The massive sea of piano teaching: intermediate repertoire. What do we do with our students at this level?

When our beginning students complete an elementary method (or come near the end of one), they do not have the skills required to play advanced classical music. Have you ever overestimated your student’s ability and then regretted your choice of repertoire? Have you ever found yourself drowning in multiple volumes of music from all sorts of composers and historical eras? Read more and get a helpful download.

This winter, my church decided that we needed a few extra worship and devotional opportunities to get us through the winter in a pandemic. To that end, they created a beautiful website with weekly devotionals, including a few classical music selections available for parishioners to access at home. I’ve been privileged to help in the selection of pieces added each week, and since we have used several Bach Cantatas, I videoed a mini-lecture introducing these works.

Last week, my kids watched with total fascination the landing of the Mars rover, and we got talking about all things space. Steve and I decided it would be appropriate to watch the film Hidden Figures over the weekend. (The price is currently discounted on Amazon Prime, I assume because of Black History Month.) If you haven’t seen it, it’s a wonderful and very inspiring film.

But what caught me in this viewing was

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at the Musette in D Major BWV Anh.126 from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. This is one of the most fun Baroque-era pieces to play at the early intermediate level.

I didn’t create a How To Teach video this week. Actually, I did, but my phone decided not to save the video after I spent 11 minutes talking to it. (My storage was full. I have since taken several minutes to clear things up so that won’t happen again any time soon!) The other reason was that preparing for this was how I spent my time this week:

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we're talking about how to teach Evening in the Country (also called Evening in the Village) from 10 Easy Pieces by Bela Bartok. In this video, I also give an overview of Bartok's intermediate repertoire.

Many different things can motivate pre-college students to practice and continue in their piano study. Today’s topic: Repertoire. One of the best things a student can say to me in a lesson is, “I really love this piece.” So let’s dig into what types of pieces motivate our pre-college students.

EXCITING PIECES

There are very few feelings in the world like running your fingers across a piano in a virtuosic show of triumph….

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at Schubert’s Waltz in B Minor D.145, No.6 (or Op.18, No.6). Schubert is one of my favorite composers, and I hope all of my students will learn to appreciate his work before they leave my studio. This is a great introductory piece to his compositions.

Do you teach piano lessons your own children?

Yes. And no.

I try to keep my kids’ lives relatively private from my online teaching business, but this question comes up so frequently from other teachers that it’s worth addressing here in case my thoughts help someone else.

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at Clementi’s well-known Sonatina C Major Op.36, No.1. This is a great introduction to the form and style of the Classical era sonatina.

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at Bach’s first Invention in C Major. I prefer to use this one when introducing my students to the set, and it’s one of my favorite pieces to teach.

This week, I’m listening to myself teach and finding things that worked. Chime in with a comment if something similar has worked for you or if you have another brilliant idea!

Student: 17 years old, upper intermediate level

Piece: Clementi Sonatina in F Major Op.36, No.4 (first movement)

Issue: Sell the student on a new piece

Tactic: Tap into the student’s other interests

This week, I’m listening to myself teach and finding things that worked. Chime in with a comment if something similar has worked for you or if you have another brilliant idea!

Student: 16 year old, early advanced level

Piece: Bach Fantasy in C Minor

Issue: Two-note slurs inconsistent

Tactic: Record and listen back in lesson

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at another late intermediate student favorite - Sonata in C Major, K.545 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This is one of the most recognized pieces in the piano literature and one that often seems easier than it is.

~~~~~~~~ Happy New Year! ~~~~~~~~~

…and happy time of the year when many of us like to reorganize and resolve to be organized…

I am starting this post with a huge caveat - I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE ANSWERS ON THIS TOPIC. I’d love to receive comments from any of you who have additional ideas!

Studio organization for pianists can be tricky for two main reasons. First, our instrument or instruments take up a lot of space

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at one of the popular selections from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach: March in D Major by Johann Sebastian Bach’s son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at a late intermediate / early advanced student favorite - Arabesque No.1 by Claude Debussy. Something about Debussy’s music often speaks to teens in a unique way, and I have had several students love and emotionally connect with his easier compositions during the pandemic.

Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at one of my favorite teaching pieces of all time - Clowns Op.39, No.20 by Dmitri Kabalevsky.

Today I’m launching a new series of videos on my YouTube channel, with each video discussing teaching strategies for a specific piece of intermediate piano repertoire. Since Beethoven turns 250 this month, what better piece to start with?

I ended up spending significant time in this video discussing whether or not we as teachers should teach this piece! Yes, it is overplayed! And yes, it is frequently played poorly. So what are we to do?