Academic Catalogs

MUS G241: Intermediate Piano 1

Course Outline of Record
Item Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date 05/07/2024
Top Code 100400 - Music
Units 2 Total Units 
Hours 36 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 36)
Total Outside of Class Hours 0
Course Credit Status Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee No
Basic Skills Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable No
Open Entry/Open Exit No
Grading Policy Standard Letter (S), 
  • Pass/No Pass (B)

Course Description

This course is a piano class for students who have completed two semesters of college level piano classes or the equivalent. Content includes development of essential piano skills, such as reading music at the keyboard, sight reading, playing by ear, and chromatic keyboard harmony in more advanced forms. Regular daily practice is essential for success in this course. Access to piano lab and practice rooms is available for no fee. PREREQUISITE: MUS G142. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

  1. Course Outcomes
  2. Perform intermediate classical, folk, or popular compositions with appropriate balance, phrasing, dynamics, and style.
  3. Play all major and most minor scales (c, g, d, a, e, f, b), hands together, followed by arpeggios in the same keys, hands separately, for two octaves.

Course Objectives

  • 1. Perform with technical accuracy and expressiveness prepared pieces at an intermediate level.
  • 2. Sight read piano pieces at the intermediate level.
  • 3. Play all major and some minor scales using both hands in parallel motion, two octaves, in duple rhythm.
  • 4. Play cadential formulas using I, IV, and V7 chords in all major keys and some minor keys.

Lecture Content

Scales Major scales up to four sharps, four flats Minor scales up to four sharps, four flats Two octaves Four octaves Slow tempo Medieum tempo Fast tempo Contrasting articulations Study of piano literature Classical Baroque Classical Romantic Twentieth-Century Folk Pop Jazz Leadsheet format Popular music chord symbols Performance techniques Memorization techniques Preparation for public performance Five-finger positional technique in more advanced patterns Major and minor scales Circle of fifths grouped according to fingering patterns played with both hands Parallel motion Duple rhythm Minors taught as variants of tonic majors. Cadential patterns Primary triads Secondary triads Seventh chords Borrowed dominants in major and minor keys, both hands, using principles of voice leading and keyboard geography.

Method(s) of Instruction

  • Lecture (02)
  • DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
  • DE Online Lecture (02X)

Reading Assignments

Readings, charts, and handouts provided by instructor.

Writing Assignments

Notation of musical notes, rests, melodies, and harmonic analysis.

Out-of-class Assignments

Daily practice.

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Analyzing note patterns and musical structures.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Piano-playing skills, note reading, and playing by ear and from given melodies.

Eligible Disciplines

Music: Master's degree in music OR bachelor's degree in music AND master's degree in humanities OR the equivalent. Master's degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Lethco, A.V., Manus, M., Palmer, W. Alfred Basic Piano: Adult All-in-One Course Level 2 (latest), ed. Alfred Music Publishing, 2011 Rationale: Latest