Importance of Repertoire Selection
- Feifan Oh
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
In this post, I would like to share my thoughts on repertoire selection for students, how it directly contributes to learning motivation, and I will end this post with some downloadable music from the recent thematic learning inspiration: horse, in celebration of the Year of the Horse.
I am not sure which puts me as a teacher in a greater dilemma: if a student comes with a request for repertoire that is not age or level appropriate, or if a student has no clue what music they would like to learn. Yes, I have students who just don't know what they like; they don't even listen to music much, but they study multiple instruments. I also have students who are eager to show me what music they love and want to learn, but it breaks my heart to tell them, let's wait another year. So, I end up having to rewrite music for them or look for alternative music. Thus, repertoire selection is a big factor in piano learning.
Music is a highly creative learning experience, but the work to make it fun and creative is backed with very structured planning by the teacher, supported by pedagogical reasons. The learning experience should, however, never feel structured but rather, ideally, have a good flow. Due to the various activities students usually have, their practice time is often limited. A strategy that has worked for me is to assign very thoughtful repertoire for the students so they learn everything they need to learn through that music. So we break things apart, study them, and put them together. This way, we are not just learning music for music's sake, but we are at the same time working on all the fundamental understandings and techniques. Repertoire is like planning a daily healthy diet for your family: we need a bit of veggies though we don't like it (e.g., scales), protein, carbs, etc. If planned appropriately, it ensures a healthy growth of interest and foundations. It is essential to have etudes and to work on your scales and arpeggios, but the fun of really feeling music and experiencing music is when we play the music we enjoy. Something that clicks with us, something that soothes our feelings, something we heard somewhere, for whatever explainable and unexplainable reasons, creates intrinsic motivation in students—it gives that drive for students to be curious about what comes next in the next section, to enjoy the repetition until it sounds better.
I always encourage students to explore all genres of music, and although I am classically trained, I have self-taught myself jazz theory and pop chords to be able to fulfill the curiosity of my students. I see it as a journey of exploring interests together, as music is full of vast possibilities. There is no end to it, and if you enjoy it, you will find more new things ongoingly, your whole life.
However, not all pop music or all music written for piano is suitable for piano. Some of the factors to consider when it comes to choosing repertoire are if your hands are big enough for the music, do you have the capacity to learn 16 pages of music in the next 3 months—yes, some very realistic questions! Is the music too emotionally challenging for the students to fully grasp it? Is a Chopin etude for a beginner going to cause finger trauma more than pleasure? Absolutely, being a teacher is to be responsible for all these factors to consider. From observing some of my transfer students, while I hold my tongue out of respect for other piano teachers, I question the thought that has been put in when a teacher assigns music that clearly is not at the level of the students. It backfires when that happens, it puts the students down because they can't play it well, or worse, they develop wrong techniques just to get by. It also educates students to be delusional, thinking they are better than they actually are. I understand it is a hard fight for most teachers though because if they don't 'comply', the students go elsewhere to teachers who would teach them the music they want to learn. It is almost necessary to validate their yearning to be confirmed that "I am in this level, I am good enough to play this". This is the truth and it is happening to many teachers I have known. I am grateful that I do not encounter such struggle with my students but I also just prefer to speak my mind and be honest to my students while remaining encouraging and supportive.
This week, I had lunch with a friend whose son studies the piano too. She asked me a question that I have heard many times: "My child has studied piano for 3 years now, he is in RCM level 3 only, is that normal?" I told her frankly, "I think if you tell me that your child is doing RCM 7, I can tell you that it is NOT normal. So yes, your child is doing more than fine." I do not understand the natural phenomena of piano studies in Vancouver. We don't buy chickens with antibiotics, we prefer free-range chickens yet we inject our child with unnecessary boosters all the time. Leave music out of the equation, let your child have one thing that is not limited by structures, grades, or expectations. Let them grow in their own way, at their own pace. Let them choose what they would like to play and explore—in a guided environment with a trusted teacher.
To end this post, here are some horse-themed music pieces that I have collected for teaching purposes. I am a teacher who practices the Dalcroze methodology, so galloping, leaping and trotting are all very important natural movements that we incorporate in our music lessons to study the rhythms. Thus, through these little pieces, I hope students not only enjoy the imagination and the robust music but also are able to master the rhythms inspired by these horse movements!
Downloadable music:
Suitable for Beginners:
Suitable for Early Intermediate students (Foundation Level):
Suitable for Intermediate students (Musicianship Building Level):
Suitable for Advanced students:
Prelude & Fugue No. 7 "The Galloping Horse" by Vincent Ho (Canadian Composer)
Link to preview/buy the music scores:
https://vinceho.com/project/the-twelve-chinese-zodiac-animals-book-2-preludes-and-fugues-piano/
"Mazeppa" Transcendental Etude No.4 by Franz Liszt
[ warning: very difficult piece but listen to it, this is a very fun, virtuosic piece ]
https://imslp.org/wiki/Mazeppa,_S.138_(Liszt,_Franz)
Ritter vom Steckenpferd (The Knight of the Hobbyhorse) from Kinderszenen, Op. 15 by Robert Schumann
Musically advanced (not technically extreme); It depicts a child riding a toy horse, humorous, character piece
Thank you for sharing this. As a parent, it gives me a great sense of reassurance to know that they are being well guided. I truly believe they will grow, progress, and find real joy in music.🌻