Level 5 – Repertoire, Course Lists & Discussion Space

Kerstin That's interesting to hear! Yes, the level quiz will deliver some skewed results if you're weaker in certain skills and fundamental but pushed ahead with repertoire. Improvisation is probably a weakness for a lot of classically trained pianists (it is for me), but having a low mark in that area alone won't change your level.

I'd have to see how you graded your abilities in certain categories, but there's also some ambiguity about how to think of quiz questions. You might not have ever formally mastered scales and arpeggios in all keys at a fast tempo, but if you're capable of playing the first two Chopin Scherzos then you're definitely capable of playing any scale or arpeggios you want on relatively short notice. So you should have at least given that one a 4/5, if not a 5/5. Maybe take the quiz again with that approach! Based on what you said you've played and what you're working on, you should be level 8 (I'd put the Heroic Polonaise at 9, and you just started it).

On the other hand, if you wouldn't be comfortable playing all scales and arpeggios tomorrow or the next day, or if you don't have a grasp of key relationships or developed relative pitch to play a simple tune by ear, for example, then I would guess that learning a Chopin Scherzo or Polonaise would be a pretty massive undertaking – and I would say you are playing above your level. If that's the case, I recommend you treat your level assignment as your general musicianship grade, and consider focusing on becoming more automatic in more fundamentals and skills categories. Te point to that is it will enable you to learn the pieces you're working on with much more efficiency and facility.

Kerstin You've played some challenging and beautiful pieces! Even if level 5 underestimates you a little, I do think it reveals some ways you can aspire to improve. The goal certainly is not to be consciously analyzing harmonies while you play a piece. But what you said, "thinking in harmonies," I do think is extremely valuable. You need to have an awareness of what you're playing, harmonically, and have it associated with a certain sound and potential physical reflexes. Similarly, when you speak fluently in a language, you don't have the definitions of words at the front of your mind. But you have rich contextual associations and deeply ingrained verbal reflexes attached to that word so you can just use it without thinking. That's what I don't think we do enough as pianists (and including you too – no offense, it's most of us!). Instead we learn how to pronounce words in very particular contexts scripted by a composer, as if that's the only time that chord has ever been used. But when you start realizing (feeling and hearing) that every piece you play is actually just repurposing and varying standard harmonic materials in a small set of possible keyboard positions, then suddenly pieces become faster to learn and easier to play. I do believe that this should be our goal, and if we can't do that with a given piece, even if we can eventually wrap our fingers around it, then in some sense it's still a bit above our level.

Carol Chua Thanks for your feedback and request! Hope this system continues to help.

Susan Great to hear that you enjoy more advanced content too! I agree that there is MUCH to be learned from watching lessons above your level. But it can also be an alienating experience for some students, so we have to be more careful what we recommend!