Intermediate Piano Repertoire

Intermediate students can be tricky – no longer in a method book, diving into the world of piano literature but not advanced enough yet to play some of the really fun works of the great composers. Many students at this level drop out of lessons for various reasons.

I think a lot of students get caught in the “I don’t like classical music” trap, and as teachers we sometimes can’t figure out what repertoire will really inspire them! Hopefully we can implement some fun ways to teach music appreciation in our studios from the time our students are young, and maybe that will help them gain a love for music early on. But what about our students who are already at that intermediate level, and may not think they enjoy classical music?

How can we choose repertoire that our students will actually enjoy playing? How do we keep our students engaged, interested and enjoying piano lessons?

This is what I would like to explore this week, as it is such an important topic. I would love to hear your input as well, especially to hear what your favorite intermediate repertoire collections are.

There is a wonderful book by Jane Magrath called “Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature” which is very similar to Hinson’s “Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire” except that it specifically is about elementary and intermediate piano repertoire. It is a great resource for teachers (and I need to get myself a copy one of these days!! 🙂).

What other resources do you know about that help you in finding good repertoire for your intermediate students?