Piano Handbook

The following weekly meetings are included in all piano-major courses.

1. Lessons - One one-hour private lesson each week.​
2. Studio Classes - One studio performance class meeting each week, usually in one of the performance halls. When meeting in Sharp, you may bring a CD to record your performance; when meeting in Pitman or a faculty studio, you may be able to record on a SD card, or you may bring your own recording device. (Note: some piano faculty hold two studio classes per week; you are normally expected to attend just one per week.)
3. Piano Labs (Piano Departmental Recital) - Fifty-minute public piano departmental recitals, scheduled at 1:30 pm on many Tuesdays, usually in Sharp Concert Hall. The program will be emailed to all piano majors several days in advance of a scheduled recital. Undergraduate and Masters students are generally expected to play in Piano Lab many times, but at least once per semester. It is a good idea to plan ahead with your instructor when you expect to be ready to perform in Piano Lab. All Labs are recorded on CD and immediately put on reserve in the Fine Arts Library Media Center for the remainder of the semester.
4. Each studio instructor may require additional meetings.
   

Jury exams are held in Sharp Hall on the first two days of Finals Week in both fall and spring semesters. Every piano major plays a jury exam except those who have played a degree recital in the final month of the semester. Each student may choose his/her preferred time on a sign-up sheet posted about two weeks before juries next to Dr. Magrath’s studio (Carpenter Hall 307). Your instructor may ask you to fill out a Repertoire Sheet and return it before the jury, or your instructor may fill it out for you and bring it to your jury. At your jury be ready five minutes before your scheduled time, waiting backstage at the normal recital entrance door (stage-right). Enter immediately after the previous student exits. You do not need to announce your pieces. All jury performances are from memory. Each jury exam lasts fifteen minutes, but students are expected to prepare as much music as they can (normally at least three contrasting pieces) and the piano faculty will select portions to hear. To record your jury you must bring your own recording device, which must not require extra time to activate. Each jury member will write comments on your performance, which you will receive later in the week.

Each attending jury member gives a grade for each jury. The final grade for the semester will be within one letter grade of the average of the jury grades. Grades of Incomplete are given only in extenuating circumstances and not for failure to perform a jury.

Every piano major is expected to pass both the Technique and Performance parts of the Sophomore Proficiency Exam by the end of their sophomore year. Only after all requirements are passed may the student enroll in 4000-level piano. Students unable to pass this exam are usually advised to pursue another major.

Technique exams are scheduled individually at the discretion of the students and their instructors. The following technique divisions may be passed in separate exams or in any combination. All are memorized and played hands together, in the following note values at a consistent beat: quarter note (1 octave); two eighth notes (2 octaves); triplets (3 octaves) and four sixteenth notes (4 octaves).

All piano performance or performance and pedagogy degrees, except the MME and PhD, require public recitals.

Undergraduate recitals are part of the Capstone requirement. All music (except 20th- and 21st-century works normally performed with the score) must be memorized. The number of recitals and length requirements depend on the degree:

All recitals must be scheduled when classes are in session, but not during the last week of classes (dead week) or during finals week. No recital may be scheduled to conflict with a major ensemble performance, a faculty recital, or another event in the piano department.

Students may submit a Student Recital Request Form (found under Student Resources) early in the semester of their planned recital (signs about this will be posted). This date is only tentative until the recital preview is passed (except for doctoral students). There is a $75.00 fee for cancellation less than one month before a scheduled recital.

All students except doctoral students must preview their degree recitals in front of a committee of the piano faculty approximately two weeks before the intended recital date. Piano recital previews last twenty minutes and are normally held during the recital hour on Tuesdays, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm. The entire recital must be prepared for performance from memory at the preview. You may choose the first piece and the faculty will ask for selections from the remainder of the program. Bring the following materials to your preview:

Non-Degree Recitals may be given with the planning and consent of your instructor. They must be given in the Choir Room, CMC 128. A Student Recital Request Form (found under Student Resources) must be submitted, as for degree recitals, but no recital preview is required.

Off-Campus performances, recitals, or competitions should not be planned without the express consent of the instructor.

Accompanying and chamber music with your colleagues is encouraged, but it needs to be planned together with your instructor. Always keep him/her informed of your activities. Upper-level BM/Piano majors take four semesters of Studio Accompanying in place of large ensembles. Students may wish to play duet or duo-piano literature as part of their piano study. Undergraduate and graduate students may also enroll in Piano Chamber Music, as advised.

The piano department keeps a list of experienced pianists to recommend for accompanying needs in the school. If you are experienced and would like to be included on the list, contact Prof. Stephanie Shames at sshames@ou.edu.

All faculty and student piano recitals and master classes, as well as piano guest artist recitals and master classes are considered by the piano faculty as required events for piano majors. Attendance or absence may be noted. When these events take place in Sharp Concert Hall, please sit on the main floor rather than in the balcony. Other concerts featuring major piano chamber-music works are also important, and you should attend as many of these as you can. If you have a schedule conflict with a piano event, tell your piano teacher and it may be possible for you to be excused from a class.

There are Steinway grand piano practice rooms on all three floors of the Practice Annex that are locked and reserved for piano majors. You can gain access to the Annex and to the first-floor grand pianos with your OU ID card every day that classes are in session from 6:00 am to midnight. A key is required for the grand piano rooms on the upper floors. At the beginning of the semester you should submit a key request to the main School of Music office (using the online key request form at music.ou.edu/keys) for the grand piano practice rooms. At this time your ID number will be assigned to the grand piano rooms. A list of piano majors will be sent to the office, so it should not be necessary for you to obtain your instructor’s signature on the request form.

Be certain that the piano practice room doors are closed and locked at all times, and do not take any food or drink (besides water) into them. Do not leave your books or valuables unattended in a practice room. The School of Music is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

If any piano in the School of Music malfunctions in a way that it cannot be used productively, please fill out the Piano Maintenance Request Form available at music.ou.edu/piano-maintenance. This form will send emails to piano faculty for review. Please do not request a complete tuning of a piano, as the pianos are tuned on a regular schedule according to the changes in the seasons.

Pianos in the performance halls are not to be used for rehearsals except when scheduled with the Concert Hall Manager. Report to your piano teacher anyone you think is unauthorized who is using a School of Music piano.

It is the policy of the University to excuse the absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays.

Any student who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact his/her instructor as soon as possible to discuss the accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate educational opportunities.

In the course of piano study it is often necessary that there be momentary physical contact between instructor and student for the purpose of demonstration. Do not be afraid to tell the instructor if this makes you uncomfortable at any time.