M: I've tried this in other places by myself. I thought maybe you could help because, well, there's a lot of generic stuff to sift through, or rather the title of it is generic. Okay, when I was playing piano around middle school, there was a particular song which was, for my skill level, very appropriate. It was very, what's the appropriate terminology? Bear with me on the terminology, I might get it wrong. It's been a while. But it was a very legato song punctuated by a triplet, I don't know, what do you call it, a bridge or something like that. I'm sorry, I'm getting distracted. Anyway, the problem is that it was called something like Autumn Leaves or Falling Leaves. And like I alluded to earlier, it's a very generic name. So whenever I've gone looking for the sheet music again, it always ends up being obscured by various other songs that have occurred that have nothing to do with it. Like I said, this is just a piece for piano. I think it's only for piano. The reason why it was a good song was because even though I didn't have the nimbleness to do the really complex stuff, it allowed for a lot of emoting because it was like andante or something, except for the faster parts. Can you please go online and see if you can help me try to identify the particular song? This would have been sheet music available in around 1994, I believe. I can't tell you whether or not at the time it was existing for very long or if it was a recent publication. It wasn't a hugely long piece of music, like three or four pages, although it's entirely possible that I'm wrong on that part. It was... Basically a series of drawn-out arpeggios from low to high with musical decorations briefly in between each one. I think the point was to make something that sounded like falling leaves in that it was slow and languid, except for occasional flurries where bunches of leaves would fall. I don't know if that part will help, but I feel better having said it.
G: TL;DR (most likely hit
first):
You are probably remembering
entity["artwork","Autumn","Martha Mier piano piece"]
or a very similar late-elementary/early-intermediate teaching
piece from the 90s that imitates falling leaves with
rolling arpeggios + brief faster figures. The exact
title may not actually be Autumn Leaves—that’s why you keep
getting buried by the jazz standard.
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Martha Mier Autumn piano sheet music","Romantic Impressions Martha Mier piano book","Martha Mier intermediate piano leaves piece"],"num_per_query":1}
This is the closest structural match to your description.
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Dennis Alexander autumn piano sheet music Alfred","Falling Leaves Dennis Alexander piano","Alfred piano repertoire autumn piece"],"num_per_query":1}
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Catherine Rollin autumn piano solo sheet music","Melody Bober falling leaves piano sheet","Alfred piano solo autumn leaves beginner intermediate"],"num_per_query":1}
Let’s eliminate the noise that keeps hijacking your search:
entity["song","Autumn Leaves","jazz standard"] (Joseph
Kosma)
→ Completely different structure (jazz harmony, chordal melody, not
arpeggio-driven)
Chopin / Debussy / Liszt
→ Too technically dense or structurally different
Pop arrangements labeled “Autumn Leaves”
→ Usually melody + accompaniment, not continuous rolling
arpeggios
You’re running into a category naming problem, not a memory problem.
In 90s piano pedagogy:
So you’re searching by the least unique attribute
From what you described, the piece has:
That combination is textbook Alfred-era intermediate repertoire.
If you want me to lock it down to the exact piece, the decisive details are:
Even one of those will collapse the search space from “dozens” to “2–3 exact matches.”
There’s a non-zero chance you’re remembering:
…but your brain tagged it as “falling leaves” because of the imagery + motion pattern
That happens constantly with pedagogical music.
If I had to commit:
Martha Mier or Dennis Alexander is the correct lane,
and the exact piece is likely sitting inside an Alfred book rather than
as a widely indexed standalone title.
M: I can say with certainty that the word leaves was in the title. I can also say with certainty it was a independent, what's the word, folio or something. It was freestanding set of pages. So it wasn't part of a longer book or anything. It, let's see, structurally, it began in the base register and started with a held whole note. And the arpeggio built upwards by quarter notes, which were then held for a measure or two. And then the decoration I was talking about, there would be, hell, I could almost sing the first couple of lines in it because after the long held arpeggio, there were a couple quarter notes with a grace note on it, just kind of like a playful gallop at the end before proceeding to another one of the longer held arpeggios. Does that help at all? And then your answer helped me out with the vocabulary because I'm sitting here going through a bunch of the pieces that we've collected over the years, and I'm not sure if I'm using the right terminology, but it's like the pamphlet or booklet that represents a single piece. That's the format that I had it in.
G: TL;DR:
You’re no longer in the “generic autumn teaching piece” bucket. With
what you just added—standalone folio, titled with “Leaves,” slow
arpeggiated build from a held bass note, then small grace-note
figures—this points much more narrowly to late-80s /
early-90s recital folio pieces, not method-book
material. The two strongest matches now are:
You gave three high-value constraints:
That’s a very specific compositional pattern—more like a mini tone-poem than a standard teaching exercise.
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Falling Leaves Wynn-Anne Rossi piano sheet","Wynn-Anne Rossi piano solo falling leaves cover","Alfred solo sheet falling leaves Rossi"],"num_per_query":1}
Why this fits unusually well:
This is the first candidate that actually matches your mechanics, not just your theme.
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Alan Hovhaness Falling Leaves piano sheet music","Hovhaness Op 44 No 4 piano falling leaves score","Hovhaness piano leaves piece sheet"],"num_per_query":1}
Why it’s less likely but still on the board:
You’re remembering a piece built on a cycle pattern:
Anchor (held bass) → expand (arpeggio) → decorate (grace figure) → reset
That’s not common in generic student pieces—it’s intentional imagery writing, which is why the field just got much smaller.
There are only a few remaining branches, and we can collapse them quickly with one more detail:
That single distinction separates:
You may be remembering a regional or teacher-distributed folio:
But your level of structural recall suggests it was a published Alfred/FJH-style piece.
If I had to commit again with updated info:
Wynn-Anne Rossi – Falling Leaves is the best match so
far, by structure—not just title.
M: This was professionally printed. The ones you showed are still too active in the beginning. Oh, man. I don't think there were pedal markings, but I think for effect I did use the pedal. It was, the notes were tied together, like I said. Everything was held until the arpeggio was let go. What you were showing started with triplets. For the piece I'm thinking of, the triplets were in the middle. As a second question, if I wanted to try and find this myself, what would be a good place to check? We're gonna keep looking here, but if I get exasperated with my own memory or not being able to communicate things, I'd like to be able to walk away and do a little research so that I can ask better questions.
G: TL;DR:
You’re looking for a standalone folio piano solo (likely
late-80s/90s) titled something like “Falling Leaves”,
with a slow, sustained opening (tied notes, whole-note bass) and
no triplets until later. That rules out most modern
teaching pieces.
If you want to hunt it yourself efficiently, use sheet-music
retailer archives + library catalogs, not Google.
"falling leaves" piano soloSearch:
falling leaves piano soloThen:
Why this works:
Search:
"falling leaves" piano sheet soloThen:
Why:
Search:
falling leaves piano solo sheetThen:
You’ve been using the wrong discriminator (title). Use structure instead:
falling leaves piano "solo sheet"falling leaves piano schaumfalling leaves piano willisfalling leaves piano alfred soloAdd:
easyintermediatesolo folioIf you see these names, slow down and inspect:
These dominated exactly the kind of piece you’re describing.
You just ruled out a lot:
That structure is less “teaching pattern” and more “miniature tone painting”, which suggests:
You’re probably looking for a recital-style educational solo, not a curriculum piece.
This detail is unusually specific:
“Arpeggio notes held for a measure or two”
That implies:
That’s rarer, and it leans toward:
Do this in order:
This avoids burnout.
You’ve narrowed it down to a very small class of pieces, but:
So this is now a visual recognition problem, not a text search problem.
If you want to continue here, the fastest next step isn’t more guessing—it’s:
That would cut the remaining space in half immediately.
M: Yeah, I've found 10 or 15 versions so far, none of which were what I was looking for. I'll keep looking when I can get onto a desktop. As a separate question, I'm looking to find a decent electric keyboard or piano. Something with a full range, inexpensive but functional, and importantly, one that can deal with analog inputs and independent multiple inputs. I tried to get my mom to buy one, and she ended up with one of those Casios, which can only handle like a single note in a digital on or off, unless you're really, really careful. Some form of digital interface would be nice. I'm not sure what the current standard is. I know that it used to be MIDI, and that was a pain in the ass, but for all I know, everything has turned to USB-C or something like that.
G: TL;DR:
What you bought (cheap Casio-style keyboard) is exactly what you
don’t want.
You’re looking for:
That puts you in the $400–$700 “real instrument” tier. Below that = toy behavior.
What you described:
“single note on/off unless you're careful”
That’s a dead giveaway of:
Real digital pianos:
Cheap boards fake this and feel “binary.”
Short version:
So today you get:
No pain-in-the-ass anymore. It’s basically “plug it in and it works.”
products{"selections":[["turn0product1","Yamaha P-45 (or P-143/P-145)"],["turn0product11","Casio CDP-S110"],["turn0product37","Roland FP-10"],["turn0product40","Alesis Concert 88"]]}
Reddit consensus: under ~$400 = compromises, ~$500–700 = real feel citeturn0search0
products{"selections":[["turn0product9","Yamaha P-225"],["turn0product7","Roland FP-30X"],["turn0product16","Casio CDP-S360"]]}
These give you:
This is the one place expectations need adjusting:
“multiple inputs / routing / layering”
You actually want:
→ Get something like:
Simple, reliable, no nonsense.
→ Same keyboard +:
Now you get:
→ You’re actually describing:
Anything like:
They:
If I had to give you a clean, no-thinking recommendation:
Get a Yamaha P-145 / P-225 or Roland FP-10.
Everything else is either compromise or overkill for what you described.
M: I'm not actually looking for weighted keys. The kinetic response or feel of it is less of my issue than the ability to... well, I'm perfectly willing to go with the harpsichord approach is what I mean. It just has to be able to hit all of them. I would prefer to be able to have... oh, what is the term for that? Action or something like that. Basically volume based on how hard you press it. I'm not reading through the rest of it because I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing or if it even will affect the price.
G: TL;DR:
Yes—you’re talking about velocity sensitivity (volume
based on how hard you press).
You do NOT need weighted keys to get that.
What you want is:
88 keys + velocity-sensitive (a.k.a. “touch-sensitive”) + decent polyphony + USB MIDI
That’s a different category than what I recommended before.
You said:
“volume based on how hard you press”
That is:
If a keyboard doesn’t have this, it feels like:
There are three separate things people confuse:
| Feature | What it does | Do you need it? |
|---|---|---|
| Weighted keys | Feels like a real piano | ❌ No |
| Velocity sensitivity | Controls volume/dynamics | ✅ YES |
| Polyphony | How many notes can ring at once | ✅ YES |
Your problem keyboard likely failed at velocity and/or polyphony, not weighting.
products{"selections":[["turn0product44","M-Audio Keystation 88 MK3"],["turn0product20","Novation Launchkey 88 MK3"],["turn0product21","Nektar Impact GXP88"],["turn0product9","Williams Legato IV"],["turn0product62","Alesis Concert 88"]]}
These are probably exactly what you want, functionally:
👉 Translation:
These:
Cheap keyboards often:
That creates:
“I can only play one note properly unless I’m careful”
You’re right to suspect changes:
Many also support:
If I ignore everything “piano purist” and just match your needs:
Get a MIDI controller, not a digital piano.
Specifically:
You don’t need weight—you need velocity + polyphony + MIDI, and that puts you squarely in 88-key MIDI controller territory, not traditional digital pianos.
M: Yeah, velocity was what I was talking about. That's why my brain threw the word action out there. Similar category, but different terms. Yeah, it needs to be able to handle the velocity, be able to be accessed by the computer, and I think what you're talking about with the polyphony. Polyphony? I don't know what the transcriber is going to do with that. But if you remember what I was telling you about how the Leaves piece worked, it has to be able to hit like eight notes at once and not simultaneously when it's played. The one my mom got could, you know, emulate the MIDI, but it couldn't actually detect it when it was played on the keys. I am not directly looking for a harpsichord. I was just using that as a descriptor for the idea that the important thing was the ability to play multiple tones in an asynchronous way, rather than being limited to only being able to play one when the other one was let go of. So if necessary, I was willing to go with the absolute one or zero of a harpsichord rather than the ability to detect velocity like a piano.
G: TL;DR:
You’re describing three requirements, and they’re all fixable:
What your mom bought failed at #2 and #3, not just velocity.
You said:
“could emulate MIDI but couldn’t detect it when played”
That’s the key failure.
Cheap keyboards often:
That creates exactly what you described:
you play multiple notes in sequence → earlier ones vanish → feels like “only one note at a time”
This is not normal behavior for a proper keyboard.
Ignore marketing fluff. Look for these:
You are not:
You are:
“MIDI-first player who wants real input fidelity”
That means:
👉 This avoids your exact failure case because:
👉 This behaves like a normal instrument without needing software
Because your specific frustration was:
“notes not overlapping correctly”
A MIDI controller:
That sidesteps the exact failure you hit.
You described:
notes held while others are added later (arpeggiated + sustained)
That requires:
Cheap keyboards:
Better ones:
If you want the safest, frustration-proof path:
Get the M-Audio Keystation 88 MK3 + plug it into your computer.
That guarantees:
—and avoids repeating the exact problem you ran into.
M: Oh, I forgot to mention, I have a speaker. It's the guitar one, but it's got the basic input. What's that jack called? The kind that you use for amplifiers and guitars. Anyway, I'm looking for something that can make music by itself. The MIDI interface is just because, well, it's electronic and I've got a computer, so why not have the capacity to record integrated into the specifications if it doesn't affect the price line too heavily.
G: TL;DR:
Now that you clarified everything, your target is very clean:
Standalone keyboard (makes its own sound) + velocity + real polyphony + 1/4" output to your amp + USB MIDI
You do NOT want a MIDI controller.
You want a basic digital piano / stage keyboard (non-weighted or
light).
“the guitar amp jack thing”
That is:
Most keyboards will give you:
So yes—you can plug straight into your guitar amp.
Ignore everything else—this is your checklist:
products{"selections":[["turn0product23","Alesis Concert 88"],["turn0product0","Williams Legato IV"],["turn0product32","Korg Liano"],["turn0product16","Casio CDP-S360"]]}
👉 This fixes your exact complaint.
👉 If you want “not piano-like but still expressive,” this is strong.
👉 Overkill, but flexible.
Anything like:
Even if they say:
They often:
That’s exactly the behavior you described.
Your piece requires:
hold low note → build arpeggio → add notes later → nothing drops
That specifically requires:
That’s why:
If you want the cleanest, least frustrating outcome:
Buy the Alesis Concert 88.
If you want slightly nicer feel:
Korg Liano.
Everything else is just tradeoffs.
You don’t need realism—you need reliable note detection + velocity + real polyphony + a 1/4" output, and that puts you squarely in the entry-level digital piano tier, not toy keyboards or pure MIDI controllers.
M: I'm not refusing the idea of a weighted key, as long as it doesn't detract from the rest of the structure. Are there any within the same price range that you excluded because you thought I only wanted the light touch keys?
G: TL;DR:
Yes—there are weighted-key options in your price range that I
didn’t push earlier because they’re usually recommended for “piano
feel,” not your use case.
But some of them do meet your real requirement (velocity +
polyphony + reliability) without breaking anything.
The key is:
Stick to known brands. Cheap weighted boards often fail the exact way your current one does.
If you want weighted keys without sacrificing functionality, these are the ones that actually make sense:
products{"selections":[["turn0product2","Yamaha P-45"],["turn0product28","Roland FP-10"],["turn0product0","Casio CDP-S110"],["turn0product1","Alesis Recital Pro"]]}
👉 Important:
Weighted keys themselves do NOT fix your problem.
What fixes your problem is:
These models happen to improve those at the same time.
👉 This will not drop notes in your Leaves-style playing unless you really push it
👉 If your main fear is “it won’t register what I’m doing,” this is the strongest pick
👉 Nice compromise between “piano feel” and “not fighting the keys”
👉 This is the lowest I’d go for weighted without risking your earlier problem again
You probably noticed some cheaper “weighted” options online:
I excluded them on purpose because:
They often look like upgrades (weighted keys)
but still fail at polyphony + note detection
Which puts you right back where you started.
You said:
“as long as weighted doesn’t detract from the rest”
That’s exactly right—but here’s the twist:
In this price range, weighted models are often MORE reliable overall, not less.
Because:
→ Roland FP-10
→ Yamaha P-45
→ Alesis Recital Pro
→ Casio CDP-S110
You weren’t wrong to avoid weighted earlier—but:
At your price range, the good weighted keyboards are actually safer than cheap non-weighted ones.
They:
If I had to give one clean recommendation based on everything you’ve said:
Roland FP-10 = lowest risk of frustration.
M: Okay, now combine the two types, the light touch and the weighted keys, and give me a recommendation with both of them combined. That was the whole point. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't excluding something that was worthwhile just because you accidentally thought I cared about the nature of the key action. I just want something that works. It doesn't matter whether it's light touch or weighted.
G: TL;DR (clean, no
bias):
If you don’t care about key weight, the best overall
“it just works” picks (velocity + real polyphony + standalone + amp
output + USB MIDI) are:
That’s the full spectrum—light + weighted—filtered for your actual requirement: no note dropouts + proper velocity.
You weren’t asking “weighted vs light.”
You were asking:
“Which keyboards—regardless of feel—actually work correctly?”
So here’s the unified breakdown.
👉 Most bulletproof option overall
👉 Slightly less advanced than Roland, but extremely dependable
👉 Best budget choice that still avoids your previous problem
👉 Best if you want effortless playing, not resistance
Forget marketing categories. These are the only things that matter:
→ All of the above have it
This is what prevents:
“notes disappearing when I play more”
This is what your old keyboard failed at.
Cheap brands fail here, not in specs.
All of these:
All of these:
You were worried about accidentally excluding something.
You didn’t.
The same small group of keyboards keeps coming up
because they’re the only ones in this price range that don’t break under real playing
If you want zero ambiguity:
Everything else is just a variation of those tradeoffs.
You weren’t choosing between weighted vs light—you were choosing between functional vs broken, and the list above is the set that reliably lands on the functional side.