Lea Richardson Oliver
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There are seven levels of piano taught in three different piano labs at Hamilton High School Academy of Music. All music students must pass at least one year of piano Level one is for beginners with no prior experience. Students completing this course will learn note reading in treble and bass clef, understanding basic theory and its application at the keyboard, development of good practice habits, playing with a steady rhythm, good piano technique and posture, 6 major and 3 minor scales of one octave, basic sight-reading, and playing I, IV, V cadences in 9 keys. Theory covers scale, interval and triad construction. Level two is also a beginning course, but is designed for students who have had prior musical experience on another instrument. It goes much faster and farther. All major and minor scales are learned, as well as some improvisation, chording and reading of lead sheets. Theory introduces key signatures and circle of fifths. Level three focuses attention on more advanced theory: key signatures, circle of fifths, triads and seventh chords and inversions, and ear training. Focus is placed on careful, clean pedaling, developing fluency, articulation, sight-reading, balance between melody and harmony and accurate interpretation of expression marks. Scales are two octaves at a moderate tempo and arpeggios are introduced. Sight-reading level two material and one hour daily of outside practice is expected. Level four introduces more difficult literature by composers such as Kabalevsky, Bartok, Kuhlau, Clementi and others. Artistic interpretation is stressed. Students play scales of three octaves in sixteenth notes at mm 90, and four octave arpeggios. Students sight-read level three material. Level five students work on easier sonatas, Chopin preludes, waltzes and mazurkas, works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Scarlatti and other masters. At this level all instruction and repertoire are individualized, and students have a hand in choosing their pieces. They are expected to perform at a public school recital at least once each semester. All performances are memorized. Scales and arpeggios are four octaves each. Level six is difficult, requiring advanced technical and interpretive skills. Students must play pieces in key signatures containing numerous flats and sharps, complex rhythms, unusual meters, and subtle dynamics. Repertoire represents different styles, cultures and musical periods. They must also be able to play major and minor scales at 100-140 mm and all major, minor, diminished 7th, dominant 7th and augmented arpeggios. They are expected to perform a minimum of two times a semester, and prepare a major term paper on one or more composers. Students at levels six and seven may also accompany other instrumentalists or singers, play in chamber music ensembles, play in the pit orchestra for one of the two yearly musicals or play in one of the jazz bands. They also learn at least one concerto movement and have the opportunity to audition for the yearly concerto recital with the Hamilton Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. Level seven is very difficult requiring very advanced technical and interpretive skills. Students learn a complete recital repertoire involving pieces of great length and difficulty such as Liszt etudes, Barber and Chopin sonatas and full concertos. Most students at this level enter (and often win) local, state and national competitions. They perform often at Hamilton and outside venues. Contemporary Piano Techniques students learn to play in a number of styles including blues, rock, Broadway, Gospel, rag-time and jazz. The skills that are acquired are playing by ear, “comping”, writing dictation, reading a chord chart, reading a lead sheet, sight-reading popular sheet music and improvising in various styles. Students learn 7th, 9th 11th and 13th chords in all keys, chord inversions, blues, jazz and modal scales. Technique: Appropriate technical exercises are assigned at all levels. Practice: Level one to four students are expected to practice a minimum of one hour daily outside of class. Levels five and six are expected to put in a minimum of one and a half hours daily, and level seven, a minimum of two and a half hours of daily practice. Concert Attendance: Piano students are required to attend a certain amount of piano recitals and concerts, and write critiques of them.
Position:
Director of Keyboard Studies
Contact:
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