You don’t have to be a concert pianist to take the time and effort to develop a substantial repertoire. What does “directory” mean anyway? In short, the repertoire is a set of works or songs that form the core or foundation of the pianist. (Technically, a “song” has lyrics while a “work” or “piece” has no lyrics. The word “song” is often used incorrectly.) all times and that this constitutes the directory itself. However, I think that directory implies something more complete. Let us now examine the term and explore the most efficient ways to develop, expand and nurture it:
Five Golden Rules for Building a Substantial Piano Repertoire
1. Practice, practice, practice
2. Microcycle jobs you are currently practicing
3. The macrocycle works throughout your life
4. Consider that no job is “done”
5. Constantly add books and sheet music to your library
The first rule of practice hardly needs explanation. To become better and more proficient at anything, one must do it, do it often, and love doing it with all one’s heart and soul. Tiger Woods did not become a great golfer by eating snacks and watching television. The best chumps in the world didn’t get there hanging out in bars and drinking beer. In the same way, an aspiring pianist who wants to have fun and be successful playing hundreds of songs or works will never achieve it if he stops practicing regularly. Ideally, one should not practice out of obligation, but out of love for music and a burning desire to improve.
The second rule of microcycle works is the pianist’s short-term plan, which can range from a few weeks to several months or perhaps a year at most. This is what most people imply by the word “repertoire”, as it is the time frame in which one can sit down at any time and play (preferably from memory) a set number of works. I have found the best results for microcycling by focusing on about five works at a time. For example, I often spend an entire week practicing exclusively one work (such as a Joplin rag), the following week exclusively another work (such as a Mozart sonata), and the following week exclusively another work (such as a Liszt etude). Then you may not even touch them for two months and returning to one of them feels like “meeting an old friend”, speeding up your re-learning phase. What used to take a week to accomplish now takes just a couple of days. Ideally, the pianist should strive to learn, forget, and then relearn works in monthly, weekly, and daily cycles. This is the eternal and endless plan that I follow when I practice and prepare for my YouTube videos.
The third rule of macrocyclic works is the pianist’s long-term plan, which can range from one to ten years. A thirteen-year-old just starting out usually doesn’t realize that what he learns in these formative years lays the musical foundation for his life. Writing this article at the age of 47 and having started playing the piano at the young age of 6, I am constantly amazed at how resilient and powerful the human brain really is. For example, I started practicing Mendelssohn’s “Rondo Capriccioso” this week after lying dormant and totally intact for 27 years, and was amazed when he memorized me again in just three days. What took me three months to learn well at the age of 20, took me only three days to learn as well or better again at the age of 47. This is one of the intriguingly satisfying aspects of the music and piano repertoire. All music ultimately remains in your consciousness and forms your “musical identity” until the day you leave this earth. It’s never too late to learn to play the piano, develop a repertoire, and harness the power of musical memories. After working on the “Rondo Capriccioso” for a week and recording it for YouTube, he most likely won’t play it again for several years.
The logical successor of the third rule of the macrocycle is the fourth rule of considering that a work is never finished. As a freshman in college music at the young age of 18, I thought that the works were “over” after performing them in a recital or concert. My usual plan of action was to work on a set number of pieces for a semester or a year, “finish” them, and then move on to the next pieces assigned by my professor. Now, at 47, I can’t help but smile at my youthful innocence. As I demonstrated with my “Rondo Capriccioso” experience, I have learned over time that no work is ever finished. Never. The micro and macro cycle of the piano repertoire is the bread and butter of the pianist’s musical life. These cycles continue to the end just like food and water. I am constantly resurrecting works that I once thought were finished, and I have never been happier with my musical evolution and progress.
While the first four rules constitute the mental or immaterial components of developing a great piano repertoire, the fifth rule of constantly adding books and sheet music to the library constitutes the physical or material component. Just as one cannot wash dishes without first buying or acquiring plates, cups and utensils, a pianist will never be able to develop a wide repertoire without buying or acquiring printed music. Most people refer to all printed music as “sheet music”, however this is really a misnomer. Technically, “score” refers to individual works of up to about four pages maximum. For example, I recently ordered “My Heart Will Go On” from my favorite music company, Sheet Music Plus. (Although I am primarily a classical pianist, I also enjoy practicing pop music from time to time.) Being a unique title, it is correctly called a score. On the other hand, “Complete Rags For Piano” by William Bolcom, which I also commissioned Sheet Music Plus, it’s not a sheet music at all, but rather a “music book” or “music volume” because it’s thick and contains 21 titles. (Please excuse this clarification, but the term “score” is often used incorrectly.)
I love my music library and I still play the books I have since I was 10 years old. I always find new books and sheets to buy, appreciate and add to my library. I am constantly expanding and exploring new repertoire. In the age of the Internet, the use of free PDF files has become too rampant in my opinion. PDF prints often only last a few weeks at most because they are so easily lost or broken. Sometimes I rely on free PDF files, however 98% of my music library consists of sheet music and books that I paid for. Although any music published before 1922 is in the public domain and therefore legally free to everyone, one is fooling oneself by relying too heavily on free PDF files. Books last a lifetime and can be used and reused until end of life. Refusing to buy music and trying so desperately to get it for free is like eating out of paper plates and plastic utensils. A pianist will never tremendously expand his repertoire without acquiring the physical props (ie books) along the way. Let’s conclude with a story.
Once, when I was teaching piano at a university, a student came to his lesson with the first movement of Beethoven’s “Appassionata” copied onto twelve thin sheets of fax paper. They didn’t stay on the music rack and constantly fell to the floor. This went on for a whole semester until I nearly pulled out all my hair and had a heart attack. From then on, I forever banned the use of PDF hard copies in my studio and started encouraging students to buy music from a store like I did when I was in college (pre-Internet days, imagine that! ). If my student had invested a little money in a volume of Beethoven’s sonatas (as much as it costs to go to the movies and order popcorn), he would have had the “Appassionata” and thirty other great sonatas for the rest of his life. . However, instead of investing in his future, he chose the cheap way. The moral of the story is that quality and longevity prevail and it is in one’s best interest to develop and nurture one’s music library throughout life. The immaterial and the material work in unison. Physical and non-physical. Yin and yang. (In Chinese philosophy, “yin” or “feminine” equates to the immaterial or ephemeral aspect of practice and cycling, while “yang” or “masculine” equates to material accessories such as music books and sheet music.)
So there it is in a nutshell: practice, micro-cycle, macro-cycle, no job is ever done, constantly adding music to one’s library. These are the five golden rules for building a substantial piano repertoire. Thanks for your time and happy practicing!
