Please help?

[ajp]

Can anyone give me a list of suitable repetoire by mozart/beethoven for grade 1-3 students?

[pianistimo]

there are books with 'dumbed down' versions of a lot of things but beethoven's 'ecossaise in G major' WoO 23 (works without opus) is for approx. grade 1.  grade 3-4 might be merry and sad, bagatelle in A minor, op. 119/09.  after a few bagatelles or ecossaise - maybe a working of an easy sonatina or somthing.  am thinking more clementi or czerny -but they actually drive me crazy.

'allegretto, allegro in B-flat K3, minuett in F K2, minuetto I from sonata in C= grade 1
grade 2=andante in Eb K 15, minuet and trio K585, minuet in B-flat K 15
grade 3=andantino in e-flat K 236,

i think some kind of theme and variation is cool.  you could write a dumbed down version or just simply pencil out notes of one that is halfway easy.  somehow, to me, the variations of rhythm and harmony in theme and variations could teach a student a lot.

also, the classical era doesn't appeal to kids as much as it used to.  if you give a lot of bach, mozart, and beethoven - it has to be the genius kid.  you might try some modern composers which have things that fit the hands nicely, too.  not saying that mozart and beethoven don't - but boys don't want to be playing minuet in G all the time.

[pianistimo]

for first year (before grade 1) i like to keep things very simple.  tetrachord versions of lots of melodies (5432 2345 =scale).  you can also play on black notes - but i'm a little bit hesitant to only read fingering for a long time.  i think students should read notes asap.  some disagree.  as with the suzuki method (or as it used to be).  the composer bach, who had all musical children, only gave exercises the entire first year.  they were easy ones - and progressed to more difficult connected ones that sounded like tunes sort of.

this is the problem - you give a piece which requires a lot of technique and the child doesn't have it.  i am of the opinion that you SHOULD do some exercises as sort of 'fun' and not 'work.'  kids do like the feeling of achievement when they can move their hands this way and that.  gaining control over the keyboard and their note reading.  i also start right in on the scales in all the keys and so they have a knowledge even at 5 or 6 years old of keys and key signatures.  noone has complained.  and, for each grade level they should know more minor keys, etc. 

knowing basic rudimentary steps isn't a thing to be ashamed of, imo.  you can skip it for a while - but you can't run away from it forever.  piano is really an understanding of the 'well tempered' idea of being able to see how mozart and beethoven composed later.  grade 1 - for me, is still working stuff that fits easily under the fingers and doesn't switch registers a lot.  i mean it could a little - but you have to keep them within the notes they can read and gradually add more notes instead of giving all the notes at once.

[bernhard]

grade 1

Beethoven - Ecossaise

Mozart - Allegro in B flat, K3
Mozart - Menuett in F, K2
Mozart - Menuetto I, from Sonata in C, K6
Mozart - Allegretto, from 'The London Sketchbook', KV 15pp

grade 2

Beethoven (attrib.)- Sonatina in G, Anh 5/1, 2nd mvt, Romanze

Mozart - Minuet and Trio K585
Mozart - Minuet in B flat, K15pp
Mozart - Andante in Eb, K15mm, from 'The London Notebook'
Mozart - Air, from 'The Magic Flute', arr. Dunhill

grade 3

Beethoven - Sonatina in F, Anh 5/2, 1st mvt, Allegro assai

Mozart - Allegro in B flat, K3
Mozart - Andantino in E flat K236

Personally I find all of these sort of dull (most of the Mozart ones were written when he was still a child and it shows, and Beethoven did not really understand the concept of “easy”). There are far superior composers writing in this grade range. (e.g. Schumann, Kabalevsky, Prokofiev, Amy Beach, etc.)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[ajp]

many thanks for the replies so far.

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

Why don't you apply the easy Bach's preludes. They are an introduction to counterpoint and help alot. I would definately go with them.