Find Your Piano Level - From Beginner to Advanced
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- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2024
- Ever wondered where you stand on the piano proficiency scale? Are you a late beginner? Or intermediate pianist? How are you supposed to know what level of piano music to play?
No more guesswork-let's find out what level you are today! I'm breaking down each level to shed light on where you stand: Beginner, Late Beginner, Early Intermediate, Intermediate, Late Intermediate, and Advanced.
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:06 Beginner
2:23 Late Beginner
4:12 Early Intermediate
6:14 Intermediate
8:23 Late Intermediate
10:27 Advanced 
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You sound like an incredible teacher.
I am early intermediate with some intermediate skills (2 years in). I practice about 2 hours a day. My goal is not necessarily to become an advanced player but just to be able to enjoy playing pieces that make me feel happy. I am in my 50s and retired early and decided to learn piano as my new “job”. Really like your teaching style.
I love watching piano vids on RUclips, but few people actually know something about music. And you are damn sure one of them!! First off: you know that Etude/Prelude in G wasn’t written by JS Bach but by Petzold, and you knew that Für Elise and Moonlight Sonate (movement I) aren’t pieces for beginners. You earned a sub, keep up the good work!!!
Early intermediate pianist (now I know!), but advanced video producer. Compliments to your beautiful lighting!
😊 Thank you, that means a lot!
Late beginner for me. I have a few of the skills in early intermediate, but have gaps in skills that my teachers never told me to practice, like scales lol. But I am good at sight reading easy beginner pieces and lead sheets. I wish I had access to online resources like this channel when my teachers were not very thorough and didn't tell me what to practice aside from repertoire (which was usually above my level). Thank you!
As a fellow teacher, I find it fascinating to hear what other teachers use to measure “levels.”
In my opinion, I feel like there’s a big jump from the skills described from Late Beginner to Early Intermediate. I might split the Beginner levels into 3 parts as well, Early, Mid, and Late. And then I might use your description for Late Beginner as a Mid-Beginner and bridge the gap a little better to Early Intermediate.
All that being said, I do agree with quite a few things mentioned here! I just wish there was more technique addressed than just balancing hands or voicing to mark levels.
What for techniques? :)
Yeah, it's difficult to measure levels! I get why it's important for adults (especially those learning on their own) to have some kind of measure, but even my opinion on levels changes from week to week. I agree with you about splitting the Beginner level up - great thought!
😮😢 oh my, not very encouraging, this being my third week, but I am enjoying just my simple exercises, enjoying the journey rather than an end goal at my age:86
Keep going…I am 78 and at intermediate level…Have fun…❤
I'm older too, just make challenging yourself fun! Hang in there. Progress is always slow at all levels. Once you can sight read even simple pieces your fun will increase I promise!
You don’t need to take this long. Learn chords not notes and you’ll be able to play songs much more quickly. The classical approach outlined in this video is designed to take years and even decades to progress through. It doesn’t have to take anywhere near this long to learn. If you focus on chords you can learn to play thousands of songs in just a few months.
@@andybarker8787 It's an entirely different mindset to want to play an instrument reading only lead sheets and not music. I used the Pianote platform so I've been introduced to both and strongly dislike the lead sheet/chord route. It works for many, not me, I enjoy the challenge of sight reading, classical music, and prefer to take the slower classical route.
@@leeciap I agree, although figuring out and playing chords along with songs I love by ear is still fun. But I would never want to just stop there!
get well soon Susan, I always look forward to your post, it's very true that it's difficult to find what level your at, for me i went to the abrsm books and then used that to find the right composer, so far it has worked fairly well. At the moment i use the grade 4 pieces which to take me around a couple of days to learn and then a couple more days to nail, practicing around 2 hours a day. I am shortly going to step it up to grade 5 pieces 🤞🤞
Self-taught here, and I’m working through your Major/Minor scale challenges right now. I really appreciate this breakdown, even if it sets me back around late-beginner, early-intermediate. 😂 Hope your health improves quickly! Thanks so much for your teaching, I really appreciate this channel. ❤
I 10000% agree with you about Gymnopédie! I tried to learn this as one of my first pieces a few hundred hours ago, and I gave up primarily because of the leaps not sounding musical at all (hahaha). I will probably revisit this piece again soon! (I have about 450 hours total practice time right now, self taught/youtube).
Please 🙏 I know you'll be fine.😊 You are a great teacher 💝😊
Thoughtfully done and very informative.
Susan, thank you so much for making the levels clear. I’m working through your Piano Roadmap, and it’s so helpful to me, since I’m doing this on my own. I’m at the beginning level. 🥰
❤️
Definitions of levels are clear and make complete sense. Thank you.
Wanted to know which levels the following pieces correspond to:
1. Chopin waltz in C# minor (op 64 no 2)
2. Sibelius Etude (op 76 no 2)
To answer, Chopin's C# minor Waltz op. 64 no.2 is grade 6 in Henle's scale (Henle Verlag publications) So, on par with Chopin's Polonaise Dramatique (op. 26 no. 1 C# minor) or the Eb Major Nocturne op.9 no. 2. Also the F minor Nocturne op. 55 no. 1 which I'm starting to work on now in hopes of playing for the Fall recital. Henle 6 is solidly late intermediate, possibly blurring a just a little bit into early advanced repertoire depending on the piece. Mozart's D minor Fantasie K.397 (which I'm performing at our recital in June) is also Henle grade 6.
Oh, and looking at the Sibelius Etude, seeing the intended tempo, movement and quick interval jumps in the left hand, and how constant they are, I'd say likely Henle grade 7 which would put it in the early advanced category. Even though Sibelius isn't published by Henle. It might be a grade 6, but I'd think that would be a very "late" grade 6 piece with the speed and the motions in the right hand, so more likely a grade 7. So I'd say either very late intermediate or earlier advanced repertoire.
It's not unlike Chopin's Etude f minor op. 25,2 "The Bees" which is Henle grade 7.
Thank you for always posting very informative videos. I hope you feel better soon :)
Thank you for the list of pieces, this helps a lot
Thank you so much! This was very informative. I hope you feel better soon
❤Thank you so much Susan this video is really Great! and help to clear my mind so much.
Wishing you get well very soon.
Very helpful, I thought I was intermediate level but not quite have everything you mentioned yet.
First video of yours I've seen and it was fabulous! Will definitely check out more
Thanks! Very helpful. N hope u r much better now.
Your voice was as lovely as always is. Great video ! 👏🏻
Thank you for your informative videos. They are so well presented. Thank you!!
Thanks so much for your support, and glad they're helpful!
Very informative
Very nice . Thank you … I do feel better about my progress… enjoying the journey… I do play a number of the pieces you mentioned…. Always learning and practicing but enjoying and loving the process … Chopin my favorite 🎹thank you for the explanation…. I feel better about where I am and level ..
Much needed. Much appreciated. I particularly appreciate the notion that one's skills may span two or more levels. So true. Love the suggested repertoire. My problems include punch-outs, such as pedalling and ornaments. Sigh.
Thank you for explaining in clear terms the different levels. One of the pieces that is not often mentioned in an early intermediate level is the Gnossienne no4 by Erik Satie. It helps to have the left hand play arpeggio like passages. Not terribly difficult to learn but difficult enough to interpret beautifully. I know because I am an adult amateur pianist. Great video, thanks again.
FINALLY- I’m self-teaching wandering-around aimlessly- your experience gives guidance goals.
THANKS ❤
Ditto
10:38 yea let's try Mazeppa ;)🎉
Very much enjoy your videos and your soothing voice (:. I do have a teacher and also a couple beginner students and am learning from you as well. Thank you specifically for this video - I appreciate the recommendation to play pieces at several levels and am attempting to prevent burnout. Thank you again!
You're welcome!
Thank you
Hope you feel better. Thank you for the guidance. I know now where I should be in the process. Thanks again
Happy to help!
Just found more than a couple of interesting pieces for my level right here. Thank you so much!
You're welcome!
Great video. Thank you! New subscriber. 🙌🙌
I enjoyed it.
thankyou 🌱
Not sure I agree that the Mozart Sonata k 545 is late intermediate. Seems more like early advanced. Interesting video! One Beethoven sonata is late intermediate for sure and that is op 49 no 2. I would add another two categories, late advanced and virtuosic. I’m sure you are very well aware of all this but thought I’d add my thoughts
Yup lol, you can't pull Mazeppa/Feux follets out just because you're an advanced player. I mean you could learn it, but.. yea there are still gaps between advanced (virtuosic) players
To me, the Beethoven Op. 49 No. 2 is more advanced than Mozart's K 545, but that might be because I find Beethoven ALWAYS more challenging! I definitely skipped advanced and virtuosic in this video, mostly because I figure that if you're at the late advanced/virtuosic stage, you already know 😆 Thanks so much for adding your thoughts!
I restarted playing the piano after years without one. I took lessons as a child and a few years as a teenager. I never learned chords. Mostly learned from Thompson graded books. I started working on Poet and the Peasant as a teen, but never could play the last several pages. 55 years later I finally can play the whole thing! So I figure without knowing chords I'm still a beginner? But Poet and Peasant Overture is no cakewalk! I'd like to know where you think I stand. I can play 13 of 15 Scenes from Childhood by Schumann. Woo!
From what you state, you are between early intermediate and intermediate!
I hope you are feeling better! Thank you. I have been playing my scales with a metronome for the past two months. I had some metronome trauma as a young violinist, but with a digital metronome I can keep the volume low, and that helps. And so does doing scales with a metronome!! What I would like a video on, is a way to get competent at playing the melody hand louder than the accompaniment. Most of the exercises I’ve seen keep one in a five-finger position, playing a single note at a time. That hasn’t translated for me to actual music.
Thanks for the suggestion! Hand balance is very tricky and a great topic for an upcoming video.
Playing piano was always my dream mam 😊. Thank for fulfilling it mam❤.
Very helpful. Thank you.
It actually is very much comparable with my teacher’s curriculum, as far as the levels of playing is concerned.
On the other hand, The Wild Horseman is RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music) Level 4 (Intermediate)
You're welcome!
I came from the roadmap from 2 years ago and Susan looks more beautiful than ever
Hope you’re feeling better Susan! This was very informative. Thanks! BTW, I really like the “fuzzy slippers” pedaling! Does that make the sustain softer? 🙄
Hehe, not really, but I highly recommend always practicing with fuzzy slippers. The "poofier", the better!
Very good - puts it in perspective, I'm way ahead in technique and knowledge and way way behind in playing capability - difficult to be honest with oneself in the self teach world.
That's common for adults learning on their own!
This is great for classical pianists. Not so great if you started out only focusing on playing blues and jazz piano. Sight reading and practicing scales up and down is not really emphasized at all. Would be really interesting to see a video like this but specifically for genre other than classical.
I agree with you
I play piano i can improvise in all 12 keys and i dont plays classical piece
I've used the terms rank beginner, intermediate beginner and advanced beginner. I'm intermediate beginner, A rank beginner is someone who comes in knowing nothing about music. Does that mean that a person with some background in music, be it vocal or instrumental, automatically comes in as an intermediate beginner? Well, I would say so. An advanced beginner is someone who can play some simple compositions, play scales and arpeggios well and play more advanced exercises. Three levels of intermediate also, low intermediate, just plain intermediate, and advanced intermediate. Then you get advanced. How advanced depends on what you can play and how well you can play it. That's my scheme of things. It's how I will grade myself as I move along in the keyboard world.
Your explanations place me at an early intermediate level. Do you have any examples outside of classical literature?
Thanks for this description.. very helpful delineation of skills. One question, is reading music correlated to abilities on these levels? It does seem there are non-traditional learning journies, where people learn techniques far ahead of their ability to read. Many of the techniques seem correlated from a development standpoint in the different level, but I am curious as to whether reading level should be distinguished from playing level?
Really great observation! As adults, we often tend to be more advanced with theory, musicality, and other intellectual skills. It can take a minute for our technique to catch up. But it also works the other way for people. Some have a very natural ability to "just play", without a thorough knowledge of what they're really doing.
I looove the Venetian boat song 😊
Feel better 🩷
Hi Susan, I'm wondering if you could comment on, or perhaps even make a short video on, the challenges of learning on a digital piano. I do, and I am somewhat aware of its shortcomings but they are about to come into sharper focus as I am going to start in person lessons in 3 or 4 weeks and like most instructors she has an acoustic piano. This will be a new challenge to add to my late beg/early int practice. And to my budget as well as I know it will make me desperately want an acoustic (i already do). Incidently I have a fair quality digital, good for its price range of about $600, a yamaha P225. I am 61, but if my R thumb joint will hold up (and all else) I plan to play for many more years. Thank you for your generous content.
Thank you for your suggestion! Have you started your in person lessons? How have you found going back and forth between digital and acoustic?
@@PianoRoadmap The lessons are great, I'm so glad to be able to do it. But the digital piano is certainly an issue, as I can see that as I slowly improve I will become more and more aware of its many shortcomings. But when I do get an acoustic it will almost certainly need to be upright since my house is very small, then there are the many shortcomings compared to a grand!! I found a lot of valuble content on the Merriam Music account if you have anyone who is looking for an intro to the complex world of acoustic pianos...Thanks for your reply and as always your great videos. I'm currently working throught the practice tips playlist.
Thank you for this "know thyself" video😢. I studied (struggled with reading the music) piano when I was 9 and havnt played at all for 50 years. Been re learning for about 6 month now and today aftee watching your "late beginer" 'tests" I know my level ..😢😢😢😢 😅. Your video is very helpful. Thank you!❤
You're welcome!
I learn piano for 20 weeks, practice 10 hours / week.
Now i am working with Beyer opus 101, on exercise 24, Hanon exercise 3, Faber piano adventure for adult 1, page 80, also faber clasic song and popular song
And my teacher said i am at prepatory level, and i need another 20 weeks to be ready to join lv 1
So can you make another illustration for pre beginner, earlier beginner, beginner, and late beginner?
I believe many people are beginner
Also may be there is a playlist video for each level, so i can find which video i should watch
Wonderful suggestion! Yes, the whole range of the "beginner" level is vast, and I'll try to add more detailed suggestions in the future. As far as playlists go, I do have a beginner, late-beginner, intermediate, etc playlist with repertoire suggestions. I'll keep adding to them too!
Get well Susan, thank you for very interesting and helpful video for the beginners.
P.S. I hope you are well and strong at the time of posting this video.
Thank you! Yes, this weekend I've begun to feel human again!
I would be interested in a video that breaks down the advanced phases more. There is obviously very great differences in the pieces beyond the later intermediate levels. I'm doing Bach Inventions right now now but still consider myself at that middle intermediate level.
Is there something in particular you would like to know, or are you interested in piano repertoire suggestions at early advanced, advanced, & pro levels?
My sister, the Lord bless you for being a blessing to many. I wish you a very speedy recovery. Please, drink a lot of water, fruits, have enough sleep and rest from time to time.
Feel better.
Thank you! I always feel a little pretentious if I say I play at an advanced level. Would love to know whether I’m “early advanced” or later, though it probably doesn’t matter in the end. 😊
LET THEM KNOW! 😃
started my journey 4 month ago. so im between late beginner and early intermediate.would be good if you would make a video with MORE pieces for each level. Because we beginners really struggle to find good stuff to play
Coming soon!
I know this is nearly impossible, but given someone studying 1 hour a day, there would a way to estimate how long in your experience it would take to reach those levels? at least to intermediate?
Unfortunately, you're right. It is nearly impossible to estimate how long it would take a unique individual to reach an intermediate level from scratch. Even with the same amount of practice per day, some are able to practice more efficiently, retain information more easily, be more "natural" at the piano, and the list goes on. If we're talking averages with tempered expectations, to go from 0 to intermediate with an hour a day, plan on a journey of about 2-7 years. How's that for broad??? And with all skill-based activities, the more you know, the more you know you don't know 😆 But I suppose that's the fun of it. Good luck to you!
Wait, what you are doing? Go to bed -- YT can wait -- with good book and big mug with hot tea 🙂 Thank you for the video though, the pieces examples are very useful. And seriously, take care!
Just seeing this now. Can I still go to bed with a good book and mug of hot tea??? 😆 That sounds like heaven right now...
@@PianoRoadmap I don't know if this is of bad weather or health, I hope the first one 🙂 Sure thing, have a good evening!
Nice channel and the scratchy throat always seems to make a woman's voice seem lower and sexier, sort of like the Prentiss(sp?) sisters. Not sure if you will consider that a plus. Anyway, it's sad that there is so little time to soak up all the good piano channels on YT. Each seems to have something unique to offer. As it is, most of my time goes towards my in town teacher and once-a-year ~6 month on line class that draws my available energy down to about zero towards the end. I'm sort of at the early intermediate to intermediate stage and will definitely look at your piece suggestions from time to time. Thanks for being here to help.
Hello Susan, new subscriber as of today. Thank you for this informative video! I've been an adult on and off pianist for many years and I've been recently feeling that familiar void of not having music in my life after a hiatus of about 7 years now. I've always struggled with understanding my "level" and, as you alluded to, I've often crossed the boundaries beyond my true level just to try, often fail , only to end up scurrying back to simpler pastures! Your explanations made sense and helped validate my personal assessment of my level which I'd place as intermediate. Although not explicitly discussed in your video, I believe you made a vague reference to our "technical" skill level as something that would naturally progress as our level of proficiency progresses. However, I'm curious to better understand how you'd assess hand independence, speed of execution in scales, arpeggios and other exercises as well as being able to reach the metronome indications in a given piece of music. I do struggle with this and find it difficult, especially when focusing on "technique" exercises, to see any significant progress.
Looking forward to any feedback you can share. Thanks again for the content and I'm looking forward to viewing past and future content.
Marc
Thank you for subscribing, and welcome to the channel :) Once one reaches an intermediate level, it becomes more difficult to notice progress because it becomes more subtle, like being able to shape a phrase beautifully or have more control when playing softly. If you feel that you're struggling with making significant progress in any area, the first thing to do is to keep a journal so you KNOW whether or not you're progressing. You might find you actually area!
Bonne rétablissement.
Thank you ❤️ Feeling much better now.
How can i be the combination of late beginner , early intermediate and intermediate.
Adults tend to be more advanced as far as theory, note reading, etc goes. It might just take awhile for your hands/technique to catch up.
Very informative. Thank you! Chord patterns, key signatures, understanding inversions etc. - all that technical stuff - can be discouraging and is not always necessary for one to be able to actually PLAY and enjoy music! I have learned a bunch of classical, hymns and popular songs over the years - music that I like - not by enduring the drudgery of learning traditional piano fundamentals like Hanon exercises but actually PLAYING the notes on the sheet of music. Practice, practice, practice and as with all endeavors good things - progress - happens! It helps that I played an instrument in school.
For a common sense approach to this topic:
(RUclips) How Can You Determine What Level Pianist You Are?
LivingPianosVideos
You can be a late beginner and know things from intermediate etc
Categories are not so limited
Where do you put ear training and improvisation to be able to break the over reliance on scores? A large number of students want to learn to play popular pieces not just classical scores. Where do they get taught to transpose, arrange and express themselves through music they love? People learn a classical style then get stuck with terrible publications of scores for none classical repertoire which makes it hard for them to be creative.
Thank you! 😊
I can say I'm just beginner even though I know how to read notes and key signatures,
Do you teach piano on line ?
I don't teach private online lessons anymore because all my focus is spent on RUclips and my teaching through the Piano Roadmap Membership (www.PianoRoadmap.com).
@@PianoRoadmap Thank you for your reply, I have watched all of your videos many times. I am a struggling piano player for the passed 15 years, i have had many teachers and i practise a lot most days. Thats why i asked about on line lessons. Keep the great videos coming.
This was somewhat discouraging. I am only partially an late beginner, but I think I have some of the content/skills/understandings of higher levels. Fortunately, I am not learning piano to survive or pay bills, but for the joy of it. That said, I also don’t want to waste what little time I have on the planet. The truth is the truth, though, so I just need to go into my closet now and cry myself to sleep. 😭
You're not alone! I think RUclips makes it seem like an adult should be able to learn the piano at a higher level ("like a pro") in a matter of months, but it's just not the case. As an adult learner, you have the ability to be a mentally advanced pianist, meaning you understand theory, musical concepts, etc, but there are no shortcuts when it comes to the technical aspect of playing.
I think I am nearly at late beginner
If I could read sheet music as well as I can play in terms of physical/technical skill, muscle memory, and touch; and if I could read music as well as I understand theory concepts, I’d already be considered “advanced.” Unfortunately, I wasn’t classically trained as a child so I don’t read music like a second language the way a lot of pianists do (benefits of those who were privileged enough to get lessons as a kid, I guess). So frustrating to know so much but not be able to apply it. I can play by ear significantly better than attempting to read sheet music. Hell, give me a RUclips synthesia video and let me watch it a few times, guarantee I’ll have better success than reading sheet music. It’s such a shame and really aggravating! Anyone with suggestions, let me know
Have you ever learned a 2nd language as an adult? I've tried, but never kept to it because I got frustrated and it felt like I would never get to a fluent stage. Looking back, I can see that I barely gave it any time at all (come to think of it, I think it's time to try again!). I say this because this is what learning how to read music is like as an adult, and I can relate to your frustration. My best advice to you, in the little amount of space I have here, is to divide your practice time into at least 2 groups: the first will be for improving your note reading skills and the other will be for *learning any other way that is not as frustrating for* (by ear, synthesia, etc). And then trust that, with time, your reading will improve.
@@PianoRoadmap thanks for the response. I agree with you; I’ve actually been learning Japanese, slowly, as an adult- it’s definitely comparable to learning sheet music in that it is somewhat easy to learn the characters and their meaning (just as it was for me to learn individual notes and identify them decently quickly) but fluency is a whole different story, and requires additional years of high-quality practice. I like your suggestion, and it’s pretty much what I’ve been doing recently: I’ve been using my ears a *lot* and engaging in daily ear training of some kind or another, and exposing myself to more sheet music as I go (before I knew I wanted to properly learn music, I used synthesia videos to show me which chords are used and then I’d just play them until it stuck with me- I don’t watch them anymore since I’m trying to reprogram my brain for sheet music, but occasionally I’ll “cheat” because I can play some decently advanced stuff but only using synthesia as a crutch to learn currently). I’ve made progress, but it’s definitely going to take a long time for me to *efficiently* read sheet music. Of course, I do realize sight reading is a lifelong skill as well so I don’t get frustrated when I don’t make progress as fast as I’d like.
Playing for almost 5 years and i’m a late beginner oh great
Four years and early beginner!!! However...I did tick some boxes in the late beginner section...ie I can do most scales hands together x 4 oct...
@@keys6but on your channel are some late beginner/intermediate pieces, so if it doesn't take ages to learn, you're probably on that level..
Lol my playing is late intermediate but my theory is late beginner *sigh*
That was me for the first 8 years or so!
I'm beginner
😢I'm a complete beginner.🙂
Find your ego boost in 1,2,3
I can play Great Balls of Fire. What does that make me?
Very very cool 🔥😎😃
@@PianoRoadmap because Jerry Lee Lewis was the coolest piano player ever.
"My voice isn't always like this." Last time a female on the internet had the same problem, she was pregnant. So.....in all honesty: are you pregnant??????
I think that question is rather intrusive.
Didn't know that pregnancy is akin to some 'illness'. Honestly thought that we've long since passed that stage!
People lose pregnancies very frequently and many struggle to get and stay pregnant. So women choose to share whether they are pregnant or not only when they are comfortable to do so. It isn’t polite to ask someone to share that, particularly on RUclips. Now you know!
Also, asking anyone to share their health status publicly is intrusive.