Question: How many pieces should I play within a grade level in music before moving to the next? Here’s the full question from the student (paraphrased): “Do you think being able to play ten pieces well at grade 5 is enough before moving to grade 6? I spend a lot of time everyday working on technique exercises that you recommend, and I’m playing a lot of music from grades 1-4 as well.”
Answer Summary: There is no set number on how many pieces you should play. Some students need to cautiously study a large number of works within a grade, other students might be playing from a variety of grade levels or even skip a grade. Having a balanced and healthy technique, confident mental state, and a musical playing style is more important than setting grade levels.
A bit more context: Depending on how well balanced a student’s skills are, I may make no differentiation between grade 5 and 6 in the first place. Both grades use the basic intermediate techniques of scales, arpeggios, slurs, barre, finger independence, and mild stretch. Sometimes the difference is merely the scope of the work, for example, it’s a larger undertaking. On occasion the higher grade level might present more endurance or faster tempos to make it sound appropriate. That said, provided the student plays a number of pieces with a variety of musical textures and styles (melodic works, arpeggios, slurs, various musical eras), I mainly examine confidence, healthy technique, mental state, and musicality as the benchmark before moving onward. Students can self-access in this way too but a teacher can do it with a much higher success rate based on teaching experience and awareness of the student’s unique skills and mental state.
Using graded books, mistakes, and confidence
Graded Books: When using graded repertoire or method books this presents a small dilemma because you have been ‘placed’ within a grade. The important thing to realize is that most books choose a variety of repertoire with contrasting techniques, musicality, historical awareness, and textures to allow the student to test their skills in a more balanced way than choosing random repertoire. So there is certainly an important aspect to studying at least a good number of works within a grade, be that 5 pieces or 20.
Mistakes: When the pieces can be played with a reasonable amount of confidence, at a comfortable tempo, with not too many random mistakes, it is generally okay move on. If the mistakes are occurring in the same spot each time, more examination into the cause is needed before moving forward. For example, if you make a mistake every time the 4th finger is used, that is a mistake that must be corrected and examined to discover the root cause. In contrast, if a beginner student is making only a very small number of random mistakes due to the multitasking nature of music, that is more acceptable.
Confidence: Confidence is a tricky word to use but most students can tell if they are comfortable playing a piece or frustrated with it’s challenges. I’m not a supporter of set metronome tempos but clearly, especially at the higher grade levels, one can usually tell if the tempo is not working well with the composition. So playing at a reasonable tempo is a consideration that can make or break confidence. Which leads us to frustration, maybe the opposite of confidence. Frustration is a clear indication that moving forward in grade level is not a good idea. I highly prefer my students are generally ‘happy’ with their playing before advancing. ‘Happy’ being relative to their ability to see that they’ve improved and can handle the technical and musical challenges with a reasonable amount of skill appropriate to their level. For some people this might be a feeling of happiness or accomplishment, for others it might just be satisfactory improvement. But it’s not frustration.
So what do I do? Move on or go back a grade?
I always recommend students be playing a lot of pieces below their grade level to maintain high quality musical playing. But it’s rare that I shift all the student’s repertoire back a grade if I’ve been teaching them for awhile. For self-learners however, an over-ambitious student might find themselves in a grade that is higher than their skills allow and a correction must be made. Sometimes a shift toward a technique routine that tackles their technical weaknesses is all they need. Others might need a change of mental state by which I mean, finding repertoire at lower levels that they enjoy and bringing it to a high quality performance level.
Here are some other article you might find helpful to this discussion:
- When Should I Move on to the Next Piece of Music?
- How to Practice Music and Organize Your Practice Session
- 7 Technique Categories to Practice Every Day
- Six Misconceptions About Grade Levels
- The Gap Between Good Taste and Being Able to Do Good Work
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