Second Year Piano Student Theory

Including theory as an integral part of piano instruction is vital.  The second year theory program might include:

1. Subdominant minor chords (inverted position)
2. Augmented chords
3. Diminished chords
4. Writing major scales

Subdominant Minor Chords

In the first year melodies are harmonized with major I, IV and V7 chords.  Minor melodies may also be harmonized with i, iv, and V7 chords.  Students should already have learned minor tonic chords and dominant seventh chords (the same for major and minor), so the only new chord in the progression is the iv chord in minor.  The purpose for learning this new chord is for functional usage in minor tonalities.  It is more practical for students to learn to play this chord in all minor keys than it is for them to learn to write the chord.  Students may first learn the progression i, iv, i in all minor keys.  Following this they can learn i, iv, i, V7, i.

Augmented Chords

An augmented triad is made of a major third and an augmented fifth.  The word augment means to make larger.  Raise the top note (5th) of a major triad 1/2 step to form an augmented chord.

Diminished Chords

A diminished triad is made of a minor third and a diminished fifth.  The word diminished means to make smaller.  Lower the top note (5th) of a minor triad 1/2 step to form a diminished chord.

Writing Major Scales

Sometime during the second year students may be taught the pattern of whole and half steps that make up the major scales.  They should memorize the pattern whole-whole-half, whole-whole-whole-half or WWH WWWH.  They aught to be shown how to assign degree numbers to the eight notes of the major scale and how to formulate the major scale numeric pattern of a half-step between degrees 3-4 and 7-8.

For more information about piano lessons in Basking Ridge, please contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

College Coursework for the Piano Major

Piano classes for the keyboard major include:

• applied keyboard study
• history of music literature
• accompany and ensemble performance
• chorus
• functional piano

The student will be exposed to a broad range of piano literature. Insight into various styles, an understanding of performance traditions, interpretative depth and sensitivity toward music are areas that are developed. The piano student should have at least a listening aquaintance of these composers, be able to identify the periods based on the style heard, and to be able to play increasingly difficult selections from each:

1. Representative seventeenth and eighteenth century works by D. Scarlatti, Couperin, Handel
2. A cross section of J.S. Bach's keyboard works
3. Familiarity with important sonatas, concertos, and other solo works of Haydn and Mozart
4. A representative sampling from each of the three periods of the Beethoven sonatas, as well as acquaintance with the concertos and variations
5. A cross section of such nineteenth century composers' works as Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schubert, Liszt, Brahms
6. Familiarity with representative impressionistic works of Debussy and Ravel
7. An examination of representative pieces of twentieth century figures as Scriabin, Stravinsky, Bartok, Prokofiev, Copland, Schoenberg

The piano teacher should be able to analyze technical problems, and over an extended period systematically guide the student toward ever greater physical ability at the piano. Exercises alone, introduced with the usual arsenal of scales, arpeggios, etc. will not be adequate preparation for virtuoso playing. The teacher must also be able to explain how to use the playing mechanism, what to do with the arm, wrist, and fingers as in keyboard phrasing, how to produce certain effects, how to go about unraveling a technically difficult passage, etc. Without correct technical training, the result can be lost time, sore muscles, and tight, poor playing.

The piano student learns to make his own interpretative decisions - especially in regards to keyboard dynamics - to gain even greater technical security, and able to produce finished results without the teacher's prompting. In short, he becomes an artistic entity in his own right.

Playing Piano from Memory

Playing from memory is a skill that can easily be developed. The essential elements are a strong, clear-cut impression; varied associations that set up related ideas (visual, aural, muscular impressions; analysis of form and harmony, etc.); repetition; and a formula or cue which will bring recall, such as the title of the piece, name of the composer, opus number, or key phrases of the piece.

Music memory is complex. with many people memory is largely visual; some remember better with aural impressions, while others remember a composition with their fingers, i.e. muscle memory. The student's natural memory tendencies should be developed by the piano teacher, while at the same time the other types of memory should be cultivated so that every possible association can contribute to the accuracy and retentiveness of the student's memory. No composition is fully memorized until the pianist can actually hear it in his imagination.

To develop the skill of playing from memory, start the student with small pieces. As his proficiency develops, build out toward larger pieces. Have the student memorize stanzas and then sections and then movements of the composition, memorizing each and building upon the prior memorized sections. By following this process, the student will have memorized the entire work in easily managed portions.

For information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.