Lesson Assignments
🟩Chopin, Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, op. posth
Start learning as much as you can! Reach out with any questions.
🟪Choose an upbeat piece from your list next time.
💚“Unpopular”
How to Train your Dragon?
Project Hail Mary?
Start to think of some options for popular pieces to transcribe
💚Traditional
Listen to your playlist and mark as many options as you like. Don’t listen to the difficulty level - just think about what you like or what sounds interesting.
Choose from the jazzy lists as well as the Romantic ones. We’ll start with those pieces.
Challenges: voicing, technical advancement.
September through December will be busy - applications for school, etc. Devote more time to Trad. repertoire post-December.
🎨 Color-Focus Practice (NFPER)
At the top of your music, write NFPER using the following color system:
N – Notes – correct pitches and accidentals (🟦 Blue)
F – Fingering – consistent, effective finger choices (🟧 Orange)
P – Position – hand shape, posture, and keyboard geography (🟪 Purple)
E – Expression – phrasing, dynamics, articulation, tone, etc. (🟩 Green)
R – Rhythm – steady pulse, accurate timing, and rests (🟥 Red)
✅ If you're only recording audio, just use NER.
Step-by-Step Practice Flow
Identify a section to record
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 to fix.
“Spot” until it’s solid — meaning:
✅ 3 times in a row correctly, or
✅ 5 total correct repetitions, then move on.
Focus on one or two colors at a time while practicing that spot.
Use the troubleshooting checklist below if you're stuck.
🔧 Troubleshooting Tips
🎯 If you’ve tried to fix something three times in-a-row and it’s still not working, don’t just repeat it — troubleshoot:
Do you need to slow down?
Should you practice hands alone?
Could you make the spot even smaller?
Would technical exercises help (staccato, accents, etc.)?
Do you need to think ahead more clearly?
Do you need blocking practice?
Review once a week with your music at a medium tempo.
Debussy, Rêverie (recital)
“Reflection” from Mulan
Haunted House, by Holly Humberstone (recital)
Billy Joel: The Piano Man (L. 7, Popular Selection)
💜Christmas Time is Here - Charlie Brown Duet
River City Blues (b. 1936) (L. 6, Etude)
Aria in G Major by Telemann (L. 6, A)
Chopin Waltz in A minor (L. 6, C)
Diabelli, Sonatina in F Major, op. 168 No. 1: Rondo (L. 6, B)
Princess Mononoke L. 6, Etude (popular selection)
💚River City Blues (b. 1936) (L. 6, Etude)
BAROQUE
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
March in D Major, BWV Anh. 122 (L. 4, A)
Georg Friederic Handel
💚Air in B-flat Major, HWV 471 (L. 4, A)
CLASSICAL
Sonata in C Minor Op. 17 No. 2. III. Prestissimo by Johann Christian Bach (L. 7, B)
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
Sonatina in C Major Op. 36 No. 1
I: Allegro (L. 3, B)
💚Sonatina Op. 36 No. 2,
III: Allegro (L. 4, B)
Sonatina in G Major, Op. 36 No. 5,
III: Rondo: allegro molto (L. 5, B)
Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713 - 1780)
💚Harlequinade (L. 3, A)
ROMANTIC
Consolation, op. 30, no. 3 by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) (L. 7, C)
Rohde, Dance of the Dragonflies, Op. 76 No. 7 (L. 5, Etude)
Harmony of Angels, Burgmuller, Op. 100 No. 21 (L. 5, Etude)
Robert Schumann
💚The Happy Farmer (L. 4, C)
Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmuller (1806-1874)
💚L’Arabesque Op. 100 No. 2 (L. 3 Etude)
Tchaikovsky
💚Old French Song Op. 39 No. 16 (L. 4, C)
20TH AND 21ST CENTURY
Chickadees (L. 7, Etude)
Anne Crosby-Gaudet
💚Dream Catcher by Anne Crosby Gaudet (L. 4, C)
Halley’s Comet by Nancy Telfer (b. 1950) (Level 7, Etude)
Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987)
Folk Dance Op. 39 No. 7 (L. 4, Etude)
Yoshinao Nakada
💚Song of the Twilight (L. 3, C)
Lina Niamath (1939-)
💚Masquerade (L. 4, Etude)
Martha Mier (b. 1936)
💜River City Blues (b. 1936) (L. 6, Etude)
Mike Springer
Foggy Day Blues (L. 4, C)
Sunset in Rio (L. 5, C)