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I have been away from the 40 piece challenge for a while, and I have some catching up to do!
My list now is:
1. Stephen Chatman - Kathryn. (CS-7)
2. Czerny - Study in Ab OP. 139 #51 (CS6E)
3. Fiocco Suite in G Major op1 #1 (CS-7)
4.Brian Bonsor - Willy Wagglesticks Walkabout (ABRSM Grade 7 2017 pieces)
5.You Raise Me Up - Lovland & Graham Arr. bu Dan Coates
6.Kabalevsky - Etude 27 -3 (CS7)
7. Handel- Minuet in G Minor
8. Brian Bonsor - Feelin' Good
9. Gurlitt - Cradle Song (Pianist Magazine)
10. Kabelevsky - Sad Story
11. Nancy Telfer - When Rivers Flowed on Mars (RCM 5)
12. Alexander - Jazz Impression (AP6)
13. Scarlatti - Sonata in B MInor Kp 377
14 Chopin - Nocturne in C# minor posth

I'm finally posting the first time for this year. Has anyone found that they're still working on 2016 pieces in 2017? It takes me a long time to get pieces to any playable level.

SwissMs, your post is right above mine so I have to comment. The Scarlatti and Chopin are beautifully done! Your steady work and improvement are inspiring. (I'm a rare poster, but you are definitely one of my role models on ABF.)

Lots of these pieces are by composers from early RCM grades. I'm working my way through Burgmuller op. 100 this year as part of my lessons, and Kabalevsky op.27 & 39 on my own. It's been really good for me to "back up" and work on repairing my poor technique.

1. Satie, Erik: Gnossienne #4
2. Haydn, Joseph: XVI:20, Andantino
3. Starer, Robert: Shades of Blue
4. Burgmuller, Friedrich: Candor (op.100)
5. Burgmuller, Friedrich: Arabesque (op.100)
6. Bartok, Bela: Variation on a Slovakian Folk Tune Sz. 42:II/5
7. Arnold, Samuel: Gavotte in C Major
8. Krebs, Johann: Minuet in B Minor
9. Bernstein, Leonard: For Susanna Kyle
10.Goldston, Margaret: Chromatic Rag
11. Goldston, Margaret: Exotic Adventure
12. Keyes, Nelson: Gently, Johnny, My Jingalo
13. Kabalevsky, Dmitri: Novelette (op. 27)
14. Kabalevsky, Dmitri: Toccatina (op. 27)
15. Kabalevsky, Dmitri: Little Fable (op. 27)
16.Kabalevsky, Dmitri: Waltz (op. 39)
17. Kabalevsky, Dmitri: Improvisation (op. 39)
18.Taranta, Italo: Perilous Journey
19.Taranta, Italo: Song of the Night
20.Tefner, Nancy: The Silent Moon

I was digging through my stacks of books and found this book of "50 Greats for the Piano", a free gift when I purchased my digital piano almost 20 years ago. What a little gem it is! I started with a manageable piece by Haydn this week, the 'Little Serenade" and will probably learn more pieces in this book before year end.

From Streabbog Op. 63 (Completed):
1 - 12) No. 1 - No. 12 [Playlist in Soundcloud]

From Burgmuller Op. 100:
13 - 25) No. 1 - No. 13 [Playlist in Soundcloud]
26) No. 14 - La Styrienne [Soundcloud]

From Streabbog Op. 64:
27) No. 1 - Leap-Frog [Soundcloud]

28) Bach/Petzold - Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh 114 [Soundcloud]
29) Bach/Petzold - Minuet in G Minor, BWV Anh 115 [Soundcloud]
30) J. S. Bach - Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh 116 [Soundcloud]
31) Clementi - Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1, 1st Movement [Soundcloud]
32) Clementi - Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1, 2nd Movement [Soundcloud]
33) Clementi - Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1, 3rd Movement [Souncloud]
34) Christian Gottlob Neefe - Allegretto in C Major [Soundcloud]
35) Haydn - Little Serenade [Soundcloud]

Yes, gingko2, I do and I knew it'd be like that when I started this, deciding I wouldn't include them (included one because I thought it might be of interest for others). But I am bringing some pieces that I am only reading, like 2 I bring today:

23 One in Thompson Grade 2.
24 Perfidia (Video of the song with voice )
25 Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Only read Perfidia and Somewhere Over the Rainbow...will have to remember not to include them next year if I really learn them.

Hi Albunea,

If you knew it'd be like this when you started, kudos for your practicality and realism! I was hoping for a little more neatness and order between my practice and my repertoire list. Oh well.

Pieces for my lessons take months to a year to polish. The etudes take about a month. The other pieces I can read pretty well after a couple weeks. I hate to put lots of time into polishing these other pieces without my teacher's guidance, so I either let them go, to be played occasionally for fun, or plan to study and polish at a later date.

I don't put one piece down on more than multiple lists but in reality there's quite a bit of overlap in 3 years of "40 pieces" lists. The good part is trying out different composers and then having choices about what to work on in more depth. I'm in my 60's, not enough time to play all the music I'd like anyway!

Just wondered if others struggle with this.

I knew I was learning more than 40 pieces at the same time (easy pieces from different method books) and decided I'd only be brining the ones I start new, which means some I'm bringing I am only reading and none is completely polished...

Nearing the end of the first half so I thought I would update my list again. Hard to believe I am doing this well. Progress seems slow. Practice time is down a little too but getting back on track next week.
1. Evening Song, Ferdinand Beyer, sheet music (SM)
2. Allegro Moderato, Nancy Faber, Adult Piano Adventures 2 (APA2)
3. Romance, Heinrich Wohlfahrt, Fundamental Keys (FK)
4. In A Hot Air Balloon, Op. 70, No. 19, Hermann Berens, Festival Collection (FC)
5. Follow the Leader, J. Playford, FC
6. No. 14 from ABC du Piano, Pianist Magazine (PM)
7. Song Op. 39, No. 8, D. Kabalevsky, SM
8. A Pleasant Day, L. Kohler, SM
9. Niagara Falls, N. Faber, APA2
10. O' Sole Mio, Faber, APA2
11. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, arr. Louis Kohler (SM)
12. March in C, DG Turk (SM)
13. Prince of Denmark's March, Jeremiah Clarke (SM)
14. Sloop John B, Traditional, (APA2)
15. Canario, Joachim von der Hofe, (SM)
16. Morning Song, Anton Diabelli, (SM)
17. Allegro in F Major, Ferdinand Beyer (APA2)
18. Scale Etude in F, Ferdinand Beyer (APA2)
19. Chord Caper (APA2)
20. The Londonderry Air (APA2)
21. Malagueña (APA2)
22. Long, Long Ago (APA2)
23. Minuetto, Op. 37, lesson 2, J Hook (SM)
24. Melodic Thirds Etude, A. Kearny (SM)
25. Aura Lee (APA2)

I've been working on some more difficult pieces lately and my posting on here has slowed to a crawl. So, in an effort to keep pushing towards 40, I'm working on some "easier" pieces concurrently. This is a WIP of a neat little arrangement "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" from the film, "The Wizard of Oz". Lots of dissonance in this one. You can (almost) play a wrong note without anyone catching it I hope to finish this one by next week.

1. The Happy Farmer - Robert Schumann (Recording)
2. Comptine d'un autre été (From "Amélie") - Yann Tiersen (Recording)
3. Etude Op. 46 No. 11 In B minor ("Fluttering Leaves") - Stephan Heller (Recording)
4. Prelude Op. 28 No. 7 In A Major - Chopin (Recording)
5. Prelude in C minor - Chopin (Recording)
6. WIP - Summertime - Gershwin (Recording)
7. WIP - Nocturne - Ending - Chopin (Recording)
8. La La Land - Mia and Sabastiens Theme - Justin Hurwitz (Recording)
9. All I Ask Of You - Phantom of the Opera - Andrew Lloyd Webber (Recording)
10. Where Is My Mind - The Pixies (Recording)
11. WIP - Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Arr. George Shearing (Recording)

Davidonabus, this is a beautiful arrangement and you play it so well! I have the same sheet music and have attempted to learn it not too long ago but had to abandone it for the time being because it is too dufficult for me. I really like the sound of the voicings but that inner melody in the first section is what stopped me because at the time when I was attempting to learn it, it didn't make sense to me! I look forward to the complete song. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks so much, Melanie! It is indeed a beautiful arrangement and you're right that voicing is the most challenging part. I'm looking forward to hearing your performance of it.

I really like your arrangement and look forward to hearing the piece in its entirety!

what constitutes learning a piece? like, would i have to be comfortable playing it and making no errors? what if i can play it and make numerous errors but i can still get through it and despite the errors its obvious what the piece is and how its supposed to sound?

I had quite the productive day today. I didn't get to record any repertoire pieces last week, because I didn't have my teacher's verdict on any of them. I'm glad I waited, because she had quite some pointers. One thing that she noted is how I always strictly follow the sheet, and she asked me to play more freely. I tried this with Gurlitt No. 13 and 14, where I played with rubato and dynamics throughout the piece. It's so much fun to play them like that, I'm really having a blast.

6. Bartók – Mikrokosmos No. 30 – YouTube
7. Gurlitt – Op. 117 ‘The First Lessons’ No. 10 – YouTube
8. Gurlitt – Op. 117 ‘The First Lessons’ No. 11 - YouTube
9. Gurlitt – Op. 117 ‘The First Lessons’ No. 13 ‘Morning Salute’– YouTube
10. Gurlitt – Op. 117 ‘The First Lessons’ No. 14 ‘Going to School’ – YouTube
11. Kabalevsky – Op. 39 ’24 Little Pieces’ No. 1 ‘A Little Tune’ – YouTube
12. Kabalevsky – Op. 39 ’24 Little Pieces’ No. 2 ‘Polka’ – YouTube

Hey, applelover. Welcome to the forum.

Go to the very first post in this thread and read the two or three articles linked there about the meaning, purpose, and benefits of this activity. I found it very interesting. Once you have an idea of what this is about, you can formulate your own (same thing the rest of us have done) standards and criteria for completing a piece.

It is a great activity and very beneficial. I hope you join us!

So I want to pick up the challenge to learn (at least) 40 (mostly easy) pieces in 2017. I have played since 1998 (starting at the age of 26) roughly 6 years of piano practice with taking lessons for approximately 2 years. So I am not so far into seriously playing yet. I have decided to work a lot of easy pieces in 2017 to develop my sight reading ability and my technique. I work with the first volume of "De Bach A Nos Jours" with is a nice collection of easy but well sounding piano pieces. It contains 43 pieces all original ones.

1. Shostakovich Waltz: https://soundcloud.com/schuberto-327530988/schuberto-easy-pieces-1-shostakovich-waltzmp3
2. Haydn Menuet: https://soundcloud.com/schuberto-327530988/schuberto-easy-pieces-2-haydn-menuetmp3
3. Papp Waltz: https://soundcloud.com/schuberto-327530988/schuberto-easy-pieces-3-papp-waltzmp3

1. Atacama Desert
2. Five Shillings and Six Pence Heather Hammond
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efjx4TDYtQI
3. Sonatina in A minor Biehl
4. In the Hall of the Mountain King Grieg (in Funtime Piano Classics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcYbkosXL5M
5. Picnic 1920 (RCM grade 3)
6. Burlesque in G major RCM grade 1
7. Spring Vivaldi (level 1 arrangement)
8. Imperial march level 1 arrangement
9. Allegro Moderato Bartok rcm 3
10. A Starry Night (RCM 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8vXXqjBbVU
11. Finlandia (Albert's All time favorites level 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M16LSKaXLYs
12. Beauty and the Beast level 1 Alfred's Greatist Hits (This one was exceedingly easy)
13. Happy Birthday - Alfred's all time favourites
14. Czerny Etude RCM3 good enough
15. Sonatina in G+ Beethoven https://soundcloud.com/sara-mansell-gallien/sonatina-in-g-anh-5-beethoven
16. That's Amore Alfred's Greatest Hits https://soundcloud.com/sara-mansell-gallien/thats-amore-3
17. Holiday Parade
18. Musette in D Major
19. Left Alone (a fun little study all left hand)
20. Sonatina in G second movement
21. The Sleeping Dragon
22. Minuet in G Major


Working on: Morning prayer (Gurlitt), Play (Bartok), German Dance WoO 8 No 11

01. Sonatina In C Major (Op.36 No.1) (1st Mov.) (Clementi) (OF)
02. Sonatina In C Major (Op.36 No.1) (2nd Mov.) (Clementi) (OF)
03. Sonatina In C Major (Op.36 No.1) (3rd Mov.) (Clementi) (OF)
04. Tumbleweed Blues (N. Faber) (OC)
05. Rolling River Etude (N. Faber) (OC)
06. Shenandoah (Trad.) (AR)
07. Poetic Theme (N. Faber) (OC)
08. Poetic Variation 1 (N. Faber) (OC)
09. Poetic Variation 2 (N. Faber) (OC)
10. The Chase (Burgmuller) (OF)
11. Appalachian Trail (N. Faber) (OC)

The Seasons (BrianDX) (OC)
12. Mv 1: Summer (Venice)
13. Mv 2: Fall (Waltz in A Minor)
14. Mv 3: Winter (Midnight)
15. Mv 4: Spring (Springtime)

16. Autumn Ballad (N. Faber) (OC)
17. Arpeggio Magic (N. Faber) (OC)
18. Gypsy Prayer (N. Faber) (OC)
19. Whirlwind (Gurlitt) (OF)

20. The Swan (Saint-Saens) (AR)
21. St. Louis Blues (W.C. Handy) (AR)
22. Risoluto (J.C. Bach) (OF)
23. Taxicab Blues (N. Faber) (OC)
24. When The Sun Rises (N. Faber) (OC)
25. St. Anthony's Chorale (Haydn) (AR)
26. Fanfare on America (Trad.) (AR)

What do the abbreviations like OC, OF, and AR mean, Brian?

Updating my list:
1. Stephen Chatman - Kathryn. (CS-7)
2. Czerny - Study in Ab OP. 139 #51 (CS6E)
3. Fiocco Suite in G Major op1 #1 (CS-7)
4.Brian Bonsor - Willy Wagglesticks Walkabout (ABRSM Grade 7 2017 pieces)
5.You Raise Me Up - Lovland & Graham Arr. bu Dan Coates
6.Kabalevsky - Etude 27 -3 (CS7)
7. Handel- Minuet in G Minor
8. Brian Bonsor - Feelin' Good
9. Gurlitt - Cradle Song (Pianist Magazine)
10. Kabelevsky - Sad Story
11. Nancy Telfer - When Rivers Flowed on Mars (RCM 5)
12. Alexander - Jazz Impression (AP6)
13. Scarlatti - Sonata in B MInor Kp 377
14. Chopin - Nocturne in C# minor
15. Beethoven - Sonata in G Major 49.2, 1st movement
16. Heller - Fluttering Leaves
17. Handel - Sarabande