October 30, 2025

1 ❤️ = need lots of work, or, you didn’t practice this.

2 💛 = on the right track, but this needs more work.

3 💜 = we didn’t get to this. Please practice as usual.

4 💚 = on the right track! Good work. Practice as usual.

5 🖤 = don’t practice this. We’ll get to it when Dustin says.




🟥“RCM Technical Requirements Level 03”

  1. Prepare D Minor melodic and B-flat Major Scales & Triads (broken and solid)

    1. No faster than mm. 50.

    2. Practice the difficult items at a SLOW tempo, and with good thought - where is finger four? Hands alone first. SLOWLY.

🟩Theory Level 3

  1. Complete Unit 1

🟩Prelude VII by Barbara Arens (L. 3, Etude)

  1. Measures 1-10: LH Blocked with RH as written - 3 times each day

  2. Measures 11-18: LH Blocked with RH as written - 3 times each day

  3. LH Technical Work: Work one measure at a time: hold the bass whole note and slowly repeat the eighth notes until you find the most comfortable hand position for playing them legato, softly, and evenly.

🟩Beethoven, Sonatina in G Major, Ahn. 5, I. Moderato (L. 3, B)

  1. Measures 1 and 3 - LH legato and RH legato, and don’t make the last notes of the slur staccato.

  2. Coda: LH softer and RH legato with long notes (no staccato notes) and forward arm movement on longer notes. Add pedal.

Rotate the following assignments in order to get through them just one time before your next lesson:


🟪Musette in D Major BWV Anh. 126 by J. S. Bach (L 3, A)

  1. Continue to do Color-Focus Practice (NPFPER) for next lesson, but, try to combine more goals at the same time.

🟪“SIGHT-READING 2A

  1. Prepare at least pages 87-90

  2. GO NO FASTER THAN M.M. 60 PER QUARTER NOTE

🟪FOUR STAR Level 3

  1. Prepare Set 3

  2. Practice with the video below!

🟪Minuet in G Minor BWV Anh. 115 by Christian Petzold (L 3, A)

  1. Color-Focus Practice (NPFPER). Use this method to learn the rest of the piece!

    1. Remember to choose a small chunk for practice and don’t go outside of it.

    2. Also remember to do hands alone first, and stay within the focus of your goal(s).

REVIEW

🟪Review twice a week with your music. You don’t need to review all of them in ONE practice session - just one PER WEEK.

  1. 💚Invention in C Major by Renée Christopher (b. 1955) L. 2, C)

  2. 💚Crocodile Tears by Christine Donkin (L. 2, B)

  3. 💚Minuet G Major by JS Bach (L. 2, A)

  4. 🟨Etude in G Major, op. 166, no. 6 by Henri Bertini (1798-1876) (L. 2, Etude)

  5. 💚Ecossaise in G Major by LV Beethoven (L. 2, A)

  6. 💚Bourrée in D Minor by Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) (L. 1, A)

  7. 💚Canon by Carlton Elliott

  8. 💚Early One Morning (Level 1, B)

  9. 💚Celebration by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)

  10. 💚💚Sleigh Bells by Christine Donkin (b. 1976) (L. A)

  11. 💚💚What’s That Noise? B by Martha Mier (b. 1936) (L. A)

  12. 💚💚Boots, by Yvonne Adair (L. A)

  13. 💚💚To Fly Like and Eagle by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (L. B)

  14. 💚💚💚The Haunted Mouse by Nancy and Randall Faber (b. 1955; 1954)(L. A)







🎨 Color-Focus Practice (NFPER)

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

  • N – Notes – correct pitches and accidentals (🟦 Blue)

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

  • P – Position – hand shape, posture, and keyboard geography (🟪 Purple)

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

  • R – Rhythm – steady pulse, accurate timing, and rests (🟥 Red)

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

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

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

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

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

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

  5. Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid — meaning:

  • ✅ 3 times in a row correctly, or

  • ✅ 5 total correct repetitions, then move on.



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

  2. 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?