MUSIC PURCHASES

Students in the Young Artist Program are expected to begin building their music library. At each level, the faculty have identified two lists of technique and repertoire books: 1) Required music and 2) optional music. From the optional list students are required to buy 1 or 2 each term, and are expected to buy a total of 5 at each level (year).

Technique Books: The faculty have designated the important technique books for each level based on the technical skills required for the literature at that level. One is a primary book that serves both as a teaching tool and as reference, because it will have scales, arpeggios, triads and others are important technique items that a student will need for practice throughout her or his life.

Repertoire Collections: KMI uses repertoire collections for the Music Appreciation Program because they group pieces from a variety of composers into volumes graded by level. Some of these collections appear in the Young Artist curriculum because they have a good variety of different composers as may be needed by the young musician. However, most of the music to purchase will be volumes of composers’ collected works.

Required Repertoire: Each collection or major work listed in the required list contains pieces that are applicable to the student’s current level, and many which may be too advanced. These collections are the “must haves” music for that instrument, and are usually all the works of one type by one composer, for example “Violin Sonatas by Beethoven”. The student is expected to purchase these collections and continue to use them throughout her or his enrollment in the program. By the time of graduation, the student will have purchased all the major repertoire for the instrument.

Optional Repertoire: Although repertoire series and major collections can be excellent for teaching, it is not feasible for students to build an exhaustive library of all the major composers at such a young age. Therefore, students are required to purchase 2, but are encouraged to buy as many as 5, additional selections from the optional list. These are collections or singles by composers not listed on the required list and should give the student a broader exposure to the music literature available for the instrument. The student is required to make selections from the optional list which represent different periods and styles of music.

Choosing the Publisher: When building any kind of library, consideration must be given to the quality of publication. The music publishers held in highest regard are Peter’s, Henle and Bärenreiter, both for quality of printing and scholarship. Of course, such quality comes at a price and music from these publishers tends to cost as much as three times what can be purchased from other publishers. The lowest cost publishers are Schirmer and Kalmus, and again you get what you pay for in that the print quality is often poor, and the scores often are filled with errors.

In addition, Schirmer music is almost always edited – which means that the music is filled with fingerings, accents, and other playing notations, which were never provided by the composer. This can be helpful to the untrained pianist, but can be very annoying to one with more education and experience. There are also many cases where certain publisher’s have produced special editions that have earned merit beyond the generalizations above. For example, Dover is well known for its special Padarewski Edited Chopin scores, and Alfred has produced numerous series and collections that are very educational (their Bach Preludes and Inventions are very good).

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(See BEYOND BEGINNER for more understanding of music study at the intermediate and advanced levels.)

(See SERIOUS STUDENTS for more understanding of serious study at these levels.)