playing easier pieces

[skt1991]

since i am self taught, i never really formally looked at each grade level and played pieces from them. is it important to play pieces from previous grade levels for technique?

is playing pieces from a certain grade level the only way to develope technique to proceed to the next level. i can play a few grade 7 pieces but i cannot play any grade 8 pieces, so will playing grade 7 pieces assist in my ability to play grade 8 ones?

since i started piano, whenever I tried a piece, i could play it if i put in some work. now that i am trying harder pieces, a little extra work doesn't really help. i learned the first 2 pages of a schubert impromptu,around grade 7, in about the same time it took me to learn just the first bar of FI. i think that is pretty weird.

comments are very much appreciated.

[pianoteacherkim]

You don't mention whether you're also doing specific technique work.  Are you practicing scales, arpeggios, Hanon?

You also don't mention how long you've been playing.

There is a point at which your ability to play harder music will be affected by your technique skill and your familiarity with the keyboard (functions of time and repetition). 

An example:  if you've not developed the keyboard familiarity yet to move your hands between common intervals without looking, you'll be limited in what you can learn, and how quickly you learn it.  That's not to say you can't learn a hard piece, it's just that you'll have to learn the technique to play it while you're learning the song itself.  See what I mean?

It might be a good idea, since you're getting into some higher level repertoire, to at least have a handful of lessons with a teacher.  A good teacher can point out technique issues (that actually make playing harder/more cumbersome) and give you great technique pointers and exercises, as well as spot any other problems with your playing that could be holding you back.

Best,

Kim

[lazlo]

I don't think those ratings should be taken too seriously. That is, difficulty is such a subjective matter that its basically impossible to rate music. I don't have any idea how the rachmaninoff prélude in c sharp minor is rated the same as Pictures at an Exhibition, or Chopin etude op10 #12. You can't even compare the difficulty in those works, yet they're all just "8". I mean, I think its a good idea to practice pieces from a broad range of difficulty levels instead of playing only "8+" pieces or whatever is at your limit. That way you can challenge yourself, but at hte same time feel good about accomplishing some easier pieces. Plus with piano in particular there is so much easier repetoire that is just as musically rewarding. If you want to think about it in terms of grades, then I would say it is a very good idea to go back for particular skills. For instance, maybe you have an extremely solid left hand and can play the op10 #12 or have finger agility for a schubert impromptu, but maybe you don't have the stamina for an all out 3 mvmt sonata or the finger indepence. I think its our ultimate goal to bring everything to as high a level as possible, but realistically, there are always certain skills that we have more of than others, and as such, we should always work on different levels to improve specific skills (and excercise certain skills).  I also disagree with the grade system, in that, to a large degree how well you learn something is dependent on how intresteted and immersed in the work you become. Obviously at the higher levels this becomes less true, but I think to a large degree, the greater you can relate to a work, the greater chance you have of succeeding. So I wouldn't be completely daunted by a certain piece with a certain grade level. Give it a shot, and if its working out, then keep going, and if not, figure out what skills you need to acquire to make it work.