Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum "40 Pieces A Year Club" for 2020

This is the official signup and participation thread for the 2020 "40 Pieces A Year Challenge"! We'll use this thread for signups, tracking progress, recordings (if you decide to share them) and discussion.

The Goal: To learn, perform and experience forty piano pieces in a year.

The Method: Pieces can include any genre (e.g., classical, jazz, rock, pop, arrangements). Most of these will be (should be) below your current skill level. These pieces do not have to be completed to a polished final standard. Ultimately, the pieces are for skill building, technique development, rhythm work, sight-reading, exploring new music and having fun.

The Rules: There are no rules. It is up to you on how to craft this challenge.

Tracking Your Progress: Please check in with this thread when you complete your pieces - we'll keep a running total for everyone at the top and edit it as needed. Please feel free to upload any recordings that you're making (this is not a requirement). We are a supportive group, so the more you participate and ask questions, the more you will get out of the challenge!

Some Notes About Skill Levels and Competition: We all have many different backgrounds and skill levels, so this challenge will look different for each one of us. Our goal is to support and foster people's drive to complete the challenge, no matter what skill level. Please be kind and refrain from bringing negative attitudes into the thread, whether towards yourself or towards others! This is about meeting the challenge (and the piano) where you are rather than comparing yourself to others.

For more details about the inspiration and source of this challenge, please read these pieces by Elissa Milne:

Where Did the 40 Piece Challenge Begin?

The Surprising Power Of Quantity

Suggestions for Getting Started

Participants ... welcome aboard!

I will do my best to take part in this challenge as well for the next year to better my sight reading skill and overall musical ability.

I was thinking of doing 30 pieces but I will see how it goes and maybe do 40 (might include some Czerny pieces as well to boost it to 40). I will cap it to a max of 10 Czerny/easy pieces and hopefully build repertoire with the other 30 or so. Look forward to this

Thanks for organizing this scorpio. I will participate this year.

Just a reminder that you do not have to complete 40 pieces. You make this challenge your own. With support and encouragement we all can improve.

Happy New Year! Let’s make 2020 a special one!

I've wanted to try this for a few years. I think I will focus on my irocku songs since each song is presented in seven different levels. I can find the level of each song that suits me. Also, I want to work my way through my Leo Alfassy books - Blues Hanon, Jazz Hanon, etc. Each page is more like a song then a Hanon-type exercise. But I will be looking here for inspiration.

I'm in this time around. It fits in nicely with my plan to revisit grade 1 material.

I plan to learn one new grade 1 piece per week (give or take) along side my more involved pieces. Hoping it'll help reinforce my sight reading practice (using easier material than G1) and keep feeling like there's forward progress. It can be hard to keep going when a new piece takes a few month

With any luck/will power I'll be doing the 2020 MYOD too.

I'm in again.

Scorpio, thank you for organazing this!

Happy New Year!

I was unable to participate last year, due to a crazy year of moving to a new home and being without a piano for months. This year I am back!!

Hi - Yes, please add me to the list !

I still don't know if I achieved my 40 pieces last year due to not being able to find a key piano book, but that said, sign me up for 2020.

Hi - Yes, please add me to the list !

Please sign me up. I signed up last year but I was unable to complete it because I need to do better with practicing more consistently so I can get my pieces at at a more playable level. My goal this year is to finish John Thompson Grade 3 and see how many pieces I can learn from First Lessons in Bach and Burgmuller Op. 100.

Came no where close to 20 pieces last year! I’d like to improve that so please sign me up.

Sign me up please. I did not make it to Anywhere near 40 pieces last year but I will try again.
Thanks

I am on board for 2020!

My playlist for 40 Pieces Challenge 2020 on Soundcloud

1. F. Burgmüller, Op. 100 n. 15 (hearthis.at)

I will upload my recordings to both Soundcloud and hearthis.at, but I will use hearthis.at links for individual pieces, because they are more likely to remain active.

I'm in for learning at least 40 pieces this year.

I obviously need to work on my exam pieces but I want to make sure that I don't fall into the trap of only focusing on those 3 pieces and nothing else, so a target like this is perfect for me!

My first piece for 2020!

1. Passepied in D Major - Dieupart

Way to go SwissMS, played nicely and such a lovely piano!