Elective Courses
At Encore, we offer three elective courses aimed at enriching students’ musicianship: Music Appreciation, Composition & Improvisation, and Arranging. Our Music Appreciation course provides a comprehensive understanding of musical history and styles, while Composition & Improvisation fosters creativity through original compositions and spontaneous performance. In the Arranging course, students learn to adapt compositions for different mediums while preserving their essence. These courses not only deepen appreciation for music but also enhance creative expression and versatility in musical interpretation.
MUSIC APPRECIATION
The music appreciation course takes the student on a musical journey throughout history and provides a foundation for understanding the major cultural periods, musical styles, and the development of music through the ages.
Modules: 2
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the Western musical style periods and how they developed
- Get to know important composers and their noteworthy compositions in each period
- Learn how other art forms and cultural trends influenced music
- Have an idea of how life was like during the times
- Apply what you learn about music history to the music that you’re studying and performing!
Prerequisites
- Age: 10+yrs
- Completion of Grade 1 / Beginner Level
- Eagerness and interest to learn about music history
Composition & Improvisation
Composing is the act of creating music as a finished product, while Improvising is a free performance of a musical passage, usually in a manner conforming to certain stylistic norms but not limited by the prescriptive features of a specific musical text.
Modules: 6
Learning Outcomes
- Have musical conversations, which lead to the ability to improvise solos with confidence and ease
- Explore world music and the moods and imagery in music
- Improvise in various keys
- Create your own musical patterns and compositions using different types of chords
Prerequisites
- Age: 12+yrs
- Completion of Grade 4 Piano (Performance) or higher
- Completion of Grade 3 Music Theory or higher
- Should already have a good practise routine in place for the core syllabus
Arranging
Arranging is the art of adapting a composition to fit a medium other than that for which it was originally written, while at the same time retaining the general character of the original.
Modules: 5
Learning Outcomes
- Create artistic arrangements of your favourite songs and themes
- Read “fake books” and know how to style all the chords
- Improvise new melodies over your arrangements
- Create accompaniments for singers or for your own voice
- Know folk melodies, hymns, and classical themes that comprise part of Western musical heritage
- Develop a repertoire to play at various events
- Be able to play by ear and have a good aural memory
- Memorize any piece more securely and reduce performance anxiety
- Learn music theory in a practical and musical way
Prerequisites
- Age: 12+yrs
- Completion of Grade 4 Piano (Performance) or higher
- Completion of Grade 3 Music Theory or higher
- Should already have a good practise routine in place for the core syllabus
