Getting Started

Once upon a time, many, many years ago, I played just about anything I wanted. As a pianist with small hands, I had to exercise a certain amount of caution picking my repertoire. And, I was certainly not a virtuoso; I knew what was out of my reach. Within those limits, there was plenty of repertoire available to enjoy — Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Scarlatti Sonatas, Schubert Impromptus, Schumann Carnival and Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Chopin Preludes, Nocturnes and Waltzes (OK, not the hard ones) as well as excerpts from more difficult repertoire, like Chopin’s 4th Ballade. If I liked it, I worked on it and if I couldn’t master the entire piece, I played the parts that were within my capabilities. I had fun.

When I purchased my own piano about 30 years ago and started playing again after a recess of about 10 years, I was able to pick up pretty much where I left off. Alas, life and work got in the way and I just didn’t have the time or energy continue.

About 2 years ago (pre-covid) I started playing again. In the interim, we moved and, again, I found it hard to practice.

Now, we’ve settled into our new home, are making new friends, covid has become less threatening and life is back to a fairly constant routine. I’m retired, so I can pretty much do what I want with my time.

I’ve been practicing on a regular basis for about two months now.

After not playing for so long (and, I suspect, also suffering the effects of age) I feel that I have lost a lot in the way of flexibility, strength and endurance. When I first started, my hands got tired and would feel achy after practicing. My hands are small, but in the past reaching a 9th was not an impossibility and I was always able to handle 4- and 5-note chords. Nowadays, not so much…

I realized that I needed to adopt a new approach and pull back to simpler repertoire which will allow me to gradually build back up to (hopefully) my previous level.

Since I’m working without a teacher (not an option at the moment), I wanted to work from a graded series which offers guidance in learning the pieces. After browsing, I’ve decided to work with two series:

• Exploring Piano Classics by Nancy Bachus
• Classics for the Developing Pianist by Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield and Phyllis Alpert Lehrer

Exploring Piano Classics consists of six levels (ranging from late beginner to late intermediate) with two books at each level – a repertoire book and technique book. The repertoire books come with a CD containing performances of each of the pieces. In addition, the repertoire books offer background information for the periods, composers, instruments and the music itself. For each piece in the repertoire book, there are one or more topics in the corresponding technique book. The technique books also contain warm-up exercises, by key, appropriate to the level.

Classics for the Developing Pianist consists of five levels (ranging from early intermediate to advanced) with two books at each level – a repertoire book and corresponding study guide. The study guide includes information and background, as well as advice on learning, practicing, and polishing each piece.

Amazingly, there is very little overlap between the two series. Clarfield and Lehrer have chosen more familiar repertoire, while Bachus has included a number of less familiar pieces.

For me, the two series complement each other nicely. Since my last formal studies were 50 years ago (!), they help me to remember much that I have forgotten, as well as introducing new ideas and approaches (much has changed in 50 years).

In the coming months (years?) I plan on working my way through each series. I expect that I will learn most of the pieces in the earlier grades while becoming a bit pickier as I progress and need to spend more time on each piece.

I’ll also be supplementing from other sheet music I have (more on that later).

As I complete each piece, I plan to post a recording on YouTube and write a summary post. I’ll be using this blog to plan and track my progress. And perhaps, somebody else might find something of interest to them.

Last Updated on July 13, 2022