The Level 8 Project

I am a Piano Teacher with a thriving Piano Studio on the East Coast of the US. I am somewhat young to the practice and I believe in life-long learning as a core tenant of my job as a Piano Teacher. I am also an Examiner/Adjudicator for the Royal Conservatory Exam programs both in Canada and the United States - known as the Music Development Program. I have put many students through the program, but at Elementary Levels. Now as some of my students are graduating to some of the more advanced certificates, I want to prepare for this by taking a deep dive into the Repertoire and the experience overall.

I have found an articulate and patiently willing companion in this journey to serve as my teacher. She is a seasoned Piano Teacher and Senior Examiner with Royal Conservatory. Therefore my current plan is to take lessons with her, as much as our schedules allow, in hopes of working towards the Level 8 exam. Yes - I plan to register as a Student/Candidate for an upcoming exam!

My Commitment - I commit to spending 45 minutes a day during weekdays at the Piano, both practicing and studying the score.

This blog is my reflections on my journey and my observations of each piece. The blog itself will consist of personal reflections, but I will write separate posts indexing collective observations of each of the Level 8 pieces.

Check out my most recent Post~

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Etude No 1 - Rowley Agitato, Op. 42, No. 18

Fast and fiery, this is a great piece to work on balance with a LH melody. Main ideas and challenges presented : Balance between the hands - melody (in the LH) should always be the focus. Chords have to be controlled carefully. This is a great tool for dynamic range, but only if the chords are played with tidy ensemble (e.g. notes of the chord come down precisely at the same time.)   Tempo and meter go hand in hand for this piece. If the piece is not felt “in 1,” rather a fast “3” it has the strong possibility to sound pedantic and is more likely to drag. The right metric accents and general intention will drive the student to play in an appropriate tempo.   Pedaling is a concern as is always the case when LH has melody in romantic style music.  Remembering too that something that sounds over-pedaled can actually be related to voicing issues (too thick chords, too heavy RH). Other tips and consideration: With the intense A section, it can be ...
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