Today in our How To Teach Intermediate Piano Repertoire series we are looking at Bach’s Invention No.14 in B-flat Major. I prefer to use this one as a student’s second invention, after learning either No.1 in C Major or No.8 in F Major.

Today we’re talking about how to teach the first movement of the Sonata in G Major Op.49, No.2 by Ludwig van Beethoven. This is a “light” sonata with a bright, happy feel. In my opinion, this is the easiest Beethoven sonata movement. Click here for my blog post and video all about the EASIEST Beethoven Sonatas.

Today we’re talking about how to teach Watchman’s Song Op.12, No.3 by Edvard Grieg. This is an evocative piece from his larger set of Lyric Pieces.

Today we’re talking about how to teach Play, which is the fifth piece in Béla Bartók’s For Children Volume 1. This is a fun early intermediate piece with two very contrasting sections.

Today we’re talking about how to teach the Little Prelude in C Minor, BWV 934, by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is a beautiful piece that can help our students learn to play Baroque music expressively.

If you didn’t see my announcement already, I have a new course launching next Thursday. More info can be found at this link, but the course will be all about preparing our students for performance and creating a healthy, positive performance culture in our studios.

To that end, I have six things I do every time I help a student prepare for a recital, exam, festival, competition, or any other performance, no matter how formal or informal it is.

1. Choose appropriate repertoire,

Today we’re talking about how to teach the first Gymnopedie by Eric Satie. This is a beautiful piece that ranks in the top list of most-recognized piano pieces. To that end, I have included it in my curated listening list, Piano Pieces Every Piano Student Should Know. If you have not already downloaded that, please click here.

One thing that I could have stated more explicitly in the video is this:

Today we’re talking about how to teach the Crimson from Sketches in Color by Rober Starer. I’m also using this piece as a jumping off point for discussing mixed meter and asymmetrical meter. Be sure to watch or read to the end where I give my #1 piece of advice on teaching students music in the 20th century idiom with “unusual” sounds.

Should piano students memorize their repertoire?

This is a controversial question! I’m here to give you my answer after over 20 years of experience. However, I always encourage every teacher to adapt anything that I say to his or her individual context and teaching style, as well as to the individual student arriving for a lesson each week.

My short answer is yes. Continue reading or watch the video below to find out why.

Today we’re talking about how to teach the Little Prelude in C Major, BWV 939 by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is a grand, authoritative prelude that packs a lot of punch in just a few measures.

Today we’re talking about how to teach the Venetian Boat Song Op.19, No.6, by Felix Mendelssohn. This is one of the 48 lovely Songs Without Words that Mendelssohn composed for piano solo, and one of the few attainable by a mid- to upper-intermediate student. It’s a beautiful, melancholy piece that students love to play.

Today we’re talking about how to teach the Minuet in F Major, K.2, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This is a great example of a standard early intermediate dance from the Classical era. Mozart is deceptively difficult; it seems so easy! Hopefully some of my ideas here will help your students play more beautifully and expressively the next time they encounter his intermediate pieces.

Today we’re talking about how to teach the first movement of Sonatina in C Major Op.55, No.1 by Friedrich Kuhlau. This is a great example of a standard intermediate level classical sonatina movement and one that students enjoy playing. It is also a frequent exam choice.

Please join me in welcoming the author of this guest post, Christina Whitlock. Christina is the genius behind the Beyond Measure Podcast. I regularly joke that I cannot listen to any episode of hers without shouting “Amen!” multiple times. Do check out her podcast, and enjoy her contribution below.

Hello, studio teacher friends!

It is an honor to be writing for Janna’s blog, as she is SERIOUSLY one of my favorite people in the entire world. I’ve been teaching a full studio since age 14, which means I’ve been at this gig for a solid 27 years now. I’m a die-hard advocate for lifelong learning, and have found a sweet spot in cyberspace for connecting with teachers over some of the less-obvious aspects of studio teaching. I began this article with a list of twenty (!) lessons not typically taught in pedagogy courses, but (because I’m also a firm believer that “less is more”) I narrowed it down to three.

Today we’re talking about how to teach the second movement of Beethoven’s Sonatina in F Major Anh.5, No.2 by Ludwig van Beethoven. This is a fast, fun, mid-intermediate rondo with some dramatic flair.

Today we’re talking about how to teach Spinning Song by Albert Ellmenreich. This is an intermediate student favorite due to the perpetual motion and ostinato left hand.

One of the questions I answered in my May Ask Me Anything YouTube video is the following:

What parts of studio management logistics have had the biggest impact on your studio running smoothly?

This is the type of question that I frequently discuss with Teacher Consultation clients. If you’d like to flesh out any of these ideas and see how they might work best for you, please consider investing in one of these. Every teacher’s context, demographic, and experience is different. These are things that have worked well for me in my context, but I’m happy to help others think through what might work best for them. Of course, experience is the best teacher, and the these “logistics” have all evolved over time for me.

Here goes - a short list of some of the things that are most helpful in my studio:

Today we’re talking about how to teach the first movement of Sonatina in C Major Op.55, No.1 by Friedrich Kuhlau. This is a great example of a standard intermediate level classical sonatina movement and one that students enjoy playing. It is also a frequent exam choice.

When MTNA announced that the 2022 conference was moving online, I was really bummed. I was planning to attend in person for the first time. (Well, I had also planned to attend in person in Chicago 2020, but we all know what happened that year.)

Thankfully, my piano-teacher-friend, Christina Whitlock of the Beyond Measure Podcast, had previously told me about a "retreat” she’d been on for NCKP during the summer of 2021 with some other piano-teacher-friends. While I wasn’t part of that amazingness, I did jump at the chance to join Christina and Joy Morin of the Color In My Piano blog at the home of our gracious host, Amy Chaplin of Piano Pantry. We watched many of the online sessions and chatted and shared teaching resources.

Clair de lune from Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque is, of course, one of the most well-known and beloved pieces in the piano repertoire, and one that students might ask to learn well before they are ready to tackle such a difficult piece. So, how do we teach this to recreational students? I have several ideas in my video here, which is part one of a two-part series.