Pieces for my Course of Study

● Clementi Sonatinas, Op. 36

○ Cornerstones of Sonatinas and Classical era music. Good training ground for
balance melody and accompaniment, and it introduces basic musical forms.
● Schumann Album for the Young, Op. 68
○ Getting acquainted with the Romantic era and character pieces. They could help
students develop imaginative and more musical playing.
● Schubert Valse Sentimentale, Op. 50
○ Introducing dance music - another important genre of piano repertoire.
● J. S. Bach Little Preludes
○ Excellent introduction in polyphonic playing and hand-independence.
● Tchaikovsky Album for the Young, Op. 39
○ Continuing the work from Schumann, and developing the same skills from there.
● Prokofiev Music for Children, Op. 65
○ Excellent introduction to playing 20th Century styles, and music that is not as
“tonal” and being more dissonant (“wrong note-ism”). Good follow up and
contrast to Tchaikovsky.
● Scarlatti Sonatas (D minor, K. 9 and C Major K. 159)
○ Continue exploring Baroque music beyond Bach.
● Bartok Ten Easy Pieces (Evening in Transylvania and Bear Dance)
○ Continue learning the 20th Century, modern style, and introduction to
nationalistic music. More technical and musical challenges.
● Beethoven 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119
○ Introduction to Beethoven, especially his late period, and Classical era. A great
challenge for more musically-mature students.
● MacDowell 12 Etudes, Op. 39 (2, 3, 4, 7, 8)
○ Special focus on technique (as each etude focuses on one or two) and playing
with a variety of characters, especially with dances (Alla Tarantella, Shadow
Dance).
● Satie Three Gymnopedie
○ These pieces would be great for developing student’s tone production and
playing in the 19th/20th Century French style of Debussy, Ravel, and Satie.
● Granados 12 Spanish Dances
○ Introduction to playing Spanish music - each dance draws on different Spanish
characteristics.