What is my “level”? What pieces can I play?
These are two questions that jump with the desire to want to touch something new. When we are beginners and don’t have a person to guide us, it’s not always easy to know what’s next.
Here are some tips that may help you find the answer.
1. Your abilities: know them, accept them, and go for more!
You know better than anyone what your technical skills are in the execution of your instrument. Perhaps you have skill in reading, making scales, double stops, arpeggios; maybe some bow techniques are a bit difficult for you: staccato, sautillé, chopping.
When you look at a score or listen to a work and feel like performing it, do you cover the techniques required?
2. Can you read the rhythm?
Every melody has a rhythm. If you can read it, you are more likely to be able to play the piece. Understanding rhythm will allow you to play the piece in less time.
3. Can you read the height of the notes?
It helps a lot that you know the name of the notes you are going to play. If you can read them, you increase the probability of being able to play what you read. It also helps if you can sing what you want to play.
4. Calmly analyze fingering.
We call fingering to the system we choose to place fingers for each note. Most of the time, fingering should be comfortable and easy. If it is not, you may need to change it. There are times when fingering is not comfortable or easy, but it is not impossible either. If you can modify the fingering of a piece, it is more likely you can play it.
5. If you listen: read; If you read, listen.
You may have found a score you want to play. Look for audios and/or videos to help you know if you can play it.
If what you have found has been an audio or a video of a piece that sounds interesting to you, look for the score and check that you know how to do the required techniques. On this site there is a post on how to search for scores on the internet.
6. Frustrations? Do not stay with the first work you find.
The repertoire for any instrument is VERY wide. Do not be disappointed if you found a work that you still cannot interpret (by techniques or notes that you do not know, rhythms with some difficulty, etc.). There are many, many pieces that, whether you like it or not, will help you reach the level to achieve your goal.
7. Be a free and creative person. Modify the piece.
For example: you are a violinist and you discover that the piece you want to play uses double stops and you have not yet performed that technique. Then remove the bottom note and play only the top note of that passage with double notes. You can also modify the rhythm, the ornaments, etc.
It does not matter if you modify a little the piece that you are going to interpret. There may already be different versions of that composition, and yours could be a new contribution (How many versions are there so far of Greensleeves?). BUT remember: that you modify a work should not be the excuse for not studying and being able to touch it as it is written.
8. Use the Methods to know your level.
A Method, in music, is a manual that helps you play an instrument. It generally begins with simple techniques that become progressively more difficult. I suppose there are Methods for your instrument. Get to know them and use them as a map: locate which pieces you can easily touch and which pieces represent a challenge or considerable difficulty.
Here’s a list of free download methods: http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Methods
What advice would you give to someone who is looking for new pieces to play?
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