• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Music Matters Blog

Music Matters Blog

Inspiring Creativity

  • Home
  • About
    • Speaking
  • Blog
    • Business
    • News
    • Resources
    • Teaching
  • Store
    • Music Resources
    • Piano Arrangements
    • FAQ
    • Cart
  • Music Books for Kids
  • Contact
  • Search

Piano Music for Left Hand

February 26, 2024 by natalie Leave a Comment

One of my students started experiencing inflammation in her right forearm at the end of last semester due to extensive note-taking in some college classes. So we launched into this semester with the need to give her right arm a break. We determined it was the perfect opportunity to explore left hand only repertoire! I had a grand total of three solos in my collection of printed music, so she fairly quickly learned those and was ready for a bit more of a challenge. I was excited to discover that one of my go-to sources for sheet music, IMSLP, has a whole page devoted to piano works for the left hand: IMSLP List of Piano Works for the Left Hand

Their list includes 47 works specifically written for the left hand alone by various composers, from well-known names like Brahms and Chopin, to more obscure ones like Alice Ellen Charbonnet and Dinu Lipatti. Here are direct links to some of the pieces we looked into.

Alkan – Three Grand Etudes

Bartok – Four Pieces for Left Hand

Birkedal-Barfod – Op. 19

Charbonnet – Mappari

Coenen – Fantasia

Pabst – Etudes for the Left Hand

C. W. Krogmann – Waltz Op. 81 No. 2

Reinecke – Op. 179

Saint-Saëns – 6 Etudes for the Left Hand

Many of the pieces are well beyond an intermediate level, and I wanted to be careful not to over-extend my student’s left arm and hand with such difficult music when her left hand isn’t used to having to do quite so much on its own! We did come across a new-to-us composer – Alberto Nepomuceno – from Brazil and his delightful collection of 5 Little Pieces for the Left Hand. They were apparently written for his daughter, though I’m not sure what the story is behind her need for such. Here’s a performance of the collection by Maria Ines Guimaraes:

A website devoted to Brazilian music has a page that includes a timeline with information about the life of Alberto Nepomuceno, along with a few recordings of some of his wonderful orchestral works!

Finally, we discovered composer James Marchand, who has an extensive collection of left hand piano music. Here are a few links to his videos and downloadable piano sheet music:

YouTube Channel: Marchand Music

Sheet Music: James Marchand Sheet Music

We are still looking for ideas, so any input is most welcome! Do you have any favorite left hand only pieces that a late intermediate student would enjoy learning and playing?

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Related

Filed Under: Recital Ideas, Repertoire Suggestions Tagged With: Free Resources

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Categories

Recent Comments

  1. Hamud Law Group on Financial Resources for Independent Music Teachers
  2. natalie on Organizing Rote Repertoire for Piano
  3. Patricia Backus on Organizing Rote Repertoire for Piano

Featured Collaborators

sheet music plus pass

carnival of the animals maestro classic

Virtual Sheet Music - Classical Sheet Music Downloads

MusicLink

 

Random Product

Recently Viewed Products

Footer

Free Resources

  • The Rhythm Randomizer – A Fabulous Free Tool for Piano Teachers
  • Amazing Photos of Deconstructed Pianos
  • Financial Resources for Independent Music Teachers
  • Piano Music for Left Hand
  • New Free Tortoises Beginner Piano Solo with Teacher Duet

Click for more Free Resources

Product Search

Blog Archives

Blog Categories

Advertisers and Affiliates

Teach Preschool Piano

Piano Companion App

Oktav Sheet Music Library

Moo.com

sheet music plus pass

maestro classics

Ecwid

Dropbox.com

RSS Feed | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest | LinkedIn | Facebook | Email

Blog content by Natalie's Piano Studio | © 2005-2025. All Rights Reserved.
Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Advertising Opportunities

 

Loading Comments...