This is Stage 3 of Quassica Music’s curriculum in Piano performance and tuition. It runs approximately from the equivalent of Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 4 practical Piano until the student finishes the material for Grade 7 and starts preparing Grade 8 level pieces.

Private Piano 301: Young Artist

At this stage of Quassica’s curriculum our young artists are getting very comfortable with more complex sightreading, more advanced knowledge of phrasing and pedalling. First more serious pieces get included in their repertoire. They gain more experience performing in public, better presentation skills, with a few more festivals and competition under their belt. This is one of the most crucial stages in the development of a young person as well as a musician. We subscribe to the view that rushing through different stages, playing repertoire that’s too serious too early, are not good for developing healthy, enthusiastic young people with a lifelong interest in Music.

The word “lifelong” is crucial here.

Very often music specialists, together with some parents want to force the children into playing harder and harder pieces just for the sake of it, without consideration whether the children understand the repertoire they are playing or whether their development will lead to them “burning out” too son.Of course. if a child is very talented and its own pace of learning is very fast to begin with, the teacher should accommodate that speed of learning but these cases are much rarer than you would think.

The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes – ah, that is where the art resides.
Artur Schnabel