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Keyboard for Trinity Grade 8

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This 54-hour advanced online course offers one class per week, led by our highly experienced and skilled instructors. Enhance your skills with personalized guidance and take the next step in your certification journey with confidence!

1. Music Notation & Theory

Reading and interpreting advanced musical notation with complex accidentals, key signatures, and polyrhythmic patterns.
Understanding ties, slurs, syncopation, and intricate rhythmic groupings.
Recognizing and applying dynamic markings, articulation symbols, and advanced expressive terms.
Analyzing complex harmonic progressions, chord alterations, and modulations.
Identifying modal scales, extended chords, and harmonic structures.
Playing and interpreting altered and extended harmony with precision.

2. Keyboard Exercises

Choose one of the following scale and arpeggio combinations, using one of the tonal/modal centres of:
F# , Eb , A

Combinations:

Major scale followed by major 7th arpeggio
Dorian scale followed by minor 7th arpeggio o Mixolydian scale followed by major arpeggio with a lowered 7th
(F#7, Eb7, A7)

3. Scales & Chord Knowledge

Scales (hands separately):

Major scale followed by major 7th arpeggio in F#, Eb, and A
Dorian scale followed by minor 7th arpeggio in F#, Eb, and A
Mixolydian scale followed by major arpeggio with a lowered 7th in F#7, Eb7, A7

Pentatonic scales:

Major pentatonic on F#, Eb, and A o Minor pentatonic on F#, Eb, and A

Chromatic scales:

In similar motion, starting on any note

Blues scales:

Blues scale on F#, Eb, and A

Chords in root position (LH bass note, RH remaining notes):

F#6, Eb6, A6 o F#m6, Ebm6, Am6

Diminished seventh chords:

F#°7, Eb°7, A°7

Ninth chords:

F#9, Eb9, A9

Augmented chords:

F#+, Eb+, A+

Chords in root position and all inversions:

F#7, Eb7, A7
Db7, Bb7, E7
F#m7, Ebm7, Am7

4. Repertoire

Perform three contrasting pieces from the Trinity Grade 8 syllabus, focusing on:
Accurate rhythm, tempo, and articulation.
Expressive phrasing with dynamics and musical sensitivity.
Demonstrating appropriate style and character of each piece. o Incorporating advanced pedal techniques.
Executing rubato, ornamentation, and expressive phrasing. o Showcasing stylistic authenticity across different genres

5. Sight Reading

Candidates will be given 30 seconds of preparation time.
Perform a previously unseen musical extract at a level approximately two grades lower than the exam being taken.

Demonstrate:

Rhythmic accuracy and steady tempo.
Correct notes, articulation, and dynamics.
Smooth transitions and confident playing.
Expressive phrasing and musicality.

6. Aural Skills

Answer questions based on a single musical example played by the examiner.

Identify:

Changes in pitch, rhythm, and dynamics. o Recognition of melodic and rhythmic patterns.
Harmonic analysis, including major, minor, dominant seventh, and diminished seventh chords.
Identify modulations, cadences, and chord progressions.
Distinguish between phrasing styles and articulation patterns.
Recognize modulations and key changes.

7. Hanon Exercises

Hanon Exercise No. 13 or 14:
Strengthen finger independence, agility, and control.
Practice with both legato and staccato articulation.
Improve velocity and evenness in both hands.
Enhance dexterity and coordination with complex patterns.
Develop fluid hand movement across the keyboard.

8. Practice Tips

Isolate technical passages and practice slowly before gradually increasing tempo.
Focus on precise articulation and dynamic contrast.
Pay attention to subtle phrasing and musical expression.
Use a metronome to maintain consistent timing and rhythm.
Practice hands separately for difficult sections.
Develop pedal control for seamless harmonic transitions.
Memorize scales, arpeggios, and chord progressions.
Record and review performances to assess accuracy and expression.
Experiment with tempo variations to enhance musicality.

9. Assessment Methods

Performance evaluation based on repertoire, sight-reading, and aural skills.
Graded on technical accuracy, musicality, and stylistic interpretation.
Assessed on fluency, expression, and confidence during the exam.
Feedback on intonation, phrasing, and rhythmic precision.
Evaluation of dynamic control, articulation, and pedal technique.

Key Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate expert-level technical proficiency with scales, arpeggios, and extended chords.
Perform repertoire pieces with musicality, accuracy, and stylistic sensitivity.
Enhance sight-reading fluency with increased accuracy and confidence.
Develop aural recognition skills, identifying complex harmonic and rhythmic patterns.
Exhibit expressive phrasing, rubato, and dynamic control.
Be fully prepared to appear for the Trinity Grade 8 Keyboard Exam with confidence and competence.

Certification

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