Principal Instrument: Piano

Berklee prepares you for today's music by building on traditional aspects of learning. Piano Department instruction emphasizes a foundation in the standard technical challenges of professional performance—scales, arpeggios, and exercises such as Hanon, Czerny, and Pishna—as well as materials designed to help you master the many combinations of classical, jazz, pop, and rock styles common in today's music. We also provide intensive training in sight-reading and in chord symbol terminology and chord voicing.

Upon completion of the performance core, students will:

• synthesize and integrate knowledge of contemporary and traditional styles into musical interpretation;
• synthesize and integrate knowledge of posture, breathing, and instrumental technique into their daily practice routines;
• demonstrate technical proficiency on their principal instrument;
• demonstrate the ability to sight-read music in a variety of styles;
• play music in a variety of contemporary and traditional styles;
• play in ensembles of varying size, instrumentation, and stylistic orientation; and
• apply knowledge of musical styles and harmonic practices in improvisation.