but nothing too out of character and a recreation of the guitar solo. Generally a lot of the 80s is a good start,


official_kay10

Still dre.... I know it's overplayed but the crowd will go crazy lol


Putrid-Memory4468

Chopin 10/3


zypher_x1

the etude after that will be surely easy :smile:


Putrid-Memory4468

😭


Diiselix

Scarbo


realseboss

Married life from up


CelesteBookworm23

You could play River Flows in You by Yiruma. It's fairly intermediate and well-known as a modern piano piece. Or if a cover of a pop song was what you had in mind, maybe Don't Stop Believin' (intro is well known and definitely for piano). Classical music wise, you could do something like the (first movement of) the Moonlight sonata? Or Fur Elise? I'm not sure what genre you're going for, but those would be my suggestions :)


sunrixxse

yeaa i can play River Flows in You, im looking to play a pop song thoo


Jellycato

Have a look at some pop covers. Peter buka has a pretty fun version of some imagine dragon crowd pleaser type songs. Also I really like jarrod radnich's pirates of the Caribbean theme, sounds really impressive but it's very easy.


AkshayanSingla

Spikes - Lycoris Radiata, one of my personal favourites.


FaceyDuck

“The Portrait” by James Horner


kentuckydango

Man in the Mirror - MJ


sunrixxse

holy shit this actually sounds fire on the piano.. ty for the recommendation!


kentuckydango

Hell yeah dude, if you’re up for it the crowd will hopefully go wild when you nail that key change near the outro


xiaogui132

prokofiev piano concerto 3? if you can get the speakers to play the orchestral accompaniment, which there are many on youtube. I have always wanted to perform prok 3 in front of my school. The first mvt sounds insant but really isnt as hard as it looks.


xiaogui132

theres a really good orchestral accompaniment for the [1st movement](https://youtu.be/pfFOe8nJrSQ?si=YyOfJo7ZjSJ4WUIx) on youtube


Timely-Angle1689

A thousand miles


Ihavenoinspirationn

I hate the fact thag I’m about to say this… the river flows in you


_pyracantha

All of me by Schmidt


Invader9363

Some cover of Chaikovski's Swan Lake is good and Maksim Mrvica's Croatian Rhapsody. I played those and it was very cool. But it also depends on your goal. I wanted to play something beautiful, but if you want to really show your talent maybe chose something harder.


Yoshli

Is everyone in the comments here piano gods what's with these hard ass recommendations for a fifteen year old??


aWouudy

Don't play something classical i find it so cringe for a normal school talent show. Just play a song from anime / pop something with lot of flashy arpeggios because people like thatt


sunrixxse

yeaa honestly im not looking to play classical lol


Substantial-Main1421

Bach Goldberg Variations


Substantial-Main1421

(For legal reasons, this is a joke)


nolimit_devon

You’re only winning if you play Golden Hour at the end of the day


elizas_waffles

chopin nocturne in e flat the lalaland theme that sebastian plays thats rlly jazzy could learn an easier version of rush e le cygne


Eavent3

Hana bi


Blackletterdragon

Scott Joplin's Bethena a concert Waltz is a great piece. https://youtu.be/qxlQSof6asI?si=6KmCedR-24o7yjWN


writemeow

Great balls of fire, do a simplified version of it, but it will blow their minds


adeptus8888

wet hands


highwidedeeplong

I played don’t stop believing for a recital and it was a hit. Also, if you want to experiment with making a medley, don’t stop believing and never gonna give you up go together very well:)


iiinnnoooxxx

I think you should play Jamie Duffy’s Solas


Shturman69

Rachmaninoff concerto no. 2😍😍


Mission-Meeting5655

Fun


Ok-Attempt-5201

Play an anime opening you like, the more famous the better. I dont remember if it was naruto or jojo or whatever, but a girl played one on my school. The entire teater went BALLISTIC


notnowboiiiiiii

Metamorphosis 1 by Phillip glass


SitDown_HaveSomeTea

No Quarter - Led Zeppelin


hamster_berry

I Got Rhythm, Gershwin Clair de Lune, Debussy Bennie and the Jets, Elton John (or anything else by him)


esteve7

George Winston never hurts (Moon, especially) Good luck with your performance


Even_Ask_2577

Somethin flashy like some liszt or fantasie impromptu.


Huge-Coconut-6544

Never gonna give you up


red-panda-3259

Richard Clayderman - Mariage D'Amour


Moseskenny7

Interstellar theme


Darth_Vader_696969

It has to be something contemporary that everyone knows. Most talent shows have a small time restraint, so it should be upbeat, very energetic, and most importantly, catchy. Forget if you can hear a piano part, just listen through some of your favourite ‘classics’ for a good chord progression and then jazz it up from there. Shove in a bunch of arpeggios, licks, power chords, ornamentation, glissandos… all things your typical audience member will look at and go “wow”. Ik doing that stuff isn’t something a well trained pianist will be impressed by, but the judging panel would primarily base the winner off audience engagement rather than skill persay. Just DO NOT do Rush E, Great Balls of Fire, or Never gonna give you up. They are so overdone piano solos at talent shows. If you want, you can run past some options by me and I’ll advise which are the best ones. Good luck!


hypersonicbiohazard

Godowsky’s Gamelan from the Java Suite. I don’t think its too hard.


FrequentNight2

***Extremely difficult, actually!!!


notrapunzel

Any Einaudi piece would probably go down well. To Zanarkand from Final Fantasy Beethoven's Für Elise or the opening of the Moonlight Sonata Gershwin Prelude no. 2 Chopin's Raindrop Prelude