Level 4 – Repertoire, Course Lists & Discussion Space
Level 4 description
You can manage a minuet and are ready for works that explore longer forms and wider range of emotions. But before you can tackle a classical sonata, you should learn a sonatina. And before you can perform a romantic concert piece, you should play a short character piece. You may also choose to fast-track your way to your favorite pieces with our accelerated course, learning musicianship skills and repertoire at the same time. Level up your technique and keyboard skills with our recommended courses and practice labs, or put your classical training on hold and pick up some improv skills with our blues play-along course.
Level 4 recommended study pieces
- BEETHOVEN: FÜR ELISE
- BEETHOVEN: Sonatina in G major
- CLEMENTI: Sonatina in C major, Op. 36 No. 1
- KUHLAU: Sonatina in C major, Op. 20 No. 1
- SCHUMANN: “Chorale,” Op. 68 No. 4
- SCHUMANN: “The Wild Rider,” Op. 68 No. 8
- SCHUMANN: “The Happy Farmer,” Op. 68 No. 10
- SCHUMANN: “Little Study,” Op. 68 No. 14
Level 4 recommended courses
Level 4 practice labs
Accelerated course
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Questions & Discussion
↓ Reply below to ask any questions about this level, or to get a second opinion from fellow users! ↓
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I really liked the piano level quiz! It brought me to Level 4. It took me two months to learn Fur Elise, but when I had to perform it for a recital I was too nervous and messed up. Should I revisit the lower-level repertoire before I tackle pieces at this level again?
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Monserrat That's up to you! It's possible the score the quiz gave you was just above the level 4 threshold, so level 3 might look more comfortable. But that means you level 3 pieces should be challenging you still, so I think the assignment is correct. You might also want to do the opposite, and actually look at level 5 to see if there are any pieces there you aspire to play and then use the course recommendations from 4 and 5 to help you build the skills to get there. It all depends on your goals. Treat the level assignment as a tool for identifying where exactly you are and where you want to go!
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Ben Laude Thank you for the suggestions! I will look through Level 3 and Level 5 as well. I think the Piano Level System is so much fun, I can use it as a guide/checklist for my own learning. I have to say that I am very happy! You and the Tonebase team are doing a great job helping and listening to the community's wants and needs. Looking forward to more!
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The survey was really good! I’ve done Wild Rider recently my teacher gave it to me and he’s mentioned other ones (a Sonatina) as well … survey seems spot on! Nice to have a more compiled list for what’s appropriate on ToneBase.
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Actually, I've been able to play the suggested level 4 pieces for years. I guess I must have been harsh on myself in my answers to the quiz. Perhaps I should take a look at level 5.
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Michael A. Koplen you may have been too harsh, but you also you may have scored in the high end of 4 in which case you should be comfortable with the pieces there. Feel free to take the quiz again and be a little more generous though, or just go ahead and check out level 5 or even higher to see if the pieces and courses are more appropriate for you.
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Thank you for this new survey. I was struggling with what piece I should study next and the result of the survey made it very clear what my next steps should be.
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This is absolutely BRILLIANT! Thank you so much, it must have taken a huge amount of work to produce this "roadmap". I think it is pretty accurate for me (level 4). I'm really excited to work through the repertoire and lesson suggestions from now on.
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I've just performed For Elise at a family gathering.
Currently working on Chopin Prelude #7 and Mozart K545.
As far as scales, arpeggios, and cadences. I currently go through the circle of fifths choosing 2 major and (related) minor scales of focus each week. I'm doing 3 octaves major scales and 2 octaves harmonic minor. The questions seemed to jump from 1 octave to 4 oct. I feel I'm well past being comfortable with all keys for 1 octave, but not quite doing 4 octaves at whatever BPM you listed.
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Tony Nitzke Thanks for the feedback Tony! I heard something similar from a couple other users. I think the 24 scales 4 octaves/144BPM has been a little intimidating for plenty of users who could do it if they tried, but why bother. And frankly, I never did them all either - not formally at least. I meant that more in the sense of "could you do this without too much trouble," because that is a decent indicator of having reached a higher intermediate/early advanced level.
In any case, I'll be revising the quiz, and that's one area I do think can be improved! -
Ben Laude Thanks much for the reply. I'm really enjoying Tone Base and I think level 4 is a fair assessment of where I'm at.
I'll be 62 in March and feel I've made good progress for a late learner. I do take a half hour of lessons every week.
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The quiz placed me at level 2, which I think is accurate, but I just learned the Kuhlau in level 4. I can pla6 it, but not with the full articulation, dynamics, and subtlety it deserves, and not yet at tempo. But I've gone as far as I can with it right now, and have gone back to my true level! Nevertheless, being able to play the Kuhlau was a huge achievement, even if I play it imperfectly. I'll continue playing it a couple of times a week to keep iit in my fingers.
Level 4 is definitely above where I am now in terms of my piano skills, so I'll work through level 2. I also just learned Minuet in G and G Minor (as well as D Minor) are on my list to do asap. I think the courses and technique work will really help me. I've been working on major scales and chords, but have never done arpeggios, and ornaments still intimidate me. Mastering the mordents in Minuet in G was a real confidence booster.
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Barbara Blakeslee I encourage you to look at all the pieces between 2 and 4. I think your intuition is right: your assigned level indicates more where you feel comfortable, which means you should be looking at the levels above to determine what you need to do to feel comfortable there.
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Ben Laude Thank you. You are definitely right. I should be working in higher levels, and bearing down hard at the technique courses which are the same for all of the relevant levels. The pieces that inspire me are in the higher levels, and they are within my reach. Thank you!
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One of the questions was interesting and that some others mentioned above - can you play all scales and arpeggios in all 12 keys major and minor? I answered 'Can't do it' to this question. I've been playing scales in all keys for several years and know them comfortably by heart, but tempo-wise I'm nowhere near the MM=144 in 16ths indicated in the question. I can't imagine ever getting to 144 in all keys (or even any key) but particularly B minor, Bb minor and a few others. My fingers just feel like they're full of sand above about MM=80 (4 notes per beat).
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This was a really interesting quiz!
I've been a classical percussionist for 10 years and am only now really learning piano, so I answered some skills at 5 and others at 1 because they transferred over from my previous study. The description at the end does sound fairly accurate for me though, because I do get impatient reading through pieces that are too easy, but my hands struggle to get around things like moving chords or large intervals.I decided after taking Robert Durso's course on Tonebase to pursue Taubman Approach lessons in person, so I'm seeing a lot of progress and I'm really excited about the physical freedom that I'm discovering there. We finally started looking at repertoire and decided to start with a Fughetta by Pachelbel, and it feels pretty easy to get my hands around it.
I'm somewhat unsure about what I can "safely" incorporate from the courses here because Taubman Approach seems to be so different from other techniques being taught. -
@Ben Laude I am mid-way through your Piano Theory suite of videos and just want to say ... Bravo! I had the basics of major and minor keys, and Circle of Fifths, etc, but you explained these concepts in so much more detail and with a more thorough explanation of the "why", which made it quite fascinating. I almost did not watch these videos because I thought I already had all the content, but - - wow, I was more clueless than I thought - - this was really superb. You are a fantastic teacher - many thanks Mr. Laude!!
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Hey everyone! I've been a member for about a month and have started some of the recommended courses for this level. I figured I've been lurking long enough and should say hello to everyone on this forum.
Looking forward to participating and sharing my progress.
