In 2011, I challenged all my students to learn at least 40 pieces during the school year. Out of my 40 or so students (and despite my best motivational efforts) most managed around 20 pieces, two achieved the 40 pieces milestone and one completely outdid even my own expectations.
In 2011, I challenged all my students to learn at least 40 pieces during the school year. Out of my 40 or so students (and despite my best motivational efforts) most managed around 20 pieces, two achieved the 40 pieces milestone and one completely outdid even my own expectations.
Ben (pictured with his award), learnt 75 pieces in 2011 and, with a lot of practice, managed to get himself from beginner to around Grade 2 level in a less than a year. 
The moral of the story: learn more pieces (duh!!).
Some of you might be thinking, “Big deal. A lot of my kids are like that!”.
If so, you’re very lucky and perhaps teaching at one of the world’s top institutions! Most of my students, on the other hard, are pretty ‘normal’ teenagers – they play sport inside and outside school, many are in swim/tennis/karate squads, they play video games, waste time on Facebook and many have part-time jobs.
I don’t teach 12-year-olds who are doing their AmusA (diploma exams) and I encourage my students to play other instruments and get involved in school bands, orchestras and choirs. Only a few sit formal exams.
For my students, playing piano is something they do simply because they like it, it’s fun, it’s different and sometimes gets them out of maths class!
The idea for a benchmark of 40 pieces was first suggested to me by Sydney-based piano teacher and composer Elissa Milne (an excellent blogger to follow, by the way) at a conference I attended early last year.
There are now plenty of articles on the internet about this topic – just Google “40 piece challenge” for more info and suggestions.
The ’40 pieces challenge’ may come as a shock to teachers used to teaching students only 6-10 pieces each year (and choosing these only from exam books, heaven forbid), but is definitely worth trialling in your studio. Sight reading, repertoire knowledge, theory, rhythm and performance skills are continually developed and the results will speak for themselves.
Keep in mind that it won’t be possible for students to play 40 pieces a year at the level at which they are currently working. To do that would miss the point. The idea of playing more pieces in a year than is required for an exam is all about breadth of repertoire and having fun.
Given that the pieces will only take a week or two to master, there is less anxiety and frustration and the students can just play to enjoy. For example, my Grade 6/7 level students play fun pieces around Grade 2-4 level. My first year students might play really easy duets and learn some pop riffs.
All that matters is that the 40+ pieces are fun, interesting and give the students something different to focus on – perhaps music in a different style, LH-only pieces, duets, boogies and blues if they are classical players or classical if they are jazz players. The list is endless.
For ideas on pieces to use, check out my other posts about repertoire.
Norton’s Microjazz, Diabelli duets, “Joy of Boogie and Blues”, 2-piano works, chordal pop music, video game tunes and movie themes all come up regularly in my studio. Elissa Milne’s “Getting to… (New Mix)” is another great compilation of fun and well-arranged music that kids love as is Daniel McFarlane’s Supersonics. To keep track of a student’s pieces, I use a page like this one (click to download) or a coffee card. You can even have a poster on the wall.
There is so much amazing music out there. Aren’t we doing a disservice to our students by only learning a few?
ps. If you’re looking for a great source of medals and awards for your students (like the one I gave Ben) and you live in Australia, check out awardsandtrophies.com.au who provide fast, efficient service with free engraving and a great selection of music-based awards.
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Paul Somerville (@paul_somerville) says:
Hi Tim,
Thanks a lot for this post. I found it really encouraging to hear you talk about having a pretty ‘ordinary’ client base – I’m in the same boat. Although probably about half of my students do exams, I have heaps of students with very busy and diverse schedules, adult beginners who barely practise, and zero six-year-olds doing their LMus …
I’ve also been thinking about ways to get my students to play a whole lot more repertoire this year. I’m wondering if I can ask you a couple of specific questions about it:
* Do you make it a (softly) competitive thing with all your students to try to get to 40 pieces, or is it just something for each student to achieve?
* Quite a banal, logistical-type question: how do you keep track of how many pieces a student has learnt?
* When you are working with a student towards an exam, how do you find time in a 30-minute lesson to cover, like, another whole new piece every week?
Many thanks,
-Paul
Carly McDonald says:
Excellent post Tim! Like you and Paul I have a diverse and what I would think would be a fairly ‘normal’ student base.
Last year I also took up Elissa’s suggestion of challenging the kids to learn 40 songs and many got to the mid-20’s. Those who were really dedicated got to the 40! They were so excited, it was such a wonderful achievement.
I enjoy reading posts from teachers who are interested in thinking outside the traditional.
Joyce de Silva says:
Hi Tim, I just discovered this blog recently and I’m hooked. Teaching piano can be very isolating, and while you hope you are doing the right thing, you’re never really sure….
I have taken up your 40 piece challenge with most of my students, and keep it to fairly simple, familiar tunes. I call them “one week wonders”. It has been very encouraging for some of the slower learners to be able to achieve a new piece a week, even if it’s something like Twinkle, twinkle little star.
Joyce de Silva says:
Hi Tim,
I’m in Melbourne – southern/ bayside area.
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Connie Yeung says:
HI Tim,
You made me think back how many pieces I used to play in a year. My teacher made me play over 100 songs a year. You could imagine my rate of improvement. 😉
Would you mark a song from Czerny Opus 599 as “one piece” in your 40 pieces a year challenge?
Connie
Connie Yeung says:
😉 as you said it depends on the kids’ interests. I am slowly adding more songs but I am also aware that I will need to cut back the number of songs if they can’t deliver. does that make sense? I guess at some stage we all learnt from our previous teachers. I never analysed the pieces that I learnt in terms of “numbers” because my teacher made me think that I was playing songs for different periods. That’s why I needed to learn n number of songs in one lesson. Your article was a great perspective. Thanks for sharing.
Chrissa (a tad bit creative) says:
What a great idea! Especially for students studying for exams where they tend to only focus on their exam pieces. I might have to throw out this challenge for my students!
Dean says:
They must sound like shit if they can ‘play’ that many pieces, if, as you say, they have all the other competing interests that take so much of their time. We all know that almost everything else comes before getting to the piano, even if they claim they enjoy their pieces and the instrument itself. Doing something properly these days is almost a thing of the past…..
Alice Siah says:
Hi Tim, I really really love reading your blogs! Thanks for sharing your ways to teach piano as a fun “job”! I’m going to corporate this into my studio this year, as it sounds so much FUN .. not to mention I need to have this list for myself 🙂 I do have questions for you though:
1. Do you make copies of songs for your students? Or do you loan the books if the song only takes 2 weeks to master? Some songs may be in their level books already, but the fun songs must be copied?
2. When do you declare each song is successfully learned/passed? When they get all the notes and rhythm perfect? Or plus dynamics, pedalling, etc.
3. On your tracking page — there’s a checkbox and starting date — do you put a date when they start learning and then put a check when they pass it?
Alice Siah says:
Thanks for the informative reply! Sorry, I’m a bit anal about the details!
1) Is this something that can be done yearly?
2) Would you share about your reward system in your studio? Do you provide trophies only to those who achieve 40 pieces?
3) I’m wondering if you have incentive rewards for students completing other musical activities such as listening, practicing daily, etc.? I have those and thinking to change it for the new school year after reading your article about extrinsic reward.
Thanks so much!
Why working to exams is anti-piano « Tim Topham says:
[…] 2. How many of your students are learning more than 10 pieces a year at or close to their “exam” grade level? How many of them are learning 40-pieces or more each year? […]
Trinity College Exams – First Impressions « Tim Topham says:
[…] I’m also a big believer in the importance of improvisation, which is not studied as part of the AMEB syllabus, but can be a focus in Trinity. Similarly, I like that Trinity students need only prepare 3 relatively short pieces per grade rather than the AMEB’s 4-6 often long ones. This results in students being able to continue studying many other pieces during the year rather than just their exam pieces (see my post on the success of my 40 pieces challenge). […]
The Hal Leonard Australia 40 Piece Challenge 2013: suggestions for getting started « Elissa Milne says:
[…] there are plenty of posts I’ve written that already argue the case, and plenty written by other people as well, for that […]
els cozijnsen says:
Hello Tim. Today I started giving lessons after the christmas holidays. And yes I started with the 40 pieces challenge. I put a cross in the box when the study of a pieces has begun, and the date on which the piece is ready! One girl came with the second lesson book of Hal Leonard, and she was so happy about having a new book that she learned 11 pieces! Also a few short ones, but she (and I) was very happy when I told her about the challenge, and the fact there was a price for the pupil who has learned the most new pieces in 2013. So it was a great start for this new year. Another thing is that sometimes I am thinking that I myself have to work very hard in my lessons motivating my pupils. But with this challenge the pupils have to work! I am very anxious to see how this plan will work out this year!
els cozijnsen says:
The lessons are very short……20 minutes for each pupil, some 30 minutes for two! Most of them liked the plan for 40 pieces in 2013 and asked about the rewards! I think in a few weeks I can give you the results so far.
I am happy with the blogs of pianoteachers all over the world and read about their ideas. I also started a blog for my pupils and collegas, but I think it will be difficult to read for you in Dutch. You can try it http://pianelco.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/een-zeer-muzikaal-2013-toegewenst/ or ty just: http://pianelco.wordpress.com
The numbers game | 40 Piece Challenge says:
[…] Tim Topham wrote about how his student Ben went from a beginner to Grade Two in 10 Months when he learned 75 Pieces in One Year. […]
charlotte says:
Hi Tim, I came across your blog after researching about renting a piano. It’s always delightful to read what other piano teachers think =)
Just to share my own story, I always give my students a few pieces (not just one) from the very first lesson. It can be something very easy or more challenging depending on the students’ age and ability. As they learn to read more notes, I put them to a designated lesson book. I like Bastien Primer A and Primer B for young beginners, and I usually move them to Piano Adventure afterwards. Each time they pass a piece from the book, they earn 1 sticker. On top of that, I also give them one extra piece from various sources. This is the “fun” piece which can be a popular tune, christmas carols, movie themes etc. If they pass this piece as well, they earn an extra sticker. They can collect 10 stickers from small prize, 20, 30 and even 50 for bigger prize.
So far, most students can usually pass the piece from the book as it is usually shorter, with a lot of clues like finger numbers and hand positions. For the extra piece, it ranges from 1 week to 3 weeks. I usually give them a “warning”, which is to take away their stickers once it has passed 3 weeks and only little improvements are shown. Not that I have ever actually taken their stickers anyway but this seems to work! (haha).
So, I would say my students (who are normal primary school boys and girls and some teenagers) learn more than 40 pieces a year. I have never thought of given them awards, as this has always been the system.
However, all of the “fun” have to stop once the students move to exam preparation.. As they only have 30-minute lesson, I have to focus on their exam pieces more and there is often no time to look at other stuff.. Do you face this problem, too?
Where did the 40 Piece Challenge begin? | Elissa Milne says:
[…] In January 2011 I did a tour with Gayle Kowalchyk and Dan Coates, a series of day-long seminars organised by Alfred. My job was to be the MC and – you guessed it – to talk about repertoire-rich teaching and learning. A whole new teaching crowd came along to these seminars. Teachers who’d never heard me talk about this approach before. One of them quizzed me hard on the day he attended in Melbourne, and a year later he wrote this blog post. […]
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Rosemarie Leverton says:
Do you count every piece, including the method book they are currently studying? Or just extra, easier pieces?
Anita E Kohli says:
Hello Tim,
That ‘s amazing! How often did the student come for class, and for what duration. Were there pieces he did totally without help? Did you have time to listen to every piece? Did you need to set speed and practise targets? Am trying to get my students learning more music, and would love to know how much was done totally on his own and if you did anything different to help him along…quite impressive!
Teresa Walker says:
Hi
Would you recommend the same for me started piano in November last year aged 55. Have a teacher once a fortnight for 1/2 hour. On bastien book level 1. Prefer classical but open to any advice
Karen says:
Hi Tim, I always struggle with how much to expect the kids to master these pieces when you do a 40 piece challenge. Can you share how you determine when one of them counts? Also…what if their lesson book already has several short “pieces” to help with learning concepts. Do you count those? Thanks!
improvements says:
Muchos Gracias for your post. Magnificent.
Juan says:
I’m a self-taught one, and I agree with that approach, there’s so many pieces to play, and really beautiful ones that give a lot of skill. Actually I’m learning Clementi’s op.36 no.2, Diabelli op.168 no.1, Beethoven Bagatelle no.6 from op.33 and Chopin Preludes no.4 and 7. I try to have some variety, but I don’t like a lot the post romantic pieces from the current level I have (grade 4 almost 6). I ain’t aiming for 40 pieces, because I learn a more near my level, but here’s my challenge for the rest of the year (I started these not so long ago along with other 5 I learnt, so 1 year will be probably June 2020), wish you that it gives you repertoire for those who read over level 4-5:
– Clementi op.36 no.3
– Schubert D974
– Bach Inventio no.4
– Beethoven Sonatina in F
– Chopin Sostenuto Waltz Eb major (from Album Leaf)
– Kuhlau op.20 no.1
– Mendelssohn andante cantabile (from 2 klavierstucke)
– Schubert variation on waltz C minor by Diabelli
– Chopin – Mazurka no.54
– Beethoven Sonatina in Eb
– Schumman – Albumblätter Op.124, 1
– Chopin Polonaise in G minor op.posth
– Beethoven Bagatella op.126 no.5
– Gymnopedie 1
– Clementi Sonatina no.4
– Schubert D380
– Haydn Sonata no.8
– Schubert D779
– Beethoven Sonata no.20
– Chopin Waltz in A minor
– Haydn Sonata no.7
– Invention no.5
– Schumman Kindrenscenen op.15 no.1
– Invention no.6
– Mozart Rondo K485
– Haydn Sonata no.9
– Bach Inventio no.2
– Schubert D529
– Mozart Sonata no.545
– Mozart Fantasia K397
– Schubert D975
– Haydn Sonata no.13
– Gymnopedie 2
– Scarlatti K510
– Inventio no.3
– Gymnopedie 3
I’m sure I won’t learn at a really proper level all of them, but enough to be satisfied, because most of them are for fun