General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

My front doorbell plays Für Elise.

I remember when I decided to learn piano, I told a friend, who said, "You'll be playing Für Elise then".

I shrugged. Nothing wrong with Für Elise, but I could see no reason why I would play that rather than any other piece.

How little did I know!

Soon was to learn what a rite of passage Für Elise was for the beginning pianist.

Not too difficult to play, but really shows up your playing faults. There was incredible competition amongst us to be first to play it to our tutor's satisfaction. That really meant practicing the piece against the metronome, an achievement in itself when you have not previously experienced it.