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Okay, I went through my notes and see that I didn't actually do 99%, this is what my teacher aspires to do. I did about 60% at both levels 5 and 6 (so far) + 10-13 extra pieces each year. Most are done to about 80% of performance standard, few were polished to exam level. I did little less "extra" this year, but pieces were more difficult/longer. It's clear I need to rethink how much I stress about it...

I did 16 rep and 8 etudes at Level 5 + 13 extras, and 15 rep + 8 etudes at Level 6 + 10 extras. I don't mean to brag here. I see that I'm pushing myself too hard and being encouraged by my teacher to do it. I need to slow down a bit before I burn myself out. As I said above, I started to panic about my future without a teacher. So my way of coping with panic was to try to prepare to push myself even harder on my own. Not very logical as I can see now

This was very helpful to post here and get my head straight.

It seems a huge amount of pieces to have learnt. I actually with time have slowed down with the pace I learn pieces so I learn less music than I used to. It is slightly better standard. I also dont really give up on the pieces anymore and normally work until I manage something or really there is very little improvement. I also found my teacher view of difficulty of pieces is not the same as ratings and often he suggests a piece very hard that I can complete and a piece that I think is easy but is very hard. I suppose there are a lot of ways to learn and teach but I dont think anyone can compete with the amount of music you have learnt. I think you can win an olympic gold for this. without a teacher that I could learn pieces but a couple of grades lower than I learnt in lessons. I was however at a higher standard to you so perhaps at the RCM level 10 level at your system. I did not really find it possible to teach myself difficult pieces and the pieces I had learnt with my teacher. I never did finished until I returned to lessons. I think therefore to stretch your standard you perhaps need to work on harder pieces with a teacher. I tend not to monitor how long it takes to finish pieces as its not a race. Good luck!

I don't know if I want to cry or laugh at your Olympic gold comment.
I know that once we move, I won't have a teacher for a while and that it will be hard to find a teacher there. I also feel that I need a teacher to push myself technically to higher standard.
Thank you very much!

I think that "number of pieces" is a somewhat arbitrary yardstick or guideline. At any level one should work on what is manageable, what advances ones musical experience and technique and what provides enough variety to maintain ones interest. As one advances, the pieces naturally become more complex and they often become longer. Setting oneself a goal of eight to ten pieces at level four would not necessarily be the guide for number of pieces at level 10, for example.

A more important question, I think, is how many pieces should one be working on at one time? There is no specific answer to that; the answer depends upon a number of common-sense factors: the level of difficulty of the pieces, the length of the pieces, the amount of daily practice time available, the efficiency of ones practice, and the level of perfection one aims for for each piece.

Of course this begs the question: How, then, do you know when you have successfully mastered a level well enough to be ready to move on to the next? That's a situation where a good teacher is helpful in guiding our progress. Too many, I think, do a limited number of pieces from a level and think that they have "completed" the grade. Some students, under the "guidance" (?) of a teacher will study only the two or three pieces necessary to fulfill the requirements of an exam and then move on to the next level, when they really have accomplished nothing but learn two or three pieces. So, I applaud those who feel they need to do more pieces from a given level, but deciding when to move on has to be both an artistic and practical decision.

Sorry for the ramble ...

Regards,

Hi initK - a couple pieces of advice from my end.
1. Think about recording yourself. I find that I do pick up a lot of things that need work/need fixing when I record myself that I don’t pick up when seated at the piano. My piano teacher brings up even more things, but these days it is very easy to record yourself, and it will show you things about your playing that, at least to me, I don’t hear (or I’m not attuned to) if I don’t record myself.
2. I think we all are motivated by different things. The comment about progress occurring at the point of resistance rings true to me, but I will also say that it really helps me to love the pieces I spend a lot of timing working on.

Can you do online lessons wherever you move?

Your ramble is welcome and highly relevant. Right now I'm completely relying on my teacher for study direction and she is pushing me quite hard. She also believes that too many teachers/students do not study enough pieces to truly master each level. With her push for 99% of material in the books for each level... I'm starting to think that she is only trying to motivate me, but this applied to my work ethic and drive for progress, created unhealthy level of stress in my life. On the top of that - I'm trying to develop some strategy for time in near future when I'm not going to have a teacher for probably a long time. I'm moving country, learning new language, and trying to get organized and prepared in every area, but I see now that finding a new teacher will be one of the priorities high on my list.

Thank you for your thoughts!

Very good advice, I have to practice #1 more, especially with my digital piano it's so easy it's a sin not to use this tool.
Thank you!

I will definitely consider that if it's an only option. Short experience with online lessons I had made me feel very un-enthusiastic about it, but this is better than nothing, maybe my teacher is just more challenged in tech department than others.

That is often true, judging from what I've read in PW (ABF and Piano Teachers Forum) over the years, though my own experience (both as student and now as teacher, with knowledge of many other teachers' teaching methods) is somewhat different.

When I was a student, my teachers (all four of them over ten years) got me to learn lots of pieces - around four pieces on the go at any one time, and 'finishing' each piece within three to six weeks, until I was learning complete sonatas etc, which of course took longer. It wasn't because I was a fast learner, nor was I talented (far from it, in fact) - it was simply that I was never required to perfect any piece (except for the exam pieces - just three a year) before my teacher moved me on to a new one, thus exposing me to lots of different composers and styles while improving my musical & technical skills - building upon previously learnt skills with new pieces as well as learning completely new skills.

Every teacher knows (or should know) that it's far more efficient & productive for a student to learn or improve on existing skills by learning several different pieces that require those skills, than to keep plugging away at the same piece practicing exactly the same notes. Just like one wouldn't practice one's language skills by holding the same "conversation", saying exactly the same sentences (as one would when trying to learn Esperanto using a language CD - because there's no-one in the world who can speak it...... ). One would practice the language by speaking it with other people, using the same words but in different contexts. That way, new words and phrases (= new piano techniques & skills) can be properly assimilated and used in lots of other contexts.

In piano terms, transferable to lots of other pieces. A pianist should never be a one-trick - or one-piece - pony (though there are indeed some pianists who are.......).

I didnt want to put you off your teachers method. It sounds like it could well be effective method. I thought everyone has a break between each grade to play other pieces but I think playing everything in a grade is a bit too much. I think the amount you have done may be best for a very driven learner. So its is becoming stressful and overwhelming I would think it could be toned down. Some skills just take time so I'm not sure all I could manage 3-6 weeks as others suggested. Perhaps this is due to practice time, someone who practices 3 hours a day could progress a much faster rate than someone who has 1 hour a day. Perhaps you would only win the bronze medal, as opposed to the gold, with a slightly lower pace of pieces. However always best to ask your teacher. They may completely want to keep the current piano regime for olympic glory :P