L.1 Build a five-voice argument across a complete pair
Prepare the complete C-sharp-minor Prelude and Fugue, BWV 849. In the five-voice fugue, map each entry and compare its interval pattern with earlier material before deciding how the lines relate. Preserve dissonance timing in a short reduction, then restore the other parts. Make a memory route for both pieces, the prelude as well as the fugue.
- Technique
- C-sharp harmonic minor scale, hands together, 4 octaves
- Leading-note diminished-seventh arpeggio of C-sharp minor, hands together, 4 octaves
L.2 Connect recitative, motion and harmonic direction
Learn Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata, Op. 31 No. 2, first movement only. Compare the Largo gestures with the Allegro writing and follow how their materials return in changed settings. Inspect the source’s pedal and articulation before testing an adaptation on your piano. Rehearse the transition and return landmarks without a run-up; the second and third movements are not part of this lesson.
- Technique
- D minor cantabile, hands separately: hold one voice while the inner fingers move
- D minor arpeggio in first inversion, hands together, 4 octaves: connect the hand positions
L.3 Transform a theme without losing the long span
Prepare Chopin’s complete G-minor Ballade, Op. 23. Compare two appearances of a principal idea, recording what changes in harmony, register and texture before planning their different intensities. Connect those returns to the Presto coda rather than treating the coda as a separate speed test. The A-flat broken-octave warm-up trains the hands’ movement on its own; learn the notes and the harmony from the G-minor score.
- Technique
- G harmonic minor scale, hands together, 2 octaves
- A-flat major broken octaves, hands together: align the changes
L.4 Read an enharmonic boundary accurately
Prepare the complete BWV 853 pair: the Prelude is notated in E-flat minor and the Fugue in D-sharp minor. Compare the pitch spellings and keyboard locations before describing the relationship: an enharmonic change of notation alone is not proof of a new sounding tonic. Preserve the two pieces’ distinct articulation and build separate entry landmarks within the memory route for the pair.
- Technique
- E-flat harmonic minor scale, hands together, 4 octaves
- Leading-note diminished-seventh arpeggio of E-flat minor, hands together, 4 octaves
L.5 Keep chromatic return and ornament in proportion
Prepare Mozart’s complete A-minor Rondo, K. 511. Compare its returning material with contrasting episodes and follow the chromatic connections into each arrival. Test an ornament slowly against the bass before choosing its timing in the phrase. Keep a source choice distinct from an adaptation for the room or instrument, and avoid using continuous pedal to conceal unclear finger connection.
- Technique
- A harmonic minor scale in double thirds, hands together, 2 octaves (faster: Licentiate tempo)
- A harmonic minor scale in sixths, hands together, 2 octaves (faster: Licentiate tempo)
L.6 Join violently contrasting sound worlds
Prepare Chopin’s complete Second Ballade, Op. 38. Compare its Andantino and Presto con fuoco materials, their tonal settings and the way each returns. Plan the transitions from the complete score instead of assuming that every contrast is a new sonata section. Practise the turbulent texture with its essential bass and melodic notes first, then preserve those lines in the full figuration.
- Technique
- F major scale, hands together, 4 octaves
- A harmonic minor scale in double thirds, hands together, 2 octaves (faster: Licentiate tempo)
L.7 Sustain direction through a long contrapuntal span
Prepare the complete B-minor Prelude and Fugue, BWV 869. Compare a sequential episode with subject material and follow the bass route towards the next arrival. Choose balance from the relation between voices, not only whether a subject is present. The F-sharp minor held-voice warm-up trains independence in another key; learn the articulation and the memory route for the pair from the B-minor score.
- Technique
- B harmonic minor scale, hands together, 2 octaves
- F-sharp minor held voices with moving inner parts, hands together
L.8 Hear a slow dance through harmonic colour
Learn Debussy’s complete Hommage à Rameau, Images Book I No. 2. Keep the slow dance character while separating the bass, chordal resonance and melodic line. Compare pitch collections and bass motion before imposing a conventional dominant label on a sonority. The C-major voicing warm-up trains balance in an easy key; then listen for the same balance in the G-sharp-minor score and its changing colour.
- Technique
- G-sharp harmonic minor scale, hands together, 2 octaves
- C major moving top voice above held chordal voices, hands together (faster: Licentiate tempo)
L.9 Trace thematic variation into a dense coda
Prepare Chopin’s complete F-minor Fourth Ballade, Op. 52. Compare the changing versions of its principal material by bass route, phrase rhythm and interval pattern. Practise the contrapuntal layers separately before restoring the complete texture, and relate the coda’s intensity to the earlier span. The F-sharp minor held-voice warm-up trains coordination on its own; it is not part of the Ballade.
- Technique
- F harmonic minor scale, hands together, 4 octaves
- F-sharp minor held voices with moving inner parts, hands together
L.10 Keep the dance inside a large rondo
Prepare Chopin’s complete F-major Rondo à la Mazur, Op. 5. Compare the recurring dance idea with its contrasting episodes by their bass goals, accent patterns and register. Practise the dance pulse and melody separately, then restore the written texture without applying identical rubato to every phrase. Map the approaches into two returns as memory landmarks. The C-major voicing warm-up trains balance on its own; shape the phrasing and pedal in the F-major score itself.
- Technique
- F major scale, hands together, 4 octaves
- C major moving top voice above held chordal voices, hands together (faster: Licentiate tempo)
L.11 Keep a perpetual motion transparent
Prepare Debussy’s complete Mouvement, Images Book I No. 3. Keep its rapid recurring motion even without making every attack equally prominent. Locate the melodic and bass landmarks, reduce a short span to them and restore the moving texture one layer at a time. Rehearse a full run while listening for loss of clarity at a moderate dynamic. The C-major repeated-note and voicing warm-ups prepare the touch; they do not replace the piece.
- Technique
- C major repeated notes, hands together (faster: Licentiate tempo)
- C major moving top voice above held chordal voices, hands together (faster: Licentiate tempo)
L.12 Preserve musical direction at concert-study speed
Prepare Chopin’s complete Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 10 No. 4, keeping the melodic direction and changing hand roles clear inside the fast texture. Reduce a difficult span to its main line and bass before restoring the notes. Rehearse a complete take, identify where clarity changed, and use that evidence to choose the next passage. Alternatively prepare the complete Op. 25 No. 1, projecting its singing line through the flowing figuration, or Op. 10 No. 1, following the bass and harmonic direction through the wide arpeggios. The Three against four card is a separate review example from Fantaisie-Impromptu, not a description of every study offered here.
- Technique
- Chromatic scale from C, hands together, 4 octaves: even fingering at concert-study speed
- C-sharp harmonic minor scale, hands together, 4 octaves
- C major moving top voice above held chordal voices, hands together (faster: Licentiate tempo)
L.13 Keep double sixths light at speed
Study the right-hand sixths in bars 1–2 of Chopin’s Étude in D-flat major, Op. 25 No. 8. Practise each line slowly with the fingering you will use, then restore the pairs with the upper line leading. Keep a quiet, close hand and let the arm carry changes of position; retain the complete slurred gestures and build towards the printed Vivace. The C-major sixths warm-up is a separate preparation. This assigned excerpt develops double-note control; it does not certify a whole performance.
- Technique
- C major scale in sixths, hands together, 2 octaves (faster: Licentiate tempo)
- D-flat major scale, hands together, 4 octaves
L.14 Enter after the tutti
Prepare the complete first movement of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor from the NIFC solo part. Its printed tutti cues are score landmarks, not notes sounded by the app. Count the rests in a steady pulse and prepare the solo entries at bars 139, 385 and 510; learn the solo exposition (bars 139–332) as one block; then play the whole movement, keeping the solo singing above its written piano accompaniment. This is solo-part preparation, not listening or responding to an app-provided orchestra.
- Technique
- E harmonic minor scale, hands together, 4 octaves: the runs of Chopin's E minor Concerto
- Chromatic scale from C, hands together, 4 octaves: even fingering at concert-study speed
