Get your pupils to learn 40 pieces in a year – that's a crazy idea, right? Surely there's enough in the three exam pieces, to say nothing of scales and arpeggios, sight-reading and aural tests, and maybe a couple of carols at Christmas? What about the cost of all that music? And couldn't it actually be detrimental to a child's musical development to skate through a lot of music and not dig too deep?
‘The 40 Piece Challenge’
The 40 Piece Challenge is the brain-child of Australian piano teacher and composer Elissa Milne. In the early 2000s she became increasingly frustrated at her students spending so much time learning just a few pieces each year, and experimented with different ways of increasing their engagement with a broader selection of repertoire. With a typical 40 week school year in Australia, this developed into a 40 piece challenge, or one piece a week. For this to be achievable, the pieces had to be easier than the current level of the student. Over the next decade or so, she found her pupils rose to the challenge, developed their musical skills and confidence and enjoyed playing much more. The scheme has now been enthusiastically adopted by piano teachers around the world.
What are the benefits?
The reported benefits are many. First, a student's sight-reading improves – they read more and so read better. Pupils spending many weeks learning just one or two pieces are, says composer and educator Paul Harris, learning by ear and tactile memory – ‘the notation becomes more of an aide-memoire, symbols that nudge kinaesthetic memory.’ Think of a child learning to read: they'll devour a host of books, maybe skimming over difficult words but getting the gist, and developing their ability accordingly, not least through constant repetition of core vocabulary. It's the same for reading music.
Second, students are more motivated and spend more time with their instrument. Rather than slog a small section of a difficult piece each week, they are learning to play much more music, and discovering how to bring a piece to a reasonable performing standard themselves. And since the music is easier, they are learning much more quickly, which itself can be highly motivating. It gives them a larger repertoire of pieces ready to perform to friends or family.
A final significant benefit is that it gives the potential for a student to learn a much broader range of repertoire. There's an opportunity for pupils to sample different genres and music from all periods – if it's not to their taste, never mind, there'll be something different next week, but it might lead to a lifetime of discovery. After all, musical preferences can only develop if students are exposed to a wide range of repertoire.
Does it work for string players?
Learning a stringed instrument is hard! Some students take time to establish the basics, and moving too quickly through technical challenges might confuse and stymie progress and enjoyment. If students are working towards an exam, it often seems there's only time to practise the exam pieces and requirements – in effect, the syllabus unfortunately becomes the student's curriculum. But always working at pieces at the limit of one's technique is like constantly cycling uphill – why not learn some easier pieces and freewheel downhill with the wind behind you?
In my own violin/viola teaching I have found that as any new technical challenge is introduced – a new note or key, or finger pattern or shift – repetition or exploring it from different angles brings familiarity and confidence. At the early stages constant repetition of reading first notes and note values will help fix these in the pupil's mind and fingers – let's play lots of easy pieces to do this. A bit later, a pupil is learning the scale of B flat major: playing many simple pieces in this key will really help them consolidate this finger pattern. Later, a student might be learning a harder baroque or classical repertoire piece – how much easier it is to understand the style and bowing techniques needed if they've already played easier pieces in these styles.
For those overly exam-focused, it's a useful corrective to point out that learning to play more pieces builds reinforcement at each stage and lays a foundation for greater understanding. By learning lots of easy pieces, students spot patterns and structure and spend more time with their instrument. Also, if a student plays something they're on top of technically, it can lead to better and more convincing musical performances. They can be more motivated, as it's fun to play pieces that are comfortably under the fingers.
So, what music do I choose?
Pieces need to be below the student's current level and achievable, so choose pieces where the student mostly has the technique and reading skills needed to play them. If the material is very easy for them, they can focus more on the musical details. Equally, I've found it helps to mix up the difficulty level of pieces – playing lots of easy pieces brings recognition of core patterns, but a more challenging piece can teach something new and stretch understanding (albeit in the context of a shorter and generally easier piece). So, choose music with a range of challenges from very easy upwards. There's an opportunity to revisit pieces and develop the pupil's ear. Well-known tunes such as ‘Twinkle’ might be played in 3rd position, or a Grade 5/6 student could play the African American spiritual ‘Swing low, sweet chariot’ on one string to explore shifting position.
Older students can be happy to contribute ideas themselves (though enthusiasm for wildly unsuitable pieces might need to be tempered, or the piece adapted). Younger students probably need more direction. A pupil's cultural heritage might lead to exploring new repertoire – I happily discovered some beautiful Eastern European folk music as a result of one parent's request.
Duet books and anthologies of pieces at a particular level and exploring a range of styles (and there are many fine examples for strings) can provide an excellent source of material for pupils at a grade or two above. Sometimes parents ask for suggestions about music, perhaps at Christmas or a child's birthday – be ready with your top picks. Old exam books are useful in presenting a range of music at one level. To keep costs down, I lend out music from my own library, and there's also a lot of free music available online. Finding suitable repertoire shouldn't cost the earth or mean a lot more work for the teacher.
What else should I think about?
What do we mean by ‘learning a piece’? Does everything have to be perfect, or is a performance with mostly accurate rhythm and intonation, and some attention to musical details, enough? I've found it's important to aim reasonably high: a good tempo, with flow, dynamics and articulation, and, above all, a sense of communication – a feature of performance so often overlooked as students struggle with tricky notes and rhythms. All this can be the basis of discussion between teacher and pupil.
How do I add content to this challenge? Careful selection of repertoire at different levels can add a true ‘learning experience’; for example, playing a piece that uses a different position, or makes a feature of triplets, or is in a more unusual time signature (5 or 7). Stretching a pupil's encounter with new musical elements can broaden their knowledge and skill.
Don't forget orchestral and ensemble playing! I've always found that pupils who also play in orchestras and ensembles naturally develop sight-reading and playing skills. In fact, this activity should count towards the 40 piece challenge!
Follow it wherever it goes. For some pupils this can open a door to a repertoire or style that unexpectedly becomes a passion. Teaching a student a fully-notated jazz piece, for example, led to an exploration of swing rhythm, notation, offbeat accents, swing bowing, suggestions for listening, even simple improvisation. The same can be true of folk music and any classical style.
Forty pieces might be a stretch too far, but there are undoubtedly real benefits in encouraging our pupils to learn more pieces. Set an achievable target, and track progress with any of the free online charts available.
So, should we try to ascend Everest with an oxygen mask and violin? Not exactly, but maybe this challenge is not such a crazy idea after all.