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Latest News

We are excited to share what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been growing throughout the year.  You can follow along!  Have an idea of something you’d like to learn more about? Let us know!
atomic habits
07 Feb 2023
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A Musicians Guide to Improvement 1% at a Time

Whether you are supporting a young musician or hoping to build your own musical enjoyment this year, you’ve probably figured out that time at your instrument is a huge factor in improvement, which brings about success and builds further enjoyment.

If you can get 1% better each day for one year, you’ll end up 37 times better by the time you’re done. - James Clear, Atomic Habits

What if instead of a major cram session before you / your child’s next lesson, you were able to build in small shifts that would accumulate in great gains by the end of this year?

Here are some ideas to get you started – just 1% at a time.

Your Set Up

Don’t underestimate the value of honing your set-up as a fun first step in brainstorming for success.

Can you improve your setup this year?

  • Are your seated comfortably and at a correct distance?
  • Does your young learner have a foot stool if their feet are dangling?
  • Is your sheet music flying around or secure in a binder or notebook?
  • Have you downloaded music to have it easily accessible?
  • Do you have a music stand at the correct height?
  • Is your instrument in tune or do you know how to tune properly?
  • Are online learning apps up-to-date?
  • Are you using the biggest device possible for online lessons?

Technique

Improving your technique can save you time and build healthy foundations that will save you time and keep you healthy for a lifetime of musical enjoyment.

Can you improve your technique?

Set a small goal to check in with your technique in each practice.

Technique is your physical approach to the instrument and can also include things like scales, chords, how you hold your drumsticks, your balance on the piano bench, how you hold your cello or working to not fold your body over your Ukulele or it may be the ways that you warm up your vocal cords as you start your practice.

Have questions? Your teacher is there to help you!

Rhythm is the BOSS

One of my college teachers was on a mission to prove that for every musician, rhythm is the boss! What do you think?

Can you improve your rhythm this year?

Beat is that steady inner pulse that controls your overall tempo and is another great aspect to work on. In its simplest from, rhythm is ‘the way the words go’ and a solid understanding of rhythm will inform the security of your pieces.

You can see 1% improvements daily by pausing before you begin to analyze rhythms, check for understanding to see if you / your child are understanding the rhythms in front of them and by targeting problematic rhythms in your pieces – even before you start to play.

Rhythm is also fun to do on the move and you can build tools for rhythmic success by tapping to music you hear, clapping words and moving to the beat.  Young students can tap rhythms before they start to play or have fun writing rhythms of their own!

Make Music

Set some micro-goals as you start your practice!
What piece are you working on?
What can you work on to see improvement in each practice?

Note Reading
Do you feel secure?
Can you work on a single measure to improve your note reading confidence? This can happen while playing or before you touch your instrument.

Listening
What are the sounds you are hoping to create in this practice. Can you listen with more intention to the dynamics, music phrases or see if you can tell a story through the music you are playing?

Play Music You Love
Do you have a piece on your ‘goal list’ this year or perhaps you are ready to set an exam goal or want to finish the lesson book you are working through?

Be sure to chat with your teacher about your goals and check-in from time to time if they are shifting – your teacher will be excited to hear of your musical plans and can help you set goals for this year – perhaps your most musical one yet!

 

03 Jan 2023
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It’s Okay to Struggle

I listened recently to a presentation by Dr. Brene Brown on the topic of Hope – my word for 2023.

Brene mentions the measurable two predictors of ‘high hopefulness’ in people as being, ‘perseverence and tenacity’ and goes on to say that ‘the people who have the highest levels of hope have the most experiences of failure.’

I had to listen to that twice and then pause to let that sink in.

As music educators and parents it can be so easy to buy in to the ‘easy, fast and fun’ mentality and we have a deep desire to steer clear of failure ourselves and to shelter our students and children from it as well.

In pondering Brene’s statements throughout this presentation, I was so encouraged at the reminder that working alongside students – even through struggle – has the unique opportunity to create in them a spirit of hopefulness.

Brene speaks into this further by highlighting that ‘high hopeful people’ also learn to separate failure from their identity as people.

“Hope is a function of struggle and is a product of not tying our failure to who we are.” [Dr. Brene Brown]

Persevering through struggling also has a community building function – it truly brings people together and builds a unified sense of hope  So, perhaps hopefulness is leaning into struggle, helping each other through and remembering that, “We can do hard things” – together.

 

Amie Webster

ARCT Piano Teacher
BC Registered Teacher
Motif Music Studios

Dr. Brene Brown
Watch Brene Brown at the UP Experience 2011

13 Oct 2021
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The Struggling Student and a Whole Person Approach to Music Education

My name is Amie Webster and I am an enthusiastic online music teacher from Vancouver Island. I work alongside a tremendous team of educators at Motif Music Studios.

I am also a music teacher of 23 years married to an incredibly patient husband who’s heard me verbally process these ideas for well over a decade. We are also the parents of three wonderfully wild, unique boys under seven years old and they constantly challenge us to rethink the norms of both parenting and education.

I’ve always been interested in the way people learn.  Even as a teen I would read books like, “The Way They Learn” by Cynthia Tobias.

 

I was still inquisitive, compassionate and each student I encountered taught me something different.

Yes, I was 16, a homeschooler and had no TV or “interwebs”.  Although I didn’t have the tools I have now, when I started teaching at 17 years old, I was still inquisitive, compassionate and each student I encountered taught me something different.

Please note the opinions below are my own and not intended as medical or therapeutic advice. I do give credit to many brilliant minds along the way that I have had opportunity to learn from and I mention them when quoted.

There’s beauty in the cracks, the rough edges, the uneven footing, the often times uncertain places we find ourselves as educators.

Dr. Wayne Dyer is quoted as saying, “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”

Perhaps you are working alongside a learner that is checking their beautifully unique boxes in a timeline completely their own, or you could be brainstorming on behalf of a student that is displaying discomfort or resistance in music lessons.  As an educator (or parent) these spaces of learning alongside each other could be filled with curiosity, but you may also feel overwhelmed or underprepared when presented with a more complex situation at home or with you studio or classroom.

Each student that comes to us as educators comes complete with a unique sensory profile, their own autonomic nervous system and varying levels of regulation in each lesson.  I believe our role as an educator is to guide students with wide-eyed curiosity as to how best to support them in their individual learning journey.

A whole person approach to music learning looks beyond visible ‘behaviours’ and begins to uncover the ‘whys’ that are beneath the surface.

Mona Delahooke, PhD, ponders this aloud in her book, “Beyond Behaviours” and says,

I often wonder about [the conflicting messages] we give to children about their bodies’ adaptations when we ask them to “quiet” their hands or bodies or otherwise conform behaviourally.  What happens to their nervous systems (positively or negatively) when we ask them to stop an action that their body is instructing them to do.
So, where does this leave us as curious, willing music educators (or caregivers) tasked to create opportunity for music growth alongside human connection?

I would like to suggest the following as a way to start viewing the whole person alongside teaching music.

Stay Curious

Does the behaviour serve the individual student in any way?

Behaviours most often DO serve the child, but it can take much patience and gentle exploration to uncover the ‘whys’.

For example, if you have a student that is naturally wiggly on the bench, instincts may have us want to ‘still’ this chaotic behaviour.  An inquisitive approach might wonder if their body is asking them to move.

Have they had opportunity to use the washroom, are they struggling with balance on the bench, are they overwhelmed at the task at hand and could their body be telling them to move away from even the most subtle of pressures?

When does the visible behaviour emerge and what are the variables?

Is the highlighted behaviour a constant in music practice and lessons or is it appearing in predictable intervals and triggered by the request for a certain aspect of music lessons or during a transition between activities?

You may be surprised at how many behaviours actually do serve an adaptive purpose.

Here are some other examples to get you started as you begin the empathy step in observing “Behaviour as Communication” (thanks, Ross Greene).

Resistance

This is an important flag for teachers to listen to and it can speak to many layers beneath the surface.  Not only is resistance a way for students to have autonomy, it also can be a reactive state (fight / flight / freeze) and their bodies may be giving them mixed messages about their readiness to learn in that moment.

Busy Bodies

 

Only once we start observing the behaviours in a questioning way can we truly support the learner without suppressing behaviours that are indeed the path to a more regulated learner.

I am sure many of us have witnessed this is in music lessons.  Perhaps your student is tumbling on or off the piano bench, struggles with when those fingers (or toes) start playing those keys, starts doing laps of a studio room or classroom, or their body movements are big and bold or quick and unpredictable.

This is also an adaptive response and support will look different depending on the student.  Only once we start observing the behaviours in a questioning way can truly support the learner without suppressing behaviours that are indeed the path to a more regulated learner.

This questioning step is just the first in many, but being willing to sit in this (sometimes uncomfortable) space awhile and observe behaviour with a compassionate heart and an inquiring mind is a step that will give room for a beautiful path forward as you work collaboratively with students and families to bring joy through music learning.

If this topic is of interest to you, I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

Here are some definitions of concepts I mentioned above, for easy reference.

Sensory Profile | The way each individual senses and experiences the world around them.

Autonomic Nervous System | The autonomic nervous system is a control system that acts on the behalf of individuals to regulate body functions such as heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate among many other systems and is also the primary mechanism in control of fight / flight / freeze mechanisms.

Regulation | The ability for the brain and body to work together to maintain a regulated state that provides opportunity for learning.

Please note:  The opinions above are my own and are not intended as medical or therapeutic advice.  I do give credit to the many brilliant minds I have had opportunity to learn from and mention them when quoted.

24 Feb 2021
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Apples and Oranges and the Modern Music Student

This year has been full of transformation for the modern music student.

Many of you may have heard of the English idiom, ‘(to) compare apples and oranges’ which is used when you are comparing things that are very different and should not (or can not) be compared.

For music educators and students around the world, we’ve spent this past year comparing face to face lessons to online music lessons and touting the benefits and challenges with these different models of lesson delivery.

However, this has become a funny comparison of apples and oranges!

At Motif Music Studios we love all the ways that we can encourage students as they make music a special part of their every day lives!  The delivery model that you choose (online or in person) are two very different experiences both with wildly amazing benefits.  At Motif Music Studios we are now fully online and embracing the benefits of working with students in this way.

Here’s are our top 5 reasons that we love online lessons:
1. We get to help students grow in their own environment.

This opportunity has given us fresh ways to nurture students studying from their own homes. The success that students see in their lesson with an instructor doesn’t feel unattainable – after all the magic happened right where they practice on their very own instrument!  Your teacher can help hone your set up so that each practice feels right and highlights the strengths of your own environment.

2.  We use Musico to deliver high quality, interactive content that lasts all week.

Our online teaching toolbox includes Musico which becomes the way you connect with your teacher, contains your interactive lesson notes with options for notation, audio and video to maximize the value you glean in each lesson.  Musico also becomes a creative hub where students can create their own music projects and explore a whole world of musical innovation and exploration.

3.  Online lessons create students who gain skills for independent learning.

It’s true that as teachers we’ve had to get creative in our use of visuals, creative manipulatives and new ways to stay active while working with students online. However, this has given students new opportunities for growth.  Even our youngest students are now knowing where their assignments are, getting their set up honed and are in-the-know when it comes to the pages they are working on!  We are creating learners that are equipped for the week of music learning that happens in between lessons!

4.  Commuting Now Becomes Creating!

For teachers and students alike, those moments of time before and after lessons are now centered around music exploration and creativity instead of commuting. We love seeing how often students login and then get practicing right away while they wait for lessons to begin!  Taking lessons online is a wonderful time saver for students and families.

5.  Your location is no longer an obstacle when it comes to finding an amazing music teacher!

Each week we see students joining us from afar!  It is so exciting to see students able to study with the music teacher of their choice, no matter where they live.

 

This online format is also opening new doors for professional development, collaborative workshops and amazing student opportunities throughout our music year.

Music is truly for everyone and we are so thankful for the opportunity to continue to nurture students of all ages as they embrace creativity, celebrate individuality, pursue excellence and change the world around them through music.

Here’s to apples and oranges and all the ways we can celebrate music learning together!

03 Apr 2019
2

Art Is Dangerous

Duke Ellington once said, “Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous, you don’t want it.”

I think that Ellington meant that good art is meant to challenge us, and that art that doesn’t make us a little uncomfortable isn’t worth making, but, given some recent musical experiences of mine, I’m thinking that there’s another layer of meaning to Ellington’s comment about the nature of art. Making art, or in our case, music, is risky. It takes a certain amount of courage, of bravery, to make music, whether it’s through performing or writing.

Some of you will have the opportunity to come out and participate in Motif’s upcoming composition workshop with Canadian composer Christine Donkin, and I hope that experience will help you to realize that making music doesn’t have to be as complex or intimidating a process as you once thought, but I know that it’s still risky, putting yourself out there as a musician. As we head into a new term of making music here at Motif, perhaps you can gain some inspiration from the stories of two of my favourite contemporary musicians.

It takes a certain amount of courage, of bravery, to make music, whether it’s through performing or writing.

Back in February, I had the privilege of seeing Bobby McFerrin live in performance at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo, along with his vocal ensemble Gimme 5. It was a remarkable and moving experience. If all you know of McFerrin is his 1988 hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” I strongly recommend that you explore more of his music and bear witness to one of the musical geniuses of our time. A Bobby McFerrin concert is not a passive listening experience; one is expected to participate in his spontaneous music creations, and it is a joy to do so. There is something so deeply satisfying about making music in a group, led by an incredible talent like McFerrin. Upon reflection after the concert, however, I had a bit of a revelation about the show: the entire thing was improvised. Over 90 minutes of complete spontaneity, in front of an expectant crowd. Think of the courage that takes! During one of the first songs, it seemed to take McFerrin and one of the other singers some time to “get into the groove” of the piece; it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t moving, it wasn’t particularly exciting … at first. Once the piece found its way, it was magical. Not only was this a good lesson in how risky it is to make spontaneous music, to improvise, but also in how important patience is in making (and listening to) music.

At almost the same time as I was enjoying McFerrin in concert, there was something interesting happening at the annual Grammy Awards: Washington-born Americana singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile was winning three Grammys for her latest album By the Way, I Forgive You. She also performed her award-winning song “The Joke”. The song itself is full of risk. In it, Carlile pushes her already-impressive vocal range to its limits, which you can hear when you listen to the recording on the album. When she performs the song live, however, she doesn’t always hit the final high note perfectly, which is exactly what happened during the Grammys. No-one doubted the sincerity of her performance though, as she sang the song with passion and commitment. Shortly after the Grammys, Carlile took another performing risk when she appeared on Ellen Degeneres’ live talk show and sang the song alone, without the support of her band. She delivered an emotional and stripped-down performance, one that moved Degeneres and her audience, in part because of the vocal risk inherent in any live rendering of “The Joke”. Carlile has earned her reputation as a passionate performer over the past few years, largely because of the courage she shows, both in how she pushes herself vocally and in the material she chooses to tackle in her songs (“The Joke” is about bullying). Rarely does she play it safe, and audiences respect her for that.

In 2013, Sara Bareilles released the song “Brave” on her album The Blessed Unrest. In it, Bareilles urged us to “say what you want to say/ and let the words fall out/ honestly, I wanna see you be brave.” She was aiming her words primarily at young women, but the sentiment is relevant to all of us as we embark upon the next stage of our musical journey together at Motif.

Be brave. Take the risk. Art is dangerous, but I know we’re all up to the challenge.
07 Feb 2019
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Creativity and Collaboration

One of our goals at Motif is to nurture an environment that supports creativity and collaboration, not only with teachers and students at Motif, but also other musicians.

This year, teacher Julianne suggested featuring a composer each month to inspire students to listen to music that may not be on their current playlists and to do something with potential to see teachers also motivating each other by their various approaches to this studio-wide challenge.

The challenge was accepted with enthusiasm and the momentum is growing throughout the year.

Our November “Composer of the Month” was Canadian composer, Christine Donkin.  Christine generously offered to answer student questions throughout that month and our students diligently wrote a variety of questions asking about inspiration for compositions, instrument dynamics and study habits and methods.  How wonderful to connect with this creative, talented Canadian composer.

We have the unique privilege of hosting Christine Donkin in the Comox Valley this Spring for a special series of composition workshops for Motif students and Comox Valley teachers on Sunday afternoon, April 7th.

We look forward to seeing students and teachers inspired as they explore composition for themselves, whether brand new composers or students already composing, this will be a format that both can participate in!

You can follow our event calendar to see upcoming events each month.  Please ask your teacher or email us at motifmusicstudios@gmail.com if you are curious if an opportunity might be right for you!

06 Feb 2019
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For The Love of Schumann

This month, we celebrate not one composer, but rather two! I don’t think it’s any accident that we have chosen February, the month in which we celebrate family and love, to recognize one of the greatest musical couples of all time: Robert and Clara Schumann.

Robert first met Clara Wieck when he started taking piano lessons from her father, Friedrich, in 1828. Although Clara was only 9 at the time (Robert was 18), she was already starting to make a name for herself as a concert pianist. Robert was so taken with her playing that he abandoned his legal studies and dedicated himself to lessons with the elder Wieck. By 1832, Robert had to give up his own dreams of becoming a concert pianist because of a debilitating injury to a finger on his right hand, perhaps caused by practicing took much, so he devoted himself to composing, initially primarily for the piano.

In 1837, Robert openly declared his love for Clara and proposed marriage.

His proposal was accepted happily by Clara, but refused by her father, who was concerned that Robert, as a relatively unknown composer, would not be able to support Clara, and that the marriage would derail her burgeoning career as a performer. Indeed, one critic, after hearing Clara play a recital in Vienna, wrote, “The appearance of this artist can be regarded as epoch-making… In her creative hands, the most ordinary passage, the most routine motive acquires a significant meaning, a colour, which only those with the most consummate artistry can give.” The young lovers were not deterred, however, and met in secret while they challenged Friedrich’s refusal in court. They won their case three years later and were married in September 1840.

The Schumanns were absolutely devoted to each other for the entirety of their marriage, which lasted until Robert’s untimely death in 1856. Robert was so overjoyed with the union that he devoted 1840 almost entirely to writing lieder (art songs), a genre that he had earlier derided as inferior. He wrote over 140 songs that year, leading historians to dub it his Liederjahr (Year of Song). Included in this remarkable output is one of Robert’s most passionate outpourings of love, the sumptuous “Widmung,” the first song in a cycle called Myrthen (Opus 25). Robert borrowed Schubert’s Ave Maria melody for the song (it was one of Clara’s favourites).

In this song, his love for Clara is on full display:

Du bist die Ruh, du bist der Frieden/ Du bist von Himmel mir beschieden./ Daßt du mich liebst, macht mich mir wert.  [You are rest, you are peace/ You are from heaven to me./ That you love me makes me worthy.]

Robert gave to Clara a “wedding diary” as a gift when they were first married. The couple both wrote in it over the next few years, providing fascinating insight into the early years of their marriage. In it Clara reveals her first pregnancy (“… there are so many things that burden a poor father of the family, which soon is what my Robert will ultimately end up being!!!!”), her frustrations at not being able to compose or practice as she would like (“My piano playing again falls completely by the wayside, as is always the case when Robert composes.”), and her plans for a birthday present for Robert (“This week I sat down a lot to compose, and finally succeeded with four poems by Rückert for my dear Robert. May they satisfy him just a little, then my wish will be fulfilled.” Unfortunately, we also see the strain on Robert as he became more and more ill. On his birthday in 1842, he writes, “But I was melancholy and unwell on that day. In the evening, we cheered ourselves up; several acquaintances were there, and much wine flowed into grateful throats. Yet the best thing after that was music, which Clara gave us as yet.”

Robert suffered from bouts of depression from an early age, perhaps stemming from losing his bother and sister-in-law to cholera in 1833, and he had a full-fledged breakdown in 1844 after a long concert tour in Russia with Clara. By 1854, his illness reached its peak, and he had himself admitted into a sanatorium, where he died two years later. Clara never re-married, although she did have a very close relationship with Johannes Brahms which verged on romance, remaining a widow until her own death 43 years later.

Robert’s importance in the history of Romantic music is fairly well-known already, but Clara’s contributions are far less familiar.

She was recognized widely as a highly influential performer, being one of the first to perform from memory. She also changed concert programs, moving away from the bravura pieces of the early 19th century towards programs devoted to her own pieces and those of leading composers of the time. She was the first known performer to feature the music of Brahms in her concerts, and she spent much of her widowhood promoting Robert’s music. Without her dedication to her dead husband’s compositions, it is doubtful that he would hold such an important position in the history of piano music today, especially since newer composers such as Liszt and Chopin threatened to displace Robert’s music in the latter half of the 19th century.

This month, whether you play piano or sing, it would be easy for you to find a piece by either of these wonderful composers to add to your repertoire. A good place to start for those new to the Schumann’s would be the Album für die Jugend (Album for the Young), Op. 68. It is a collection of 43 short piano works written by Robert in 1848 for his three daughters. The first 18 pieces are appropriate for beginner piano pieces, while the remaining 25, labelled Für Erwachsenere, will provide greater challenge for the more advanced students. Good luck, and have fun!

 

Youtube Link:  Widmung op. 25 nº 1 (Schumann) – Diana Damrau

21 Jan 2019
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1

Speaking of Beethoven

Whenever I think about Ludwig van Beethoven, certain things jump immediately to mind.

Take a minute and think about this great composer; what do you come up with? Probably that he famously went deaf. Maybe that he was a renowned grump. Certainly that he wrote some of the most enduring and sublime music for orchestra, including the 5th and 9th Symphonies (the 5th with its iconic “da-da-da-dum” opening, and the 9th with the infectious and inspiring “Ode to Joy”). I have not-so-fond memories of trying to learn some Beethoven pieces on the piano when I was a teenager and university student. I always wanted to be able to play the beautiful second movement of Beethoven’s Pathètique Sonata, the one whose melody Billy Joel “borrowed” for his song “This Night”. I always felt like I needed another hand if I wanted to be able to play the movement properly, to make the melody sing the right way.

It doesn’t matter what instrument you play, you probably have memories of struggling with Beethoven at some point. He seemed to take joy in writing music that was intensely difficult, too hard for the amateur player. This isn’t surprising, considering that Beethoven was a virtuosic piano player and a perfectionist when it came to composing. So what do we amateurs do when we want to play some Beethoven? Are there compositions that are more accessible than others?

Living as he did at the end of the 18th century and into the beginning of the 19th, Beethoven did not enjoy the same kind of musical employment opportunities as his predecessors.

Bach, for example, spent most of his professional life working as a church composer. Beethoven’s close friend and mentor, Joseph Haydn, worked for the Prince of Esterhàzy for most of his life, enjoying a steady income and consistent employment. Jobs such as these were few and far between at the turn of the 19th century, however, as the authority of the church waned and Europe went through a succession of revolutions against its monarchies (also, Beethoven didn’t like working for anyone but himself!). Thus, Beethoven relied almost entirely on commissions and teaching for his income. He often wrote music for his students, and since he taught students with a variety of skill levels, there are piano works written for a similar range of abilities. Here are some piano pieces for beginner, intermediate, and more advanced students.

The beginner piano player should look to some of Beethoven’s unpublished works.

These were written fairly early in Beethoven’s career (the early 1790s), and thus do not have opus numbers (in other words, they aren’t part of the official Beethoven catalogue of works). Included in these “works without opus number,” or “WoO”, are a couple of Scottish dances called ecossaises. These are charming, short works that are reminiscent of some of Mozart’s earlier piano pieces. Of particular interest are the Ecossaise in E-flat major (WoO 86) and the Ecossaise in G major (WoO 23). These play around RCM Level 1 or 2, so they are not for the absolute beginner, but they are quite accessible to early learners.

There are more pieces available for intermediate piano players.

Beethoven wrote a collection of German Dances (WoO 13) that are interesting and pose some challenge for students playing at the Grade 4 or 5 level. Any of the 12 short works contained in this collection would make for an excellent addition to your recital repertoire. Beethoven also wrote many bagatelles. The word “bagatelle” refers to a “short, unpretentious instrumental composition,” and Beethoven’s bagatelles certainly fit the bill. The sixth bagatelle from his Opus 33 collection would be appropriate for Grade 7 students, as would the Bagatelle in G minor, Op. 119 No. 1. Of course, no discussion of Beethoven’s bagatelles would be complete without mention of perhaps his most played piano work, Für Elise. Historians still aren’t sure exactly who “Elise” was, and this work wasn’t even published during Beethoven’s lifetime (it was discovered over 40 years after his death), but it remains one of his most enduring and endearing works. It is rare to attend a youth piano recital that does not include at least one performance of this bagatelle. It also plays at a Grade 7 level.

The more advanced students may be tempted to take on one of Beethoven’s sonatas, but this can be risky because of the varying ability levels required for different movements of the same sonata.

For example, the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata is appropriate for Grade 7 or 8 students, but the third movement is much more difficult. The same is true of the Pathètique; while the second movement may be accessible to Grade 8 or 9 students, the outer movements require great power and dexterity. A safer approach for students who want to challenge themselves with some of Beethoven’s mid-level advanced works may be to take on a single movement of a sonata, or to consider Sonata No. 19 in G Minor (Op. 49 No. 1) or No. 20 in G Major (Op. 49 No. 2). These are challenging but achievable works for students playing at the Grade 8 or 9 level. They are among the shorter sonatas, having only two movements. More advanced students may want to attempt Sonata No. 25 in G Major (Op. 79). Beethoven also wrote many sets of variations that would provide a good challenge for advanced students. These include Six Variations on a Swiss Folk Song (WoO 64), Six Variations on “Nel cor piu non mi sento,” (WoO 70), and Six Easy Variations on an Original Theme (WoO 77).

Whatever your skill level on the piano, I’m confident that there is a Beethoven composition that is right for you!

Ask your teacher for help tracking down scores for any of these works. Many have appeared in RCM books in the past, while others can be found online for free or in collections of Beethoven’s piano works. Remember, Beethoven wrote almost 100 works for piano, so it’s worth digging into his catalogue beyond stalwarts such as Für Elise and the Moonlight Sonata. Happy playing!