Both classes are taught by master teacher Helen Ryba, who also teaches piano and classical voice at the New Jersey Workshop for the Arts.
Introductory level
Designed for beginning students ages 7 through 12. The goal is to develop an understanding of the basic elements of music — pitch, rhythm and tempo — connecting sound to written music through listening, singing and writing. By the end of the course students will have learned:
- The piano keyboard and its structure — octaves, black and white keys
- Basic pitch notation — staves, clefs, notes, lines and spaces
- Basic rhythm and meter — whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, dotted notes, bars, double and triple meters, rests and their values
- Basic tempo, dynamic and articulation values and their Italian terminology
Aural skills developed in the course include:
- Telling low notes from high notes
- Telling minor from major chords (introduced as sad and cheerful)
- Telling a single note from multiple notes — intervals or chords
- Singing and solfeging major and minor scales (C major, A minor) and simple melodies, including sight singing
- Writing simple music dictations
Students are also introduced to different instruments and the qualities of their timbre.
Intermediate level
For students who have completed the introductory course or have two to three years of prior music experience. The course continues with basic and advanced elements — rhythm, tempo, pitch, tonality, intervals and chords, articulation, dynamics, ornamentation and basic musical form.