At the beginning of the new year, I like to take some time to look at my teaching roster and create an overview of my students’ current playing abilities by level. This process is helpful for choosing recital repertoire for upcoming events, but it is also useful for creating a benchmark to compare to previous and future years.
Usually, this process of listing out my students by level takes place on a piece of blank scratch paper and my scratch-marks don’t necessarily look pretty.
But this year, I got a little more organized and created a tidy-looking printable for myself!
I’ll be the first to admit that it is a feat to “level” music or to “level” a student’s playing ability. There are so many factors that go into creating music. In many ways, music seems to naturally defy any such categorization by difficulty. Yet, it is incredibly useful to have SOME sort of benchmark system, a starting-point, something to work from — even if the leveling system is inherently imperfect.
Using the printable above, I can see the big picture. I can take my list to the music store with me to restock my library of sheet music solos. I can update my progress notes for each student.
If you would like to use this printable, you can download the free PDF via the link below or the Printables > Other Resources page under the title “Students Listed by Level”.
Students Listed by Level (31.0 KiB, 2,457 hits)
Side note: This is a good example of a topic that is covered during my online course for piano teachers. Get more information and join the separate email list at institute.joymorin.com.
