Piano 4: Expert: repertoire, accompaniment and teaching

Plan your repertoire and your scales

In simple words

A repertoire is your own "menu" of pieces that you can play any time. A good menu has a little of everything: something fast, something slow, something old, something modern. Before you cook, you also pick your ingredients: the scales your pieces need.

Key facts

Repertoire program: choose 4 pieces that contrast in speed, mood and style, about 8 to 12 minutes in total. Pick pieces slightly easier than your hardest piece, so you can play them with confidence.
Public-domain choices (composers who died long ago; check each edition on IMSLP):
Clementi, Sonatina in C major, Op. 36 No. 1 (Classical style)
Burgmüller, Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 (A minor, light and quick)
Schumann, The Happy Farmer, Op. 68 No. 10 (F major, cheerful)
Chopin, Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4 (slow, expressive)
Satie, Gymnopedie No. 1 (slow, quiet and floating)
Beethoven, Fur Elise (A minor, a famous classic)
Copyright terms differ by country (see In your country below). For example, in Canada, copyright generally lasts for the life of the author, the rest of that calendar year, and 70 years after. Before 30 December 2022 it was 50 years. The change did not bring back copyright in works whose protection had ended before 1 January 2023. Old editions can still have new copyright (for example fingerings or arrangements), so use plain public-domain editions.
Scales for your pieces: a piece in A minor needs A minor scales; one in E minor needs E minor. The minor scale used most in classical music is the harmonic minor: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 (it raises the 7th).

Scale	Notes	Key signature	RH fingering (up)	LH fingering (up)
A major	A B C# D E F# G# A	3 sharps (F#, C#, G#)	1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5	5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
E major	E F# G# A B C# D# E	4 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#)	1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5	5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
Bb major	Bb C D Eb F G A Bb	2 flats (Bb, Eb)	4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4	3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3
Eb major	Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb	3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab)	3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3	3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3
Ab major	Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab	4 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db)	3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3	3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3
A harmonic minor	A B C D E F G# A	none (G# added)	1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5	5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
E harmonic minor	E F# G A B C D# E	1 sharp (F#), D# added	1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5	5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
D harmonic minor	D E F G A Bb C# D	1 flat (Bb), C# added	1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5	5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1

These are standard fingerings. Some teachers use others, so follow your teacher's choice if you have one.

In your country

Copyright generally lasts for the author's life, the rest of that calendar year, plus 70 years. It was 50 years before 30 December 2022, and the change did not revive expired works.
Source: CIPO, guide to copyright: ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/guid

For works created since 1978, copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years.
Source: US Copyright Office, Duration FAQ: www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html

For most works, copyright lasts for the author's life plus 50 years after death (Intellectual Property Code, Section 213).
Source: RA 8293 text: www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1997/ra_8293_1997.html

For a person's work, the economic rights last for the author's life plus 50 years, ending on 31 December of the 50th year after death (Copyright Law).
Source: Copyright Law text (National Copyright Administration): www.ncac.gov.cn/xxfb/flfg/flfg_532/202103/t20210309_50530.html

Copyright lasts 70 years after the author's death, counted from the year after the death (Copyright Act, Arts. 51 and 57).
Source: Copyright Act (English), Japanese Law Translation: www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3379/en

Economic rights last for the author's life plus 70 years (Copyright Act, Article 39).
Source: Copyright Act, English text (KLRI): elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawViewContent.do?hseq=62935

Step by step

List 8 pieces you like or want to play. Use at least 3 that are on the public-domain list above.
Pick 4 that contrast: for example one fast, one slow, one cheerful and one expressive.
Check the key of each piece and write the matching scale from the table (for example A harmonic minor for Arabesque).
Estimate the time: how many minutes does each piece last?
Write an 8-week calendar: weeks 1 to 4 learn, weeks 5 to 6 polish, weeks 7 to 8 perform.
Download each score as a plain public-domain edition (check IMSLP).
Check: you have a list of 4 contrasting pieces, 4 matching scales and a calendar.

LESSON 01Plan your repertoire and your scales

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:15

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "A repertoire is your menu. Fast, slow, old, new. A good menu has all of them."
[Screen: four pieces with their keys] "Four pieces, four moods. Each one tells you which scale to practise."
[Text on screen: harmonic minor 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7] "The harmonic minor raises the seventh. You will hear it in many classical pieces."
[Screen: a copyright note for Canada] "Use public-domain editions. Copyright in Canada is usually life plus seventy years."
[Host] "Plan eight weeks: learn, polish, perform."

Try it now

10 minutes: write your list of 8 pieces and choose 4 that contrast.
10 minutes: match each piece to a scale in the table and play each scale slowly, hands separate, at 60 BPM.
5 minutes: write your 8-week calendar.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Piano 4: Expert: repertoire, accompaniment and teaching" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Plan your repertoire and your scales".

What the lesson teaches:
- Repertoire program: choose 4 pieces that contrast in speed, mood and style, about 8 to 12 minutes in total. Pick pieces slightly easier than your hardest piece, so you can play them with confidence.
- Public-domain choices (composers who died long ago; check each edition on IMSLP):
- Clementi, Sonatina in C major, Op. 36 No. 1 (Classical style)
- Burgmüller, Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 (A minor, light and quick)
- Schumann, The Happy Farmer, Op. 68 No. 10 (F major, cheerful)
- Chopin, Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4 (slow, expressive)
- Satie, Gymnopedie No. 1 (slow, quiet and floating)

The exercise I'm working on:
- 10 minutes: write your list of 8 pieces and choose 4 that contrast. - 10 minutes: match each piece to a scale in the table and play each scale slowly, hands separate, at 60 BPM. - 5 minutes: write your 8-week calendar.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Plan your repertoire and your scales" from the course "Piano 4: Expert: repertoire, accompaniment and teaching".

Here's what the lesson says:
A repertoire is your own "menu" of pieces that you can play any time. A good menu has a little of everything: something fast, something slow, something old, something modern. Before you cook, you also pick your ingredients: the scales your pieces need.

The activity:
- 10 minutes: write your list of 8 pieces and choose 4 that contrast. - 10 minutes: match each piece to a scale in the table and play each scale slowly, hands separate, at 60 BPM. - 5 minutes: write your 8-week calendar.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

Canadian Intellectual Property Office, A guide to copyright (term of protection): ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/guid
IMSLP (free public-domain scores): imslp.org

My notes

I learned this