MUSIC 264

Keyboard Foundations - 264

The goal of 264/265 is to give students a strong introduction to various musical skills that they will very likely come across in the professional world. Many of these skills will draw on the student’s knowledge of music theory and become the concrete application of that knowledge.As keyboard players –they  are expected to have the strongest working knowledge of harmony, as the instrument is polyphonic in nature – not homophonic.  The ability to see many notes and instantly divide them into harmonic groupings is crucial and a common denominator for nearly every aspect of this class.  Sometimes this grouping skill will include adding or subtracting notes from the page, or supplying notes that are only notated by a symbol. Very often students can play their performance repertoire wonderfully, but are virtually helpless and intimidated when attempting to add or subtract some of their own notes when not written specifically on the page. This tendency represents incomplete musicianship - it is instead only well trained muscles. The outcomes for this course include sight reading, modulation, score reading, figured bass, transposition and improvisation.   After discussing other items that would be considered foundational material for keyboard players in 2012, it was decided that added emphasis would be given to the history of great pianists.