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A discourse concerning the importance followed by a study of piano pedagogy; of piano teaching method, its history and general aspects of piano technique; a fully comprehensive method of piano teaching from the very earliest stages to the advanced; a discussion of various important selected concepts incorporated in the method which require particular emphasis; the application of certain concepts in the various style periods, such as dynamics, tempo, tempo rubato, pedalling, ornamentation, to the teaching of a piece; a discussion of the psychology of piano teaching and practising. All of these various branches of study are imperative in the training of the prospective piano teacher. (Preface)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons children identify for initially enrolling and for continuing to enroll in piano lessons. Several factors were examined to assess their effect on the reasons for enrollment; these factors were gender, age, who initiated enrollment, and length of enrollment in piano lessons. Study participants included 71 children currently enrolled in private piano lessons in Northern Indiana and Northern Ohio. While previous research has focused on the reasons adults enroll in piano lessons, this study focused on children under the age of 18. The participants each completed the Reasons for Enrollment in Piano Lessons Survey. The survey listed various reasons for enrollment, for which the children rated their level of agreement based on a five-point Likert scale. Results indicated that the most agreed upon reason children initially enrolled in piano lessons was they thought it would be fun, and they continue enrollment in piano lessons because it is fun. In addition, the children also stayed enrolled in piano lessons because they wanted to become better pianists, they wanted to become better musicians, and they enjoy learning new music. An important implication for piano teachers is to consider the interests of students when selecting repertoire and provide ample playing opportunities during the lesson time in an effort to increase the amount of enjoyment for the students. In addition, teachers could take advantage of the increasing desire for improvement by challenging older students with more difficult and diverse repertoire, higher overall lesson preparation expectations, and new activities that address the student’s weaknesses. Suggestions for future research include utilizing a larger population, examining the effect of socio-economic status on children’s reasons for enrollment, surveying children in group lessons, and investigating what children think makes a lesson fun. / School of Music

The piano first came into existence about 1709, but until the 1770's it was probably used most successfully as an accompanying instrument because of the small volume of tone it could produce. In its earlier stages the piano was not capable of producing even as big a tone as a large. sized harpsichord, During these seventy years piano builders experimented a great deal with the piano and its mechanisms, As with any instrument, some ideas were kept and improved, and others were tried and then discarded.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Not available / text

No description available.

Each country develops its educational system according to its national heritage, its national peculiarities and needs. Because of evolution, levels of education are flexible enough to be adjusted continuously for improvement. As we all know, there are constant changes preparing the students for their future careers and for living with society's advancements.Music, like other artistic areas, has different fields of specializations, each with its own peculiarities and problems. In this dissertation, attention is given to differences and similarities between curriculum requirements for piano performers at the university and conservatory levels in some selected schools on the American Continent.The subject for this study was chosen because the writer, a piano major, lived in two different countries when engaged in university studies. In Cordoba, Argentina she obtained degrees in Piano and in Music Education, and later in the United States, she earned the Master of Music and the Doctor of Arts in Music at Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana, Because she had the experience of both educational systems, she wished to make a fuller investigation of educational requirements for piano students in various schools of the American Continent.The research for this study was done from 1976 until 1980. The writer gathered most of the information while she was in Cordoba, Argentina, by writing letters to the embassies of different countries, requesting addresses of music schools, and then by writing directly to these institutions.The selected conservatories and universities for this dissertation include 18 universities and conservatories in the United States, five universities in Canada, four conservatories and four universities in Argentina, one conservatory in Ecuador, one university in Chile, one in Brazil, and one in Mexico. The selection of these schools was not made by a specific plan, but according to the addresses and materials available.The information was taken from the catalogs, student handbooks, and other supplementary materials sent by the schools.The chapters are organized as follows: Chapter 1 deals with undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded by conservatories and universities in the United States. Chapter 2 refers similarly to Canadian universities, and Chapter 3, to Latin American conservatories and universities.Each part of the dissertation contains tables organized by university and degree, with the course distribution and the required credits or weekly hours per class meeting. This information was arranged by the writer in an attempt to unify the presentation of the material. Some general music course descriptions have been included when their contents have been found to be different from the typical ones, and piano requirements, when they were available.The next section (Curriculum Description) is arranged by degrees with information about entrance requirements, basic music courses (grouped by areas and individual courses), and general observations about the program. Table 22 and similar ones show information by separate areas and courses, grouping the universities to compare their requirements for each degree.Following the presentation of each group of schools, some general comments about them are made. At the end of the study, a general comparison between the selected schools, and some recommendations for improvement are presented.Attention should be called to the fact that this study is the reflection of one person's experiences, observations the same data would reach new or different conclusions. The central consideration is that both similarities rind differences exist in the programs of the various institutions selected for this study. Furthermore, a study of this type is open, not conclusive, for it could be continued giving attention to different points of emphasis.

The modern music educator is constantly working to improve his methods of teaching in the public schools. Whatever his principal interest may be or wherever his principal ability may lie he desires to remain cognizant of the activities of those who are working alongside him in the system of public education. This same teacher is as much interested in the choral program if he is an instrumentalist as would the choral teacher be in the band or orchestra program of the school in which he is teaching. / Typescript. / "August, 1955." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Education." / Advisor: Robert L. Briggs, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-29).

From the beginning of this undertaking, its aims were related to certain weaknesses which many college students had displayed as they undertook to learn to play the piano. Starting from the assumption that most, if not all students would encounter such in the mastery of the piano, the study proceeded to identify several psychological concepts deemed necessary to an intelligent grasp of the problems confronting students of the piano. These concepts were set forth as: Listening, Touch, Relaxation, Power and Strength, Rhythm and Time, Principles of Learning and Practicing, Individuality of Technique, and Pleasure From Music. From years of observation, it had seemed that most students of piano had never been taught to study that instrument by thinking through problems related to it before attempting to practice; that most of them appeared to try learning to play almost entirely by physical effort and by countless repetitions of whatever passages they might desire to learn. In consequence, this study was directed towards evolving a way of attacking certain problems in piano playing which would put emphasis on thinking out the things to be accomplished;. on wisely selecting the means and manner of achieving these ends; and on making constructive evaluations of the final results. Pertinent to the over-all picture of present-day piano playing were the background of the instrument and the various schools of playing from which modern piano technique had originated and developed. The piano and its mechanism were found to be comparatively new in music, since the piano had been invented fewer than 150 years ago. Although the piano was a keyboard instrument, it had been determined, shortly after its.invention, that a different and suitable technique would have to be developed in order to play this instrument adequately, if its fullest possibilities were to be realized. Consideration was then given to various schools of piano playing, which had sprung up to meet the demands made by each advancing composer: from Haydn and Mozart, through Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, and on into the realms of the modern composers like Debussy, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofieff. These various schools had culminated in the efforts of Matthay in London, Breithaupt in Berlin, and Philipp in Paris, all of whom had succeeded Leschetizky in Vienna. The approach, or method which evolved from a study of learners' and performers' difficulties, on the one hand, and of the writings of musical authorities, on the other, was concerned mainly with conceiving mentally the problems to be worked out within the scope of piano technique. That approach was analyzed and found to include eight aspects, each of which was discussed and evaluated in the light of the writings of various authorities in this field. They were further tested by observing the effects of applying them in actual teaching situations, the outcomes of which were, in turn, reported in the form of case studies. The case studies, presented in this writing, were considered to embrace several different types of individuals. That differences existed was shown by variations in the results of using the approach of intelligent foresight in the several cases. However, the testing process did seem to produce in each instance greater understanding of the piano as an instrument and, within the range of each student's capability, some definite progress toward more intelligent performance. Just as everyone who attempts to write a poem does not aspire to the crown of poet laureate, so everyone who studies the piano does not hope to become a famous professional pianist. Thus, the students who became the subjects of observation and testing derived satisfaction from the knowledge that they had made marked progress; that they had done so without strain and in a manner that revealed possibilities for further growth and achievement. The teacher, in turn, was rewarded by the realization that every student who had given serious consideration to the approach described in this study showed evidence of having increased his pleasure in playing as well as of having gained considerable skill as a performer. Some had progressed more rapidly, some more slowly; but it was felt that, without exception, all has attained a greater appreciation of music and of the piano. Thus, as the study was concluded, it seemed that whatever merit it might have lay in its possibility of provoking a more intelligent approach to the study of the piano; of guiding students of that instrument to skill in playing it in somewhat the same manner as other skills are learned, i.e., by careful and thoughtful analysis of the problems to be overcome. In undertaking any task greater interest seems to be aroused through simple explanations of its nature, of how it may be performed, and of what results may flow from its successful execution. Merely to tell a student to do something because this is the right way, without due analysis and explanation, can hardly hope to kindle inspiration and zeal enough to conquer its difficulties. Fundamentally, it is hoped that this study has lent support to the view that the piano does not necessarily belong exclusively to those with marked talent; that the joy of reproducing music may be made accessible to anyone with average mental and physical endowments. / M.S.