September 17, 2026 (60 min - in-person)

2026-2027 Events

  • October 17-18, 2026 — Group Classes

  • December 5-6, 2026 — Group Classes

  • January 24, 2027 — Performance Class & Guest Artist Workshop

  • February 27-28, 2027 — Group Classes

  • April 10-11, 2027 — Group Classes

  • May 22, 2027 — Student Final Recital

How to Practice

Use the Practice Tools panel below. It logs your practice for you — no comments needed.

  1. Press Start here. It picks up where you stopped last time.

  2. Read the assignment, press Start, practice.

  3. Tap the kind of practice — learning, spotting, memorizing, polishing, run-through or review — then press Done.

  4. Press Next practice item and go again.

Capped items count down and chime. Keep going if it's going well.

Got something to say about an assignment? Paste the line it gives you into the comments and add your note.

Also in the panel: a metronome, a spotting counter, and recording.

Log only what you actually did, on the day you did it. Five minutes is a real entry. Logging starts October 1.

🟩 on track · 🟨 needs extra attention · 🟪 didn't get to it at the lesson · 🟥 priority · ⬛️ don't practice this one

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟩 Technique: Level 5, RCMCP

⏱ Max 7 minutes. Start the stopwatch.

  • Rotate through all of the arpeggios.

💬 Log it: RCM Technique — type of practice — minutes.

2. ⬛️ RCM Technical Requirements, Level 5 (Newzik)

Not this week.

Theory

3. 🟩 Theory 05_02, Rhythm

⏱ No more than 10 minutes per practice session. Start the stopwatch.

  • Finish the unit.

  • If you already have a handle on something, skip it.

💬 Log it: Theory — type of practice — minutes.

4. 🟩 Label the cadence in measures 37-38 (Bach Invention No. 4)

⏱ Start the stopwatch.

  • Look at both hands, play it, then label underneath the measure what you think it is.

  • Just ask yourself what it is. Write your answer in.

💬 Log it: Cadence analysis — type of practice — minutes.

5. ⬛️ Celebrate Theory, Level 4, Unit 8

Not this week.

Musicianship

6. 🟪 Bach: Inventions, Nos. 1 and 8

  • Listening only. We didn't get to these.

7. ⬛️ Basic Rhythmic Training, No. 115, by Robert Starer

Not this week.

8. ⬛️ Sight-Reading: Czerny, Op. 599, from No. 64

Not this week.

Repertoire

9. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39, No. 19, by Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987)

⏱ 5 minutes per practice session. Start the stopwatch.

  • Review, to get it back in your fingers.

💬 Log it: Kabalevsky Prelude — type of practice — minutes.

10. 🟩 Invention No. 4 in D Minor, BWV 775, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

⏱ No cap. Whatever time is left after everything above. Start the stopwatch.

  • Learn all the green: every complete statement of the subject.

  • Then learn all the beige: the first level of transposition of the subject.

  • Put in your fingering as you go. If you have a question about any of it, reach out and let me know.

What we found in the score

  • Measures 17-18: the first cadence, taking us into the relative major, F major.

  • Measures 22-23: an inversion of the subject.

  • Around measures 29-31: a pedal point on E.

  • Measures 37-38: another big cadence. That one is your assignment, number 4 above.

The types of transposition we labelled

  • Real — exact by interval. Every interval is preserved, so the shape moves to a new key exactly.

  • Tonal — the notes move but stay inside the original scale, so the intervals change slightly.

  • Inversion (mirror) — the shape flipped upside down. What went up now goes down.

  • Retrograde — the subject played backwards.

  • Retrograde inversion — backwards and upside down. We haven't found one of these yet.

  • Fragment — part of the subject rather than a complete statement. Bach and other composers use fragments to build tension.

Two things to keep in mind

  • Bach wrote the inventions for his students, to teach composition and to teach a singing style. Keep asking why he's doing each thing.

  • In an invention the two hands are equal parts, not melody and accompaniment. There are 15 inventions and 15 sinfonias.

  • When something looks out of the ordinary, you're probably at a transition, a pedal point, or a cadence.

💬 Log it: Bach Invention No. 4 — type of practice — minutes.

11. 🟪 Level 6 Baroque repertoire

  • We'll choose a slower Level 6 Baroque piece next lesson.

Review List

Review these with your music. You don't need to get through all of them in one session.

RCM Level 5

  • Deux rigaudons, from Suite in E Minor, RCT 2, by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) (List A)

  • Fantasia in E-flat Major, TWV 33:35, 2nd Section, by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (List A)

  • Sonatina in F Major, Anh. 5, No. 2, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) (List B)

  • Lyric Pieces, Book I, Op. 12, No. 2, Waltz, by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) (List C)

RCM Level 4

  • Air in B-flat Major, HWV 471, by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) (List A)

  • Sonatina in F Major, Op. 168, No. 1, I. Moderato cantabile, by Anton Diabelli (1781-1858) (List B)

  • Sonatina in G Major, Op. 36, No. 2, III. Allegro, by Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) (List B)

  • Etude in E Minor, Op. 65, No. 42, by Carl Albert Loeschhorn (1819-1905) (Etude)

  • Masquerade, by Linda Niamath (Etude)

RCM Level 3

  • Musette in D Major, BWV Anh. 126, Anonymous, from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (1725) (List A)

  • Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733) (List A)

  • Minuet in G Minor, BWV Anh. 115, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733) (List A)

  • Sonatina in A Minor, Op. 94, No. 4, by Albert Biehl (List B)

  • Clowns, Op. 39, No. 20, from 24 Pieces for Children, by Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987) (List C)

  • Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2, by Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller (1806-1874) (Etude)

RCM Level 2

  • Impertinence, HWV 494, by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) (List A)

  • Etude in D Minor, Op. 82, No. 65, by Cornelius Gurlitt (1820-1901) (Etude)

Other

  • Yesterday, by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

🎨 Color-Focus Practice (NFPER)

At the top of your music, write NFPER using the following color system:

  • N – Notes – correct pitches and accidentals (🟥 Red)

  • F – Fingering – consistent, effective finger choices (🟧 Orange)

  • P – Position – hand shape, posture, and keyboard geography (🟨 Yellow)

  • E – Expression – phrasing, dynamics, articulation, tone, etc. (🟩 Green)

  • R – Rhythm – steady pulse, accurate timing, and rests (🟦 Blue)

✅ If you're only recording audio, just use NER.

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

  1. Identify a section to record.

  2. Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.

  3. Listen back with one color/goal in mind.

  4. As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.

  5. Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.

  6. Choose a small "spot" section from your markings to fix.

"Spot" until it's solid — meaning:

  • ✅ 3 times in a row correctly, or

  • ✅ 5 total correct repetitions, then move on.

  • Focus on one or two colors at a time while practicing that spot.

  • Use the troubleshooting checklist below if you're stuck.

🔧 Troubleshooting Tips

🎯 If you've tried to fix something three times in a row and it's still not working, don't just repeat it — troubleshoot:

  • Do you need to slow down?

  • Should you practice hands alone?

  • Could you make the spot even smaller?

  • Would technical exercises help (staccato, accents, etc.)?

  • Do you need to think ahead more clearly?

  • Do you need blocking practice?