Musicians who aspire to become the next Mozart—or even those who just want to play at the next family gathering— can take up Piano I. Taught by Kayla Tassone in Period 5 and Brad Kuperman in Period 4, piano I is a class meant for both beginners and experienced players.
“Piano I is a really individualized course,” Tassone said. “You start from base one. If you know nothing, you can absolutely join and learn.”
The class begins with learning the basics of music theory and how to read sheet music. Students will follow along with Tassone, and then practice at their own pace.
“Students will either progress a little slower [or] a little faster through the book, so in class, they’re graded every week, showing their progress,” Tassone said. “The pace that you set is up to you at a certain point, as long as you are keeping up with the once-a-week progress checks. If you want to work ahead, you can, and if you [want to] take your time, you can.”
For most lessons, students will learn how to play certain songs in their textbook, with Tassone assisting them.
“Most of the time we focus on one or more individual songs in the book that we practice through, and I go around and help with technique, and [the songs] gradually get more difficult.” Tassone said.
Currently, Tassone’s class is working towards their second quarter project of picking a song and learning how to play it on their own.
The main skill that Tassone and Kuperman teach in this class is in the name: Piano. But there are additional skills that students will pick up.
“[You learn] piano, absolutely. [But you also learn] general music theory, like reading music [and] understanding music on a page,” Tassone said. “[You learn] rhythm and timing. Dexterity and coordination with your hands is something that not a lot of people get a chance to practice in this way.”
Since taking this class, sophomore Sahana Vinod has gained more dexterity in her fingers and time to practice playing piano.
“I decided to take piano I because I’ve always wanted to learn the piano, but I have a lot of other hobbies,” Vinod said. “I never really had the time, and I also needed my performing arts electives, so it’s kind of like two birds, one stone.”
Vinod spends her time in Piano I exercising her piano playing skills, and learning how to play faster songs. Her favorite song to play on the piano is “Warrior of the Mind” from “Epic: The Musical.”
Tassone looks forward to being able to teach students how to play keys with two hands.
“I really like it when we start getting into chords and playing with two hands at once. It starts to actually feel like you’re playing piano for real,” Tassone said. “There’s a song in the book that a lot of the students are getting close to [called] ‘When the Saints Go Marching in,’ and it’s a fun one. It actually sounds like a full song. It’s not just playing ‘Oh, when the saints’ [on one] hand while [the other] hand holds a note, they’re going back and forth a lot.”
While Piano I is a class for students who wish to learn piano or hone their piano skills, the basic skills students learn when playing piano can be carried over to other musical instruments or talents.
“It’s kind of like a sport: the more you practice and flex those muscles, the easier it gets,” Tassone said. “It does take a little bit of that grind of letting it happen over and over again, making the mistakes, and then pushing through and figuring it out. So that determination—that driven mindset will help a lot.”
