Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Need help deciding when to move to harder pieces

Hi

Over the past 5 months of learning, I have used following books for learning.

1. Eckstein Piano Course Book One (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSeRZIcPDkparc0x6wHPG6yuAyP29zKSr)
2. Michael Aaron Piano Course Grade 1 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSeRZIcPDkpaMyLYPXOCAnplsRjw3_amT)
3. John Thompson Modern Course For Piano Grade 1 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSeRZIcPDkpYQnna4-0WxrPl6PtXcL9Et)

I am currently working on pieces from LCM Grade One Piano Examination book. Besides this, I have more Grade 1 material available with me.

1. Alfred Adult Piano Course Book One
2. Bartok Mikrokosmos Vol 1
3. Trinity Initial Level Examination book

My question is:

1. Based on my recordings, does is seem like I have learnt the skills grade one pieces are meant to teach?
2. If yes, should I spend time working through more grade one books or it would be better to get started with a grade two book?
3. If no, what aspects should I be focussing on, and what would be the best way to improve in those aspects?

Sorry if the question is too broad. Feel free to be critical of my recordings, my feelings won't get hurt. Promise

A few thoughts from a fellow beginning player.

Bartók’s music is incredibly unique in terms of what’s available for beginners. You can probably safely skip the first 12 or so pieces, but it does get kind of interesting after that. Everything beyond No. 22 is unlike anything I’ve played so far, and would I think be meaningful exposure.

It might be interesting for you to take a look at Gurlitt Op. 117. It’s mostly grade 1, with some lower grade 2 near the end. It gets quite interesting at No. 11, and if you’ve progressed as well through grade 1 as you think you have, it shouldn’t give you much trouble. The lines are predictable, he reuses a lot of chords, but it’s still some very pleasant music to play. If nothing else, it will provide you with good material to improve your reading.

Maybe also look at Kunz No. 14, which is a bundle of canons which increase in difficulty. It should provide great material to practice your reading, and in my experience reading these canons is quite a bit more challenging than reading a piece with simple chords in the left hand and a melody in the right hand.

The grade 2 material that lies on my table, waiting for my skill to increase, are most notably First Lessons in Bach, Streabbog Op. 63, Bartók Sz. 42 and Burgmüller Op. 100. Though you should definitely ask your teacher first, these books might provide you with some good material for the coming months. I would definitely recommend you work through Mikrokosmos book 1 first, though.

You certainly sound like you are ready to move on.

However, I must ask you these questions .....

Are you looking at the page of notation while you are playing or are you looking at the keys/fingers ?

Do you play with a metronome ?

Do you have a teacher ?

I ask you these questions because you do periodically miss a beat while you play and I noticed in Jingle Bells that you consistently had to stop/hesitate at a certain point in the piece. You absolutely cannot allow that to remain as it is. You must be able to play through it (and others) with no hesitations.

it is a tricky thing deciding when to move on and it doesn't get easier to make that decision. In some respects your dammed if you do move on (not learning everything from the grade you should) and dammed if you don't (not stretching your mind and technique). However the answer when to move on can be simply do you want to. If you are bored by the material you are doing by all means stretch into another grade, piano should be fun or at least enjoyable. There is no harm in also keeping a foot in both levels/grades and you might continue to learn grade 1 pieces even as you move into grade 2,3 & 4, just for sight reading practice.

Personally I always found I made a leap in my playing when I moved into harder pieces, but I made the mistake of making the stretch too big at times and paid a price for that poor decision.

Lots of detailed comments above.

Piano is a game of motivation.

* If you are totally bored with a piece, MOVE ON. Even if you don't think you have the skill in question. There's time to pick it up later and your brain may just need time to process.

* If the piece is way easy but you are still milking it. KEEP DOING IT. Your subconscious is probably getting something out of it. Not that the piece won't make you sick later.

If piano becomes only a chore, you won't continue. If the piano you choose to undertake becomes trivial, you won't improve.

Scylla and Charybdis.

@dmd I look at the music when I play, not at the keys. Atleast thats been true for all the pieces from the method books I listed above. That had changed with the LCM book because there are jumps which I cant do without looking at the keys. About using the metronome, I generally learn in two iterations, the first time I don't use the metronome and get through the entire book. Then the second time I relearn all the pieces and play with metronome. I have yet to do the second iteration for John Thompson book. And yes, I do have a teacher.

@earlofmar and @Whizbang I wouldn't say I am bored with what I am playing. Also, surprisingly, I am in no hurry to move on to next grade. I would be happy to finish all the other available material before I try something from the next grade. My concern was whether I would be learning something new or not by not stretching myself. I guess I will continue to work on grade 1 material while slowly beginning to pick up grade 2 pieces.

@Keselo Thanks for the recommendations. I must ask, where do you get to know about these composers and their work for the beginners. Here at ABF I mostly see people, including myself, using one of the method books (Faber, Alfred, John Thompson, Fundamental Keys) but the material you have been using is totally different. BTW, I watched few of your recordings and really liked them

Oh .... well, since you have a teacher ..... It would seem your teacher would be the most qualified to decide when you are ready to move on.

You might check with her/him.

I'm glad that you like my recordings, means a lot to me.

While I'm currently at a stage where I really like the piano, for the first two or three months of this year I was completely obsessed with it. I found this list and basically checked out everything on it that was grade 1-3. Everything that I liked, I wrote down in an Excel file for later reference.

I don't really care for these method books. While the material would undoubtedly be good for me, I don't like how it takes a piece from this book and a piece from that book. I prefer this method of really diving into a composer, getting to know their work over the months that it takes to complete the book. I don't think either method is better than the other, but for me the way I do things is definitely preferable.

For these beginner books, there's also the added benefit that I progress at a rate which Bartók / Gurlitt saw fit for someone of my ability. The editors of the method books surely know a lot about what a beginner needs, but following the thinking process of Bartók / Gurlitt is more special to me. It's probably a silly thought, but whatever works, I guess.

Wow! That list is a great resource. I am surprised I never stumbled upon it before.

I only put Bartók on my list because you speak so highly of his work. Will find out how it works for me soon

Bartók definitely wrote music that your ears need to get used to. Like No. 15 from his first book, Village Song, the first few times you play it, it might sound really weird. But if you gives your ears time to acclimatize, I think it’s very satisfying music to play. If nothing else, it will introduce a whole new branch of music. Eastern European music is something unlike any other type of music, even Russian folk music is very different.

What does your teacher think? You should be asking him/her these questions.

My teacher has me working on some material which I do, but on the side I like to work on some supplementary material of my choice. It's the supplementary material that I wanted advice for.

The RCM syllabus also has a good list of pieces to find that might be in your comfort zone, or slightly higher if want to try something new.

https://examinations.rcmusic.ca/sites/default/files/files/RCM-Piano-Syllabus-2015.pdf

My teacher actually asked me to bring something of my choice so I can work on it in addition to the assigned material. I brought a pop song cover and she helped me to understand how to play it, understand the rythm, and also to simplify certain chords (my hands can only span an octave). It's my supplemental project for pleasure, a little harder, not classical, and I'm glad my teacher encourages it and actually helps with it.

Do the material your teacher is assigning as well as you possibly can. If your teacher is good, that's the material that will make you a better musician.
AND have a great time with the supplementary stuff too. If you just want to read through a lot of different pieces for fun, that's perfectly fine, and fun and a good supplement to the more structured assignments given by a teacher.

If your question is, "How do I know when a piece is repertoire that I know and can perform?" then try playing it for a friend or make a recording and see what you think. If it's a performance that you can enjoy then yes it's ready. If there is a lot of struggling for notes or if the sound isn't beautiful then it isn't ready. It can be very helpful to develop the discipline of listening to recordings of yourself play and trying to give yourself corrections.