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Why do people learn to play a musical instrument?
Children can be inspired by seeing a professional play, or knowing that one of their friends is learning music. Many children are offered lessons in school. Some are encouraged to learn by their parents. Some are even made to learn by their parents.
Adult learners come in two varieties: those who learnt as children, gave up (for any number of reasons) and are “returning” to it. Often they regret the giving up and wish they’d continued at the time. Then there are those who are complete beginners. They may have always wanted to play, or they may have only come to the idea at this stage of their lives.
As a teacher, I see all of the above.
What I’ve never seen is a student who comes to me as a complete beginner, telling me that the reason they would like to learn the piano is to get Grade 8. Or Grade Anything. This is not, as far as I’ve experienced it, anybody’s reason for taking up an instrument.
Now, we’ve talked about exams before. Should you take music exams? Why should you? What are the downsides? What do you gain? How do they work? It’s entirely possible that “passing Grade 8 piano” can become a student’s ultimate goal, especially as they progress through the early grades. But I maintain that no one starts out with this as their reason for learning.
So back to the original question: why do people learn to play a musical instrument?
I think the answer is part of the question: “to play a musical instrument”. It’s its own goal, its own justification. Playing music is wonderful.
Exams, though, can kill this off. Not because they turn you against music, but because they don’t really allow you to play it. Do you remember Humoresque’s post about the Ps? If you missed it, or would like to read it again, you can do so here.
You have to practise hard to pass your exam. In the exam itself you will perform your pieces. The third P was play. This play is for pleasure. As I’ve just said, playing music is wonderful. But the problem is, after you’ve taken your exam you may never play those Grade 1 pieces again. Or Grade 5. Or whichever one it was. Of course not, because already your teacher has moved you on to the next thing. This is progress (another P), but there’s something missing.
I have tried to address this by bringing in the idea of Repertoire. I began this several years ago, but only for certain students: for beginners who are not yet at the exam stage, and for those students who don’t take exams.
Here’s a definition of Repertoire: “the collection of musical works someone has studied to performance level and is prepared to present in recital or concert”.
This “collection of musical works” could be anything.
It could be a few pieces from your very first beginner book. It might be a few piano sonatas by different composers. It might even be your Grade 3 pieces!
Then there’s “studied to performance level”.
Your teacher will know (and tell you) when you’ve hit this mark. “Performance level” is a loose term, and the standard itself varies according to technical level and context. So, if you’re not sure, ask your teacher.
What about “prepared to present in recital or concert”?
This goes hand in hand with “performance level”. If it’s at performance level, then you can perform it. But are you “prepared” to do so? This is part of your mindset, and Humoresque has this covered too.
If you are not preparing for a music exam, then every so often I will ask you to prepare some Repertoire to perform to me. Yes, just to me! No vast audiences or scary staging! Your Repertoire instruction might be for a certain number of pieces from your beginner book. If you’re more advanced, I’ll set you a time limit. Repertoire15 means I want fifteen minutes of performance, divided up however you like. Repertoire8 will be shorter.
How will you choose what to play? Well, as we learn new things and they reach that all important “performance level”, we move them into “Repertoire”.
You should keep a list of your Repertoire pieces, so you can call upon them when you want to, or when I ask you to. This means we’re no longer studying those pieces during your lessons, but they will sit in “Repertoire”, and you can revise them from time to time. The great thing about this is, you won’t lose what you’ve already learnt, and you’ve always got a backlist of things you can play competently, either for fun or to entertain your family and friends. Don’t you love this idea? I do!
I’ve decided to expand the Repertoire idea to everyone, not just non-exam people. As we reach the end of an exam course, I’ll ask you to put those exam pieces into a “Repertoire” list.
Once every term we’ll have “Repertoire Week”, when you perform for a set time. I think this sounds so much fun! Imagine a student working for Grade 6. But when Repertoire Week comes round, they bring out a piece from Grade 1, something from Grade 3, and a song they learnt by themselves from YouTube! How amazing would that be? Yes, you can choose pieces you haven’t studied with me, provided you judge you’ve got them to performance level. I love the surprise of this!
So be prepared, everyone!
From this term onwards, there will be Repertoire Week for you to get excited about. Decide how you’re going to keep a list of your “collection of musical works”. In a notebook? On your phone? Pinned up on your wall or above the piano? Embossed in an ornate typeface on vellum? The choices are vast! And your list will grow and grow, giving you a wonderful bank of music you can play or perform whenever you want to.
I’m super-excited about this, and I hope you are too!
This term’s Repertoire Week begins on Monday 23rd March.
I’d love to know what you think of this Humoresque. You can put a comment in the box below this post, or you can email me directly. I read and respond to everything.
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Humoresque = a whimsical or fanciful piece of music. Be whimsical, be fanciful, but play in time!
This is Humoresque Number 31