December 29, 2023

Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Program Information

💚THEORY: Level 1

  1. Finish Unit 3

    1. Read the instructions carefully

    2. Complete for next lesson.

    3. Be able to teach me about any items in the chapter.

💚“Sight-Reading 00 46-61”

  1. See your new PDF in newzik and start from page 3. Follow the instructions below for sight-reading.

💚Four Star: Level B.

  1. Complete Set 10

  2. When you encounter whole notes, count four full beats in your mind. You normally cut these short.

  3. Set the metronome to m.m. 50 and listen to it before you begin. Don’t go faster than this.

💚Czerny Op. 599 No. 12 - resume with Dustin

  1. Speed-building: measures 5-8

    1. Very slowly at first, gradually build your tempo to a fast pace.

    2. Start at m.m. 72 and build 126 = quarter note.

    3. Focus on keeping a soft sound

    4. Remember curved fingers.

❤️Hanon No. 1 (speed-building)

  1. Metronome 76 per 8th note.

  2. Listen to the metronome first to get two note per tick in your mind

  3. Play legato and raise your wrists with the contour of the notes.

❤️Technique: Prep B

  1. See the PDF with the yellow highlights and practice the items.

    1. See chords on page 12

    2. Practice them blocked first, then broken as written.

    3. Remember the bottom note goes on the top if you are ascending, and the top note goes to the bottom if you are descending.

🖤(no assignment)CZERNY Op. 823 No. 4

💚The Snake by Renée Christopher (L. 1, C)

  1. Learn with the NFRPE method, two measures at a time, hands alone only.

💚Andante in G Minor by Georg Philip Telemann (L. 1, A)

  1. Use metronome 60 per quarter note and practice in 4 measure chunks.

  2. Get the 8th note pulse in your mind with the metronome going before you begin.

❤️Minuet in F Major by Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) (Prep B)

  1. Practice starting from any measure of the piece.

  2. Repeat the same starting point three times if the first time doesn’t come easily.

  3. Three different starting points per practice session.

💚Celebration by Ann Crosby Gaudet (L. 1)

  1. Measures 14 and 16: drop into the key and pop off the keyboard with a forward wrists and into the air. The point here is to keep relaxed. Watch the video.

  2. measure 12 - prepare the RH sooner for the last note.

  3. Measures 11-12 - get rid of the pause between the measures.

Once a week, review the following pieces with the music:

  1. 💚💜The Calico Cat by Helen Marlais (b. 1966) (Prep B)

    1. Review, making sure your focus on DYNAMICS.

  2. 💚💚💜Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby-Gaudet (b. 1968) (Prep B)

  3. 💚💚💚Allegro in C Major op. 1 no. 4 by Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) (L. A)

  4. 💚💚💚A Skating Waltz by Boris Berlin (1907-2001) (L. A)

  5. 💚💚💚What’s That Noise by Martha Mier (b. 1936) L. A)

❤️ = Needs lots of work or wasn’t prepared properly for more than one lesson

💜 = Didn’t get to it at the last lesson - we’ll start with this before 💛 or 💚

💛 = Doing the assignment but needs special attention

💚 - On track and do the assignment.

2023 Fall Milestones

  1. RCM Level B Exam in the Fall? Or Level 1 in the Spring.