CURRICULUM

After the preparatory phase (8-12 months) which consists of working on the flexibility of the wrists and the arms and developing musicality through different touches and nuances, the students follow a program by the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), a reputable music education institution, which sets and supports standards in music examinations and provides certification.

Please click the link for more information https://www.rcmusic.com/about-us

For piano there are 10 grades in the RCM and students can attend a test to achieve each grade.

It is not mandatory but students that want to take piano lessons seriously are highly encouraged to attend the tests because in this way the students can always have a goal and also the parents can have an unbiased opinion from an examiner and they can make sure that their kids are improving. Too many times kids take piano lessons for many years without any improvement. Teachers keep smiling and accommodate kids because they don’t want to lose the students, and parents are not aware of that or realize that too late when they already invested a lot of time, money and emotions.

If students attend the test and have an opinion from another instructor/examiner, in addition to the opinion of their own instructor, the parents can feel more confident about their kids’ music education assessed by an internally recognized standard.

The program is very well structured and includes Theory, Technique, Repertoire and Ear training.

Please see the complete program here:

https://rcmusic-kentico-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/rcm/media/main/about us/rcm publishing/piano-syllabus-2022-edition.pdf

The Studio sends students for the tests only when they have a thorough preparation which allows them to attend the tests comfortably.

It is not enough just to pass the test, if the preparation of the student is superficial and passes the test with too much effort, it becomes harder to face the next level and the preparation for the next level will be even more challenging.

The Studio wants to educate the students to work in depth and become self-aware and be their own critics about their work if need be.

Of course piano doesn’t have to become an obsession but their parents have to see clearly the results so the students can keep some skills in the future and enjoy all the benefits of learning to play an instrument even if they don’t want to become a professional musician.