Serena's Piano Level 10 Test Review

by Mr. Derrick Javier

Congratulations, Serena has passed her Level 10 Test. In addition to the pieces in the video, she has learned the following music theory concepts and terms:

• Transpose a melody from C Major to G and D Major

• Augmented and diminished intervals

• Draw chords to match given Roman numerals in minor(I, III, iv, V, VI)

• Identify key signatures 5 sharps, 5 flats

Level Test Video Analysis:

Scales:

• Amazing work here. Your playing is smooth and confident and has all the hall marks of a profession player. My only comment on make in these better is to work on keeping a steady beat between your cadences and scales. You slow down a bit for your cadences and optimally we want everything to flow at the same tempo so if you need some time for your chords be sure to take your scales a little slower.

Repertoire: To a Wild Rose

• Beautiful performance. I really love your phrasing in this one. The hold you have on your cadences along with the control you have over your melody is spot on. I did notice some dissonant overtones in your playing though. It sounds like you are pedaling a bit too much. There is a constant ringing in this performance and I think it would really benefit from some silences. The breaks in sound act like breaths and really allow your playing to breathe.

Free Choice: Comptine D’un Autre Ete

• Absolutely amazing performance here. This is a very technical piece and you handle the challenges it posses to you very well. I’m impressed with your control of your melody. You manage to pull it out over two different simultaneous arpeggios. That is a real show of control. Wonderful work. I do think you could get this a bit smoother though if you looked into your transitions between sections. There’s a bit of a hard stop in the middle of your performance and if you could smooth it out into a gentle refrain this would flow even smoother than it already does. But over all, top tier work. Keep it up.

Level 11 Goals:

In Level 11, you will begin working on

• Music excerpt analysis in minor key with Roman numerals (i, ii°, III, iv, V, VI, vii°)

• Circle of fifths

• Diminished Roman numerals (ii°, vii°)

• Identify key signatures 7 sharps, 7 flats

We look forward to working with Serena in Level 11 of the Piano Curriculum!

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