'TEXTURE' in Intermediate Music - A Gateway to Advanced Music

LEVELS & GRADES

Since we mostly follow the UK based Exams here in India, we can largely divide the Grades into the following Levels:

1. Foundational Level (pre-Grade 1)

2. Elementary Level (Grades 1-3)

3. Intermediate Level (Grades 4 -5)

4. Early Advanced Level (Grades 6-8)

5. Advanced Level (Grade 8 and above)

These Levels serve as a continuum and are not isolated from each other.

Each Level serves as a set up for the Level that comes after it.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

In today's post I want to focus on the role and of INTERMEDIATE Repertoire in Piano Learning.

1. Intermediate Level plays a crucial link in the progression between Elementary to Early Advanced Levels of Music Learning

2. When a student is skilled in Intermediate Repertoire music, he/she would be able to deal with a lot of the Technical requirements for Pop/Rock Music

3. Intermediate Repertoire is where the music begins to sound very cool, be it for the performer and for their family & friends (Advanced Repertoire often can be long and serious)

4. In relation to the above Two Points, students often happen to be in their teenage years when they're dealing with Intermediate Repertoire

5. However, often Intermediate Level is rushed past quickly for various reasons.. As per the UK Exam System, this Level only consists of Grades 4 and 5 which students go past in a hurry.

6. Sometimes, this would also end up being the Level when a student starts to skip Grades as the music may come easily to them, and teachers wish to give them more challenging repertoire

7. But either rushing or skipping through these levels can cause issues further up in Advanced Levels as students are often not well prepared to handle the rigors of advanced music

8. Another issue I find with rushing or skipping through these levels is that students don't get a chance to play some real gems of music that greatly enhance their musical experience and learning

EXPLORING TEXTURE IN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Texture can be generically defined as the vertical relationship between the notes.

It describes the quality and character of the sound, including density, thickness and complexity.

While different kinds of Textures are introduced in the earlier Levels, I find that the Intermediate Levels are where most of the textures found in advanced repertoire begins to be more fully fleshed out.

I personally believe that looking at Intermediate repertoire from the lens TEXTURE gives a student and teacher a large ground to explore and develop skills in.

The textures I have listed below are from the Repertoire found in Grades 4 and 5 of the UK Examinations

1. Unison Playing

This example is taken from Clouds by Maykapar which is around Grade 4 Level.

Non-tangentially, have a look at the Time and Key Signatures that a student at this level can be expected to deal with

2. Duet (3rd, 6th)

This extract is taken from 'Time Traveller' by Kevin Olson. This piece is found at Grade 5 Level. This Texture is often found at this Level; and, students should experience a few pieces that deal with this Texture.

3. Melody-Accompaniment

This example is taken from 'Allegro from Sonatina in C' by Kuhlau at Grade 5.

Students deal with this texture right from their earliest lessons. By this point, students are expected to demonstrate a good sense and technique of Phrasing the Melody and Balancing the Accompaniment and be able to play at Quick Tempi

.

4. Three-Part (Bass, Accompaniment and Melody)

This extract is from 'Study in F' by Heller (Grade 5).

This is an extension of the above melody-Accompaniment texture. Students by this Grade should be able to bring out the Bass along with the Melody Accompaniment.

5. Contrapuntal

This extract of 'Polonaise in F' by JCF Bach taken from Grade 4 is a good example of the Two-Part Counterpoint that students at Intermediate Levels should be comfortable to handle. Advanced Repertoire which includes Fugues should not be dealt with without a student having gone through a few of these.

6. Imitative

Extract from 'All'ungherese' by Ligeti at Grade 5.

By now students should be able to Label Textures and think of how the voices interact with each other.

7. Chordal

This Extract taken from 'Prelude in Db' by Catherine Rollin and sets up students for advanced repertoire that has a lot more thicker chords (think Codas of several Beethoven Sonatas that appear at Advanced Levels).. Also, have a look at the Key Signature!!!

8. Layered

This extract is taken from 'Sutherland's Law Theme' be MacCunn (Grade 5)

While this belongs to the same family as Three-Part or Chordal, this Texture is seen more oftener in the music from the Romantic period and later. Here there is more movement in each of the Voices, and students should learn to Project and Balance voices. Think of all the Advanced Repertoire such as Brahms Intermezzos and Schumann works that use this device!!

9. Decorative Embellishment

This extract is taken from 'Shall' by El-Dabh (Grade 4).

Such Textures are often found at the Codas or Endings of the music. Decorative Embellishments can also seen in the form of decorative Broken Chords, or decorative Melodic Lines, etc that can be sprinkled at various places in the music.

10. Virtuosic Figuration

This Extract is taken from 'The Goblin and The Mosquito' by Price (Grade 4)

Think of the various Toccatas and Etudes in Advanced Music where such Textures are so common in.

CONCLUSION

The point I am hoping to make through this post is that Texture should be looked at as an area of study in preparation for Advanced Repertoire; and, Intermediate Repertoire is the perfect Gateway for the same.

Intermediate Repertoire also develops many other Skills and Technique, such as playing with Irregular and Changing Time Signatures, Stride Style of Piano Accompaniment, playing music in Black Keys, playing longer pieces, etc.

So, Teachers should take time to counsel the Students and their Parents about the Importance of this Level of Music and how it can handicap a student if they've not experienced enough of this music.