HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES – SPRING BRANCH CAMPUS
CLASS PIANO I
COURSE: MUSI 1181
Spring 2015
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Wenli Zhou Meyer
Fine Arts Office: 713-718-6360
E-mail: wenli.meyer@hccs.edu
Office Hours: By appointment Tuesday or Thursday
REQUIRED TEXT:
Heerema, Elmer: PROGRESSIVE CLASS PIANO (Second Edition, 1984), Alfred Publishing Co.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Class instruction in the fundamentals of keyboard technique and basic keyboard harmony.
Refer to the Official HCC Syllabus for Student Learning Outcomes.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Complete assignments in Chapters I, II, and III of the Heerema Text
Play all Major/Natural Minor Scales with tetrachord fingering
Play all Major/Minor Chord Progressions I-V6/5-I in Root Position of I
You will receive a Check-list of the specific assignments for each chapter; approximately one-third of the semester should
be spent on each chapter’s projects.
EXAMS
Midterm: Perform a one-page piece from the text from memory in class
Final: Perform an ensemble piece from the text with another student in class
ATTENDANCE:
Attendance is necessary to assure success in this course. Refer to the Official Syllabus for HCC attendance policies. Three
late arrivals in this class will be counted as one absence; you may be dropped after 6 absences, and your grade lowered by
one letter after 4.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Preparation: This syllabus is devised so that you can prepare for class material ahead of time. For example, you are
expected to have prepared material for week three, and be ready to play it for the first class period of that week. Your
instructor will announce those items required for preparation for each class period, and it is expected that you will prepare
these items. If you are absent for any reason, it will be assumed that you are using this syllabus to keep up with class
content.
Practice: It is expected that students in piano class I will practice an average of 15 to 20 minutes per day. Some students
will require more time, others less. Do NOT try to “cram” at the last minute. Piano playing, like
any physical skill, requires continual reinforcement, and cannot be “crammed.”
Participation: This is a laboratory environment. It cannot function if students are not prepared, or are distracting.
Therefore, points are assigned for participation in class. If you are absent, late, unprepared, or uncooperative in
class, your instructor will assess you accordingly.
GRADING SYSTEM
Up to 5 points are assigned for each instructional day. These points are at the discretion of the instructor and reflect
attendance, participation and preparation. Your attendance at the class is most important for your progress as well as
assessment.
Together, jury, hearing and instructional days
total 400 points:
26 class days at 5 points/day: 130 points
3 hearings at 30 points each: 90 points
1 Midterm jury: 90 points
1 Final jury: 90 points
There are slightly more than 26 instructional days in the semester, with the total amount of days varying with the holidays
and recesses in a given semester. Your best 26 days of achievement will be used in calculation of your grade, with the
worst scoring days beyond a total of 26 days dropped in calculation of your score. Students whose enrollment date allows
fewer than 26 class periods to be available will have the average of all their attendance scores prorated to count for 130
points in their grade.
Your grade will be figured as follows:
A 360 or above
B 359-320
C 319-280
D 279-240
F 239 or below
WEEK 1
Harmonizing and Improvising
C Major and C minor
(All scales in one octave scale, broken and block chords and the I-V7-I progression)
Repertoire
WEEK 2
Harmonizing and Improvising
G major and G minor
Repertoire
WEEK 3
Harmonizing and Improvising
D major and D minor
Repertoire
FIRST HEARING
WEEK 4
Harmonizing and Improvising
A major and A minor
Repertoire
WEEK 5
Harmonizing and Improvising
E major and E minor
Repertoire
WEEK 6
Harmonizing and Improvising
B major and B minor
Repertoire
SECOND HEARING
WEEK 7
Harmonizing and Improvising
F major and F minor
Repertoire
WEEK 8
Harmonizing and Improvising
Review white key
Repertoire
WEEK 9
Harmonizing and Improvising
F♯ major and F♯ minor
Repertoire
MIDTERM JURY
WEEK 10
Harmonizing and Improvising
C♯ major and C♯ minor
Repertoire
WEEK 11
Harmonizing and Improvising
B♭ and E♭ major
Repertoire
WEEK 12
Harmonizing and Improvising
B♭ and E♭ minor
Repertoire
THIRD HEARING
WEEK 13
Harmonizing and Improvising
A♭ major and A♭ minor
Review
Repertoire
WEEK 14
Harmonizing and Improvising
Chromatic scale
Repertoire
WEEK 15
Review
FINAL JURY
Class Piano I Assignments:
Chapter I:
Pieces: pp 19, 20, 21, 23 (Hungarian Folk Song), 25 (Reflections)
Harmonizing Melodies: p. 41, Nos. 1, 3, and 8
Improvisation: p.47, pick two
Rhythm drills: p. 53, Nos. 9 and 10
Chapter II:
Pieces: pp. 56, 57, 58, 59 (French Folk Song), 60 (Hopscotch). Bonus: p. 65
Harmonizing Melodies: P. 85, Nos. 2, 3, and 4
Improvisation: p.91: pick two
Rhythm drills: p. 98, Nos. 6 and 8
Chapter III:
Pieces: pp.100, 101, 102,104 (including transposition at bottom of page-choose one), and 105
Harmonizing melodies: p. 127, pick two
Improvisation: p. 131, pick two
Rhythm drills: p. 138, 5 and 8
CLASS ETIQUETTE:
Cell phones must be turned off and put away while in class. No food, drinks, or chewing substances
are permitted in the Piano Lab. It is against HCC policy to bring children or guests to class.
Bad language will not be permitted and may result in lowering of your grade.
ACADEMIC HONESTY:
Refer to the Official Syllabus for HCC policies.
ADA:
ADA Office: 713-718-7909. Please refer to Official Syllabus for ADA information.
CALENDAR:
Refer to the current HCC Calendar for Holidays and Exam dates.