October 28, 2026 (6 of 8)

October 29, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

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 Guide below. It writes your practice down for you, no comments needed.

Tap the first assignment on your list.

The timer starts by itself. Read it and practice.

When you are finished, press Done. It saves your time and opens the next one.

Need to stop for a minute? Press Pause.

Lost? Press My Assignment List at the top to go back.

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

Something wrong with the guide? Open the video tool, record yourself explaining it, and press Send to Dustin. It emails me a link straight away.

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the Section-Work colors? They are in Practice Tools. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

Official tracking started Monday, October 19.

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

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟩 Technical Requirements for Piano, Level 4 (RCM), broken chords and arpeggios, pages 11 to 14

THIS WEEK: All the broken chords and arpeggios, pages 11 to 14. One practice tool on each item, then the metronome at the printed speed.

This replaces the three separate technique assignments. All of them, not a selection.
Pick one tool per item: close-loud, accent practice, rhythms, sprint practice, staccato, super slow motion.
Write the tools on slips of paper and put them in a cup. Draw one. That is the tool for that item that day.
Then play it with the metronome at the speed printed on the page.
Tuck the thumb under instead of twisting. Keep the elbow from swinging out to the left.
Let go of finger 4 on the way down rather than holding on through the cross.
Keep the wrist low. It spikes up, and that is part of what makes the sound uneven.
G minor, left hand: the fingering is 4, not 3. It is circled in blue.
Playing them through at tempo is not practicing them. That is what today showed.

Theory

2. 🟥 Celebrate Theory, Level 5, Unit 2 (RCM)

THIS WEEK: Unit 2. Finish it.

⏱ Max 7 minutes per practice session.

Same assignment as last week. It was yellow and it is red now because it did not get done.
There are a couple of pages left.
It is in Newzik. Print it out and put it in your binder.

Musicianship

3. 🟩 Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests, Level 4 (Berlin and Markow), ear test playbacks

THIS WEEK: Melody playbacks out of the tests, with Mama.

New this week. This replaces RCM Online Ear Training.
Playbacks only, off the test page.
Do them with Mama, not on the screen.
A lot of these cross the third degree, so you skip a note where you did not have to at Level 3. Listen for that.

4. 🟪 Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests, Level 4 (Berlin and Markow), Set 10

THIS WEEK: Same assignment. Set 10, one day of the set per practice session.

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Sets 8 and 9 are done.
6/8 is compound meter. Two beats in the bar, three eighth notes inside each beat, three plus three.
Press Done for the Week when the set is done.

5. 🟩 Piano Adventures Sightreading Book, Level 3A (Faber), pages 80 to 86

THIS WEEK: Pages 80 to 86. One page a day.

Pages 74 to 80 are done.
You move on from a page when you can play it through with no mistakes: notes, rhythm and expression, all of it.
Look a little further ahead.
Press Done for the Week after page 86.

Repertoire

6. 🟩 Ballade in C minor, Op. 100 No. 15, from 25 Études faciles et progressives (Burgmüller), mm. 31-57

THIS WEEK: Memorization work on measures 31 to 57.

RCM Level 4, Etude 1.

Practice type: Memorizing.

Hands alone, with the music and then without it.
Then hands together, with the music and then without it.
Start from a few random measures between 31 and 57.
One time through close-loud on measures 3 and 4, and on measures 87 to 90.
The last quarter of the hands-together section is where your hands come apart. That is the part to keep working.

7. 🟪 Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 (Anonymous)

THIS WEEK: Hands alone, slower. Every single quarter note stickier.

RCM Level 4, List A · from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach.

No faster than m.m. 66 per quarter note, hands alone.

Sticky, not staccato.
Slow and medium tempo is the best kind of review practice. Fast review is how a piece rusts away without you noticing.
The three gentle slow-downs are still there: end of m. 4 into m. 5, the first ending at mm. 5-8, and the first ending at m. 16.

8. 🟩 Masquerade, from Fancy-Free (Niamath)

THIS WEEK: Metronome practice on measures 13 to 21, and meditate on the tempo before you begin.

RCM Level 4, Etude 2.

m.m. 132 per quarter note.

Measures 13 to 21 is the transition, and it is where the tempo moves.
Before you start, close your eyes and think four measures of the waltz swing. That is twelve clicks.
One, two, three. Feel the downbeat, not just the pulse.
Left hand softer, right hand in focus.
Your tempo changes a lot through the piece. That is an easy thing for an examiner to mark.

9. 🟩 Sonatina in G major, Op. 36 No. 2, III. Allegro (Clementi)

THIS WEEK: Play through from beginning to end, and put the brake on every time the first theme comes back.

RCM Level 4, List B.

Name the first theme to yourself before you start.
Every time it comes back, think about the speed and slow down.
Think of the downbeat of each measure.
The metronome on its own will not fix this. You have to be listening when you get there.

10. 🟩 Fröhlicher Landmann, von der Arbeit zurückkehrend (The Happy Farmer), Op. 68 No. 10 (Schumann)

THIS WEEK: Hands together, with extreme expression.

RCM Level 4, List C · from Album für die Jugend.

m.m. 54 per quarter note.

Hands alone is done. Hands together now.
Right hand softer than it needs to be, left hand louder than it needs to be.
Bring everything up a level and down a level.

11. 🟩 Joyous Etude (Bober), mm. 14-16

THIS WEEK: Measures 14, 15 and 16. The dynamics and the pedal markings in pencil.

RCM Level 5, Etude.

🎥 Joyous Etude, mm. 13-17 https://youtube.com/shorts/8DfFQK03W6s

I wrote the dynamics in. Follow what is on the page.
Start piano, then come up.
Hold the pedal for the first two beats only, not the whole measure.
Keep playing along with the video.

12. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 (Kabalevsky)

THIS WEEK: The last two systems, very slowly, with exaggerated wrist movement and exaggerated dynamics.

RCM Level 5, Etude.

m.m. 46 per quarter note.

🎥 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 https://youtube.com/shorts/rSf4RxRNgJY

Watch the video again, closely. What it shows is the exaggerated wrist movement and the exaggerated dynamics at a very slow tempo.
The last two measures are the ones to fix.
Shape the phrase to a peak instead of staying flat.
Very slow tempo. Fixing this once it is already fast is painful.

Setup

13. 🟧 Binder dividers

Dividers for your three ring binder. I am bringing them.

14. 🟧 Practice technique cards

Cards for your cup, one practice tool per card. I am making more of these.

Level 4 Exam Program

Your program is in the practice guide, under Royal Conservatory of Music.

Exam session: November 28 to December 10.

Go through your whole guide and memorize the names of your composers. An examiner may ask to hear the Clementi by name.

Joyous Etude and the Kabalevsky Prelude are Level 5 etudes, so they stay out of the Level 4 program and out of that list.

When You First Sit Down

Close your eyes, put your hands across the keyboard, and feel your way from one end to the other. Two black keys, three black keys, two, three. Flatten your hand out so you can feel the groups instead of one key at a time.

Do that before you practice this week. It is how the keyboard gets into your hands as well as your eyes.

Review Pieces

Level 2

List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733), from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1, II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945), from Mikrokosmos

Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce

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

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27, by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)

💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (L. 2, C)

💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (L. 2, A)

💚Rhyme Time (L. 2, B)

Level 1 and Preparatory

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)

💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)

💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)

💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)

💚Celebration by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (L. 1, Etude)

💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep. B)

💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep. B)

💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4, by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)

💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)

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

Seasonal

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

O Christmas Tree, Traditional

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

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

Listen back with one color/goal in mind.

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

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

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

“Spot” until it's solid — ✅ 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?

October 21, 2026 (5 of 8)

October 22, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

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 Guide below. It writes your practice down for you, no comments needed.

Tap the first assignment on your list.
The timer starts by itself. Read it and practice.
When you are finished, press Done. It saves your time and opens the next one.
Need to stop for a minute? Press Pause.

Lost? Press My Assignment List at the top to go back.

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

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the Section-Work colors? They are in Practice Tools. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

Log every practice session from today. Official tracking starts Monday, October 19, the Monday after our first group class. Logging now is how we get the kinks out.

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

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟨 Technical Requirements for Piano, Level 4 (RCM), E-flat major arpeggio, left hand

THIS WEEK: Same assignment. Clean up the two things from today.

Don't drop the wrist on the thumb.
The fingering at the top was wrong. Check it against the music.
Two octaves.
More time on the cross, so it joins up instead of breaking.

2. 🟨 Technical Requirements for Piano, Level 4 (RCM), G minor arpeggio, hands alone

THIS WEEK: New this week. G minor arpeggio, hands alone.

Two octaves.
Right hand first, then teach the left hand what the right one did.
Your left wrist and elbow wobble more than your right. Watch the right hand play it, then copy that.
Let go of the note on the way down instead of holding on through the cross.

3. 🟨 Technical Requirements for Piano, Level 4 (RCM), broken chords

THIS WEEK: Same assignment. Use your technical tools to make them clean.

All of them, not a selection.
C minor had a lot of small pauses in it today.
Pick the tool that fits the problem: close-loud, accent practice, rhythms, sprints. Any of them works on six notes or more in a row.
Be proactive. If something is hard during the week, use a tool on it without waiting to be told.

Theory

4. 🟨 Celebrate Theory, Level 5, Unit 2 (RCM)

THIS WEEK: Unit 2. Do as much as you can in the time.

⏱ Max 7 minutes per practice session.

There are a couple of pages left.
It is in Newzik. Print it out and put it in your binder.

Musicianship

5. 🟪 RCM Online Ear Training

THIS WEEK: Same assignment. Melody playbacks only.

⏱ Max 8 minutes per practice session.

Done for the week after 3 sessions.

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
You do not have to go as fast as the examiner plays. Right notes beat the right rhythm here.
When you hit a wrong note, pause, work out where it goes, then play it.
After the third session the button appears and the assignment comes off your list.

6. 🟩 Piano Adventures Sightreading Book, Level 3A (Faber)

THIS WEEK: Pages 74 to 80. One page a day.

Practice type: Learning.

Pages 68 to 74 are done.
You move on from a page when you can play it through with no mistakes: notes, rhythm and expression, all of it.
Press Done for the Week after page 80.

7. 🟪 Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests, Level 4 (Berlin and Markow)

THIS WEEK: Same assignment. Set 10, one day of the set per practice session.

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Sets 8 and 9 are done.
6/8 is compound meter. Two beats in the bar, three eighth notes inside each beat, three plus three.
Press Done for the Week when the set is done.

Repertoire

8. 🟩 Ballade in C minor, Op. 100 No. 15, from 25 Études faciles et progressives (Burgmüller), mm. 3-4

THIS WEEK: Close-loud in measures 3 and 4. No sprint practice this week.

RCM Level 4, Etude 1.

Left hand alone first, close-loud on each one.
Then add the right hand in soft chords. That coordination is the job.
The wrist popping forward is much better this week. Keep it.
Take more time before the fast notes so you can play them faster, cleaner and tidier.
If three in a row come out untidy, slow down, then speed back up.
The only thing missing now is the diminuendo in mm. 89 and 90.

9. 🟩 Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 (Anonymous)

THIS WEEK: Hands alone, slower. Every single quarter note stickier.

RCM Level 4, List A · from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach.

Practice type: Review.

No faster than m.m. 66 per quarter note, hands alone.

Sticky, not staccato.
Slow and medium tempo is the best kind of review practice. Fast review is how a piece rusts away without you noticing.
It sounds like you are running through it. Slow it down.
The three gentle slow-downs are still there: end of m. 4 into m. 5, the first ending at mm. 5-8, and the first ending at m. 16.

10. 🟩 Masquerade, from Fancy-Free (Niamath)

THIS WEEK: Close-loud and accent practice on the ascending arpeggios, hands together.

RCM Level 4, Etude 2.

Hands together is what makes the accent practice tricky. That is the point.
The sound is uneven: some notes ghost, some sit above the others. Close-loud and accents are the tools for uneven sound, not the speed ones.
Start the arpeggios from the movement, without an accent on the first note.
Play the first four measures as if an examiner is listening.

11. 🟩 Sonatina in G major, Op. 36 No. 2, III. Allegro (Clementi)

THIS WEEK: Same sections. Set the metronome to the eighth note this time.

RCM Level 4, List B.

m.m. 152 per eighth note.

One click per measure was too hard to hold. Per eighth note will pull you back into the tempo instead.
Listen to the clicks first and internalize them before you play.
The upper note is the downbeat.
Your tempo is cleaner and you are not rushing as much. Keep going until the metronome stops pulling you back.

12. 🟩 Fröhlicher Landmann, von der Arbeit zurückkehrend (The Happy Farmer), Op. 68 No. 10 (Schumann)

THIS WEEK: Right hand alone and left hand alone, with a speed limit.

RCM Level 4, List C · from Album für die Jugend.

No faster than m.m. 66 per quarter note.

Hands apart as review keeps it solid in your ear. It means much less work in the couple of weeks before the exam.
Play it like you are showing someone how good the piece is. It is your favorite.
Happy face the whole way through.

13. 🟩 Joyous Etude (Bober), mm. 14-16

THIS WEEK: Measures 14, 15 and 16. The dynamics and the pedal markings in pencil.

RCM Level 5, Etude.

🎥 Joyous Etude, mm. 13-17 https://youtube.com/shorts/8DfFQK03W6s

I wrote the dynamics in. Follow what is on the page.
Start piano, then come up.
Hold the pedal for the first two beats only, not the whole measure.
The rhythm is much better.
Keep playing along with the video.

14. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 (Kabalevsky)

THIS WEEK: Two to four measures at a time, with the metronome. Exaggerate everything.

RCM Level 5, Etude.

m.m. 46 per quarter note.

🎥 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 https://youtube.com/shorts/rSf4RxRNgJY

Exaggerate the dynamics, the articulation and the wrist movements. More than you think you should.
Your staccato is a little lazy. Come further up off the key than you need to; training the hand that way is what lets you keep it when the tempo goes up.
The crescendo is bigger than the page asks for. Do it anyway.
The whole point of the etude is the wrist: staccato against legato.
Fixing this at a faster tempo once it is in your muscle memory is painful. Get it all at the slow tempo first.

Setup

15. 🟧 Binder dividers

Dividers for your three ring binder. I am bringing them.

Level 4 Exam Program

Your program is in the practice guide, under Royal Conservatory of Music.

Exam session: November 28 to December 10.

Joyous Etude and the Kabalevsky Prelude are Level 5 etudes, so they stay out of the Level 4 program and out of that list.

When You First Sit Down

Do that before you practice this week. It is how the keyboard gets into your hands as well as your eyes.

Review Pieces

Level 2

List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733), from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1, II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945), from Mikrokosmos
Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
Etude 2: L'Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2, by Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller (1806-1874)
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27, by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (L. 2, C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (L. 2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (L. 2, B)

Level 1 and Preparatory

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep. B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep. B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4, by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What's That Noise? by Martha Mier (b. 1936) (L. A)

Seasonal

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean
O Christmas Tree, Traditional

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.
“Spot” until it's solid — ✅ 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?

October 14, 2026 (4 of 8)

October 15, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

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 Guide below. It writes your practice down for you, no comments needed.

Tap the first assignment on your list.
The timer starts by itself. Read it and practice.
When you are finished, press Done. It saves your time and opens the next one.
Need to stop for a minute? Press Pause.

Lost? Press My Assignment List at the top to go back.

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

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the Section-Work colors? They are in Practice Tools. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

Log every practice session from today. Official tracking starts Monday, October 19, the Monday after our first group class. Logging now is how we get the kinks out.

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

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟩 Technical Requirements for Piano, Level 4 (RCM), B-flat major arpeggio, hands separately

THIS WEEK: B-flat major arpeggio, right hand and left hand. Correct notes and fingering.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering.

What you played today was a G minor arpeggio in second inversion. Check the music before you play.
The B-flat major arpeggio starts on finger 4: four, two, one.
When you cross under you do not have to hold on. Letting go is fine if the stretch is big.
Two octaves.
Everything has to be memorized for the exam.
Exam session: November 28 to December 10.

2. 🟩 Technical Requirements for Piano, Level 4 (RCM), E-flat major arpeggio, left hand

THIS WEEK: E-flat major arpeggio, left hand. Connect it.

More time on the cross, so it joins up instead of breaking.
Two octaves.
The right hand was much smoother once you connected it. Do the same thing with the left.

3. 🟩 Technical Requirements for Piano, Level 4 (RCM), broken chords

THIS WEEK: All of the broken chord items.

All of them, not a selection.
Check your finger numbers against the music on every one. That is where today's went wrong.

Theory

4. 🟩 Celebrate Theory, Level 5, Unit 2 (RCM)

THIS WEEK: Unit 2. Do as much as you can in the time.

⏱ Max 7 minutes per practice session.

Unit 1 is finished.
It is in Newzik. Print it out and put it in your binder.
Stem direction: below the middle line the stem goes up on the right side, above it the stem goes down, and on the middle line you choose.
An enharmonic equivalent is one sound with two names. C sharp and D flat.

Musicianship

5. 🟩 RCM Online Ear Training

THIS WEEK: Same assignment. Melody playbacks only.

⏱ Max 8 minutes per practice session.

Done for the week after 3 sessions.

You do not have to go as fast as the examiner plays. Right notes beat the right rhythm here.
When you hit a wrong note, pause, work out where it goes, then play it. That is exactly what you did today and it is the way to do it.
After the third session the button appears and the assignment comes off your list.

6. 🟩 Piano Adventures Sightreading Book, Level 3A (Faber)

THIS WEEK: Pages 68 to 74. One page a day.

Practice type: Learning.

Page 67 is done.
You move on from a page when you can play it through with no mistakes: notes, rhythm and expression, all of it.
Press Done for the Week after page 74.

7. 🟩 Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests, Level 4 (Berlin and Markow)

THIS WEEK: Set 10, one day of the set per practice session.

Sets 8 and 9 are done.
6/8 is compound meter. Two beats in the bar, three eighth notes inside each beat, three plus three.
Press Done for the Week when the set is done.

Repertoire

8. 🟪 Ballade in C minor, Op. 100 No. 15, from 25 Études faciles et progressives (Burgmüller)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Same sprint practice, with the wrist popping forward on every long note.

RCM Level 4, Etude 1

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Two rules, every time. Start each new pattern slowly to check your position, then speed up. And the wrist pops forward the instant you press the long note.
Don't pause and then play the long note. Know what you are going to do, then do it.
Round, curved fingers on all of it.
Ask Mama to watch one session so she knows the rules too.

[INSERT SPRINT PRACTICE IMAGE]

9. 🟪 Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 (Anonymous)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Hands alone.

RCM Level 4, List A · from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

Practice type: Review.

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
You are starting to forget it a little. Hands alone is how we maintain it.
The three gentle slow-downs are still there: end of m. 4 into m. 5, the first ending at mm. 5-8, and the first ending at m. 16.
Gentle means quieter and a tiny bit slower at the end of a phrase. Settling into a chair, not braking.

10. 🟩 Masquerade, from Fancy-Free (Niamath)

THIS WEEK: Fix all the black pen, and play once through per practice session, hands alone.

NFPER focus: expression.

RCM Level 4, Etude 2

The expression is the job: beats 2 and 3 of the left hand accompaniment softer, so beat 1 comes out on its own.
That does not mean playing the bottom note louder. It means playing the other two quieter.
Don't hammer beat 1 either. It should settle, not land.
Right hand in mm. 6 and 7: both notes staccato and both softer. That is the end of the phrase, so it softens.
Don't speed up at m. 17.
Hands alone is maintenance, so that you are not playing it through every time.
Your articulation and pedal are going to score well. Consistent expression is the last hurdle.

11. 🟩 Sonatina in G major, Op. 36 No. 2, III. Allegro (Clementi)

THIS WEEK: Find every place the main theme comes back. Start four measures before it and keep going four measures after, with the metronome.

m.m. 50, one click per downbeat.

RCM Level 4, List B

Find the return points yourself. There are three of them.
The problem is steadiness, not notes. You speed up every single time the main theme comes back, and that is what the metronome is there to catch.
Before you begin, hands in your lap, think your sixteenth notes and decide how fast they go. That is your tempo. Then start.
This is the longest piece you have learned. Recital practice comes after the steadiness is fixed, not before.

12. 🟪 Fröhlicher Landmann, von der Arbeit zurückkehrend (The Happy Farmer), Op. 68 No. 10 (Schumann)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Video-record yourself playing it, then watch it back and judge your own movements.

RCM Level 4, List C · from Album für die Jugend

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Play it through once exaggerating your movements. Then again smaller.
Then record, watch, and you be the judge of which places look and sound right.
Watching it back is the whole assignment.

13. 🟪 Joyous Etude (Bober), mm. 13-17

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Play along with the video. Measures 13 to 17, and measure 15 is the one.

RCM Level 5, Etude

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Be able to play it along with the video by your next lesson.
The whole focus is m. 15. Get the timing right there.
Treat the descending sixteenths as one gesture, together.

🎥 Joyous Etude, mm. 13-17 https://youtube.com/shorts/8DfFQK03W6s

14. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 (Kabalevsky)

THIS WEEK: The entire piece, one measure at a time, hands together. Expression is the focus.

NFPER focus: expression.

RCM Level 5, Etude

One measure at a time, as slowly as you need to play the expression perfectly. If you do not reach the end of the piece, that is fine. Do as much as you can.
Don't worry about speed or steadiness. The rhythm of the notes still has to be right.
Measure 3 has very specific articulation and we have talked about it twice now. Go slow enough to play it correctly.
B-flats, not B-naturals, in m. 7 and m. 11. They are in the key signature.
The left hand is second banana. Think of a string instrument going back and forth in the background while the right hand does all the expressive work.
m. 9 is where it gets really intense and strong.
mm. 17 to the end: check what kind of rests those are before you play them, and count the last two measures out.
m. 17 is a descending G minor scale. You know that scale. Use your scale technique instead of starting from nothing, and watch the wrist dropping on the cross.

Setup

15. 🟧 Binder dividers

Dividers for your three ring binder. I am bringing them.

Level 4 Exam Program

Your program is in the practice guide, under Royal Conservatory of Music.

Joyous Etude and the Kabalevsky Prelude are Level 5 etudes, so they stay out of the Level 4 program and out of that list.

When You First Sit Down

Do that before you practice this week. It is how the keyboard gets into your hands as well as your eyes.

Review Pieces

Level 2

List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733), from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1, II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945), from Mikrokosmos
Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
Etude 2: L'Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2, by Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller (1806-1874)
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27, by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (L. 2, C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (L. 2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (L. 2, B)

Level 1 and Preparatory

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep. B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep. B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4, by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What's That Noise? by Martha Mier (b. 1936) (L. A)

Seasonal

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean
O Christmas Tree, Traditional

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.
“Spot” until it's solid — ✅ 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?

October 7, 2026 (3 of 8)

October 8, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

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 Guide below. It logs your practice for you, no comments needed.

Press Start from # whatever number it shows. It picks up where you stopped last time.
Press Start, read the assignment, practice.
When you are finished, press Done.
Press Next practice item and go again.

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

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list. Technique and repertoire don't have one; those are every day.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the Section-Work colors? They are in Practice Tools. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

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

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

Log every practice session from today. Official tracking starts Monday, October 19, the Monday after our first group class. Logging now is how we get the kinks out.

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

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟨 Technical Requirements for Piano, Level 4 (RCM)

THIS WEEK: Same as last week. Notes, fingering and accent practice on the four arpeggios.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering.

Yellow this week because the accent practice did not happen and the fingering was off.
B-flat major, G minor, E-flat major, C minor. Two octaves.
Double-check every fingering against the music. The B-flat major arpeggio starts on finger 4: four, two, one.
Accent practice: accent every other note, then switch and do the other one. Do it on the arpeggios, not only the chords.
The instructions are in your guide in big bold words. Look at them.
Everything has to be memorized for the exam.

Exam session: November 28 to December 10.

Theory

2. 🟩 Celebrate Theory, Level 5, Unit 1 (RCM)

THIS WEEK: Unit 1.

⏱ Max 6.5 minutes per practice session.

Level 4 Unit 8 is finished. This is the new book.
It is in Newzik. Print it out and put it in your binder.

Musicianship

3. 🟪 RCM Online Ear Training

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Melody playbacks only. Three sessions and you are done with these for good.

⏱ Max 8 minutes per practice session.

Done for the week after 3 sessions.

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Last week of playbacks.
After the third session the button appears and the assignment comes off your list.

4. 🟩 Piano Adventures Sightreading Book, Level 3A (Faber)

THIS WEEK: Pages 60 to 67. One page a day.

Practice type: Learning.

Page 59 is done. Double-check your rhythm in the first two measures of it.
You move on from a page when you can play it through with no mistakes: notes, rhythm and expression, all of it.
Press Done for the Week after page 67.

5. 🟪 Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests, Level 4 (Berlin and Markow)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Set 8, one day of the set per practice session.

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Press Done for the Week when the set is done.

6. 🟪 Note Reading Flashcards

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Work with a practice partner. Metronome at 60, two ticks per card.

Same assignment. One day last week is not enough; this one wants every day.
Jane Smisor Bastien cards, low C up to high C. Green rubber band only.
Two ticks per card: one to look, one to answer.
Correct cards in one pile, wrong or too slow in the other. Then work the wrong pile until it is all correct.
Sophie or Mama can do this with you.

Repertoire

7. 🟩 Ballade in C minor, Op. 100 No. 15, from 25 Études faciles et progressives (Burgmüller)

THIS WEEK: Same sprint practice, with the wrist popping forward on every long note.

RCM Level 4, Etude 1

Two rules, every time. Start each new pattern slowly to check your position, then speed up. And the wrist pops forward the instant you press the long note.
Don't pause and then play the long note. Know what you are going to do, then do it.
Round, curved fingers on all of it.
Four days last week. That is why it was the fastest and cleanest I have heard it. Keep that up.
Ask Mama to watch one session so she knows the rules too.

[INSERT SPRINT PRACTICE IMAGE]

8. 🟩 Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 (Anonymous)

THIS WEEK: Hands alone this week.

RCM Level 4, List A · from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

Practice type: Review.

You are starting to forget it a little. Hands alone is how we maintain it.
The three gentle slow-downs are still there: end of m. 4 into m. 5, the first ending at mm. 5-8, and the first ending at m. 16.
Gentle means quieter and a tiny bit slower at the end of a phrase. Settling into a chair, not braking.

9. 🟪 Masquerade, from Fancy-Free (Niamath)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Four spots: m. 8, m. 28, and the pedal and staccato in m. 32.

⏱ Max 5 minutes per practice session.

RCM Level 4, Etude 2

m. 8. Don't cut beat 3 off. Full beats in the measure.
m. 28. Hold the fermata before you resume at m. 29.
m. 32. Change the pedal on the downbeat, and both right-hand chords are staccato.

10. 🟪 Sonatina in G major, Op. 36 No. 2, III. Allegro (Clementi)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Audio-record one play-through, mark every uneven sixteenth-note passage, then spot those passages.

⏱ Max 10 minutes per practice session.

RCM Level 4, List B

We will start this properly next time. Same assignment until then.
Record once, listen back for the sixteenths only, mark every group that is uneven.
Then take one spot and use a tool: accent every other note, rhythms in twos, or rhythms in threes.

11. 🟨 Fröhlicher Landmann, von der Arbeit zurückkehrend (The Happy Farmer), Op. 68 No. 10 (Schumann)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Video-record yourself playing it, then watch it back and judge your own movements.

RCM Level 4, List C · from Album für die Jugend

Yellow this week. You recorded it and deleted it before watching it back, and watching it back is the whole assignment.
Play it through once exaggerating your movements. Then again smaller.
Then record, watch, and you be the judge of which places look and sound right.

12. 🟩 Joyous Etude (Bober), mm. 13-17

THIS WEEK: Play along with the video. Measures 13 to 17, and measure 15 is the one.

RCM Level 5, Etude

Be able to play it along with the video by your next lesson.
The whole focus is m. 15. Get the timing right there.
mm. 11-12 and the last measure are both solid now. Nice and clean, hands together.
Treat the descending sixteenths as one gesture, together.

🎥 Joyous Etude, mm. 13-17 https://youtube.com/shorts/8DfFQK03W6s

13. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 (Kabalevsky), right hand, mm. 1-12

THIS WEEK: Right hand, measures 1 to 12. Expression is the focus.

NFPER focus: expression.

RCM Level 5, Etude

The three-note slurs have to connect as three, not as two.
Every staccato note placed exactly where it is written. You are connecting through rests in places.
Measure 3 has very specific articulation. Go slow enough to play it correctly.
Clap the rhythm first, then match your fingers to what you clapped.

14. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 (Kabalevsky), hands alone, mm. 13-20

THIS WEEK: Hands alone, measures 13 to 20.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering, position, expression.

RCM Level 5, Etude

Especially expression.
This will be really hard to put hands together if you cannot do it hands alone correctly. That is what makes it an etude.

Setup

15. 🟧 Binder dividers

Dividers for your three ring binder. I am bringing them.

Level 4 Exam Program

Your program is in the practice guide, under Royal Conservatory of Music.

Joyous Etude and the Kabalevsky Prelude are Level 5 etudes, so they stay out of the Level 4 program and out of that list.

Review Pieces

Level 2

List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733), from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1, II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945), from Mikrokosmos

Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce

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

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27, by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)

💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (L. 2, C)

💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (L. 2, A)

💚Rhyme Time (L. 2, B)

Level 1 and Preparatory

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)

💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)

💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)

💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)

💚Celebration by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (L. 1, Etude)

💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep. B)

💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep. B)

💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4, by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)

💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)

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

Seasonal

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

O Christmas Tree, Traditional

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small "spot" section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.
"Spot" until it's solid — ✅ 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?

September 30, 2026 (2 of 8)

October 1, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

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 Guide below. It logs your practice for you, no comments needed.

Press Start from # whatever number it shows. It picks up where you stopped last time.
Press Start, read the assignment, practice.
When you are finished, press Done.
Press Next practice item and go again.

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

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list. Technique and repertoire don't have one; those are every day.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the Section-Work colors? They are in Practice Tools. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

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

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

Log every practice session from today. Official tracking starts Monday, October 19, the Monday after our first group class. Logging now is how we get the kinks out.

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

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟩 RCM Technique, Level 4

THIS WEEK: The four new arpeggios: B-flat major, G minor, E-flat major, C minor. Notes and fingering, with accent practice.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering.

Practice type: Learning.

Arpeggios as written: B-flat major, G minor, E-flat major, C minor.
Accent practice: accent every other note, then switch and do the other one.
Notes and fingering only this week. Everything else is blocked out on the tool.
Two octaves. Look at the music, the fingering is printed there.
Do the accent practice on the arpeggios too, not only the chords. They are new and they need the extra work.
Your broken chords need two octaves, not one. That is where the stumbles were coming from.
Tuck under and let go. Don't twist, and don't hold on to notes you can release.
Everything has to be memorized for the exam. If I ask for a formula pattern, play it without the music.

Exam session: November 28 to December 10.

Theory

2. 🟨 Theory 4, Unit 8

THIS WEEK: Memorize all of the music terms and signs on pages 86 and 87. There is a test next week.

⏱ Max 3 minutes per practice session.

Practice type: Memorizing.

Pages 86 and 87. Review the terms and the signs.
You had presto and accelerando today. Prestissimo, mano destra and tempo primo need another look.

Musicianship

3. 🟪 RCM Online Ear Training

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Melody playbacks only. Three sessions and you are done with these for good.

⏱ Max 8 minutes per practice session.

Done for the week after 3 sessions.

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Last week of playbacks.
After the third session the button appears and the assignment comes off your list.

4. 🟩 PA Sightreading, Level 3A

THIS WEEK: Pages 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61. One page a day.

Practice type: Learning.

You move on from a page when you can play it through with no mistakes: notes, rhythm and expression, all of it.
Do it as many times as that takes.
Press Done for the Week after the fifth page.

5. 🟪 Four Star, Level 4

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Set 8, one day of the set per practice session.

Practice type: Learning.

We did not get to it. Same assignment.
Set 7 is finished.
Press Done for the Week when the set is done.

6. 🟩 Note Reading Flashcards

THIS WEEK: Work with a practice partner. Metronome at 60, two ticks per card.

Jane Smisor Bastien cards, low C up to high C. Green rubber band only.
Set the metronome to 60. Two ticks per card: one to look, one to answer.
Your partner holds the cards and you say the note.
Correct cards in one pile. Wrong, or too slow, in the other pile.
Then pick up the wrong pile and work through it until it is all correct.
Too slow counts as wrong, and there is no pausing. Let it go and keep moving.
Sophie or Mama can do this with you.

Repertoire

7. 🟩 Ballade in C minor, Op. 100 No. 15, from 25 Études faciles et progressives (Burgmüller)

THIS WEEK: Sprint practice. One long, then five short, then rotate which note is the long one.

RCM Level 4, Etude 1

Sprints are new. One long note, then five short ones, landing on the downbeat of the next measure.
Then rotate. The second note of the measure becomes the long one, then the third, and so on. Six rotations in all.
The long note is strong. The shorts are soft, light and fast.
Your fingers already have command of these notes. The two rhythm patterns and the alternating accents did that. Tell yourself you can do it.
Where you get stuck is the top of the ascent, on the high C. Think “switch direction” before you get there, not faster.
Left-hand thumb gets stuck at the top because you are holding it down. Let it go.
Use the paper copy I made you until the picture below is in here.

[INSERT SPRINT PRACTICE IMAGE]

8. 🟪 Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 (Anonymous)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Mark the three places we slow down gently, and practice easing the tempo at each one.

⏱ Max 6 minutes per practice session.

Practice type: Polishing.

RCM Level 4, List A · from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

The three spots

End of m. 4, into m. 5. Slow gently and take a slight breath before m. 5.
First ending, mm. 5-8. Gentle slow down at the very end of m. 8.
First ending at m. 16. Gentle ease at the end.

What gentle means

Quieter and a tiny bit slower at the end of a phrase. Not a brake.
It should sound like settling into a chair, not like stopping.
Don't speed up when you get louder.

Also: try the exaggerated-movement work from Happy Farmer on this piece.

9. 🟪 Masquerade, from Fancy-Free (Niamath)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Four spots: m. 8, m. 28, and the pedal and staccato in m. 32.

⏱ Max 5 minutes per practice session.

RCM Level 4, Etude 2

m. 8. Don't cut beat 3 off. Full beats in the measure. The meter doesn't change.
m. 28. Hold the fermata before you resume at m. 29.
m. 32. Change the pedal on the downbeat.
m. 32. Both right-hand chords are staccato.

Next lesson: memorization techniques for this piece. You are close to having it memorized.

10. 🟪 Sonatina in G major, Op. 36 No. 2, III. Allegro (Clementi)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Audio-record one play-through, mark every uneven sixteenth-note passage, then spot those passages.

⏱ Max 10 minutes per practice session.

RCM Level 4, List B

Record yourself once. The recorder is in Practice Tools inside the assignment.
Listen back for the sixteenths only. Mark every group that is uneven or mushy.
Then take one of those spots and use a tool: accent every other note, rhythms in twos, or rhythms in threes.
Rotate through the spots for the rest of the ten minutes. Only where it needs it, not the whole piece.
mm. 1-2 and mm. 5-6: crisp triads, not mushy.

11. 🟪 The Happy Farmer, Op. 68 No. 10 (Schumann)

THIS WEEK: Nothing new. Video-record yourself playing it, then watch it back and judge your own movements.

RCM Level 4, List C · from Album für die Jugend

Play it through once exaggerating your movements. Be weird about it.
Play it again smaller, and find the places where the music actually asks you to move.
Then record a video and watch it. You be the judge of which places look and sound right.
Avoid collapsing forward and down.

12. 🟨 Joyous Etude (Bober), mm. 11-12

THIS WEEK: Speed build from 60 to 84. Three correct in a row, or five correct in total, at each speed.

Speed building: 60 to 84.

Practice type: Spotting.

RCM Level 5, Etude

The left-hand downbeat in m. 12 is an eighth note, then three sixteenths. Eight, sixteen, sixteen, sixteen. Plum, apple, apple, apple.
Establish the beat in your head before you play that downbeat. That is the only thing going wrong.
The right hand has to come in in the right spot. It came in early every time.
Then add the measure before it and do the same thing.
Watch the video for this one and play along with it.

🎥 Joyous Etude, mm. 11-12 https://youtube.com/shorts/L0H_SvAh4vE

13. 🟨 Joyous Etude (Bober), the last measure

THIS WEEK: Fix the fingering in the very last measure of the piece.

NFPER focus: fingering.

Practice type: Spotting.

RCM Level 5, Etude

Fingering only. Nothing else to fix there.
You had a bad habit of tension right at that spot. Start low, then pop up.
Think more from the G.

14. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 (Kabalevsky), mm. 1-4

THIS WEEK: Learn mm. 1-4, hands alone.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering, position, expression.

Practice type: Learning.

RCM Level 5, Etude

Brand new piece. Celebration Series Piano Etudes, Level 5, page 4.
Photocopy page 4 twice. One copy in your three ring binder, one kept clean.
Hands alone this week.
It goes back and forth between staccato and legato between the hands. That is the whole challenge of the piece.
The descending scales are where it gets messy. Slow them down.

15. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 (Kabalevsky), mm. 5-8

THIS WEEK: Same as mm. 1-4, now for mm. 5-8.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering, position, expression.

Practice type: Learning.

RCM Level 5, Etude

Exactly the same assignment as mm. 1-4. Hands alone.

16. 🟩 Prelude, Op. 39 No. 19 (Kabalevsky), mm. 9-12

THIS WEEK: Same as mm. 1-4, now for mm. 9-12.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering, position, expression.

Practice type: Learning.

RCM Level 5, Etude

Exactly the same assignment as the previous two. Hands alone.

Setup

17. 🟧 Binder dividers

Dividers for your three ring binder. I'm bringing them next lesson.

Level 4 Exam Program

Your program is in the practice guide, under Royal Conservatory of Music.

Joyous Etude and the Kabalevsky Prelude are Level 5 etudes, so they stay out of the Level 4 program and out of that list.

Review Pieces

Level 2

List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733), from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1, II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945), from Mikrokosmos

Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce

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

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27, by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)

💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (L. 2, C)

💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (L. 2, A)

💚Rhyme Time (L. 2, B)

Level 1 and Preparatory

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)

💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)

💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)

💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)

💚Celebration by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (L. 1, Etude)

💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep. B)

💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep. B)

💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4, by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)

💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)

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

Seasonal

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

O Christmas Tree, Traditional

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small "spot" section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.
"Spot" until it's solid — ✅ 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?

September 23, 2026 (1 of 8)

September 24, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

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 Guide below. It logs your practice for you — no comments needed.

Press Start from # whatever number it shows. It picks up where you stopped last time.
Press Start, read the assignment, practice.
Tap the kind of practice, then press Done.
Press Next practice item and go again.

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

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list. Technique and repertoire don't have one; those are every day.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the NFPER colors? They are in Practice Tools, right under the practice types. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

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

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

Log every practice session from today. The competition starts October 1 — practicing and logging now is how we get the kinks out.

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

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟩 RCM Technique, Level 4

THIS WEEK: Accent practice on the E-flat major and C minor broken chords, and learn the notes and fingering for the D major, B minor and A major arpeggios.

⏱ Max 7 minutes per practice session.

Print your technique pages. All of them, so you have the fingering in front of you.

Chords, accent practice

Accent every other note. Two modes: accent-weak, then weak-accent.
E-flat major broken chord and C minor broken chord.
Close-loud on these too.

Arpeggios, new

D major, B minor, A major. Notes and fingering only this week.
Two octaves. Instead of going to first inversion, play the tonic again, then back down.
Look at the music. The fingering is printed there.
Tuck under and let go. Don't twist, and don't hold on to notes you can release.

Everything has to be memorized for the exam. If I ask for a formula pattern, play it without the music.

Exam session: November 28 to December 10.

Theory

2. 🟪 Theory 4, Unit 8

THIS WEEK: Find Unit 8, get it into your binder, and review it so it is fresh. I may quiz you.

⏱ Max 3 minutes per practice session.

Unit 8 is written and finishes the level. I still haven't checked it.
Bring it ready to go next lesson.

Musicianship

3. 🟩 RCM Online Ear Training

THIS WEEK: Melody playbacks only. Three sessions and you are done with these for good.

⏱ Max 8 minutes per practice session.

Done for the week after 3 sessions

Last week of playbacks.
After the third session the button appears and the assignment comes off your list.

4. 🟩 PA Sightreading, Level 3A

THIS WEEK: Pages 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57. One page a day.

No time cap.

You move on from a page when you can play it through with no mistakes: notes, rhythm and expression, all of NFPER.
Do it as many times as that takes.
Press Done for the Week after the fifth page.

5. 🟩 Four Star, Level 4

THIS WEEK: Set 8. One day of the set per practice session.

Practice type: Learning.

No time cap.

Set 7 is finished.
Press Done for the Week when the set is done.

6. 🟩 Note Reading Flashcards

THIS WEEK: Five rounds of 10 cards per session. Same as last week.

No time cap.

Jane Smisor Bastien cards, low C up to high C. Green rubber band only.
Shuffle and lay out 10 cards without looking at them.
Head down, good hand position.
Left to right: say the note and play it, as fast as you can.
Shuffle and repeat. Five rounds.

Nine cards in 18 seconds today. We'll talk next lesson about where this goes next.

Repertoire

7. 🟩 Ballade in C minor, Op. 100 No. 15, from 25 Études faciles et progressives (Burgmüller)

THIS WEEK: Rhythm practice on mm. 87-90: three shorts and two longs. Rotate through every mode until the timer goes off.

⏱ Max 6 minutes per practice session.

RCM Level 4, Etude

Long notes are close-loud: from the key, strong attack, immediate release, forward wrist. Hang on the long note a little longer than feels natural, to prepare the next burst.
Short notes as fast, as light and as soft as you can. Tidy attacks.
Look at the music while you do it, and think about where you are going to land before you go.
If it comes out mushy, do it again. If it stays mushy, slow it down.
By the end of six minutes your fingers should feel worked.

[INSERT RHYTHM PATTERNS LONG SHORT IMAGE]

Do one of these sessions with Mama watching. This one has to be done a certain way to be worth anything, so check in with her once early in the week rather than practicing it wrong all week.

Carried over

Right-hand thumb: on a close-loud thumb note your wrist drops. Pop it forward instead.
mm. 2-3: start in motion, not from still. Drop into the key with the left hand in m. 3, lift to the top of the fallboard, repeat m. 2, drop into m. 3 again.
The crescendo: it is marked, but stay soft longer first. Don't arrive loud on the crescendo measure.
mm. 5-6: you sped up. Slow 5 and 6 to match the opening, not the other way round.
C minor triads in the right hand stay crisp, not mushy.

8. 🟩 Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 (Anonymous)

THIS WEEK: Mark the three places we slow down gently, and practice easing the tempo at each one.

⏱ Max 6 minutes per practice session.

Practice type: Polishing.

RCM Level 4, List A · from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

The three spots

End of m. 4, into m. 5. Slow gently and take a slight breath before m. 5.
First ending, mm. 5-8. Gentle slow down at the very end of m. 8.
First ending at m. 16. Gentle ease at the end.

What gentle means

Quieter and a tiny bit slower at the end of a phrase. Not a brake.
It should sound like settling into a chair, not like stopping.
Don't speed up when you get louder.

Also: try the exaggerated-movement work from Happy Farmer on this piece.

9. 🟩 Masquerade, from Fancy-Free (Niamath)

THIS WEEK: Four spots: m. 8, m. 28, and the pedal and staccato in m. 32.

⏱ Max 5 minutes per practice session.

RCM Level 4, Etude

m. 8. Don't cut beat 3 off. Full beats in the measure. The meter doesn't change.
m. 28. Hold the fermata before you resume at m. 29.
m. 32. Change the pedal on the downbeat.
m. 32. Both right-hand chords are staccato.

Your ending is much improved.

Next lesson: memorization techniques for this piece. You are close to having it memorized.

10. 🟩 Sonatina in G major, Op. 36 No. 2, III. Allegro (Clementi)

THIS WEEK: Audio-record one play-through, mark every uneven sixteenth-note passage, then spot those passages.

⏱ Max 10 minutes per practice session.

RCM Level 4, List B

Record yourself once. The recorder is in Practice Tools inside the assignment.
Listen back for the sixteenths only. Mark every group that is uneven or mushy.
Then take one of those spots and use a tool: accent every other note, rhythms in twos, or rhythms in threes.
Rotate through the spots for the rest of the ten minutes. Only where it needs it, not the whole piece.
mm. 1-2 and mm. 5-6: crisp triads, not mushy.

11. 🟩 The Happy Farmer, Op. 68 No. 10 (Schumann)

THIS WEEK: Video-record yourself playing it, then watch it back and judge your own movements.

No time cap.

RCM Level 4, List C · from Album für die Jugend

Play it through once exaggerating your movements. Be weird about it.
Play it again smaller, and find the places where the music actually asks you to move.
Then record a video and watch it. You be the judge of which places look and sound right.
Avoid collapsing forward and down.

What you did today worked. The expression sounded natural, the upper notes came forward and the inner notes softened on their own, and it didn't look like you were trying. If it feels a little awkward, that is probably right.

12. 🟪 Joyous Etude (Bober)

THIS WEEK: Nothing. We didn't get to it, so we start with it next lesson.

No time cap.

RCM Level 5, Etude

mm. 24, 25, 26. Lift the right hand at the end of each slur for breath.
m. 12. The left-hand downbeat is an eighth note, not a sixteenth.
m. 15. Right hand too fast. It's duple against triple.
m. 29. Don't rush the last two eighth notes.

13. ⬛️ Level 5 Etude

I'll bring you one next lesson. Nothing to practice yet.

Level 4 Exam Program

List A — Minuet in D Minor, BWV Anh. 132

List B — Sonatina in G Major, Op. 36, No. 2, third movement, Clementi

List C — The Happy Farmer, Op. 68, No. 10, Schumann

Etude 1 — Ballade, Op. 100, No. 15, Burgmüller

Etude 2 — Masquerade, Niamath

Joyous Etude is a Level 5 etude, so it stays out of the Level 4 program.

Review Pieces

Level 2

List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733), from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1, II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945), from Mikrokosmos

Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce

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

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27, by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)

💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (L. 2, C)

💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (L. 2, A)

💚Rhyme Time (L. 2, B)

Level 1 and Preparatory

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)

💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)

💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)

💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)

💚Celebration by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (L. 1, Etude)

💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep. B)

💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep. B)

💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4, by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)

💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)

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

Seasonal

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

O Christmas Tree, Traditional

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small "spot" section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.
"Spot" until it's solid — ✅ 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?

September 16, 2026 (8 of 8)

September 17, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

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 Guide below. It logs your practice for you — no comments needed.

Press Start from # whatever number it shows. It picks up where you stopped last time.
Press Start, read the assignment, practice.
Tap the kind of practice, then press Done.
Press Next practice item and go again.

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

Need the metronome, a recorder or the NFPER colors? They are in Practice Tools, right under the practice types. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

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

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]

This week: 351 minutes over 8 days, and nothing on the list went unpracticed. Great consistency, except both Tuesdays. The RCM online got the least: 10 minutes over 2 days, when it's a three-day assignment.

Technique

1. 🟩 RCM Technique, Level 4

⏱ 5 minutes per day.

You're through page 13 and the solid and broken chords. Now do all of the chords, including the ones that look too hard. Bring me those.
Arpeggios: we start them next lesson. Leave them for now.
Everything has to be memorized for the exam. If I ask for a formula pattern, play it without the music.
Track it on page 6 with the writing tool: check off each item as you do it, then erase and start again.

Exam session: November 28 to December 10.

Theory

2. 🟪 Theory 4, Unit 8

Unit 8 is done, which finishes the level. We didn't check it today, so bring it next lesson and we'll go through it together.

Musicianship

3. 🟩 RCM Online Ear Training

⏱ Three days a week, max 10 minutes per session.

Get all three days in. Melody playbacks only, and this is now the only place they live. Your clap-backs and playbacks are both getting better.

4. 🟩 PA Sightreading, Level 3A

⏱ One per session.

Pages 47-52. Splitting a two-day page across two days is exactly right.

5. 🟩 Four Star, Level 4

⏱ One day of the set per session.

Set 6 is done. Move on to Set 7.

6. 🟩 Note Reading Flashcards

⏱ 5 rounds of 10 cards per session.

The YouTube video comes off the list — your reading today was clearly better. We're using the Jane Smisor Bastien cards I left with you, low C up to high C.

Shuffle and lay out 10 cards without looking at them.
Head down, good hand position.
Left to right: say the note and play it, as fast as you can.
Shuffle and repeat. Five rounds.

Green rubber band only. Leave the red and blue sets aside.

Repertoire

7. 🟩 Ballade in C minor, Op. 100 No. 15, from 25 Études faciles et progressives (Burgmüller)

RCM Level 4, Etude

Your strong notes in the right-hand melody have real command in the approach now, and the sixteenth passages sound worked on.

Right-hand thumb

On a close-loud thumb note your wrist drops. Pop it forward instead. That's what was making those notes mushy. If it isn't tidy and fast, do it again before moving on.

mm. 2-3 technical exercise (new) — a few minutes a day

Start in motion, not from still. Still means tense before the first note.
Drop into the key with the left hand in m. 3. At the end of m. 3, lift to the top of the fallboard, repeat m. 2, drop into m. 3 again.
The lift is what keeps the wrist relaxed. Think "easy" on the drop.
Build speed until it's as fast as you can go with control. Lose control, slow down, push it back up.

mm. 87-90 rhythm work — three shorts, 3 to 5 minutes a day

Same idea, with an extra short note. Keep using your mother's highlighter system.

Long notes are close-loud: from the key, strong attack, immediate release, forward wrist. Short notes as fast and light as you can play them, and softer — that's the part still missing. Prepare before each long note, then go. It should feel like effort. If it feels easy, it's wrong.

[INSERT RHYTHM PATTERNS LONG SHORT IMAGE]

Tempo

mm. 5-6. You sped up. For now, slow 5 and 6 down to match the opening, not the other way round.
Imagine the sixteenths before you start, then set the eighths against them.
mm. 1-2. Left hand in your lap, drop into it first. Bring the hand up in m. 2, not at the last second.
C minor triads in the right hand stay crisp, not mushy. That's the tension in the piece.

8. 🟩 Sonatina in G major, Op. 36 No. 2, III. Allegro (Clementi)

RCM Level 4, List B · back on the list

⏱ Max 10 minutes per session.

This went missing off the blog, which is why you had no List B piece. You've already played it, so there's no new piece to learn and we can move toward Level 5 sooner.

Assignment: get it back in your fingers, hands together.

9. 🟩 The Happy Farmer, Op. 68 No. 10 (Schumann)

RCM Level 4, List C · from Album für die Jugend

Play it through once exaggerating your movements. Be weird about it.
Play it again with the movements smaller, and find the places where you actually want to move because the music asks for it.

What kind of happy farmer is this? Quirky, funny, sincere? Play it like an actor conveying that through your hands, body and face. When you moved a little today, your arms loosened on their own and the sound got better.

Avoid collapsing forward and down. That position wrecks your alignment.

Also: in motion from the start, tidy attacks, left hand commanding at the opening, right hand softer. Treat a run-through as a performance, no stopping for mistakes.

10. 🟩 Joyous Etude (Bober)

RCM Level 5, Etude

mm. 24, 25, 26. Lift the right hand at the end of each slur for breath. Two places per measure in 24 and 25.
m. 12. The left-hand downbeat is an eighth note, not a sixteenth. Count it.
m. 15. Right hand too fast, the whole measure. It's duple against triple. I'll bring you exercises for it.
m. 29. Don't rush the last two eighth notes, circled in yellow.
Play-through: beginning to end, no pausing, no going back to correct. Getting off between the left-hand eighths and right-hand sixteenths happens. Stay on the beat, fix it after.

11. 🟪 Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 (Anonymous)

RCM Level 4, List A · from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

Good work fixing the orange circle in m. 7. Keep thinking about an even pulse.

Spot the endings

First and second endings of each section, back to back, three times each — twelve repetitions in a session, around five minutes.

First section: start at m. 6, play the first ending, back into m. 1. Then from m. 6 again, second ending, on into m. 9.
Second section: start at m. 14, first ending, back into m. 9. Then from m. 14 again, play to the end.

12. 🟪 Masquerade, from Fancy-Free (Niamath)

RCM Level 4, Etude

m. 34 — do the fermata.
m. 35 — spot the first two beats in the left hand. Throw the hand up and land light and on time. Use the pedal. Left hand alone 3 times in a row correctly, then beats 1 and 2 hands together 3 times, then start at m. 34 and play through 36.
Not so loud there. It's a mezzo forte.
Pedal, mm. 32-34. Catch the bass note in m. 33 and again in m. 34. Don't put the chord down early.
m. 31 — left-hand arpeggio fingering 5, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1.

13. ⬛️ Level 5 Repertoire, List A

I'll bring the Level 5 books next lesson. Nothing to practice yet.

Level 4 Exam Program

List A — Minuet in D Minor, BWV Anh. 132
List B — Sonatina in G Major, Op. 36, No. 2, third movement, Clementi
List C — The Happy Farmer, Op. 68, No. 10, Schumann
Etude 1 — Ballade, Op. 100, No. 15, Burgmüller
Etude 2 — Masquerade, Niamath

Joyous Etude is a Level 5 etude, so it stays out of the Level 4 program.

Review Pieces

Level 2

List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733), from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1, II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945), from Mikrokosmos
Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
Etude 2: L'Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2, by Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller (1806-1874)
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27, by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (L. 2, C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (L. 2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (L. 2, B)

Level 1 and Preparatory

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep. B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep. B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4, by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What's That Noise? by Martha Mier (b. 1936) (L. A)

Seasonal

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean
O Christmas Tree, Traditional

Step-by-Step Practice Flow

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small "spot" section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.
"Spot" until it's solid — ✅ 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?

September 6, 2026 (7 of 8 in-person)

September 6, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

September 6, 2026 (7 of 8)

September 6, 2026 · in person

Log your notes during practice in the comment section of this post. Thank you for being so diligent with your logging this past week — you logged every single day, and it made this lesson much more useful.

Technique

🟨Level 4 RCM Technique

5 minutes per day.
Memorize every item. If I ask for the C minor harmonic formula pattern, you should be able to play it without the music. All of the technique has to be memorized for the exam — G minor melodic is one that needs work.
Keeping track: go to page 6 of the technical requirements and use the writing tool. Pick a color and check off each item on the table as you do it, so next time you know exactly where you are. Continue until you've been through the whole thing, then erase and start again.
Solid blocked chords — keep the wrists in motion always. D major is the hard one, because the thumbs land on black keys.

Dates. Registration: September 2. Exam session: November 28 – December 10.

Theory

🟩Theory Level 4: Unit 8

Unit 7 is finished and checked. Do Unit 8 — that finishes the level.
Self-check it first. When you fix an error, mark where you fixed it rather than quietly correcting it.

Musicianship

🟨RCM Musicianship Level 4 Online

Three days a week, no more than 10 minutes each session. That's about 30 minutes over the week — down from the five days you were doing.
Melody playbacks only. Stop doing the rhythm portion; melody is the focus. Put the time you get back into other areas of your practice.
Login: info@gledhillartscollective.com – dust2789

🟩Sight-Reading 3A

Complete pages 42 to 46.

🟩Four_Star_04_06

Set 5 is done. Move on to Set 6.

🟩Note Flash Cards — new

Your note reading has gone rusty, and at Level 5 we can't have that. 😇
I'll send you a link to an online set you can drill. Short and often is better than long and once.

Repertoire

🟩25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade, by Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller (1806-1874) (L. 4, Etude)

Real expression coming through now — I can hear that you worked phrase by phrase. About 13 minutes a day total on this one.

Expression

mm. 53–56. Do the diminuendo, and count three beats per measure — you suddenly sped up here. Make the diminuendo even bigger than feels natural; it adds a layer of suspense before the main theme returns at m. 57.
mm. 84–86. Keep these strong.
mm. 87–88. Also keep strong. You're making a decrescendo in m. 87 — it's musically nice, but it isn't what Burgmüller asks for, and it lets the tension go exactly where it should be building.
m. 30. Do the fermata, and don't get softer. Keep the drama.

Memorizing the ending — use your theory

The ending has been hard partly because it's been muscle memory. The piece is in C minor, and the last four measures are all tonic triads — the same chord, moving through different positions (root position C minor, and so on).
Naming the chord and the position gives you something to hold onto if you have a brain bump mid-performance. That's a practical use of the theory you like so much.
Assignment: memorize the key signatures of all of your pieces.

Rhythm work — a new technique

Rhythm work is for passages of successive eighth or sixteenth notes — any fast passage. You rotate where the long and short notes fall:

Pattern1long — long — short — short2long — short — short — long3short — short — long — long4short — long — long — short

The long notes are close-loud notes: from the key, strong attack, immediate release, forward wrist.
The short notes are as fast and as light as you can possibly play them — think of them as grace notes leading into the next long note. While you play them you are already thinking about where you're going to land.
Write L L S S under the notes in your music as a guide, and erase it later. Keep your eyes on the page so you don't lose your place — it's easy to get lost in the patterns.
Check yourself constantly: are the short notes really soft, light and fast? Is the landing really close-loud?

What this trains: independence of the fingers, sprinting from one hand position to another, and playing fast under control. The next step after this is sprint practice — point A to point B, first over two notes, then three, four, five, six. It's tedious, but it's what unlocks real speed.

You can use this anywhere — scales, arpeggios, or anywhere the attacks aren't tidy.

The technical spots — assignment

mm. 3–4 — accent practice, hands together, 3 minutes. Rotate which note receives the accent in each measure. It will be tricky on the weak beats — 2, 4 and 6. Doing it hands together is the missing piece; you've been doing it hands apart.
mm. 3–4 — rhythm work, left hand only, 5 minutes.
mm. 86–89 — rhythm work, hands together, 5 minutes. The left hand already knows how to do this, so it's the right hand joining in that's new.

🟩Minuet in D Minor, BWV Anh. 132, from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, attrib. J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

Good work fixing the orange circle in m. 7. Otherwise sounding good — keep thinking about an even pulse.

Spot the endings — assignment

Practise the first and second endings of each section back to back. Three times each, so twelve repetitions in one practice session. Around five minutes, maybe a little more.

First section: start at m. 6, play the first ending and go back into m. 1. Then start from m. 6 again, play the second ending and go on into m. 9.
Second section: start at m. 14, play the first ending and go back into m. 9. Then start from m. 14 again and play to the end.

🟩Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

m. 34 — do the fermata.
m. 35 — spot the first two beats in the left hand. Take a chance and get there faster: throw the hand up and land in the right spot, light. Use the pedal.
1. Left hand alone, 3 times in a row correctly.
2. Then beats 1 and 2 hands together, 3 times in a row.
3. Then zoom out and put it in context — start at m. 34 and play through 35 and 36. Attach the measure before and after the spot.
Not so loud there — it's a mezzo forte.
Pedal, mm. 32–34. Make sure you're catching the bass note in the pedal in m. 33 and again in m. 34. Watch that you're not putting the chord down early.
m. 31 — left-hand arpeggio fingering is 5, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1.

🟩Joyous Etude by Melody Bober (L. 5, Etude)

That section is a lot better than it was.

m. 9 — count. It was rushed, and counting here is what sets up mm. 10 and 11.
m. 15 — the rhythm suddenly gets faster. The triplets make it tricky. With the metronome, listen to the left hand, not the right — the left hand is just half notes, so line up beats 1 and 3 with the click, then space the triplets out inside that.
m. 23 — left hand staccato on the downbeat. Highlighted in yellow.
m. 26 — that's a G-sharp in the right hand, not an F-sharp.
m. 29 — the rhythm at the end isn't correct. It's eighth note, quarter note, rest, eighth note, quarter note. Count the last two measures out loud, start really slowly, and speed it up only once the rhythm is right.

🟪Album für die Jugend, Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer, by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

5 minutes per session.
3 times through: RH alone, LH alone, then hands together.
A phrase or a chunk at a time.

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small "spot" section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.
"Spot" until it's solid — ✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114, attr. Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: L'Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2 by Burgmüller
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2, C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2, B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Anne Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What's That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) (L. A)

RCM Level 1 Exam — May 29, 11:01 am

List A: Andante
List B: Angelfish
List C: The Snake
Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19, 3:00 pm (or 1:00 pm if possible)

Angelfish
Detectives
The Snake
Andante
Celebration

August 28, 2026 (6 of 8)

August 30, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

August 28, 2026 (6 Of 8)

Practice structure this week: two 40-minute sessions and two 30-minute sessions.

Log your notes during practice in the comment section of this post.

Lesson Assignments

Repertoire

🟥25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade by Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller (1806-1874) (L. 4, Etude)

5 minutes per session.

Still rough. Work it phrase by phrase: LH alone, then RH alone, then hands together.

3 times correctly per phrase, with perfect notes and perfect fingering.

🟨Minuet in D Minor, BWV Anh. 132, from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, attrib. J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

m. 7 into m. 8 — get the notes right. Don't add an extra beat, and watch the F in the LH.

mm. 7-8: play 5 times correctly. LH alone, then RH alone, then hands together.

mm. 4-8: 3 times.

🟨Album für die Jugend, Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

5 minutes per session.

3 times through: RH alone, LH alone, then hands together.

A phrase or a chunk at a time.

🟨Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

Grace notes.

mm. 13-20 — play without changing the beat in mm. 16-17. Do it with the metronome and without. ♩ = 112.
mm. 25-28 — don't accent the RH third beat. No rit. in mm. 27-28. 3 times correctly.
Pedal in m. 32. Then mm. 29-33 with the correct pedal, 3 times correctly.

🟩Joyous Etude by Melody Bober (L. 5, Etude)

5 minutes. Set a 15-second timer, play, and find where you are.
mm. 9-17 — RH alone, LH alone, then hands together. With the metronome at ♩ = 79. 3 times.

Theory & Musicianship

🟨THEORY_04_07: Triads

Finish the unit.

Check your own work: circle or X each item so Dustin can see where the issues are.

🟨Sight-Reading 3A (book on loan)

Go through NFPER, with special attention to R — Rhythm.

Identify the meter when you're preparing.

Spot the weak rhythm and say it out loud.

"Ta" it in your mind as a rhythm exercise.

Clap the beat.

🟩Four_Star_04_05

One "day" per practice session.

🟪RCM Musicianship Level 4 Online

Keep doing the playbacks online.

Technique

🟪Level 4 RCM Technique

5-8 minutes per day.

Keep your fingers round.

We'll look at technique together next time.

For each item, do close-loud no faster than 60 per note. then legato 60 per quarter note. Then the final tempo, 92 per quarter note.

Careful of scooping / sweeping wrists

Firm fingertips

round fingertips

Stay in the black

Very strong approach followed by relaxation.

Dates

Registration: September 2

Exam session: November 28 - December 10

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small "spot" section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.
"Spot" until it's solid — ✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

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

2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, No. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce

2, Etude 2: L'Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2 by Burgmüller

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

O Christmas Tree

Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (1820-1886) (L. 2, Etude)

💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2, C)

💚Minuet in A Minor by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) (2, A)

💚Rhyme Time (2, B)

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)

💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) (L. 1, A)

💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)

💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)

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

💜💚💚The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)

💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)

💚💚💚Allegro in C Major, Op. 1, No. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)

💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)

💚💚💚What's That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) (L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

August 2, 2026 (5 of 8)

August 2, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Lesson Assignments

Reperotire

🟩Joyous Etude by Melody Bober (L. 5, Etude)

m. 16: close-loud, then legato but let go of the last note of each group (don’t hold on)
mm. 9-14 - see the pedal markings in the music.

🟩Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

m. 17 - crescendo in LH (start softer, keep even, round fingers).
All grace notes softer and faster in RH.
m. 32 - hold LH dotted half note.
m. 27 - beat three in RH staccato and decrescendo.

🟪25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade by Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude)

The second half is much better in terms of rhythm and expression. A little more focus is required before you begin for the first page in order to match the second’s good qualities!

🟪Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

Please practice this no faster than m.m. 86. Please look at your music when you play the orange circle in mm. 7-8.

🟩Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B)

mm. 101 to the end:
1. RH alone close loud
2. HT close loud (remember to do the LH articulation and if you have any incorrect fingering, go back one measure before moving on).
3. Then one time through legato at no faster than m.m. 66 per 8th note.

🟪Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

Review hands alone then together. LH wrist is a bit high.

Theory & Musicianship

🟩THEORY_04_07: Triads

Flash Cards: Focus on minor keys studying both sides of the card.
Finish the unit.

🟩Sight-Reading 3A (book on loan)

Prepare pages 31-36

🟩Four_Star_04_04

Complete the set.

🟨RCM Musicianship Level 4 Online

login info: info@gledhillartscollective.com - dust2789
Keep doing the playbacks online.

Technique

🟩Level 4 RCM Technique

Pages 11 & 12: hands together
For each item, do close-loud no faster than 60 per note. then legato 60 per quarter note. Then the final tempo, 92 per quarter note.
1. Careful of scooping / sweeping wrists
2. Firm fingertips
3. round fingertips
4. Stay in the black
5. Very strong approach followed by relaxation.

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

July 16, 2026 (4 of 8)

July 16, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Lesson Assignments

Reperotire

🟩Joyous Etude by Melody Bober (L. 5, Etude)

Please practice mm. 9-15 in the following way:
1. One measure at a time until smooth, then two measures until smooth, etc. until the whole section is smooth. This may take a week of solid practice.
2. RH alone, LH alone, then together, focusing on eliminating the pause between the chord changes.

🟨Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

🟥m. 32 - fix the notes in the RH
🟥Don’t speed up between 16 and 17:
1. Start in m. 13 and end in m. 20 when you practice this. Please use the metronome twice, and then the third time without.
🟥Last measure - mp

🟩25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade by Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude)

The second half is much better in terms of rhythm and expression. A little more focus is required before you begin for the first page in order to match the second’s good qualities!

🟩Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

Please practice this no faster than m.m. 86. Please look at your music when you play the orange circle in mm. 7-8.

🟨Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B)

mm. 87 to the end need a bit of slow revision work. Practice starting from any measure in this group.

🟩Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

Review with a focus on position. LH wrist is a bit high.

Theory & Musicianship

🟪THEORY_04_06: Intervals

Keep reviewing flash cards.
Finish the unit.

🟪Sight-Reading 3A (book on loan)

Prepare pages 21-30

🟩Four_Star_04_03

Complete the set.

🟨RCM Musicianship Level 4 Online

login info: info@gledhillartscollective.com - dust2789
Keep doing the playbacks online.

Technique

🟪Level 4 RCM Technique

Keep practicing the formula pattern on p. 10:
Prepare page 11 for Thursday as well.
1. For each item, do close-loud no faster than 60 per note. then legato 60 per quarter note. Then the final tempo, 92 per quarter note.

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

July 12, 2026 (3 of 8)

July 12, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Lesson Assignments

Reperotire

🟩Joyous Etude by Melody Bober (L. 5, Etude)

Learn m.m. 9-17

🟪Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

mm. 5 and 13 - drop wrist.
mm. 6-7 - grace note slower, second note stronger than the grace note. Drop into the grace note.
m. 32 - fix the notes in the RH
Don’t speed up between 16 and 17
Don’t slow down between mm. 32-33
Last measure - mp

🟪🟪25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade by Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude)

Review with a focus on position.

🟪🟪Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

Review with a focus on position and no faster than m.m. 86 per quarter note.

🟪🟪Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B)

Review once per week (every six to seven days lol) with a special focus on position. Don’t let the wrist drop when you play your thumbs. Also be very careful with twisting the wrist when you cross over or under fingers. Think of scale technique.

🟪🟪Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

Review with a focus on position.

Theory & Musicianship

🟩THEORY_04_06: Intervals

Keep reviewing flash cards.
Complete pages 1-4

🟩Sight-Reading 3A (book on loan)

Prepare pages 18-20

🟪Four_Star_04_02

Finish for Thursday.

🟪RCM Musicianship Level 4 Online

Technique

🟩Level 4 RCM Technique

Keep practicing the formula pattern on p. 10:
Prepare page 11 for Thursday as well.
1. For each item, do close-loud no faster than 60 per note. then legato 60 per quarter note. Then the final tempo, 92 per quarter note.

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

June 28, 2026 (2 of 8)

June 28, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Lesson Assignments

Reperotire

💚Joyous Etude by Melody Bober (L. 5, Etude)

“spot” m. 2 (block beats 3 and 4 in the RH for practice). 5 times correctly each day. Close-loud hands alone and hands together.
Find and and label all the sections.
Start to learn mm. 1-4 hands alone then together. Tap the LH staccato notes.
See video below for performance of page 1 - slow and faster tempi.

💚Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

mm. 5 and 13 - drop wrist.
mm. 6-7 - grace note slower, second note stronger than the grace note. Drop into the grace note.
m. 32 - fix the notes in the RH
Don’t speed up between 16 and 17
Don’t slow down between mm. 32-33
Last measure - mp

🟪25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade by Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude)

Review with a focus on position.

🟪Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

Review with a focus on position and no faster than m.m. 86 per quarter note.

🟪Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B)

Review once per week (every six to seven days lol) with a special focus on position. Don’t let the wrist drop when you play your thumbs. Also be very careful with twisting the wrist when you cross over or under fingers. Think of scale technique.

🟪Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

Review with a focus on position.

Theory & Musicianship

❤️THEORY_04_05: Musical Interlude

Test on p. 55. Create flashcards.
Prepare / listen pages 52-54.

💚THEORY_04_04: Scales (Genevieve only)

Make flash cards for key signature up to three sharps and flats for major and minor.
1. one side: Major/Minor: 1 -flat
2. other side: F Major
3. Then test yourself both ways

💚Sight-Reading 3A (book on loan)

Prepare pages 12-16

💚Four_Star_04_02

Do one of these each day.

💛RCM Musicianship Level 4 Online

Technique

💚Level 4 RCM Technique

Prepare all of pages 9 and 10: two-octave scales, formula pattern, chromatic.
1. For each item, do close-loud no faster than 60 per note. then legato 60 per quarter note. Then the final tempo, 92 per quarter note.

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

June 21, 2026 (2 of 8) (actually 1 of 8 - gave one to Daniel)

June 21, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Lesson Assignments

Reperotire

💚Joyous Etude by Melody Bober (L. 5, Etude)

Find measures that are the same and the ones that are different.
Find and and label all the sections.
Start to learn mm. 1-4 hands alone then together. Tap the LH staccato notes.

💚Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

Avoid an accent in the RH on m. 1 - the C above middle C.
Practice the RH on its own - drop into the first note of the arpeggio, keep wrist down, keep notes light, follow through on the last note with your wrist.
Listen to the recording of the whole piece once a day.

💚25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade by Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude)

Review with a focus on position.

💚Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

Review with a focus on position.

💚Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B)

Review once per week (every six to seven days lol) with a special focus on position. Don’t let the wrist drop when you play your thumbs. Also be very careful with twisting the wrist when you cross over or under fingers.

💚Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

Review with a focus on position.

Theory & Musicianship

💚THEORY_04_05: Musical Interlude

Test on p. 55
Prepare / listen pages 52-54.

💚THEORY_04_04: Scales (Genevieve only)

Make flash cards for key signature up to three sharps and flats for major and minor.
1. one side: Major/Minor: 1 -flat
2. other side: F Major
3. Then test yourself both ways

💚Sight-Reading 3A (book on loan)

Prepare pages 7-11

💚Four_Star_04_0

Do one of these each day.

💚RCM Musicianship Level 4 Online

Technique

💛Level 4 RCM Technique

Prepare all of page 8: two-octave scales.
1. For each item, do close-loud no faster than 60 per note. then legato 60 per quarter note. Then the final tempo, 92 per quarter note.

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

June 11, 2026 (0.75 of 8)

June 11, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Lesson Assignments

Reperotire

💚Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

See the video for instructions - sent to MB

💚25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade by Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude)

Review with a focus on position.

💚Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

Review with a focus on position.

💚Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B)

Review once per week (every six to seven days lol) with a special focus on position. Don’t let the wrist drop when you play your thumbs. Also be very careful with twisting the wrist when you cross over or under fingers.

💚Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

Review with a focus on position.

Theory & Musicianship

💚THEORY_04_05: Musical Interlude

Listen to the audio embedded below! This will relate to the next pages in your theory.

💛THEORY_04_04: Scales (Genevieve only)

Continue to memorize circle of 5ths diagram on p. 34. These are getting better but still need to be faster.

💚“Sight-Reading 2B”

Prepare pgs. continue on from 88-90 of the PDF

💜Dustin: Scan and upload sight-reading level 3A

💚Four_Star_04_00_02

Do one of these each day.

Technique

💚Level 4 RCM Technique

Prepare B minor harmonic and melodic, and B-flat major, two-octave scales, hands together m.m. 92 two notes per beat.
Continue to focus on steady wrist and curved fingers.

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

Jun 4, 2026 (7.75 of 8)

June 4, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Lesson Assignments

Reperotire

💚Masquerade by Linda Niamath (L. 4, Etude)

Start to learn! Create your own questions about this piece (theory style)

💚25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade by Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude)

Review with a focus on position.

💚Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A)

Review with a focus on position.

💜Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B)

Review once per week (every six to seven days lol) with a special focus on position. Don’t let the wrist drop when you play your thumbs. Also be very careful with twisting the wrist when you cross over or under fingers.

💚Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C)

Review with a focus on position.

Theory & Musicianship

💚THEORY_04_05: Musical Interlude

Study pages 1-3

💛THEORY_04_04: Scales (Genevieve only)

Memorize circle of 5ths diagram on p. 34. Please be able to quickly tell me the number of sharps or flats in any of the indicated major or minor scales. The test will be no more than 2 second pause for your response. 🥸

💚“Sight-Reading 2B”

Prepare pgs. continue on from 81-85 of the PDF

💚Four_Star_04_00_01

Do one of these each day.

Technique

💚Level 4 RCM Technique

Prepare D Major, and A major, two-octave scales, hands together m.m. 92 two notes per beat.
Focus here is steady wrist and curved fingers.

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

May 27, 2026 (6.75 of 8)

May 27, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Final Recital: May 30th at 2:00 pm

RCM Level 4 Material

💚Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude) - recital

25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade

Come up with a short blurb to say to the audience about this piece. Something like “the tempo has been challenging in this piece because there are three separate section that are different from each other…" Burgmuller wrote many etudes and this is no. 15 of 25 in this set!”
m.m. 58 per measure.
Put your music in a binder or folder so that both pages are open / no turning.
mm. 53-56 - make sure to diminuendo and slow down before the return of section A
mm. 24-26 - attacks should be very strong.
mm. 19-23 - all chords staccato
mm. 87-90 - do accent practice daily

💚Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A) - recital

Create a blurb about this piece to say before you play.
Beginning: RH starts on the dominant, LH starts on the Tonic.
LH crescendo in m. 12 on the repeat.
Practice from any measure of the piece and see the purple dynamics in the second half.
Hands alone practice each section before satruday.

💚Robert Schumann (L. 4, C) - recital

Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer

Create a blurb about this piece to say before you play.
Practice with and without music, and start from three random measures each practice session. Play for at least 5 measures, then move on.
Do some hands alone practice in sections with music at a slow tempo.

💜Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B) - review

mm. 37-38: Descending scales - careful not to twist your wrist when crossing over / under thumb.

💜THEORY_04_04: Rhythm (Genevieve only)

Memorize circle of 5ths diagram on p. 34. Please be able to quickly tell me the number of sharps or flats in any of the indicated major or minor scales. The test will be no more than 2 second pause for your response. 🥸

Other Lesson Material

💚“Sight-Reading 2B”

Prepare pgs. continue on from 75-80 of the PDF - focus this week is identifying the beat

💚Four Star: Level 3

Continue to practice with the RCM Online Level 3 Ear Training examples.

⬛️Resume technique after the recital

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

May 20, 2026 (5.75 of 8)

May 20, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Final Recital: May 30th at 2:00 pm

RCM Level 4 Material

💚Friedrich Burgmüller (L. 4, Etude) - recital

25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15, Ballade

Allegro = fast
con brio = with spirit
LH m. 3, and HT 87-90:
1. think of the first three notes as one group, then the ascending four notes as one group. Play both of these separately fast, and then put them together, thinking that you can do them separately very well.

💚Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A) - recital memorized

Beginning: RH starts on the dominant, LH starts on the Tonic.
Middle: Bach moves to F Major
Spot mm. 3-5
Spot mm. 6-9 - first ending , then second ending, back to back.
🟨All quarter notes sticky please.
Practice from any measure of the piece and see the purple dynamics in the second half.

💚Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B) - review

mm. 37-38: Descending scales - careful not to twist your wrist when crossing over / under thumb.

🟪Robert Schumann (L. 4, C) - ricital

Album für die jugend Op. 68, No. 10, The Happy Farmer

Practice with and without music, and start from three random measures each practice session. Play for at least 5 measures, then move on.

🟪THEORY_04_04: Rhythm (Genevieve only)

Memorize circle of 5ths diagram on p. 34. Please be able to quickly tell me the number of sharps or flats in any of the indicated major or minor scales. The test will be no more than 2 second pause for your response. 🥸

Other Lesson Material

💚“Sight-Reading 2B”

Prepare pgs. continue on from 75-80 of the PDF - focus this week is identifying the beat

💚Four Star: Level 3

Continue to practice with the RCM Online Level 3 Ear Training examples.

⬛️Resume technique after the recital

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

May 13, 2026 (4.75 of 8)

May 13, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Final Recital: May 30th at 2:00 pm

💚“Sight-Reading 2B”

Prepare pgs. continue on from 75-80 of the PDF - focus this week is identifying the beat

💚Ballade, Op. 100 No. 15 by Burgmuller (L. 4, Etude)

mm. 28-30 - don’t speed up (see the comment below re. m. 53).
m. 53 - don’t suddenly go faster. When you play mm. 51-52 - think of three pulses to not rush in m. 53.
m. 34 - Please do the crescendo.
mm. 19-23, and mm. 75-79 - please play very short - staccato
Please practice with metronome 50 until the dolce - hands in lap thinking about three pulses per measure. Then begin. You may need to take this hands apart at first.

💚Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B) - recital

Trill section - hands alone, then together, using metronome 108 per 8th note, and focusing on the LH whe playing the trill hands together.

💚THEORY_04_04: Rhythm (Genevieve only)

Memorize circle of 5ths diagram on p. 34. Please be able to quickly tell me the number of sharps or flats in any of the indicated major or minor scales. The test will be no more than 2 second pause for your response. 🥸

💚Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A) - recital memorized

Approx. 98 per quarter note.
All quarter notes sticky please.
Practice from any measure of the piece and see the purple dynamics in the second half.

💜The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C) - recital memorized

LH first note (c) is quieter.
RH softer in the first two systems.
System 3 in the RH should be melodic focus.
Practice with and without music, and start from three random measures each practice session. Play for at least 5 measures, then move on.

💚Four Star: Level 3

Continue to practice with the RCM Online Level 3 Ear Training examples.

⬛️Resume technique after the recital

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration

May 8, 2026 (3.75 of 8)

May 8, 2026 Dustin Gledhill

Final Recital: May 30th at 2:00 pm

Group Class: May 2nd or 3rd

💚“Sight-Reading 2B”

Prepare pgs. continue on from 71-75 of the PDF - focus this week is identifying the beat

💚Ballade, Op. 100 No. 15 by Burgmuller (L. 4, Etude)

m. 35 - pull back to piano. Keep LH quiet during this whole section.
mm. 24-30 - theory-mad forte!!! But remember to pop the wrist forward gently immediately after the attack.

💚Sonatina in G Major op. 36 no. 2 III by Muzio Clementi (L. 4, B) - recital

Trill section - actually look at your LH while you play the RH trill. Use metronome 126 per 8th note
System 6, m. 1, play the correct rhythm.
p. 2, system 3, do the poco rit.
Careful not to speed up every time the first them comes back.

❤️❤️THEORY_04_04: Rhythm (Genevieve only)

Do at least 5-7 min of theory per day to finish the two pages.
Prepare page 45
Memorize circle of 5ths diagram on p. 34.

💚Minuet in D Minor BWV Anh. 132 by J. S. Bach (L. 4, A) - recital memorized

All quarter notes sticky please.
Practice from any measure of the piece.

💚The Happy Farmer by Robert Schumann (L. 4, C) - recital memorized

LH first note (c) is quieter.
RH softer in the first two systems.
System 3 in the RH should be melodic focus.
Practice with and without music, and start from three random measures each practice session. Play for at least 5 measures, then move on.

💚Four Star: Level 3

Continue to practice with the RCM Online Level 3 Ear Training examples.

⬛️Resume technique after the recital

🎨 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

Record your section once — video is best, but audio is fine too.
Listen back with one color/goal in mind.
As you listen, mark your music using that color anywhere it needs improvement.
Repeat for each remaining color, one at a time, until all five have been addressed.
Choose a small “spot” section from your markings — just a few measures or a tricky passage.

“Spot” until it’s solid

✅ 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?

REVIEW PIECES:

💚The First Noel, Traditional, arr. Edwin McLean

💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)

2, List A: Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by Christian Petzold (1677-1733)
2, List B: Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5, no. 1. II. Romanze, attr. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2, List C: Play by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
2, Etude 1: Prelude No. 4 in F Major by Elvina Pearce
2, Etude 2: Arabesque, op. 100, no. 2 by Burgmuller
💚Bird in the Bebop by Wynn-Anne Rossi (L. 2, Etude)
O Christmas Tree
Etude in F Major, Op. 190, No. 27 by Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (L. 2, Etude)
💚A Ditty of Yimeng Mountain (2. C)
💚Minuet in A Minor by Purcell (2, A)
💚Rhyme Time (2. B)
💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)
💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)
💚Detectives by Christine Donkin (L. 1, Etude)
💚💜Angelfish (L. 1, B)
💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1, Etude)
💜💚💚 The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)
💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)
💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)
💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

RCM LEVEL 1 EXAM: May 29th 11:01 am

List A: Andante

List B: Angelfish

List C: The Snake

Etude: Detectives

Recital May 19th: 3 pm (or 1 pm if possible)

Angelfish

Detectives

The Snake

Andante

Celebration