Green notes: right hand, blue notes: left hand. Preview played right in your browser with the app's real piano (lightweight version). Inside Pianovera: full multi-layer sound, fingering display and Wait mode.
Rachmaninoff wrote a whole set of variations on this prelude; Busoni did too. Thirteen bars of chords in procession, fortissimo then piano then pianissimo, like a cortège fading down the street. People call it the "funeral" prelude, and its MIDI delivers an immense effect for a very reasonable note count.
This is THE piece for learning to play full chords without hitting them: each one should weigh, not slap. The real difficulty hides in the silent moves, shifting four fingers from one block to the next with no gap. A serious beginner can build it; an advanced player can still dig deeper.
Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor: the first notes
Right hand, in letter names (C4 = middle C): G4 G#4 G4 F4 D#4 D#4 F4 D#4 C#4 C4 D4 E4 G4 F4 D#4 D4 G4 B4 A4 G4 D#5 D#5 D5 F#4… The rest scrolls in the preview above, with the fingering, and the sheet music PDF has the whole piece.
Play Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor on the virtual piano
Here are the Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor virtual piano notes, in computer keyboard letters: the first 8 bars of the melody. One key per note, read left to right; dark keys are the sharps, and a thin line marks each bar.
Letters for a QWERTY keyboardYour keyboard: 39 notes
T6TR;;R;LQ
WETR;WTUYT
00OOIOUYT
I6TR;;R;WQ
▶ Play on the virtual pianoThe piano opens with this piece loaded: the key to play lights up and waits for you.
What you'll be working on
Full chords that ring without being struck
Three dynamic floors: ff, p, pp
Chord changes with no gap and no smudge
The bass line leading the procession throughout
Playing Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor on piano with Pianovera
Turn the pedal on in Pianovera and use Wait mode: every chord waits for yours, so you can check that all four notes land together. The falling chord blocks are also just gorgeous to watch.
Open Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor in Pianovera: the notes fall toward an 88-key virtual piano keyboard, each hand gets its color, and Wait mode is there if you're starting out. On a PC, it's falling notes piano software for Windows, with video export up to 4K.
Free, with no time limit and no ads: 30 pieces (10 in full, 20 in a simplified version), the first 10 lessons and 10 minutes of 3D hands (then 15 seconds per piece). Premium opens all 651 pieces.
Download the Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor MIDI and sheet music
The work itself is in the public domain, and this MIDI engraving was placed in the public domain by its typesetter on the Mutopia Project. Use it freely, videos included.
About this piece
Is Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor hard to play on piano?
We rate it beginner: 286 notes over 1:14, spanning C1 to D#5, with sustain pedal marks. The first thing to work on: full chords that ring without being struck.
Where can I get the sheet music for Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor?
Right on this page: the "View the sheet music" button opens the PDF (52 KB), engraved by the Mutopia Project from the same source as the MIDI file, Public domain license. View it, print it, keep it.
Is the Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 in C minor MIDI file really free?
Yes. Frédéric Chopin died more than 70 years ago, so the work (1839) is public domain. This MIDI engraving is public domain too: download it and use it freely, videos included.
