Piano

Violin & cello lessons from age 6 with instructor's consent; Voice, Theory and Musicianship age 16 and up. 30 min., 45 min., and 60 min. lessons available.

Violin & cello lessons from age 6 with instructor's consent; Voice, Theory and Musicianship age 16 and up. 30 min., 45 min., and 60 min. lessons available.

Play Cuban, Latin American and Flamenco music and learn how to use traditional concepts and styles to create contemporary music. Improve your improvisational skills and deepen your understanding of these forms. The focus of the Latin-Flamenco ensemble will be on the development of advanced arrangements and the preparation of a cohesive group for public performances. This ensemble performs under the name Potingue, which means “an unusual mix” in Spanish. There will be winter and spring performances at CMC and other shows around the Bay Area.

Learn how to execute arrangements and improvise in a small jazz ensemble setting. Students will share improvisation concepts and learn how to improve and evaluate solos, group dynamics and sound. Players will be strongly encouraged to write original tunes and there will be various performance opportunities throughout the year.

Jazz musicians: this is an informal forum to work on improvisation and to develop your ensemble skills. This ensemble emphasizes improvisation, writing and arranging, the role of each instrument, and the development of musical interaction.

Learn to play Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European music, including Klezmer and Balkan styles. Music scale systems and maqams will be studied in the context of selected tunes. Improvisations (taqsims/preludes/doinas) will be attempted according to traditional practices. There will be various performance opportunities throughout the year.

Whether you are an advanced beginner or an accomplished amateur musician, CMC’s chamber music program offers an opportunity to develop your musicianship and technique as well as the chance to play with others. Groups are composed of two to five students of compatible levels. Advanced beginners and intermediate students will focus on developing basic ensemble skills, intonation, tone quality, and rhythmic accuracy. Advanced students will study important aspects of ensemble playing, including interpretation and performance techniques.

Learn how to play in the context of an ensemble while developing improvisational skills and learning basic grooves. Repertoire includes standard Latin-jazz tunes and pieces developed in the workshop. There will be performances each winter and spring quarter.

Learn the basic concepts, terminology and strategies for jazz improvisation, and develop a repertoire along the way. By the end of the term, you will know how to recognize and play all of the mixolidian and dorian scales, and you will be introduced to the other modes as well as the blues and diminished scales. We will dedicate time to ear training exercises and work on the following jazz standards as a group.

Aspiring pianists, this comprehensive and gradually paced course is a great introduction to the instrument. Absolute beginners are welcome as well as those who have some piano experience but are in need of a refresher course. Emphasis is on technique, reading, rhythm, theory and ear-training. Each student is provided with a keyboard and headphones to use in this hands-on class. Although students can register at any time, this class will be most beneficial for those who start in the fall and continue through the spring quarter.