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Course Syllabus

MUSC 1160 Class Piano II

  • Division: Fine Arts, Comm, and New Media
  • Department: Music
  • Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 1; Lecture: 0; Lab: 2
  • Prerequisites: MUSC 1150 or instructor approval
  • Corequisites: None
  • Semesters Offered: TBA
  • Semester Approved: Fall 2022
  • Five-Year Review Semester: Summer 2027
  • End Semester: Summer 2028
  • Optimum Class Size: 10
  • Maximum Class Size: 15

Course Description

This is the second semester of a four-semester, sequential, music major course designed to help students meet the music major piano proficiency requirement. Class Piano I introduces students to beginning piano skills. This course, Class Piano II, builds upon these basic skills. All music majors must take a piano assessment placement test prior to enrolling in any section of Class Piano. Students will be placed in the appropriate semester of Class Piano after completing the initial assessment.

Justification

This course is the second semester of the Class Piano series and begins the music major's progress toward piano proficiency. Piano proficiency is a requirement for all National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) accredited institutions. Similar courses are offered at other NASM accredited institutions in Utah and throughout the country. This course is most like MUSC 1160 - Keyboard II, at the University of Utah.

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will demonstrate basic piano technique, including good hand position and posture.
  2. Students will demonstrate basic piano skills, including the playing of major and minor scales, arpeggios, chords, and chord inversions.
  3. Students will demonstrate basic music reading skills as they apply to piano playing, including beginning piano literature and hymns.
  4. Students will demonstrate proficiency in sight reading piano literature, relative in difficulty to the level of the class.
  5. Students will perform a memorized piece during an in class recital using proper performing techniques and etiquette.

Course Content

This course will address the development of playing the piano at a basic level. It will include concepts such as note reading, sight reading, chords, chord inversions, scales (Major and minor), hand positions, playing positions, and basic musicianship. These concepts will be addressed during class and in weekly, outside of class, practice assignments. Other discussions may include practice techniques, performing techniques, keyboard theory, harmonization, transposition, and improvisation. Music for the course will be chosen from a variety of world cultures and nations. Both old and modern music from said cultures will be played.