![[Piano Sheet Music] Playable with the Left Hand Only! Carefully Selected Pieces from Beginner to Ultra-Advanced](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/LXEL5DQVUh0/maxresdefault.webp)
When playing the piano with both hands, many people struggle with things like “my left hand just won’t move the way I want” or “I’m not good at reading notes in the bass clef to begin with.” If that’s the case, why not try intensive practice with pieces that use only the left hand? In this article, we’ve picked out pieces playable with just the left hand across a range of difficulty levels, from beginner to very advanced.
We’ll introduce them along with sheet music you can download or purchase online.
If your goal is to “read the bass clef smoothly” or “move your left hand more freely,” why not overcome your weak left hand by choosing pieces that fit your objectives?
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[Piano Sheet Music] Playable with the Left Hand Only! Carefully Selected Pieces from Beginner to Ultra-Advanced (1–10)
Grandes études de Paganini, S.141 No. 3 “La Campanella”Franz Liszt
A masterpiece by the Romantic virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt.
Based on Paganini’s violin concerto, this work is an exercise in transcendental technique crafted specifically for the piano.
Its bell-like high-register sonorities are striking, and the left-hand writing is intricate.
First published in 1838 and revised in 1851, it is recommended for those looking to improve their ability to read the bass clef and to strengthen left-hand technique.
With its brilliant melodies and demands for pinpoint accuracy in leaps, it stands as a landmark among piano études.
Pieces for Two Left Hands, Op. 9: No. 1, PreludeAlexander Scriabin
The Russian composer and pianist Alexander Scriabin, despite his advanced piano technique, is said to have had small hands.
He once injured his right wrist by forcing himself to keep playing pieces of extreme virtuosity, and in response he further developed his left-hand technique and devised a distinctive pianistic writing style.
His Piece No.
2, “Prelude,” from Two Pieces for the Left Hand, is a work that, while overall calm in mood, features a beautifully rich layering of sound that makes it hard to believe it is played with the left hand alone.
Strongly influenced by Chopin, it is especially recommended for those who love Romantic-era music.
It is also shorter in performance time than No.
2, “Nocturne,” so it might be a good idea to start practicing with this piece first!
Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2: A Piece for Two Left HandsAlexander Scriabin
Your right hand can smoothly handle fairly intricate notes, but your left hand just won’t move freely… If that sounds familiar, I highly recommend trying “Two Pieces for the Left Hand.” Composed by the Russian composer-pianist Alexander Scriabin, this work was born from his own disadvantage as a pianist—his relatively small hands.
The second piece, “Nocturne,” employs Scriabin’s distinctive piano writing—sometimes called the “Cossack of the left hand”—to roam effortlessly across a wide range, spinning a beautiful yet slightly wistful melody that hardly seems possible with just the left hand.
Practicing this piece will undoubtedly elevate your left hand’s expressive power at the piano.
Piano Concerto in D major for the Left HandMaurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel, the French composer who gave the world numerous masterpieces such as Pavane for a Dead Princess, Jeux d’eau, and Rapsodie espagnole.
The work he wrote for the Austrian-born pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right hand in the war, is this Concerto for the Left Hand.
Many later pianists who perform with the left hand alone have taken up this piece, and it holds a very important place among piano works intended for left-hand performance.
It is remarkable enough that, in the early 1930s, Ravel composed a piano concerto that incorporated influences from jazz and blues; but one cannot help being astonished that such free and dramatic expression could be achieved with only the left hand, using a wide range of techniques.
As the music drives toward its climax, the melody scarcely seems like something played with just the left hand.
Since it is a piece that cannot be played without considerable technical skill, I hope advanced players who wish to push their left-hand expressive power to the limit will take on the challenge.
Ode to Joy (from Symphony No. 9, Fourth Movement)Ludwig van Beethoven
Just hearing the melody of this extremely famous theme inevitably makes any Japanese person conjure up year-end scenes.
Once we’re past mid-December, it’s practically a seasonal tradition to hear either Christmas songs or “Ode to Joy” echoing through towns across Japan.
What’s commonly called “Daiku” (“the Ninth”) or “Ode to Joy” actually refers specifically to the first theme of the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No.
9.
If you don’t know the work in its entirety, be sure to check out the orchestral concerts held around the country at year’s end.
But I digress—given how famous the piece is, there are many sheet music editions available for solo piano with simple arrangements.
Among them, of course, are versions playable with the left hand alone.
These are easy arrangements where a single-note melodic line is occasionally joined by chords, so please make good use of them for practicing your left hand.
Three Sacred Songs No. 1: Ave Maria (Caccini)Yoshimatsu Takashi
Speaking of Caccini’s Ave Maria, it’s a famous piece often cited alongside Schubert’s Ave Maria and Gounod’s Ave Maria as one of the “three great Ave Marias.” In fact, the true composer is said to be the Soviet-era composer Vladimir Vavilov, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll proceed with the title commonly known to the public, “Caccini’s Ave Maria.” Its somewhat wistful, melancholy yet beautiful melody is well loved in piano arrangements.
Notably, at the request of Japan’s world-renowned left-hand pianist Izumi Tateno, the distinguished composer and arranger Takashi Yoshimatsu created a left-hand-only arrangement published as “Three Sacred Songs — Ave Maria for the Left Hand.” Tateno’s performances succeed thanks to expressive power and technique that make it hard to believe he’s playing with just one hand, but if you’re looking to further develop your left-hand movement and expressiveness, why not give it a try?
Dream Reading… TravelogueYoshimatsu Takashi
Takashi Yoshimatsu is a Japanese composer active across a wide range of genres, from orchestral music to traditional Japanese music and film scores.
He is also known as a fan of progressive rock, and drew attention in 2009 when he released “Tarkus: Classic meets Rock,” an orchestral arrangement of the classic by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
From the soundtrack of the historical drama Taira no Kiyomori that Yoshimatsu worked on, this time we’re introducing Yume-yomi…Kikō, a piece with a beautifully wistful melody.
In fact, there is a sheet music version of this piece arranged for the left hand alone.
With its relaxed waltz rhythm and relatively sparse notes, it could be a good left-hand practice challenge for players around the upper-intermediate level.