For Tom Parente's Students Only!

This page is intended for Tom's students only!

As coordinator of the Secondary Piano Area of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, I would like to welcome you to my web page where you will find information pertaining to secondary study. You'll all be interested to know that we have replaced the old Rolands with spanking new Yamahas. I'm really looking forward to trying them out.

Tom Parente

The Web Message Board

The Web Board is a place where you can discuss lessons with other students, make comments, ask questions, and otherwise work interactively with this site.

Web Message Board

The Secondary Piano Department serves Westminster by helping non-keyboard majors attain piano proficiency. Piano lessons are available on an elective basis to students who have passed the piano proficiency exam.

Piano Proficiency Exam

With the exception of organ performance majors and of sacred music majors who are organ principals, all undergraduates must pass the Piano Proficiency Exam and must continue to enroll for keyboard study each Semester until this requirement has been satisfied. The Exam is given at the end of each semester for students enrolled in class piano study. It also may be taken at the beginning of the semester by incoming Freshmen with advanced piano skills and by students who have previously failed proficiency.

All undergraduates:

Repertoire requirement:

Two contrasting compositions selected from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist and Contemporary periods.

Keyboard skills requirement:

Play all major and all three forms of minor scales, ascending and descending, two octaves, hands alone.
Harmonize at sight a melody with a simple left-hand accompaniment.
Play a prepared left hand accompaniment to a melody, using I, IV and V7 chords with or without given chord symbols.
Transpose a melody a step up or down from the original key, prepared with an accompaniment.
Play a prepared four-part open score using treble and bass clefs.

Sacred Music majors:

Perform "America the Beautiful" in C major and "America" in F major.
Play a hymn from a standard hymnal, both prepared and at sight.

Music Education majors:

Perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" in A-flat major, "America the Beautiful" in C major and "America" in F major.

Voice Performance majors:

Perform 2 prepared vocal accompaniments.

Piano Majors and Principals:

For all Piano Majors, Music Education principals, and Sacred Music principals - perform the same requirements as outlined above minus repertoire. Proficiency may be taken ONLY after taking the four-week proficiency review class.

Theory Composition majors:

Perform "America the Beautiful" in C major and "America" in F major.
Reduce an easy orchestral score such as excerpts from the second movement of Haydn's Surprise Symphony.

Student Lessons

The following are links to excerpts from your textbook "Essential Materials for Class Piano" by Thomas J. Parente. Follow the links to display the sheet music. You can then hear the selection by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page. To hear these passages properly you must have a connection of at least 56 kbps.

This site is for streaming audio. You must have the RealAudio Player installed or another player that can stream RealAudio files.