Melanie Spanswick offers up a few ideas for elementary-level to early intermediate-level players – or approximately Grade 1-3 of the ABRSM, Trinity College London and LCM examination boards.
I usually focus on practice tips in my blogs for Pianist, but what we play is just as important as how we practice it. As a teacher, I’ve found that the ‘progression’ of piano music for a student is vital. I teach many younger students and, in order to develop their techniques effectively and securely, working with certain repertoire can really boost their playing.
Whether you structure your practice so that you are able to tackle the following repertoire altogether or decide to focus on each piece separately, one after another, the building blocks found in these suggested works will serve as useful preparation for more advanced pieces. Here are a few ideas for elementary to early intermediate level players or approximately Grade 1-3 of the ABRSM, Trinity College London and LCM examination boards.
1 There's a large collection of music available for this level.
I’d start by introducing the Baroque and Classical genres as soon as possible because they offer great finger ‘work-outs’. The Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, compiled by J S Bach including works by the master and other composers, serves as an excellent introduction to counterpoint. J S Bach’s 18 Little Preludes are slightly more demanding but are also most worthy of attention. For the Classical style, super little minuets and dances are found in Nannerl's Music Book, compiled by W A Mozart’s father, Leopold.
2 Alongside repertoire, simplistic studies or exercises form a good technical base.
I use a series of my own five-finger exercises for students of all levels, but beyond that we usually investigate the following for basic technique: 101 Daily Exercises Op. 261 by Carl Czerny - maybe not the most interesting but they are excellent for the fingers if practised ideally, and I really like the Graded Pianoforte Studies published by the ABRSM. This latter series has formed the bedrock of my teaching for years and I used it myself as a student. It’s a series of books from Primary level (or pre-Grade 1) through to Grade 7. Many composers are represented offering students a wide variety of technical issues to tackle: Gurlitt, Heller, Le Couppey, Türk and Duvernoy represent just a few of the composers you’ll meet in this volume.
3 For those who like the Romantic style, there are two important collections:
Album for the Young Op. 68 by Robert Schumann and Album for the Young Op. 39 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Some pieces may be beyond elementary level but check out Schumann’s Melody, Soldier’s March, Humming Song, and Hunting Song or Tchaikovsky’s Morning Prayer, The Sick Doll, The Doll’s Funeral, and The New Doll. Other useful selections include 23 Little Pieces by Edvard Grieg, Alexander Grechaninov’s Children’s Book Op. 98, Robert Fuchs Children’s Pieces Op. 32 and Op 47, Narcisa Freixas’ Piano Infantil Book 1 and 2 and – my favourite – Mel-Bonis’ Album for Little Ones Op. 103. Whilst some collections are originally for children, they are perfect elementary piano works introducing newbie pianists to romantic, programmatic (or descriptive), and often, cantabile-style piano music.
4 The following modern works from the 20th century are worth exploring:
Thomas Dunhill’s First Year Pieces and Felix Swinstead’s Work and Play, For Children Sz 42 by Béla Bartók, Dmitri Kabalevsky’s Thirty Children’s Pieces Op. 27, Children’s Notebook Op. 69 by Dmitri Shostakovich, and The Piano ABC by piano educator Elena Gnesina (a beneficial resource for beginners to elementary level). Erik Satie’s Enfantines and Simone Plé-Caussade’s evocative Les Chants et les Jeux offer a soujourn into the French style, and also take a look at Ernest Bloch’s Enfantines. For a Far Eastern twist, Yoshinao Nakada’s Japanese Festival fits the bill. I’ve also enjoyed using prolific Polish composer Alexandre Tansman’s Happy Time Book 1 and 2 and 10 Easy Pieces.
5 And as we move into the 21st century...
The selection of elementary music explodes and there is an almost limitless choice, therefore I will just mention a few favourites: Connections and Microjazz by Christopher Norton, One of a Kind by Wynn Anne Rossi, Dennis Alexander’s Finger Paintings, Elissa Milne’s Little Peppers series, Sonny Chua’s Cool Keys and Barbara Arens’ Amazingly Easy Piano Pieces. British composers are massive in Elementary levels! Take a look at Jazzin-About by Pamela Wedgwood, Piano Time by Pauline Hall, Toy Box and Alphabet by June Armstrong, and Ghostly Piano Tales composed by me!
© Sarah Barnes
For a comprehensive anthology written for those returning to the piano, check out Melanie's complete Play it again: PIANO series (Schott): four substantial books taking students from late beginner to diploma level via a large selection of repertoire and plenty technical help and practice ideas. Find out more here.
Find out more and purchase Ghostly Piano Tales (Schott), perfect for students of Grade 1-3 level.
For more advice from Melanie, subscribe to Pianist and read her column inside every issue.
