Why Clair de Lune Is The ULTIMATE Piano Piece

Have you learned how to play Clair de Lune? Or maybe you've been working on it and it's not there yet? Keep working! You WILL absolutely get there. If you want a little help along the way, go here- cornellmusicacademy.com/blackfriday

I feel really personally attacked by the thumbnail, because that's the exact part of the song where I started having a lot of trouble and gave up,

Claire de Lune was my grandfather's favorite tune and it was played at my wedding. My mother had recorded a version of her playing it on an 8-track tape back in the '70s for my grandfather for father's day. My mother passed away when I was 15, but I was able to borrow the 8-track tape and digitize my mother's version of the song. So when I walked down the aisle, it was my mother playing Claire de Lune.

The first time I successfully got through this song in one take it ended in tears. Clair de Lune is so rich in emotion, which makes me wanna SOB.

Clair de Lune was one of the first "real" pieces I've played and honestly I completely agree with you! It teaches a pianist so many important and nuanced things within technique which become invaluable in future playing. On top of that, it sounds beautiful. Truely an amazing piece of music

I love how Charles explors all the different corners of music from classical to jazz to your favorite theme songs. It's awesome what you're doing man keep it up.

What I've always found so fascinating about Clair de Lune is that, depending on the level in which you engage with the piece, it can kinda be as easy or as hard as you want it to be, because most of the difficulty and complexity of the piece is hidden from less skilled players. This means that on the more novice side of playing, it's a famous and beautiful classical piece that you can actually successfully engage with and achieve playing, while still offering near limitless depth of expressive complexity to masters of their craft. It actually kinda blows my mind as to how Debussy managed to do that so well here.

"Suite Bergamasque" is one of my most favorite piano works. Love how Debussy just tucked "Clair de Lune" in there. But no way of keeping that musical jewel from outshining everything.

This is probably the most beautiful piano piece in my opinion. I have a deep personal connection to it and everytime I hear it somewhere, it alsways makes me sad and melancholic. It's just so beautiful

3:18 Wait! Fascinatingly, while you are right, did you know Debussy himself didn't intend the chords to be played perfectly together? He rolled them! In this piece, pretty much all of them. Regardless of the notation. This gives up on the "clarity aspect" you mention, but instead sets a different mood, and that's what he prioritized. We know it simply from... listening to his fantastic playing! There's a 100+ years old recording of his performance of that piece😮 now you know! Edit: The recording has been most probably MISATTRIBUTED to Debussy. I still love it though

thank you for alligning your hands with the green notes when you did, its less abrasive on my brain than the backwards look when youre facing the camera and showing the notes played beneath. 💖

Love how excited you become with the beauty

I've played piano and been self taught for 7 years. I always love watching your videos because I learn something new everytime. I never knew that "flamming" notes, so to speak, could fundamentally change the feeling of a phrase or entire song so much because of the natural undulation of ringing notes. Thank you so much! 🙏

I remember playing this for the first time, i thought i wasn't ready for such a piece, but then i started playing it and it was easier than it seemed! It really opened the doors for me as a pianist and a musician.

There isn't a SINGLE time I've heard the beginning of this piece and haven't had chills run up my spine.

Imagine creating that song from scratch from your head.

This song is the reason I started learning piano in the first place. It has always been my goal to be good enough to play this specific piece.

Claire de Lune is THE song to remind me how happy I am to be alive. Like of all the ages of history, I was born in one where I can enjoy this wonderful song. I'm still working on learning it myself.

You’ve been on a roll of amazing videos lately! Getting me heavily into piano and a great source of learning for me

This was one of the piano pieces that got me into piano, it’s so beautiful