ELECTIVES
For Students Age 13 & older With Previous Musical Training
Lessons For An Extended Period Of Time Or On A Short Term Basis
You May Focus One Or More Of These Areas
Accompanying Yourself While Singing
Collaborative Piano - Accompanying Singers or Instrumentalists
Composition
Do you have musical ideas but don’t know what to do with them?
Do you find yourself humming a catchy tune that you’d like to develop?
You will learn:
-How to use your favorite piece as a model for composition.
-Basics of notation.
-How to put your piece into the right time signature.
-How to choose the right chords for your melody.
-Musical form and structure.
-How to set words to music.
-How to orchestrate, i.e. add instruments to your compositions.
-The basics of musical notation software.
-The difference between jazz composition and classical composition.
Improvisation
-Learning how to play the Blues (basic improvisation methodology).
-Jazz improvisation and overview.
-Creating patterns that work with the chords of a song.
-Using chord scales and modes to improvise.
-Rhythmic elements: syncopation, phrasing and direction of the line.
-New age piano, flowing types of improvisation.
Arranging
-Selecting & implementing accompaniment for show tunes, standards, jazz & popular selections.
-Creating interesting and musical harmonic chord patterns.
-Applying varying accompaniments to different sections of pieces.
-Choosing the appropriate harmonic language for the musical genre.
-Creating introductions and endings for your selections.
-Finding ways to play selections with singers or instrumentalists.
Accompanying Yourself WHILE Singing
-Determining the correct key of a song based on your vocal range.
-Deciding on the style, tempo, musical form, etc. of your selection.
-Creating right hand piano parts that enhance your singing & that you can play WHILE you are singing.
-Creating left hand bass parts that provide interest/foundation for your vocal performance & that you can play WHILE singing.
-Creating accompaniment parts for a rubato introductory verse.
-Creating endings that bring a piece to a successful musical conclusion.
Collaborative Piano
Accompanying singers or people who play other instruments.
-Determining the correct key of a song based on the singer’s vocal range.
-Deciding on the style, tempo, musical form, etc. of your selection.
-Designating which sections of the piece feature pianist or collaborator.
-Creating right hand piano parts that enhance the singer’s or instrumentalist’s melody.
-Creating left hand bass lines that provide interest/foundation for your duet.
-Creating introductions that transition successfully into the melody of a song.
-Creating endings that bring a piece to a successful musical conclusion.
Scheduling Options:
One hour lessons twice a month
One hour lessons once a month