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Episode 236: Cheers to 30/40 Piece Challenge Questions Answered
Well hello there, my studio teacher friends! Welcome to the Beyond Measure Podcast: otherwise known as your weekly dose of solidarity. My name is Christina Whitlock: your host, voice of experience, and Anytime Piano Teacher Friend. I’m so grateful you’re here today; let’s get to it! This is episode 236 of the Beyond Measure Podcast.
Earlier this fall, I published an episode on What’s Working for me in this season of life. I do those episodes every quarter or so, but the most recent was episode 232.
In that episode, I mentioned one of the great successes of this season has been a 30 piece challenge I’m running with my students, to celebrate my 30th year of piano teaching.
I mentioned the fact that, yes, my students were all working with goal of completing 30 pieces this fall, but I’m also adding a twist this time. To get their piece counted on their list, students must present the piece as it was written by the composer: in an appropriate, consistent tempo with accurate notes… but THEN they have to show me their own creative modification of that piece. They can change the articulation, the rhythm, the mode, the meter, the style, the pedaling, the dynamics, the character… whatever they wish to do; they just have to present their own take on these pieces in order to get them on the list.
Well. After I published that episode, I received a LOT of questions and I wanted to answer them for you here today on the podcast.
I want to begin with one quick note about incentive programs, in general: I don’t run a lot of them. They aren’t generally my favorite thing. I do run my December Performance Challenge every December. That’s a popular one that many of you have jumped on; you can read all about it at ChristinaWhitlock.com/December. I also talked about a fun Thanksgiving challenge here on the podcast last year and I’ll link that episode in the shownotes for today’s episode.
…but the thing about incentive programs is this: If YOU’RE not excited about them, no one else will be. Don’t get caught up in comparing your studio to others. You do not have to run challenges and elaborate practice incentives. They can be great. Some teachers LOVE them. But experience has taught me that – if the TEACHER isn’t excited – no one else will be. And a challenge that never gets any momentum? That’s just sad. Everyone can feel the collective “ugh”. And we’re certainly not looking to add any more of THAT to piano study, right?
SO, let’s talk specifically about 30 piece challenges: First and foremost, I credit the idea of these challenges to Elissa Milne. Elissa Milne is this fabulous composer, teacher, writer, speaker, pianist (all the things). I’m pretty sure Elissa started talking about this, like, a decade ago? I’m not sure exactly… but Elissa coined the term Repertoire Rich Teaching, namely through what began as the 40 piece challenge.
If you know anything about my approach to teaching, you know I can thoroughly get behind a repertoire rich approach. My students spend exponentially more time in supplemental collections than they do in method books. Not that they don’t have a method book in the mix, but it’s not the bulk of their musical diet. Exploring the depths of the piano repertoire are what keep ME excited about teaching, as well as what allows me to outfit students in just the right rep.
This idea of encouraging students to complete a certain number of pieces within a certain amount of time has a lot of merit and I’m grateful to Elissa Milne for shining the spotlight on this kind of challenge.
I should also give Wendy Stevens of ComposeCreate.com fame some credit here; she built on Elissa’s legacy here and has been publishing FREE challenge tracking charts on composecreate.com for many years now. She is always thoughtful about the year’s color schemes and provides you with a tracking chart for students binders as well as a template for a giant chart you can hang on your wall. I typically like to design my own things, but I’ll have to admit: I was thrilled when I realized this year’s challenge charts matched my studio colors exactly. I downloaded Wendy’s challenge tracker SO FAST and saved all kinds of time. I’ll link that resource in the shownotes for today as well.
The first listener question we’re answering is about quantity. I’ve received a lot of questions like: “Should I choose 30 or 40 pieces?” Or “How long should I give my students to complete the challenge?”
It’s important to note, there is no magic in the number 30. Or 40. Elissa has said she originally settled on 40 because that translated roughly to one piece a week for the academic year.
Every studio is different. We all have different studio cultures, we teach different repertoire. We use different resources. We work to varying degrees of detail.
So when it comes to how many pieces you should choose, those are not questions I can answer for you. You are going to need to think about the unique makeup of your own studio and you’re going to need to come up with a plan that suits you.
The one thing I’ll say about quantities and timelines is this: Remember, challenges are only going to be motivating if they are attainable. If this is your first repertoire challenge, I would strongly recommend aiming for fewer pieces and a longer timeline…or no timeline at all. You don’t want to establish a challenge that most of your studio will be unable to meet. Think about the season you are in, what other demands are going to be put on your students’ time, all the things.
There is no magic in the number of pieces you choose, or the timeline you select. Again: every studio culture is different.
AS FOR ME: In the past, I’ve often run what I call the Fall Forty, which is a 40-piece challenge, set to be completed between August and December. Obviously, that’s a tighter timeline than others, but depending on your students and the types of pieces you allow to count, it can be doable.
THIS YEAR: Again, I’m celebrating 30 years of teaching so we’re aiming for 30 pieces. I’d originally announced it as a challenge to be completed by the end of 2025, so students would have through December to complete it. Most of my students are on track to do just that, especially because the Christmas season is coming and it’s pretty easy for them to crank out a ton of holiday carols.
AND YET: I have a good amount of busy high schoolers this year, and it’s become clear that some are REALLY far behind. Again, this is not supposed to be something that discourages my students – OR that gives parents something to battle about at home. That’s the exact opposite of the point.
So, I’ve shifted gears a bit and we’ll simply be celebrating students when they complete their 30 pieces all year long. Easy. I did tell students those who completed their challenge by January would earn additional bragging rights over the others, which I think is fair and – in many cases – quite motivating. 😊
For what it’s worth, I think time of year has a lot of impact on these challenges. My personal approach to my studio calendar is that we do not do any kind of performing in the fall semester. We load up on repertoire and concepts and explorations through the fall, so then when the spring semester hits and we’re spending a lot more time preparing for festivals, competitions, and recitals, we’ve been able to have one season that’s a little more generalized instruction, and another that is highly focused on detail. There are occasions where I deviate from that plan, like last year when I hosted a November recital in a Planetarium, but I am generally happiest when I stick with a low-key fall and a specialized spring.
So, all that to say, I can’t tell you how many pieces your challenge should be or how long you should give students to complete it. Sorry about that. 😊 Aim small to start and then see where you can go from there.
The next question we’ll tackle is about prizes. As in, what should teachers offer as a prize for completing the challenge? In general, I’m not a big fan of prizes. I think you can play up completing the challenge itself as its own reward. Even promising to announce the names of those who completed 30 pieces at the next studio recital can be motivating. . A lot of teachers offer candy bars or small gift cards. You can try to partner with a local business to see if they’ll offer some kind of discount or reward for students who complete the challenge.
Either way, I don’t think teachers need to get hung up on prizes for a repertoire challenge. The challenge really IS its own reward: exploring all these wonderful pieces!
The next listener question? Oh, it’s a big one… How do my students get this much music to play? Am I loaning out books? Are they purchasing more books? What’s the deal?
For me – again, this is for me – getting more repertoire in my students’ hands is never an issue. There are a few things that help me be able to say that.
First: I collect a registration and materials fee every August. Families pay a flat fee at the start of the year and that gives me a reserve of money to use for music purchases all year long. I can capitalize on sales, buy in bulk, and keep my favorite resources stocked in my studio so I never have to wait for books to get shipped to me. It’s a life-saver in many ways.
One of the strengths of this system is the fact that I never have to worry about asking parents if they’re okay purchasing another book. I remember, early in my teaching career, how there were always a handful of families who seemed reluctant to purchase new materials and I always dreaded that conversation.
All this to say – I have a crazy stash of music books in my studio to lend out or give to students. When it comes to things like the 30 or 40 piece challenge, I will lend books out initially, and if they decide they like them and would like to play them in the future, they can keep them. It really is that simple.
I *also* have a lot of digital studio licensed music. That collection is incredibly valuable for these challenges.
This feels like a good transition into the next question:
Are students allowed to count pieces below their level?
Once again, I’ll remind you the rules are up to you! So, ultimately, you decide this for yourself. However, I feel VERY strongly that students benefit from playing pieces below their current level of study. One of the big mindset shifts I’d love to see in our profession is to stop the piano student conveyor belt of always having to play harder and harder repertoire. There is much to be learned by moving laterally and swimming around in concepts longer. I don’t want to keep perpetuating this idea that music is inherently better just because it’s more challenging. No way. Of COURSE we want students to progress over time. I’m just more interested in their enjoyment of music along the way, rather than judging their merits on what color of cover is on their book.
And these challenges are TERRIFIC for that very thing.
Certainly, you’ll have to set boundaries. My intermediate students can’t expect to play through Piano Adventures Book 1 and call it done. If they want to use a collection I haven’t specifically assigned them for the challenge, all they have to do is ask and I’ll determine on a case-by-case basis if it will count.
Next question: What resources do I use for this challenge?
Well, again, I already mentioned Wendy Stevens challenge tracker. She has versions for both 30 and 40 piece challenges. Those are great. Don’t skip the wall chart, friends. You will be amazed how motivating it is for students to see their studiomates’ names on display along with how many pieces they’ve learned. That’s peer pressure at its finest. And – again – you’re in control. If you have a student who is falling behind, give them a boost with some smaller pieces. Whatever you need to do to get the ball rolling.
As far as actual music is concerned, the world is your oyster. I will give a shoutout to a few of my favorites, though.
PS: none of these composers or publishers are aware I’m doing this episode, so these are legit recommendations with no behind-the-scenes favors. I will link them in today’s shownotes.
Since I was just talking about Wendy Stevens, she has a series of pieces on composecreate.com called Short Sheets. They are single-page pieces at a WIDE variety of levels, and they come in packages of three. All three short sheets focus on a common technical element. For example, there’s a late-elementary collection called Night Adventures that all feature left hand melodies. Because I own the studio license, I was able to print those three sheets for everyone at the appropriate level and pass them out last month. They are perfect Halloween pieces that aren’t actually about Halloween. So, they’re seasonless, but they are extra-great in October – whether students celebrate Halloween or not.
While I’m singing the praises of digital licenses, I’ll also shoutout a wonderful Canadian composer by the name of Lynette Sawatsky. Lynette has wonderful compositions on her website, and I especially love her pieces from Waddle and Quack, Shimmer and Strut, and Flutter and Blink. Shoutout to Beyond Measure SuperFriend, Laura Gray, for introducing me to Lynette Sawatsky last year in a session of Teachers Teaching Teachers. If you are not part of the SuperFriends community, you are missing out!
Juan Cabeza has three books that are absolute staples of my repertoire challenges. His Diversions, Books 1 and 2, along with Piano Train Trips, are favorites of my students already, and any time I run one of these challenges, it’s inevitable that many spaces on their trackers will be taken up with these titles.
For elementary students who need a boost, I love Kevin Olson’s Perfect Start series. Those are short pieces I give my newer readers.
Willis publishing has been doing some really exciting work lately; publishing complete collections of composers like Gillock. You can buy the entire collection of Accent on Gillock, or also the entire collection of Accent on Solos. Those are different collections – Accent on Gillock and Accent on Solos – all by Gillock, but spanning multiple levels. I love keeping studio copies of those on hand and letting students take them home and see how many they can learn on their own. Since they get progressively more difficult, it’s interesting to see where THEY think they max out on their understanding.
Sigh. I could talk repertoire ALL DAY LONG, friends. Of course, my students also count pieces from their method series, their historical literature, and whatever else we find ourselves studying. Again, my students are used to working through an ever-changing variety of books because that’s just how I roll over here.
The clock is ticking and I want to be respectful of your time, so I will wrap up the questions here. I did have several questions related to HOW I prepare my students to learn pieces independently… and that’s probably a great topic for its own episode.
Here’s a few things as we prepare to wrap up:
- Today’s shownotes contain a LOT of links. For more details on anything I mentioned today, just head to ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode236. I’ve linked details on my December Performance Challenge, my favorite Thanksgiving assignment that involves the whole family, all the music mentioned today, and more. There’s a lot there.
- I really wanted to talk more about my students’ creative twists on their challenge pieces this year… but we ran out of time. SO: let’s do this. I’m going to record some reflections on the INCREDIBLE things that I’ve been noticing this semester by requiring that extra step, and I’ll post them in the SuperFriends Community sometime in the next week or so. Members will receive an email when those thoughts are available. We’ll count it as a little holiday bonus AND yet-another-reason that you should become a SuperFriend for just $6.
- Lastly, it’s almost time for Studio Teacher Thanksgiving! I’ve done this for several years now and this year is no exception. From November 17th through the 21st anyone on my email list will receive a short video reflection from me, focusing on a unique point of gratitude for our work. It’s a special time every year and I can’t wait to share it with you again. If you’re not already on the Beyond Measure email list, you can do that, again, at the link in today’s shownotes.
PHEW! That’s it for today, friends! Let’s head out of here with a toast:
Studio Teacher Friends from all around the world: today we give thanks for the wonderful ways ideas spread through our teacher communities. The fact that 30 and 40 pieces challenges have spread all over the world thanks to the way one teacher chose to share her ideas? Incredible. We are so fortunate to have one another, friends. I raise my glass to you. Hear, Hear.
Thanks for joining me today for this uber-practical episode, friends! I’ll see you next week for another episode of Beyond Measure. Onward and Upward we go!
