How To Evaluate An Intermediate Repertoire Series
So much piano music!
When our beginning students complete an elementary method (or come near the end of one), they do not have the skills required to play advanced classical music.
Have you ever overestimated your student’s ability and then regretted your choice of repertoire?
Have you ever found yourself drowning in multiple volumes of music from all sorts of composers and historical eras?
The massive sea of piano teaching: intermediate repertoire
What do we do with our students at this level?
How do we balance repertoire from all different historical time periods and styles?
How do we ensure that we’re assigning repertoire that is at the right level - not too easy, and not too hard?
While we are blessed as pianists to have a practically unlimited amount of repertoire to play and teach, this blessing can also be a curse, leading teachers to be overwhelmed. Thankfully, the work has already been done for us.
Many publishers have put out wonderful series of intermediate repertoire containing pieces from the Baroque period to modern day. Depending on the priorities of the publisher and editor, each series has different strengths and weaknesses. And, of course, each of us as teachers has different priorities, so different series will appeal to different ones of us.
How should I choose books for my student?
I created this list of questions to help you evaluate an intermediate series.
Maybe you have your first students entering the intermediate level, and you need some quick help on choosing books to use after the method.
Maybe you have one that you have used, but you can’t quite put your finger on why you don’t love it.
Maybe you have used multiple series and want to spend some professional development time really deciding which one to go to first with students newly entering the intermediate level.
Fill out the form to get your pdf guide!
BONUS #1: At the end of the pdf, I have a list of suggested series to try out. Most publishers will allow teachers to order review copies for a significant discount, so be sure to check those out when ordering books for yourself.
BONUS #2: I made two videos where I reviewed my most-recommended series, Masterwork Classics (Alfred: Jane Magrath) and The Festival Collection (FJH: Helen Marlais). This is not a paid promotion; I just wanted to share my observations and opinions on two series to help get you started on evaluating on your own. A third video here reviews what I consider a good (but not favorite) series: Piano Repertoire (KJOS: Keith Snell).
