Guild Repertoire: Piano Music Appropriate for the Auditions of the National Guild of Piano Teachers, Intermediate A: Piano Book

A curated tour through centuries of piano writing. You'll step from the elegant restraint of an 18th-century minuet into the playfulness of Russian impressionism, then into early-20th-century modernism. Nothing feels generic or overworn.

Intermediate A pianists working toward National Guild auditions or building confidence across multiple musical periods. This collection serves students ready to move beyond simplified arrangements into genuine repertoire while still needing pieces at a manageable technical level.

• Approach the baroque and classical sonatinas as complete musical narratives. Each movement has distinct character; tempo relationships matter as much as individual articulation choices.
• Use the character pieces (Wild Rider, Children's Game, I Danced With a Mosquito) to develop interpretive independence. These shorter works reward thoughtful decisions about phrasing and dynamic shape without the structural demands of a full sonata.
• Pay attention to ornamentation and period conventions in the older dances and airs. A Purcell sarabande or Handel minuet opens differently than a Romantic waltz.

Assign one or two pieces for recital as audition preparation, or build a themed program around a single era. The variety also makes this an ideal source for finding parallel repertoire pieces, so when a student masters a Beethoven sonatina, you can offer a Biehl sonatina with similar structure but fresh harmonic language.

• Recognizing and executing baroque ornaments and stylistic conventions
• Structural analysis of sonatina form across different composers
• Character interpretation in short character pieces
• Pedal control appropriate to different harmonic densities
• Sight-reading across multiple musical idioms and notational styles