[Piano Duets] Guaranteed to get the crowd excited! A roundup of recommended pieces
Piano duet is when two people sit side by side at the piano and, breathing together, perform with four hands.
With duets, you can enjoy a depth and opulence of sound that’s different from solo playing.
Another major attraction is the joy of ensemble—two people creating a single performance together.
This time, we’ve picked out guaranteed crowd-pleasing recommendations from among piano duet pieces!
We’ve gathered cool works that will captivate both players and listeners, so please enjoy to the end!
- [Intermediate] Recommended Piano Duets | A Curated Selection of Cool and Dazzling Pieces
- [Piano Duets] Perfect for recitals! A carefully curated selection of brilliant, crowd-pleasing works
- [Advanced] Piano Duet Works | Exquisite Masterpieces to Savor the Rich, Weighty Sonorities of Four Hands
- [Beginner] Recommended Piano Duets | A curated selection of pieces enjoyable for both adults and children
- [For Beginners] Enjoy Parent-Child Piano Duets! Recommended Songs Introduced
- [Piano Duet × J-POP] A showcase of insanely cool piano duet arrangements all at once
- [Intermediate Level] A curated selection of piano masterpieces featuring strikingly brilliant melodies!
- [Advanced] Super cool if you can play it! Selection of famous piano pieces
- [Piano Recital] Recommended for Boys! A Curated Selection of Cool, Impressive, and Popular Pieces
- [For Elementary School Students] Brilliant, Showy Masterpieces That Sound Impressive at Piano Recitals
- [Popular Piano] Capture the Audience’s Attention! Recommended Pop Songs That Shine at Piano Recitals
- [For Adults] Recommended for Piano Recitals! A Curated Selection of Impressively Sounding Masterpieces
- Piano Masterpieces: Surprisingly Easy Despite Sounding Difficult!? A Curated Selection Perfect for Recitals
[Piano Duets] Guaranteed to Get the Crowd Going! A Roundup of Recommended Pieces (41–50)
Beautiful RosemaryFritz Kreisler
As a sparkling and beautiful classical piano duet, I recommend Fritz Kreisler’s “Schön Rosmarin” (“Lovely Rosemary”).
It’s a piece that makes you feel as if you were at a ball, and Kreisler, a violinist, often performed it as an encore at his own concerts.
This work has been arranged for piano four hands, and it fills listeners with a sense of elegance.
It’s a three-beat waltz that is bright, dazzling, and easy to listen to.
The character is that of a typical Viennese waltz popular in 19th-century Vienna, and playing it on the piano can make you feel like nobility.
It’s also a great recommendation for anyone looking for classical piano duet repertoire.
[Piano Duets] Guaranteed to Get the Crowd Going! A Roundup of Recommended Pieces (51–60)
Mission: ImpossibleLalo Schifrin
As the two of you become able to play to a certain extent, you’ll probably feel more eager to play and want to try a variety of pieces beyond classical, such as music from games, anime, and J-pop.
How about the well-known theme from Mission: Impossible? The original comes from the American TV drama “Mission: Impossible,” which aired from 1966 to 1973, and those with a strong association to the movie may be surprised to learn the film is not the source.
The opening wind instruments with triangle tremolo and the 5/4 bass line are unforgettable once you’ve heard them.
In 5/4 time, the key in piano four-hands is how well the melody can ride over the bass line.
Since long notes decay on the piano, it’s best if the two of you can play in a way that doesn’t let the energy of the sound fade.
Mountain MusiciansDoitsu min’yō
Many Japanese nursery rhymes are arranged from German folk songs.
Because of this background, German folk songs are frequently performed at piano recitals.
Among them, I especially recommend a piece called “Yama no Ongakuka” (The Musicians of the Mountain).
It’s in G major and, among the duets introduced here, I think it’s one of the easiest to play.
Since it’s a very simple piece, those who have just started learning piano might find it better to practice this duet rather than a solo.
Be sure to check it out.
Bling-Bang-Bang-BornCreepy Nuts
A cool and addictive piece I recommend for piano duets is Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born.” Since its release on January 7, 2024, its momentum hasn’t stopped, and it even reached No.
1 globally in YouTube’s weekly song rankings for March 8–14.
With a rap-style groove, snappy tempo, and a cool yet slightly mysterious vibe, it’s the kind of track that will stick in anyone’s head after just one listen.
“Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” has been arranged for piano while preserving the strengths of the original, making it suitable for duet performance.
The up-tempo piano arrangement almost lets you “hear” the lyrics—“cheat, gifted, daring trick, wanted”—coming through the keys.
When performing it, it’s crucial to capture the rap-like feel, the singable melody, and the rhythmic phrasing.
It’s a piece that’s fun both to play and to listen to.
typewriterLeroy Anderson
If you’re looking for a cheerful and amusing four-hand duet for intermediate players, how about The Typewriter by the American composer Leroy Anderson? A “typewriter” is a machine that predates word processors and modern computers, which prints letters on paper by striking type against it.
This piece cleverly treats the typing sounds—what we’d now associate with computer keyboard clicks—as percussion and incorporates them into the music.
Because the tempo is fast and there are many rapid runs, it’s a good idea to assign the more virtuosic passages with fast runs to the advanced player, and the lower accompaniment part to the intermediate player, and practice accordingly.
As you improve, you can switch parts; if that’s difficult, the advanced player can support the intermediate player.
It’s a delightful piece and perfect for an encore!
Suite ‘The Nutcracker,’ Op. 71a – TrepakPyotr Tchaikovsky
How about the suite The Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky? This piece comes from the ballet The Nutcracker.
While the original is known as an orchestral work, there are also scores arranged for piano four hands.
Among those, a particularly popular and dazzling selection is the Russian Dance, or Trepak.
Some people associate it with the movie Home Alone, but the piece used in the film is a different work composed very much in a similar vein with a similar character.
From the very beginning, the music bursts with a lively melody and a sense of drive.
Thanks to its brilliant, joyful character, it’s an excellent recommendation as a duet piece for a recital.
Czardas for Four HandsTabuchi Saeko
The piece known as Czardas for Four Hands is often considered for advanced players.
It’s frequently performed not only as a piano solo or duet, but also on instruments like the violin.
The key to this work is high-speed legato.
In duets, we tend to focus too much on the fingers, but in this piece the feet are even more important than the fingers.
Practice pedal technique that connects sounds while letting them ring, and for the accompaniment part, drill a rock-solid sense of rhythm.
It’s a crowd-pleasing piece that also builds valuable experience, so be sure to check it out.