Your preferred pieces or essential repetoire for students at each grade level?

[colour]

I'm a new teacher- only teaching 18 months and have a mixture of levels- from complete beginners, Grade 1, grade 2, grade 4 and 5 RIAM (similar standard to ABSRM).

As a new teacher I'm trying to get to grips with repertoire and which pieces I should be presenting to students alongside their grade exams.

While I have several series of books (step by step to the classics, etc, and lists of pieces by grade) I'm wondering which pieces per grade should I be aiming for my students to cover in what often seems like limited time as their parents try to get them through grades as quickly as possible. Which would be your top 6 or 8 pieces per grade that you would like to see your students cover?

Of course each student is different, and aside from their own personal preferences, they need different pieces to work on to cover various styles and techniques.

Hopefully my question makes sense....

[wolfgangster]

I'm waiting for someone to chime in on this one!

[pianotv]

Okay I'll try this one! I don't have opus numbers and the like in all my notes, because I refer to the RCM syllabus for those details, and I know what songs I'm talking about. I also teach a lot of pop, but didn't include it on this list for the most part (keepin' it bare bones).

Grade 1:
Book - Christopher Norton Connections 1 (some of the pieces are list B, 1 is list C, and the rest are pop. very versatile and kids like this book)
ann crosby - angelfish - this is SUCH a beautiful piece (list B) and everyone loves it
martha mier - jazz, rags and blues (book) - there are a couple gr 1 and gr 2 pieces in here for list B (jazz), and they're really fun.
To teach inventions (list C), I use Pierre Gallant's book "imitations and inventions".
I use the gr 1 etude book for etudes - it's got some great tunes (though I don't have the new one yet)
For list As, Telemann's Fantasia in G min, Mozart Minuet in F, Beethoven Russian Folk Song

grade 2
list A: Mozart Minuet in C major, Scarlatti Sonata in C minor
list B: the dragon's story from 'legends and lore'
Christopher Norton Connections 2 (again lots of list B, pop, etc)
tchaikovsky - the sick doll
list C inventions: banana from 'watermelon and friends' (SO CUTE)
etudes: anything from the grade 2 etude book

grade 3
list A: anna magdalena notebook - Menuet in G minor, Musette, Polonaise
list B: biehl sonatina op 57, no 1 and 4 (various mmts)
clementi sonatina op 36 no 1
list C: kabalevsky - clowns
schumann - melody
tchaikovsky - morning prayer
etude: witches and wizards (legends and lore)
maykapar bagatelles - the butterfly, no 12

grade 4
list A: anna magdalena notebook - marche, menuet in G major, minuet in A minor
list B: clementi sonatina, op 36 no 2
haydn sonata xvi 9
list C: schumann - wild rider (album for the young)
tchaikovsky - italian song, french song, the doll's funeral (album for the young)
grechaninov - grandfather's album: an old romance, happy meeting, on the meadow, returning home
etude: gillock - dragonfly (lyric preludes)
heller - the avalanche (vingt-cinq etudes)

---

This is time consuming, so I will post part 2 tomorrow! I'd love to hear what other people teach as core repertoire as well!

[pianotv]

I should mention I teach RCM and not RIAM, not sure how similar they are, but hoping this is at least somewhat relevant!

[riouds]

Hello, i am right now learning chopin valse op 69 no 1 , and i would like to have an idea what grade this music is, sorry for going off a little bit from the topic's theme, i feel like you did a really great job with the grading pianotv,and it feels like something i would apply to myself to get some kind of progress going on ! I still have no idea whatsoever if i'm having a fast learning curve or a mediocre one lol ( i study since june)

[outin]

Hello, i am right now learning chopin valse op 69 no 1 , and i would like to have an idea what grade this music is, sorry for going off a little bit from the topic's theme, i feel like you did a really great job with the grading pianotv,and it feels like something i would apply to myself to get some kind of progress going on ! I still have no idea whatsoever if i'm having a fast learning curve or a mediocre one lol ( i study since june)

It would be grade 6-7 abrsm.

So if studied after just a few months there's not really a learning curve at all but rather randomly jumping around on the plane

[riouds]

I mean , i'm studying piano since june, not in that music since june  i have played some others easier than the valse that my teacher gives me

[pianotv]

Okay next batch!

Grade 5
list A - go in a Scarlatti direction - Sonata in C minor, Sonata in B flat, Sonata in D minor
List B - clementi sonatinas (there are a few at this level, can't remember the op., and Haydn Sonatas Hob. 8 and 10 have some easier movements)
List C - tchaikovsky's album for the young - mazurka, polka and sweet dreams - also in church is a good etude
Telfer - when rivers flowed on mars (this is just an awesome song)
schumann's album for the young - a little romance, hunting song, little folk song, siciliano)
Etude - gillock's lyric preludes - a faded letter (there are other list C pieces from this collection as well)

grade 6
list A - scarlatti's sonata in A major, G major and B flat major
Bach - a few little preludes (Cm, Dm, Em)
list B - mozart's 6th viennese sonatina (the finale)
Haydn's Sonatas Hob. XVI 3 and 4 - 2nd mmts
list C - Chopin prelude in C minor
grieg lyric pieces - arietta, folksong, patriotic song, watchman's song
mendelssohn - songs without words op 19 no 4
tchaikovsky - waltz from album for the young (no
hofmann's skizzen - schelm (no 1)
czerny - op 159 no 51

grade 7
list A - bach's inventions, just a few (1, 4,
more scarlatti sonatas (sonata in A major and A minor)
list B - Mozart's viennese sonatinas (1, 5 and 6, various mmts)
there are a few clementi sonatinas as well
list C - chopin prelude in e minor
grieg's lyric pieces - album leaf, elfin dance
Tchaikovsky's album for the young - song of the lark
etudes - concone has a couple from vingt-cinq etudes (#15 and 22)
hofmann's Skizzen (no 7 - a few others from here are list Cs)

grade 8
list A - bach inventions (most of them)
list B - beethoven sonata fragments (op 49 no 1 and 2, 1st and 2nd mmts)
haydn - various sonata mmts - hob XVI:4, 27 and 39
mozart viennese sonatina in A major, 4th mmt
list C - lotsa chopin! mazurka in A min, G min, Nocturne in G min, Polonaise in A flat maj, Prelude in B min and E maj, Waltz in A flat maj and B min
liszt - consolation no 1
mendelssohn - songs without words - op 19 no 2, op 62 no 4, op 102 no 2
list D - Debussy - jimo's lullaby, the little shepherd, page d'album
Bartok's For Children 1 and 2 - allegro moderato, swineherd's dance, canon, revelry, and from 10 Easy Pieces is evening at the village
etude - grieg's little bird from lyric pieces
maykapar's bagatelles - at the skating rink
hofmann op 88 - in the evening (no 2)

[outin]

I mean , i'm studying piano since june, not in that music since june  i have played some others easier than the valse that my teacher gives me

I understood what you mean. What I meant is that when learning that piece after only 3 months you must have jumped over a lot of skills and practice that in a normal learning curve would be learned BEFORE starting this piece. Whether you can play it or not does not mean that you can play pieces from earlier grades. Basically the grade is only relevant if you actually study according to some grade system.

[riouds]

I see, thanks