The Triquetrae Intermediate Programme represents a pivotal stage in a student's musical journey, designed to elevate their abilities from a Grade 2 to a Grade 5 standard and cultivate independent musicianship. This level goes beyond rote skill acquisition, fostering the practical application of accumulated core knowledge, a nuanced understanding of music's historical and sociological contexts, and the refinement of crucial presentation, practice, technology, and reflection skills.

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The familiar seven components evolve to meet these advanced demands, now prioritized as Build, Explore, Achieve, Develop, Grow, Create, and Find – mirroring the order of flats. With 'Building' as the primary focus, students are encouraged to consolidate and expand their competencies. While this sequence provides a logical structure, the zones function as interdependent modules, allowing for adaptable teaching and learning. The program maintains its commitment to exploring diverse musical genres, concurrently dedicating significant attention to nurturing and refining students' personal musical preferences and individual learning approaches, ensuring a deeply resonant educational experience.

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Expanding Horizons

Global Sounds, Ancient Echoes, and Personal Discovery

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The Triquetrae Intermediate Programme broadens a student's musical horizons by deliberately integrating a rich tapestry of global sounds and rhythms. Moving beyond traditional Western music, the curriculum encourages students to explore and appreciate the diverse musical practices from around the world. This includes engaging with the unique melodic and rhythmic structures found in various cultures, fostering a deep respect for global musical traditions.

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Furthermore, the programme delves into the fascinating realm of ancient sounds and modes, allowing students to research and understand the historical evolution of musical systems. This exploration connects directly to the very origins of music, providing a profound context for contemporary practices and enriching their theoretical understanding, perhaps even touching on microtonal concepts as they consider different intonation systems.

A key differentiator of the Intermediate Programme is its emphasis on advanced research opportunities. Students are encouraged to undertake independent inquiries into areas of personal musical interest, whether it's the anthropology of music, specific historical periods, or the intersection of music with other disciplines. This fosters critical thinking and academic rigor, preparing them for higher-level studies and aligning with a musicological approach.

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Finally, the programme culminates in the further development of a personal portfolio, serving as a dynamic testament to each student's unique musical journey. This goes beyond a simple collection of pieces; it is a curated compilation that includes not only their developing repertoire but also their personal contributions, such as original compositions, arrangements, research findings, and reflections on their learning and performance experiences. This portfolio becomes a living document of their artistic growth, creativity, and intellectual engagement with music, empowering them to articulate their musical identity and achievements.

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From Foundational to Expressive

Skill Progression in the Intermediate Piano Programme.

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The intermediate programme changes the focus for the student. The programme becomes much more specific to the instrument as skills grow and evolve. The generic skills from Level One – Articulation, Composition, Form, Listening, Movement, Musicology, Presentation, Posture, Practising, Pitch, Reading, Rhythm, Tempo, and Tonality – begin to blossom into more refined abilities.

In regard to piano tuition, the skills found in the Intermediate Build and Explore Zone mean that an intermediate-level student's technical skills expand, including the ability for each finger to move independently and in a controlled manner. Scales and arpeggios will build proficiency in keys up to and including seven sharps and flats. Common arpeggio types will be covered including major, minor, augmented and diminished; this enhances chord knowledge for use in analysis and composition. Pedaling skills will become refined with the appropriate use of the right and left-hand pedals to enhance sound production and phrasing. Technical work will also include the addition of trills, turns, and mordents in the appropriate style. 

 

The Achieve Zone considers effective strategies for memorisation alongside the ability to read unfamiliar music at first glance with a reasonable level of accuracy. Playing with other musicians is covered both as an accompanist, a duet partner, and in a band. The ability to self-correct and identify errors independently during practice and performance emerges as note reading is now considered to be automatic. 

 

Aural skills are the focus of the Develop Zone as interval and chord recognition grow in importance. Melodic and rhythmic dictation aid composition, and note-taking is enhanced by inner hearing. These skills, when combined with sight-reading skills help a student identify challenges in a piece and devise practice strategies to overcome them. 

 

In the Grow Zone, practise strategy development is enhanced by analytical skills. The application of theoretical knowledge to understand the structure, harmony, and melodic content of a piece for performance follows the completion of basic theoretical knowledge. This enables a greater understanding of a piece for presentation purposes. 

 

The Create Zone motivates a student to explore their own musical voice. It is the only zone that maintains its usage from the Elementary Programme and through to the Advanced Programme due to its importance and often neglect. Can you imagine only ever being able to read or use someone else's words in your day-to-day life? How has this vital skill become the one neglected the most? The TQ Programme seeks to resolve this, with a student's use of their own musical voice being the only constant throughout lessons. The Intermediate programme introduces improvisation, both within and outside of jazz, and simple composition within functional and non-functional harmony, using major, minor, and modal sounds.

 

The Find Zone, once the domain of note reading and an understanding of the stave, becomes a place of personal interpretation and performance confidence. Here a student learns how to effectively plan practice sessions and long-term musical development, and gains knowledge of appropriate behavior for both performers and audience members. Awareness of musicality and the shape of the music directs expression, dynamics, articulation nuances, tempo variations, and the application of appropriate musical styles.

 

This can be summarised as 

•  Build: Focus on foundational technique (scales, basic chords, finger independence).

• Explore: Experiment with pedaling, dynamics, and basic phrasing.

• Achieve: Master sight-reading at a particular level, memorize a repertoire.

• Develop: Refine aural skills, delve deeper into style interpretation.

• Grow: Tackle more complex technical challenges, apply analytical skills.

• Create: Incorporate improvisation or simple composition.

• Find: Develop personal interpretation and performance confidence.