What's the next step after completing all levels?

[chenwu]

I will be teaching this fall at a Performance Art school here in Wisconsin. I have told that I will be teaching all levels from beginner-advanced students. I love Faber method books and been using it for about a year now. I am just wondering if a student finished Level 5, what materials/repertoire/exercises she/he will be using? I have so many piano books/pieces I have in mind right now but I am not too sure if they're appropriate for them. I haven't had an advanced student yet. Some of my students are all beginners and intermediate levels. I would love to hear your suggestions! Thanks!

[mcdiddy1]

I start interspersing short easier pieces out side of the book and start having students get a scale book to help students become more structured in working on technique repertoire and problem solving. I found Fur Elise is a good piece to start the transition to longer pieces because every piano student in the world wants to learn to play it, they already know how it goes, and it is not particularly difficult for students to read. I also found miniture pieces like Bugmuller op 109 are fun character pieces that students enjoy to play and have clearly defined forms which allows them to learn the pieces fairly quickly.

[virtuoso80]

My usual approach is to ween them off the 'level' books at some point. When they're at 'Fur Elise' level, you can start to find decent amounts of legit piano music they can play. Books of moderate-level arrangements of famous themes and tunes are another way to go.

If you want to stay with series, there are series like the Thompson First Grade book to Sixth Grade book, that increase quickly to a pretty high degree of difficulty. I tell my students these are the, "hardcore, old-school" books, and usually let them choose between them and the more friendly Faber & Faber series (most choose Faber). However, you can always transfer over to some Thompson when you think they're ready.

[jhein]

I will be teaching this fall at a Performance Art school here in Wisconsin. I have told that I will be teaching all levels from beginner-advanced students. I love Faber method books and been using it for about a year now. I am just wondering if a student finished Level 5, what materials/repertoire/exercises she/he will be using? I have so many piano books/pieces I have in mind right now but I am not too sure if they're appropriate for them. I haven't had an advanced student yet. Some of my students are all beginners and intermediate levels. I would love to hear your suggestions! Thanks!

If you truly have no idea, you have no business teaching.

[mcdiddy1]

Thats really harsh. All teachers have to start from somewhere. I think it is a good thing that when teachers look for advice from others rather than try and wing it.

[jessiecheek]

I just found your forum. If you have time to read my long post, I would be grateful for any feedback you all might have.  I am not a professional piano teacher, but I am teaching my own children to play the piano.  I have been using the Bastien method and my children are at level's 4 and 5.  It has taken us about 7 years to get there, because we have had a lot going on in our lives, so piano hasn't always been the highest priority.  I took a piano pedogogy course in college, but it is so long ago that I don't remember much about it.  My older child, a son, (14) loves Joplin rags and he has begun to work on the Entertainer.  He had learned the simplified version (all 4 rags in the Bastien simplified book) and is now working on the full version.  He loves all classical music and is very motivated, but not too coordinated, and it took a long time for him to really learn how to read music as he is a slower learner.  So, I'm finally working with him on Minuet in G by Beethoven and really trying to work on technique now as he is finally getting the hang of reading music. We used Music Ace I and II and that really helped.   It was recommended to me also by another piano teacher than I teach scales by rote instead of by the music. So, I am beginning to work on that with him also, as I didn't feel like we were making enough progress using the scale books that I had. When I took piano lessons I was pushed way too hard.  My technique was just fine, but I never learned to sight read well, so I have really stressed that with my children.  My older son doesn't get bored with anything and just loves playing piano.  My younger daughter is very bored with piano and a piano teacher friend gave me some music this summer so I plan to let her learn some of those songs.  My younger daughter (11) also loves to improvise, so I am allowing her every other day to just play and improvise and every other day to play from the Bastien books.   My piano pedogogy teacher was really into the Suzuki method, but I am not too keen on it.  I do believe that listening to music would be very helpful to kids.  We don't listen to a lot of classical music at our house, but I want to change that.  Especially for my son.  I think I would have done a lot better with learning to play the piano had I listened to a wider variety of classical music.  Of course in my day, that wasn't as possible without having a lot of money, but now with computers, MP3 players, you can have access to about anything if you want it.   This summer I downloaded some music onto my MP3 player and I play to let my son listen a little each day to it.  It seems there must be an accepted listing of songs though that are considered the classic pieces to listen to. I have a composer course that I am working on teaching my children and it has suggestions for listening, but it doesn't focus just on piano pieces.  I see on this forum a reference to a rating system of classical music pieces and I would like someone to explain this to me.  I would like to find a website that has a listing of classical pieces by level that are generally accepted as pieces a piano player should know how to play before they get to college.  I would like to prepare my son the best that I am able to...but I am having a little difficulty in deciding on which pieces I should begin to introduce to him.  He has learned how to play L'avalanche and we will be working on Fur Elise.  I know learning the Joplin rags is a real motivator for him, so we will continue doing that, but I am trying to figure out what to have him listen to. I think Clementi Sonatinas may be a good next step, so I want to have him listen to them.  Maybe a few of the Haydn and Mozart and Beethoven Sonatas, then Bach inventions at some point, but I know there is a lot more out there that he may enjoy.  I already found a few ideas from other posts on this forum, so I thank you all for all of your ideas.  I guess a recommended listening list is one thing I am hoping to find and also a recommended listing of what songs to learn after we pass the Bastien Repertoire levels.  He loves music, but his coordination and learning are not very quick, so it will be a while before we get there. It may take us until he goes to college to pass those Repertoire levels, but in the mean time I am sure I can add other songs in.  We only do the methods books every other day and in between we do other songs.  For my daughter, I'm not sure she is really all that interested, so I'd love to have some songs that would really peak her interest and not be too difficult to learn as her motivation is not very high.  She actually has much better coordination than her brother, but has much less interest.  Thanks for any advice you all may have.  I really appreciate it.  Since I do not have a music degree, I don't really belong in any piano teacher's organization, so this is the only place I can figure out where to ask my questions.  I did take one semester of music theory in college and I did take piano lessons in college, but I don't feel like I'm much beyond the intermediate level and I never practice any more as I'm too busy teaching my children.  I know I need to pull my old music out to practice, but with 5 kids that is hard to find time to do that. Thanks again for any comments and advice you may have.

[ego0720]

I know this is ten years too late but the last person to write is representative of my situation.  Although I don't have 5 kids (just 2). The last person who is teaching their own children it would be nice to get an update. Presuming that won't happen, it seems there is a gap for music when and where there is no clear direction after one is finished with Faber or Bastien. I have ideas of my own.. but the path seems rather aimless and unstructured.  Do we sort out the literature and play whatever we want?  I'm looking at structured path like the RCM / ABRSM / ASTA.. but those are standards rather than methodology.  Once a person graduates.. is it just enjoying stuff. How to level up from intermediacy? I don't expect a real answer to these but hopefully somebody will identify with this scenario because music feels like there is no highway. Just a lot of local streets and those who figured it out enjoy their niche in the music world. The gap between those 1% and everyone else seems like an ocean abyss. 

Also, just wanted to add that "John Thompson Modern Course" for piano is up to grade 5, not six books.