Piano Video Lesson: How to choose which repertoire to study

Hi, I'm Robert Estrin, here at livingpianos.com and virtualsheetmusic.com. Today, the question is, "How do you pick the right repertoire to study?" Boy, this is very important, and one of the things about studying with a teacher is having somebody to guide you through that process. I'm going to give you some tips here today so you know if you're studying the right piece.

All right. Sometimes, teachers trying to glorify themselves are encouraged to give their students music that 's far above them because it's very gratifying to say, "Well, I've got somebody working on this Beethoven sonata and this concerto." And it makes them feel good, plus they're working on more interesting music. However, it's a real disservice if it can take months to learn a piece, especially at the early stages of study.

Here's the key. When you're a beginner or even intermediate student, you should not really be studying music that takes months and months to learn. Instead, you can learn many pieces along the way, and months later, you will have progressed to the level where are you can learn the piece that would have taken you months In a much shorter amount of time. So, instead of tackling a sonata that might take you six months to learn, maybe you could study a dozen pieces in that half a year, and by the time you reach that six-month mark, you are ready for that piece, and then you have a bunch of repertoire you've learned in the meantime.

So, pick music that you not only can learn in a reasonable amount of time, but the other key is, make sure it's a piece you can master. It's not of any value to learn a piece that you really can't play very well or up to speed. If you're studying a piece, and you've learned it, and you've practiced it, and you've played it for months, and you still can't play it up to speed, there's something wrong there.

Now, sometimes, when you get to a more advanced level, it is necessary to push yourself into a repertoire that's above you, just so you can reach a new level, and maybe you've reached the maturity where you can spend months learning a single extended work. But, make sure, in your formative stages, that you pace the repertoire of music you can master in a reasonable amount of time, developing more and more pieces that you can play on the highest possible level.

Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at livingpianos.com and virtualsheetmusic.com.

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