Ballade pour Adeline – Richard Clayderman

About this piece

Ballade pour Adeline is the romantic piano piece most closely associated with Richard Clayderman, whose recording of it in the late 1970s helped launch his international career. Its tender melody and flowing, sweeping lines have made it a staple of easy-listening piano and a popular goal for players who want a lyrical showpiece of their own.

This arrangement is rated hard. It lasts 2:27 in 4/4 at a slow 60 bpm, but the unhurried pulse hides a lot of movement: the hands play separate parts across a range from G1 to G7, a span of six octaves that asks you to shift positions quickly and cleanly. The web page plays a 30-second preview, and the full song, with lessons and fingering, is in the EzPiano app.

Learn the hands separately before anything else. Put the left hand in Wait mode first, since low notes and wide reaches are easiest to master when the music waits for you. Then do the same with the right hand, and switch on note names for the very high and very low notes. Bring the speed down to 50 % when you join the hands, and use the A–B loop on the passages that travel up and down the keyboard. Raise the tempo gradually, and listen back in Listen mode now and then to keep the phrasing smooth and singing.