What piano piece should I learn next?

This is a very common questions that comes into the mind of anyone learning the piano and being able to come up with a good answer can greatly impact your progression and enjoyment with the instrument. There are several important factors that I would encourage you to consider which should give you a good starting place for deciding that piano piece to try and learn next.

What are your goals?

This is an important question to ask yourself and the answer will have a large impact on the type of music you should be considering for you next piece. If you just want to have fun with the piano and maybe play some popular music then you can probably pick a song that you like and start to work at it! If however you have long term goals of playing some of the challenging piano repertoire by famous composers you should bear that goal in mind and work towards it. Consider pieces that develop your technique or easier pieces by the same composer as your dream piece so build familiarity with their pianistic style. If your goal is to be a fantastic jazz pianist then your time might be better spent developing your improvisation or learning jazz standards. Whatever your goal is it's important to have one so that you can have a direction to guide you.

Pick something you care about

One of the biggest factors in the success of learning a piece of music is how much you care about the music itself. If you're setting out to learn a piece of music that you don't care about at all then it's going to be a tough process. You won't have the motivation required to practise the piece frequently and it will probably be harder to give a convining interpretation of the music. Try and find a piece that you really love, a piece of music that you will happily listen to many times on repeat, something that you'll be proud to play. This can be challenging sometimes when workign towards a grade and you have to learn multiple pieces from set lists but usually there is one or two pieces in each list that you'll have an affinity with. If a teacher tries to force you to play a piece that you don't like then don't be affraid to express this to them - there may be a genuinely good reason why they want you to learn that piece so do listen to their thoughts with an open mind however.

The sweet spot

There is a sweet spot of difficulty that is important to find which will help you improve but without overwhelming you and causing frustration. If you pick something that is too easy then you'll be able to read through it quickly and won't learn very much and equally if you pick something that is too hard you'll struggle to play the music in a satisfying way and will likely give up learning it. You want to try and find a piece that pushing you in some way but still feels approachable. Some ways that a piece might challenge you are with technique, for example a piece with lots of trills; a hard key signature, maybe a key that you haven't played much before or one with lots of accidentals; very emotionally expressive, requiring a sensative touch and clear voicing. These are only a few examples but ideally each piece you learn should you challening you in some manner. An experienced teacher will be very helpful in gauging this difficulty level!

Variation is important

If you feel like you're in a rut then often it can be very beneficial to try and play something fresh and new, completely different from anything you've been playing recently. Let say that you love Chopin and you've been working through all of his Noctures and Waltzes - you might reach a point where you're getting fatigued with music of the same style and something different could revitalise you. Maybe consider a music by composer you've never played before or even a completely different genre. It is important to keep an open mind when looking for this novelty and listening to lots of music will be your best friend for discovering new sounds. Don't be afraid to ask for suggestions from your teach or people you know, they will almost certainly have a different taste to you and so will likely suggest something you wouldn't have considered.

Hopefully this gives you a good starting place for thinking about what might be suitable for you next piece of piano music. Best of luck with your learning!