Method
Method
Our method is based on the theory of simultaneous learning developed by the well known music pedagogue Paul Harris. Simultaneous learning refers to the capacity of a music student to develop an array of skills at the same time – technique, theory, aural skills, sight reading, improvisation, etc. Because of this, at Școala de Pian children learn to play music both by ear and by reading notation, so that they can develop their processing skills both visually and aurally. They learn technique, theory, learn to improvise and even to listen analytically to music. The material used for learning gathers the best methods from around the world – partly British, partly American and partly Australian and our teachers are trained to provide a well-rounded learning experience for each of our student, developing their unique musical voice on a strong skills base.
After 3 months
We know how the instrument works and how to recognise each key, how to sit properly at the piano and even how to improvise from the first lesson. We can move our fingers with almost complete independence and we know how to use the natural weight of the arm when pressing the piano keys. We can read simple music scores, transfer the melody from one hand to another by using the correct fingering without interrupting the rhythm and we can identify and play the shape of a melody just by listening to it.
After 6 months
We play with both hands at the same time and we tackled the first tehnical exercises – scales, arpeggios, chords – as well as the first theory notions. Our hands gain more and more independence, managing the difference between melody and accompaniment, our improvs become more interesting through the use of chords and the pieces we play become more diverse. We start using a more tehnical language when it comes to talking about music and we can play the same piece in several different ways.
After 9 months
We are strongly secure on managing rhythm and we gain more and more confidence in reading musical scores. Now we can explore extreme registers on the piano, play with more complex accompaniments for the left hand and our wrists become more flexible so that we can display larger contrasts in the sounds we make on the piano. We can read patterns rather than individual notes on the score, we extend our vocabulary and we can recognise the details of a written or heard piece of music with more ease. Our repertoire becomes more diverse and we could even participate in a piano competition for beginners.
After 1 year
We collect a lot of different pieces in our repertoire and we already know which musical styles we prefer playing. We have gathered enough knowledge to start analysing our own pianistic successes and failures and we start to understand the mechanisms we need to apply in our practice in order to get what we want. We have a close knowledge of the keyboard and we start using the piano pedals, making our pieces that much more impressive. Our theoretical knowledge starts to make its way into both the diversity of our improvs and the quality of our interpretations, while our fingers become more and more agile.