Piano & Keyboard Basics 2
Continue to build your keyboard skills in this hands-on course while gaining practical musicianship knowledge. Designed for students who have completed Piano & Keyboard Basics 1 or who have prior keyboard experience and want to further their musical journey, this course offers a dynamic exploration of music performance and theory, featuring arrangements of classical and contemporary pieces.
The course begins with a focus on major and minor five-finger patterns. You'll explore rhythmic nuances with triplets and learn to recognize musical expression through dynamics. You’ll examine time signatures, advanced articulations, and various musical mapping features. Then, you'll discover how to transpose, or change the tonal center of a musical excerpt, based on your newfound skills.
As you progress through the course, you will be able to apply your knowledge of major and minor scales, intervals, and primary triads by developing a harmony accompaniment to a basic melody. The goal of the course is to equip you with comprehensive keyboard skills, a deep understanding of music theory and notation, and the ability to play a wide range of musical arrangements.
What you will learn:
✔ Decipher commonly-used time signatures and apply them to musical works
✔ Gain proficiency in transposition, allowing you to change the tonal center of a musical excerpt
✔ Construct major, natural minor, and harmonic minor scales in six different tonal centers in parallel motion
✔ Identify and calculate the three primary triads (tonic, subdominant, and dominant) in various key centers
✔ Demonstrate arpeggios, both major and minor, including hand-crossing techniques
✔ Compose and play a harmony to accompany a basic melody
✔ Perform a variety of classical and contemporary pieces
Prerequisite skills
- Completion of Piano & Keyboard Basics 1, or equivalent knowledge and/or experience.
Tuition
$299
Ages
Teens: Grades 6-12
Adult Learners: 18+
 | Receive expert guidance Learn from world-class faculty who provide personalized feedback |
 | Learn at your own pace Explore engaging video content and meaningful instruction |
 | Meet your instructor and classmates Join an optional weekly class to connect with other artists in real-time |
 | Practice and create Strengthen your craft over four weeks as you develop creative projects |
 | Find collaborators Collaborate on your projects—or just for fun—in direct messages and group chats |
- Computer or mobile device with Internet and camera. Internet speed must be at least 1.5Mbps download and 800Kbps upload. For students using a mobile device, download the Canvas mobile app and select “Interlochen Online” as your school.
- Electric or acoustic keyboard/piano, minimum of 61-keys
- Sustain/damper pedal (example pedal)
- The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios & Cadences by Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco
No, course sections are designed for their respective age groups, either for adults (students 18 and older) or young people (students under 18).
Yes, there are eight sessions of courses per year. View the academic calendar for more session dates.
This is one of three courses needed to complete the Piano & Keyboard Basics certificate program.
Our online arts certificate programs are perfect for...
✔ Adults looking to boost their creative résumé and LinkedIn profile
✔ Teens who want to earn high school credit for their passion
Upon completion of the program, you will receive a physical certificate and a shareable digital certificate. Certificates for students under 18 are accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS); high school-age students will also receive an official transcript to share with their current school for consideration for high school credit.
What are students saying?
Students who enrolled in piano & keyboard courses rated their experience 4.9 out of 5.
Interlochen Online's Learning Experience
World-class. Inspiring. Flexible.
Questions? Speak with an Advisor.
Email: online@interlochen.org
Phone: 231.276.5990
You can also schedule an appointment.
Play Your Next Song with Confidence
Get access to Six Steps to Learning a New Song on Piano & Keyboard, an exclusive guide developed by Interlochen Online faculty.
