Building Your Personal Piano Repertoire List

Right, confession time: for the first year of learning piano, I didn’t keep any kind of list of what I’d learned. I just… played things, moved on to new things, and forgot what I’d previously worked on.

This was daft for several reasons. I couldn’t remember what pieces I actually knew. I had no record of my progress. When someone asked me to “play something,” I’d panic because I couldn’t remember what was still playable. And I kept accidentally trying to learn pieces I’d already abandoned months earlier.

Then I finally started keeping a repertoire list, and everything got easier. I could see my progress. I knew what needed maintenance practice. I could plan future pieces strategically. And most importantly, I stopped feeling like I was constantly starting from scratch.

This post is about building and maintaining your own personal repertoire list. Not some theoretical, perfect system – just a practical approach to tracking what you’re learning and what you’ve learned. Because honestly? If you don’t track it, half of it just disappears from your memory.

Why Bother with a Repertoire List?

Before we get into the how, let’s talk about why this matters:

Track Your Progress

Looking back at pieces you’ve learned over months and years is incredibly motivating. When you’re struggling with a difficult piece, being able to see “oh yeah, I felt this way about the Chopin waltz too, and I got through that” helps.

Know What You Can Actually Play

“Can you play something?” is a question that sends adult learners into panic mode. Having a list of performance-ready pieces eliminates that panic.

Plan Strategically

With a list, you can see gaps in your repertoire. “I’ve learned loads of Romantic pieces but no Bach.” “I have slow pieces but nothing energetic.” This helps you choose future pieces more strategically.

Remember What Needs Maintenance

Pieces you don’t practice regularly deteriorate. A list reminds you which pieces need refreshing.

Celebrate Achievements

Adult learners are terrible at celebrating progress. A growing list of learned pieces is tangible proof that you’re achieving something.

Learn from Patterns

Over time, you’ll notice patterns. “I learn waltzes quickly but struggle with fugues.” “Pieces in minor keys take me longer.” This self-knowledge helps you estimate timeframes and choose pieces more effectively.

What to Track (And What Not To)

You don’t need to track everything. Here’s what I’ve found useful:

Essential Information

Piece name and composer:
Obviously. But also be specific – “Prelude in E Minor” doesn’t help much when Chopin wrote 24 preludes.

Difficulty level:
I use ABRSM grades, but you could use any grading system or just “easy/intermediate/advanced.”

Dates:

• When did you start learning it?
• When was it “learned” (at whatever level you define that)?
• When did you last play it?

Current status:

• Currently learning
• Performance ready
• Needs refreshing
• Retired (learned but no longer maintaining)

Useful But Optional

Time taken to learn:
How many weeks/months from start to “learned”? This helps you estimate future pieces.

Technical focus:
What did this piece teach you? Hand independence? Pedalling? Fast octaves? Helps you identify technical development.

Personal notes:
“Struggled with the left hand jumps.” “Really loved this one.” “Never quite got the middle section right.” These personal reflections are valuable.

Links/resources:
Where’s the sheet music? Any particularly good recordings or tutorials?

Things I Don’t Track (Because They Don’t Help)

Every single practice session:
Too much detail. You’ll never maintain it.

Extremely detailed technical notes:
Again, too much. Keep it simple.

Every piece you sight-read:
Only track pieces you’re seriously learning, not things you’re just having a look at.

Different Tracking Methods

I’ve tried several approaches. Here’s what works and what doesn’t:

Physical Notebook (What I Started With)

Pros:

• Simple, no technology required
• Can jot notes whilst at the piano
• Somehow feels more “real” than digital

Cons:

• Not searchable
• Can’t easily reorganise entries
• Risk of losing the notebook (I’ve done this)
• Gets messy with crossed-out entries and additions

My verdict: Good for starting out, but I outgrew it.

Spreadsheet (What I Use Now)

Pros:

• Searchable and sortable
• Can add columns as needed
• Easy to update and reorganise
• Can calculate statistics (total pieces, average learning time, etc.)
• Cloud-based means I can’t lose it

Cons:

• Requires basic spreadsheet skills
• Feels less romantic than a notebook?
• Easy to overcomplicate with too many columns

My verdict: This works brilliantly for me. I use Google Sheets.

Note-Taking Apps (Notion, Evernote, etc.)

Pros:

• Flexible formatting
• Can include images, links, recordings
• Good search functionality
• Cross-platform

Cons:

• Can become overly complex
• Some apps have paywalls
• Overkill for a simple list?

My verdict: Fine if you already use these apps, but I prefer spreadsheet simplicity.

Purpose-Built Apps (Practice journals, etc.)

Pros:

• Designed specifically for musicians
• Often have good tracking features
• Some include practice timers and reminders

Cons:

• Usually subscription-based
• Can’t customise to your needs
• Risk of app discontinuation (happened to me)

My verdict: Worth exploring, but I prefer tools I control.

My Recommendation

Start simple. A physical notebook or basic spreadsheet. If you stick with repertoire tracking for 3+ months and find it valuable, then consider more sophisticated solutions.

My Actual Repertoire List Structure

Right, here’s what my current spreadsheet looks like:

Columns I Use

1. Piece Name: Full title and composer
2. Grade Level: ABRSM grading
3. Date Started: When I began learning it
4. Date Learned: When it reached “performance ready” (or as close as I get)
5. Weeks to Learn: Calculated from start to learned date
6. Current Status: Currently learning / Performance ready / Needs refreshing / Retired
7. Last Played: Date I last played it through
8. Notes: Personal reflections, difficulties, etc.
9. Link: Where the sheet music is (IMSLP, purchased file location, etc.)

Example Entries

Chopin – Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28 No. 4
Grade: 4 | Started: 15/03/2023 | Learned: 20/05/2023 | Weeks: 9 | Status: Performance ready | Last played: 12/10/2025 | Notes: First Chopin piece. Voicing the melody took ages. Need to refresh pedalling. | Link: IMSLP

Für Elise – Beethoven
Grade: 4 | Started: 01/08/2023 | Learned: 28/11/2023 | Weeks: 17 | Status: Retired | Last played: 15/06/2025 | Notes: Middle sections were challenging. Can still play opening/closing but middle needs work. | Link: Henle edition (folder)

Bach – Two-Part Invention No. 1
Grade: 5 | Started: 10/01/2024 | Learned: 05/05/2024 | Weeks: 16 | Status: Performance ready | Last played: 20/10/2025 | Notes: Hand independence killer. Hands separate for ages. Really satisfying once learned. | Link: IMSLP

Categories/Sheets I Use

I have multiple sheets in my spreadsheet:

Currently Learning: Pieces I’m actively working on right now

Performance Ready: Pieces I can play confidently today

Needs Refreshing: Pieces I’ve learned but haven’t played recently

Retired: Pieces I’ve learned but am not maintaining (might revive later)

Future Pieces: Pieces I want to learn eventually (wish list)

Abandoned: Pieces I started but gave up on (with notes on why – helps me choose better in future)

This organisation helps me see at a glance where things are.

How I Actually Use My List

Having a list is pointless if you don’t use it. Here’s how it factors into my practice:

Weekly Check-In

Once a week (usually Sundays), I review my list:

• Have I updated “last played” dates?
• Does anything need changing status?
• What should I prioritise this week?

Takes about 5 minutes.

Monthly Review

Once a month, I do a deeper review:

• Play through “performance ready” pieces that I haven’t touched in a while
• Decide if anything needs to move from “performance ready” to “needs refreshing”
• Review “currently learning” pieces – am I making progress?
• Look at abandoned pieces – any worth reviving?

Takes 30-60 minutes.

When Choosing New Pieces

Before starting something new, I check my list:

• What have I learned recently? Am I balanced across different styles/periods?
• What technical areas need work? (I note this in the “Notes” column)
• How long have I been working on current pieces? Should I add something shorter/easier for variety?

When Someone Asks Me to Play

I look at my “Performance Ready” sheet and pick something appropriate. No more panic!

When Feeling Discouraged

I scroll through my “Retired” list (which now has 20+ pieces). Seeing everything I’ve learned over the years is incredibly motivating.

What to Do When Pieces Change Status

Your relationship with pieces changes over time. Here’s how I handle status changes:

Performance Ready → Needs Refreshing

When I haven’t played a piece in 1-2 months, I move it to “needs refreshing.” It’s not gone – it just needs work before I could perform it.

How to refresh: Usually takes 2-3 focused practice sessions to get back to performance ready.

Performance Ready → Retired

When I haven’t played a piece in 3+ months and I’m not motivated to refresh it, I retire it. It’s still in my list, I still learnt it, but I’m not actively maintaining it.

Can it come back? Absolutely. I’ve revived retired pieces when I felt like playing them again.

Needs Refreshing → Retired

If something sits in “needs refreshing” for 6+ months without me bothering to refresh it, clearly I’m not that interested in maintaining it. Time to retire it.

Retired → Performance Ready

Sometimes I revive retired pieces. Learning them the second time is usually much faster – maybe 50-60% of the original time.

Tracking Your Learning Speed

This is fascinating data if you’re a nerd like me:

What I’ve Noticed

Average learning time decreases:
My average “weeks to learn” has decreased from about 8 weeks (year 1-2) to about 5-6 weeks (year 3-4) for the same difficulty level.

Some pieces are outliers:
The Moonlight Sonata took me 22 weeks. The Bach C Major Prelude took 12 weeks. These outliers teach me what I find particularly challenging.

Certain technical challenges take me longer:
Hand independence (Bach) consistently takes me 50% longer than pieces without it. This helps me estimate timeframes for future pieces.

Familiar pieces learn faster:
Pieces I’ve heard extensively learn about 30% faster than unfamiliar ones.

How This Helps

When I’m choosing a new piece, I can estimate fairly accurately how long it will take based on:

• Grade level
• Whether it involves technical challenges I struggle with
• How familiar I am with it
• My recent average learning speeds

This helps me plan more realistically.

Advanced Tracking: Technical Skills Development

If you want to get fancy (I do), you can track which pieces develop which skills:

Technical Categories I Track

• Hand independence
• Fast passages
• Pedalling complexity
• Large hand stretches
• Voicing/bringing out melody
• Ornaments
• Rhythmic complexity
• Endurance/long pieces

In my “Notes” column, I’ll add tags like [hand-independence] [pedalling] so I can search for pieces that developed specific skills.

Why This Matters

When choosing new pieces, I can consciously target technical areas that need development. “I’ve done loads of pedalling work but not much hand independence recently – time for some Bach.”

Common Mistakes I Made

So you don’t have to:

Tracking Too Much Detail

Early on, I tried to track every practice session, every technical difficulty, every fingering decision. This was exhausting and unsustainable.

Now I track just essential information. Much more maintainable.

Not Updating Regularly

If you don’t update your list regularly, it becomes useless. Set a weekly reminder.

Being Too Perfectionist

My first spreadsheet had fancy colour coding, complex formulas, multiple tracking metrics. It was beautiful and utterly impractical.

Now it’s simple and functional. Better.

Not Including “Abandoned” Category

I used to just delete pieces I’d given up on. Bad idea! Knowing what I’ve abandoned and why helps me choose better in future.

Being Overly Optimistic About Status

Early on, everything was “performance ready” even when it really wasn’t. Now I’m more honest. Pieces go in “needs refreshing” sooner, which is more accurate.

Sample Structure You Can Use

If you’re starting from scratch, here’s a simple structure:

Spreadsheet Columns:

1. Piece & Composer
2. Grade
3. Status (Learning/Ready/Needs Refresh/Retired)
4. Started Date
5. Learned Date
6. Last Played
7. Notes

Status Definitions:

• Learning: Currently working on it
• Ready: Can perform confidently today
• Needs Refresh: Haven’t played in 1-2 months, would need work
• Retired: Haven’t played in 3+ months, not currently maintaining

That’s it. Simple and effective.

How Long Before This Becomes Valuable?

Initially, your list won’t be very useful – it’ll have 3-4 entries and not much data.

But by 6 months in, you’ll have 8-10 pieces logged and can start seeing patterns.

By a year, you’ll have 15-20 entries and the list becomes genuinely valuable for planning and motivation.

By 2-3 years, it’s an incredible record of your progress. I love scrolling through my list and seeing everything I’ve learned.

Final Thoughts

A repertoire list isn’t essential to learning piano. Plenty of people get by without one. But I’ve found it incredibly valuable for:

• Tracking progress
• Planning strategically
• Maintaining pieces
• Staying motivated
• Learning about my own learning patterns

It takes maybe 5-10 minutes a week to maintain, and the benefits far outweigh that small time investment.

Start simple. A notebook or basic spreadsheet. Track the essentials. Update it weekly. That’s all you need.

And then in a year, you can look back and think “bloody hell, I actually learned all of that.” That feeling alone makes it worthwhile.

Now stop reading and go update your repertoire list. Or start one if you haven’t yet. You won’t regret it.

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Related Posts:

• How to Learn a New Piano Piece: My Step-by-Step Process
• How Long Does It Really Take to Learn a Piano Piece?
• The Complete Guide to Piano Repertoire for Adult Learners
• Chopin for Intermediate Players