Piano & Keyboard Basics Certificate Program
Learn to play the piano or keyboard so that you can play complete songs in a variety of styles. You’ll master critical skills that every pianist needs to know, like how to read sheet music and lead sheets, create your own accompaniment, and transpose keys. By the end, you’ll have a catalog of songs under your fingers and the tools you need to continue your artistic journey.
Taught by a world-class pianist and educator, the Piano & Keyboard Basics certificate program consists of three four-week courses designed for adults and teens. The program can be completed at a pace that works for you and offers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into your craft while showcasing your achievements with a credential from Interlochen—an impressive addition to your résumé, college application, or LinkedIn profile.
For students under 18, the Piano & Keyboard Basics certificate program is also an engaging way to earn high school credit. It’s ideal for students looking to challenge themselves beyond their school curriculum or to supplement their homeschool studies.
The following piano and keyboard courses make up the certificate program, and must be taken in sequential order:
Piano & Keyboard Basics 1
✔ Recognize and apply basic music fundamentals (e.g., rhythm, intervals, expression markings) on the piano or keyboard
✔ Learn the basics of note reading
✔ Use appropriate body posture and hand positioning to play freely and avoid injury
✔ Play songs in a variety of styles, including pop, blues, and classical
✔ Create your own arrangements on piano or keyboard
Piano & Keyboard Basics 2
✔ 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
Piano & Keyboard Basics 3
✔ Interpret and play from lead sheets in multiple keys
✔ Demonstrate proficiency in reading and executing rhythmic subdivisions
✔ Devise harmonies to accompany given melodies
✔ Differentiate between, and use, the three piano pedals (damper, sostenuto, una corda)
✔ Use modulation to transpose musical pieces
✔ Create improvised melodies based on the blues scale with guided harmonies and rhythm
Learn and save: Students who enroll in the certificate program will receive a discounted rate by registering for all three piano classes as a package.
Certificate programs comprise three four-week courses, providing deeper training in an artistic discipline or area of study. Students who enroll in a certificate program will receive a discounted rate by registering for all three courses as a package.
Each Interlochen Online course is designed to be inspiring and flexible with weekly learning units that combine video segments and guided instruction that you can complete on your own schedule. Combined with that learning is an optional weekly hour-long video class meeting, where you can learn from you instructor and interact with fellow students in real-time. You will also interact regularly with your instructor and peers through messaging inside the learning environment, including receiving personalized feedback on your work from your instructor.
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.
Tuition
$ 897 $799
Ages
Teens: Grades 6-12
Adult Learners: Ages 18+
What are students saying?
Students who enrolled in piano & keyboard courses rated their experience 4.9 out of 5.
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.
