Piano I, Piano II, Music Theory I, & Theatre

The Piano I and Piano II course sequence is designed to take a total beginner to music/playing the piano and give them a full year opportunity to develop as a musician. Piano I introduces the fundamentals of playing the piano including pitch and rhythmic notation as well as basic performance skills. Students typically complete the first half of the Alfred Adult Piano Book #1 as well as Book 1 of the Dozen a Day exercise series. The primary focus of this course is daily success for all students in learning to read and perform music.

Piano II is a continuation of the Piano I course. Students can enroll in this course without taking Piano I by permission of the instructor. An interview and brief demonstration of skills is required to insure proper placement in Piano II. Students typically complete the remainder of the Alfred Piano Book #1; a thorough review of Book 1 as well as completion of Book 2 of the Dozen a Day exercise series.

Students DO NOT have to take Piano I and Piano II within the same school year and in fact, very few do so. We have already had a student take Piano I in the fall of their freshman year and then take Piano II in the spring of their senior year with success. No student should be intimidated by starting to learn this instrument! The music program via this course has taught nearly 1,000 students to play piano on a basic, fundamental level since the inception of this course sequence.

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Music Theory I: The study of Music Theory is the study of how music is written and how music “works.” It takes a student beyond merely playing or singing and into a world of understanding so that the student becomes a better musician either as performer or composer. While a Music Theory course tends towards how to write music, this course will seek to have the students come to the understanding of the course’s contents beyond just written by having them perform and actively create music to demonstrate their knowledge and comprehension. Music Theory I serves as a gateway course for the AP Music Theory course (and corresponding exam).

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Theatre: This is an introductory course to the dramatic and theatrical arts. Students will explore the theatre as actors, critics, directors, playwrights, and as spectators. Students will be exposed to the origins of theatre as well as the elements of acting by reading dramatic literature. Students will experience the aspects of improvisational acting as well as rehearsed acting. Acting techniques and scene exploration will be explored. Students will be performing memorized, scripted monologues and scenes as well as monologues and scenes that they create themselves. Concentration, observations, and believability will be the skills targeted. Students will be able to use the terms and phrases that are used in professionally theatre productions. This is an active class that includes theatre games, memorization, and public speaking as well as tests and projects.