How to play Chopin’s Prelude Op. 28 No. 7 for simple piano

In this article we show you how to play a simple version of Chopin’s Prelude Op. 28 No.7, here presented in G major.

Purists will be shouting at the screen that Chopin composed this piece of music in A major, and that’s correct. It’s provided here in G major as this is a slightly easier key to play in. We dare to suggest that most non-expert listeners will not realise the key has changed. However, we also provide a version of the music in A major, noting that some of the fingerings may need to be altered.

Introduction

This prelude is in 3/4 time and consists of 17 bars of music. We have transcribed a version which includes the basic notes, some fingering suggestions, plus some markings to indicate dynamics (loud, soft, increasing and decreasing volume) and speed variations. These can be ignored entirely to begin with, and introduced later should the pianist feel comfortable enough doing so.

Tempo

The suggested tempo is a leisurely 90bpm (beats per minute) for each quarter note (crotchet). If you have a metronome as a standalone unit or on your keyboard/digital piano, you may wish to set a value at or somewhat below this value. Although 90bpm is fairly slow, you can set a slower pace to begin with, while you are learning, if that makes things easier. Alternatively, when you are working on which notes to play, work without a metronome.

Practice Tips

It can be beneficial to practice each hand separately, starting with the right hand melody and upper chords, moving to the left hand accompaniment, and working towards playing both hands together.

Be sure you are comfortable with the G major scale before you set out. It includes one sharp — F# — which is always played. Do watch out for other accidentals in the music which will sharpen certain notes for the duration of that bar. See bars 4, 6, 12 and 13.

Audio

Some people find it easier to play once they have a good understanding of what the piece sounds like. We have included an audio version of the music below.

Fingering

Some suggested fingering is provided which can make playing the piece easier. Fingers are numbered as in the diagram below, with each thumb being a 1, the index finger 2, middle finger 3, ring finger 4, and little finger 5.

Dynamics

The dynamics (usually found between the treble and bass clef) used in this piece of music mean the following:

p – short for pianissimo – play quietly (but not as quietly as possible).
< – crescendo – play gradually more loudly from the ‘point’ of the arrow on the left to the open end on the right.
> – decrescendo / diminuendo – play gradually more quietly from the open end of the left to the ‘point’ of the arrow on the right.
cresc. – crescendo – see <
dim. – diminuendo – see >
f – fortissimo – play loudly (but not as loud as possible).
rall. – rallentando – decrease the tempo/speed gradually from this point until told otherwise.
a tempo – return to the original tempo.
rit. – ritardando – decrease the tempo/speed gradually from this point until told otherwise.
Ped_______ – depress the sustain pedal until the ‘up tick’ of the line.

For more help, you may find our how to read printed music guide useful.

Patterns

It is often good to look for patterns or repetitions in the music, as this can make remembering and playing the piece easier. In this case, Chopin uses similar phraseology, though the notes are different, in the right hand of bars 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 — that of a dotted eighth-note (quaver) followed by a sixteenth-note (semiquaver) and two quarter notes (crotchets). The first two notes are single while the last two notes are two note chords (also known as an interval.)

The left hand of these bars follows similar patterning although the timing of the notes and use of single notes or chords is not always the same.

You may notice in the left hand of bars such as 2 and 10, there is a dotted half-note (minim) followed by two quarter notes (crotchets). This indicates that the half note should be held down with the finger while the other notes are played.