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Question: How many pieces should I play within a grade level in music before moving to the next? Here’s the full question from the student (paraphrased): “Do you think being able to play ten pieces well at grade 5 is enough before moving to grade 6? I spend a lot of time everyday working on technique exercises that you recommend, and I’m playing a lot of music from grades 1-4 as well.”

Answer Summary: There is no set number on how many pieces you should play. Some students need to cautiously study a large number of works within a grade, other students might be playing from a variety of grade levels or even skip a grade. Having a balanced and healthy technique, confident mental state, and a musical playing style is more important than setting grade levels.

A bit more context: Depending on how well balanced a student’s skills are, I may make no differentiation between grade 5 and 6 in the first place. Both grades use the basic intermediate techniques of scales, arpeggios, slurs, barre, finger independence, and mild stretch. Sometimes the difference is merely the scope of the work, for example, it’s a larger undertaking. On occasion the higher grade level might present more endurance or faster tempos to make it sound appropriate. That said, provided the student plays a number of pieces with a variety of musical textures and styles (melodic works, arpeggios, slurs, various musical eras), I mainly examine confidence, healthy technique, mental state, and musicality as the benchmark before moving onward. Students can self-access in this way too but a teacher can do it with a much higher success rate based on teaching experience and awareness of the student’s unique skills and mental state.

Using graded books, mistakes, and confidence

Graded Books: When using graded repertoire or method books this presents a small dilemma because you have been ‘placed’ within a grade. The important thing to realize is that most books choose a variety of repertoire with contrasting techniques, musicality, historical awareness, and textures to allow the student to test their skills in a more balanced way than choosing random repertoire. So there is certainly an important aspect to studying at least a good number of works within a grade, be that 5 pieces or 20.

Mistakes: When the pieces can be played with a reasonable amount of confidence, at a comfortable tempo, with not too many random mistakes, it is generally okay move on. If the mistakes are occurring in the same spot each time, more examination into the cause is needed before moving forward. For example, if you make a mistake every time the 4th finger is used, that is a mistake that must be corrected and examined to discover the root cause. In contrast, if a beginner student is making only a very small number of random mistakes due to the multitasking nature of music, that is more acceptable. 

Confidence: Confidence is a tricky word to use but most students can tell if they are comfortable playing a piece or frustrated with it’s challenges. I’m not a supporter of set metronome tempos but clearly, especially at the higher grade levels, one can usually tell if the tempo is not working well with the composition. So playing at a reasonable tempo is a consideration that can make or break confidence. Which leads us to frustration, maybe the opposite of confidence. Frustration is a clear indication that moving forward in grade level is not a good idea. I highly prefer my students are generally ‘happy’ with their playing before advancing. ‘Happy’ being relative to their ability to see that they’ve improved and can handle the technical and musical challenges with a reasonable amount of skill appropriate to their level. For some people this might be a feeling of happiness or accomplishment, for others it might just be satisfactory improvement. But it’s not frustration.

So what do I do? Move on or go back a grade?

I always recommend students be playing a lot of pieces below their grade level to maintain high quality musical playing. But it’s rare that I shift all the student’s repertoire back a grade if I’ve been teaching them for awhile. For self-learners however, an over-ambitious student might find themselves in a grade that is higher than their skills allow and a correction must be made. Sometimes a shift toward a technique routine that tackles their technical weaknesses is all they need. Others might need a change of mental state by which I mean, finding repertoire at lower levels that they enjoy and bringing it to a high quality performance level.

Here are some other article you might find helpful to this discussion:

• When Should I Move on to the Next Piece of Music?
• How to Practice Music and Organize Your Practice Session
• 7 Technique Categories to Practice Every Day
• Six Misconceptions About Grade Levels
• The Gap Between Good Taste and Being Able to Do Good Work

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Romanza & Barcarola by Carlo Munier (1859-1911) from 12 Duettini Concertanti, Op.262. For classical guitar duo. PDF sheet music for classical guitar duet. Intermediate level approximately around the grade 4 range depending on tempo.

My PDF Sheet Music Edition via Werner Guitar Editions

• Romanza & Barcarola by Munier (PDF – Score + Parts)

I’m very pleased to present these rarely played intermediate duets for two classical guitars. Big thanks to my good friend and colleague Natasha Pashchenko for joining me in the performance video. 

Carlo Munier was an Italian mandolin virtuoso, composer, and teacher who helped elevate the mandolin from a folk instrument to a respected voice in classical music. Born in Naples and later active in Florence, he composed more than 350 works for mandolin and guitar and wrote influential instructional methods, including Scuola del Mandolino (1895). Munier is regarded as a key figure in the late-19th-century revival of the classical mandolin tradition.

The original notation is mainly written in one voice, sometimes splitting into two voices. This aspect has been preserved except where obvious inconsistencies interfered with reading comprehension. 

Score Samples (Cover for Promo Only)

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Canadian guitarist Simon Farintosh performs Capriccio No. 11, “Y se le quema la casa” from 24 Caprichos de Goya op.195 by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968). This comes via Simon’s YouTube channel (go subscribe). Impressive performance by Farintosh with a directness of expression and clean technical delivery. Love the rhythmic drive and crisp articulations along with precision of sustain lengths. As he mentions in his description:

This piece is based off the 18th etching from Francisco Goya’s 80 Caprichos de Goya, entitled “Y se le quema la casa” (And his house burns down). Each image from Goya’s cycle offers a bitingly satirical perspective on late 18th-century Spanish civilization, condemning the decline of rationality, superstition, fear of witchcraft, and smearing upper class members of society such as doctors and the clergy. This particular print depicts an old drunkard with his pants around his ankles who has set his house ablaze. An explanation from the manuscript at the Prado Museum explains that “he won’t be able to take off his breeches or stop talking to the lamp until the town’s pumps cool him down. Such is the power of wine!”

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