July 15, 2026 (30 min)

Lesson Assignments

🟩Chopin, Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, op. posth

  • Learn and memorize mm. 5-14 hands alone, then reach out to me and let me know when you’re done!

  • Trill Practice:

    • Alone, slow to fast (max) back to slow again.

    • Then add simple LH notes with the trill

    • Then simple LH patterns.

    • Then the actual LH notes (remember you don’t need to keep a steady beat during this process).

    • THINK OF THIS AS A MEDITATION.

  • LH Learning:

    • Learn by line / horizontally.

    • Memorize the LH before you add the RH.

🟪Choose an upbeat piece from your list next time.

💚“Unpopular”

  1. How to Train your Dragon?

  2. Project Hail Mary?

  3. Start to think of some options for popular pieces to transcribe

💚Traditional

  1. 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.

  2. Choose from the jazzy lists as well as the Romantic ones. We’ll start with those pieces.

  3. Challenges: voicing, technical advancement.

  4. 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

  1. Identify a section to record

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

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

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

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

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

“Spot” until it’s solid — meaning:

  • ✅ 3 times in a row correctly, or

  • ✅ 5 total correct repetitions, then move on.



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

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

🔧 Troubleshooting Tips

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

  • Do you need to slow down?

  • Should you practice hands alone?

  • Could you make the spot even smaller?

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

  • Do you need to think ahead more clearly?

  • 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)

  1. March in D Major, BWV Anh. 122 (L. 4, A)

Georg Friederic Handel

  1. 💚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)

  1. Sonatina in C Major Op. 36 No. 1

    1. I: Allegro (L. 3, B)

  2. 💚Sonatina Op. 36 No. 2,

    1. III: Allegro (L. 4, B)

  3. Sonatina in G Major, Op. 36 No. 5,

    1. III: Rondo: allegro molto (L. 5, B)

Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713 - 1780)

  1. 💚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

  1. 💚The Happy Farmer (L. 4, C)

Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmuller (1806-1874)

  1. 💚L’Arabesque Op. 100 No. 2 (L. 3 Etude)

Tchaikovsky

  1. 💚Old French Song Op. 39 No. 16 (L. 4, C)

20TH AND 21ST CENTURY

Chickadees (L. 7, Etude)

Anne Crosby-Gaudet

  1. 💚Dream Catcher by Anne Crosby Gaudet (L. 4, C)

Halley’s Comet by Nancy Telfer (b. 1950) (Level 7, Etude)

Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987)

  1. Folk Dance Op. 39 No. 7 (L. 4, Etude)

Yoshinao Nakada

  1. 💚Song of the Twilight (L. 3, C)

Lina Niamath (1939-)

  1. 💚Masquerade (L. 4, Etude)

Martha Mier (b. 1936)

  1. 💜River City Blues (b. 1936) (L. 6, Etude)

Mike Springer

  1. Foggy Day Blues (L. 4, C)

  2. Sunset in Rio (L. 5, C)