hi im from australia, and was just wondering what sort of standard do u have to be at to play most of her pieces? eg. Dream of cherry blossoms. im pretty sure the standard is very different from the u.s and australia. im in high school now, and a fairly proficient percussionist but am trying to get into solos. i know in australia, our standard is slightly lower than that of the u.s. my friend who is phenomenal, is playing pieces maybe 3 or 4 years ahead of our standard, that people in the u.s would be expected to be playing in high school!

well..what are you playing right now? Are you past the Yellow after the Rain/Se Refractions Stage? Musser etudes? what?

Phil --

From what you just said last about your stage of playing (the comments regarding "Yellow After"), I think the Musser etudes, other Peters' pieces and also "Raindance" would be good options for you. The Abe pieces are significantly more difficult than "Yellow After." You might also want to look at Smadbeck's pieces, such as "Raindance" and "Etude no. 1."

I would also strongly suggest at this stage it would be wisest to work up your 'chops,' i.e. do lots of technique work. What's the use of attempting strong solo literature if you don't have the muscle to play it? (I've learned this one the hard way) 🙂 Become proficient in all the basic strokes, and the literature will come naturally through that. It is smartest to have a strong foundation in the basics (technique) before you work on the 'fancy' stuff (literature).

All the best.
Lin