Students wishing to enroll in applied piano lessons (private study on piano) are required to audition. Students wishing to pursue a degree in music with piano as their primary emphasis should prepare the following:
- Students auditioning on piano should be prepared to play 2 pieces from different style periods. One of your choices should be Baroque or Classical. Memory is preferred for the highest possible placement. Students not playing from memory may be placed at an earlier level. The difficulty level of the piece you choose to prepare and the resulting performance at your audition will help determine your level of study and possible scholarship offer. Suggested repertoire is listed below:
- A Baroque piece, such as a Sonatina by Scarlatti or a two or three -part invention by J.S. Bach. A movement from a French Suite or a Prelude and Fugue would also be appropriate.
- A Classical piece, such as a movement from a Sonatina by Clementi, Haydn, or Kuhlau, or for the highest placement level, a movement from a Sonata by a classical composer such as Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven would be appropriate.
- A Romantic or contemporary piece, such as one of the Preludes, Op. 28 of Chopin, or a Debussy piece such as the 1st Arabesque, or a movement from Children’s Corner.
- For students who may not have studied a lot of traditional music for the piano, a fourth option would be a pop piece of the student’s choice – a popular piece in sheet music such as something from the film score of Pride and Prejudice, a jazz piece, or an original composition. Choose something that will show the piano faculty what you can do at the piano.
- If scales and arpeggios are part of your regular piano study, you should be prepared to play major and minor scales and arpeggios.
- All students auditioning on piano will also sight read.
Please refer all questions related to piano placement auditions to Dr. Debora DeWitt (ddewitt@grcc.edu).