Competitions

While these are a little different from recitals, competitions can be a fun and exciting part of learning an instrument. Just as we practice our pieces at home in private, students should practice performing their program in public in order to prepare for competitions and auditions. I encourage students to play the same pieces in several recitals and workshops in order to polish them for competition level. It’s always nice to win a prize, but even if you don’t it is very motivating to work towards this high level of presentation.

AMTA District and State Auditions

The Alabama Music Teachers Association sponsors preparatory student auditions at the district and state levels. These give students a structured performance opportunity with the inherent motivation that such a goal provides, offering students an evaluation of both their performance and theory/musicianship skills.

District Auditions (Ages 6 and up)

These auditions are for piano students through High School age and are held in March or April of each year. They are composed of a Performance component of three pieces of contrasting style and a Theory/Musicianship component (scales, arpeggios, cadences, etc.). Students receiving an outstanding rating in both Performance and Theory/Musicianship are invited to progress on to the State level of this competition in May.

State Auditions

The Piano Division of these competitions is held in May of each year. Students perform the same repertoire as in the Division level of the audition, and there is no Theory portion. Approximately 10-20% of these students are chosen as Winners and asked to perform at the next AMTA State Conference.

Fun Facts

♫ The term “piano” is the Italian word for “soft,” so named because the piano, unlike its predecessor the harpsichord, could produce a louder or softer tone depending on how hard the performer struck the key. In fact, the piano‘s full name is actually “piano-forte,” or “soft-loud.

♫ Piano strings are pulled to an average tension of around 200 pounds. Each piano has over 200 strings; thus, the total string tension of the average piano is around 40,000 pounds, or 20 tons.

♫ It was in America, not Europe, that piano building first advanced from being a slow handcraft to being an industry that was the standard and envy of the world.

♫ In the year 2000, John Lennon’s (of The Beatles) Steinway vertical piano sold for over $2 million dollars to pop star George Michael. This is the piano on which John composed the song “Imagine”.

♫ When the famous cellist Pablo Casals (then age 93) was asked why he continued to practice three hours a day, he replied, “I’m beginning to notice some improvement.”

♫ Although the piano has strings, it is considered to be a percussion instrument, producing its sound by striking a hammer against a string.

♫ In 1900 the retail price of a Steinway Model D (8’11” concert size) was $1,400. In 2013, the price was $132,085.

♫ There are 12,116 individual parts that make up a Steinway grand piano. The action for just 1 key is made up of over 57 individual parts (so for 88 keys that’s ~4,500 parts)