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.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain what competencies professional accompanists and accompanying teachers deem sufficiently important to be included at some point in the development of a professional accompanist. Research problems were formulated to determine what differences exist between opinions of teachers and professionals regarding necessary skills in preparation of accompanists in (1) pianistic skills, (2) accompanying skills, (3) vocal skills, (4) linguistic skills, (5) knowledge of repertoire, (6) understandings in human relationships, and (7) other competencies. Data were collected by means of a validated questionnaire containing items grouped into the seven categories listed above. It was sent to twenty professional accompanists and thirty-one schools offering accompanying degrees. Seventy per cent of the professionals and 84 per cent of the schools responded. Each competency was rated first for its relative importance to a professional accompanist and then for its appropriate place in the sequence of an accompanist's preparation. A chi square comparison of responses of the two groups regarding the importance of each competency showed virtually no significant differences. Responses on appropriate stages of training were not treated statistically.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetic structures or reinforcement schedules of metric temporal patterns (metric combination of note values within a measure) in five best-selling beginning piano method series. Based upon a survey mailed to 98 music dealers, the five best-selling beginning piano method series in 1992 and 1993 were identified as: the Alfred Basic Piano Library, Bastien Piano Basics, David Carr Glover Piano Library, John. W. Schaum Piano Course, and John Thompson Modern Course for Piano. A coding system was developed for identifying the numerical appearances and occurrences of various metric temporal patterns per learning piece within each method series. Several computer programs were written to compute the kinetic structures, scope, and pacing of metric temporal patterns for each method series. The derived data were then compared to delineate relationships between the three analytical variables.

It has been the purpose of this study to examine representative beginning piano methods, as found available in published form, and to compare and evaluate them according to musical, psychological, physical, and educational standards.

Carl Czerny (1791-1857), whose works number over one thousand opuses, had an active career a composer, pianist, exponent of Beethoven, piano teacher, and theorist. He has received lots of criticism both during his lifetime and ever since. Even nowadays, though many of his piano exercises are popular items for many teachers and pupils ranging from beginners to virtuosi, Czerny is still rated as a master of mechanical works that focus mainly on the right hand. This study will argue that Czerny is much underrated, particularly as a pedagogue, and aims to find out what are the underlying principles that Czerny embedded in his piano pedagogical works, what made them indispensable in the teaching of piano playing and to what degree they present other musical elements which are not purely mechanical in order to reassess Czerny?s achievements in the field of piano pedagogy. The discussion is based on the original English edition of Czerny?s Opus 500 Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School (1839), its Supplement, as well as Czerny?s other pedagogical works, such as Op. 139, Op. 299, Op. 365, Op. 755 and Op. 821. In addition, other selected pedagogical works and representative keyboard method books and exercises (excluding works for the organ) by other authors up to Czerny?s time are discussed for enriching the discussion. Through a detailed analysis of Czerny?s Opus 500, this study identifies fifteen parameters in his teaching sequences that range from beginner to virtuoso and the findings are clarified and contextualized within the field of 19th century piano pedagogy. These fifteen parameters are also exemplified in four selected opuses of Czerny, and through the ?Exam Pieces? of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. These are used to justify the applicability of the parameters in the learning sequences intrinsic to the graded piano qualifying examinations nowadays. It is argued that in view of the rich pedagogical content of Czerny?s work both technically and stylistically, together with the systematic teaching sequences that he presented in his piano pedagogical works, Czerny?s contribution to the art of keyboard playing should be well acknowledged.

Pianists have often noted differences in fingering among several editions of a given piano work. Numerous reasons could be cited for this phenomenon including variations in the sizes and shapes of hands, and differences in technical abilities and interpretations, factors which tend to suggest the importance of individual needs and preferences in fingering. The purpose of this study was to formulate an approach to fingering which would be adaptable to individual requirements and at the same time be applicable to all styles of piano writing. The system was designed in such a way that all practical solutions to a given passage could be found. An element common to all piano literature upon which the system could be based was chosen--the interval as realized by the fingers on the keyboard.The impetus for this study was provided by portions of L'Enseignement musical de la technique du piano (The Musical Teaching of Piano Technique), by Blanche Selva. In this work the author dealt with technical studies practiced by empreinte or "imprint" as it may be translated into English. Imprint was used to denote the spacing of the fingers as they correspond to and accommodate themselves to the intervals on the keyboard. Also included in the concept were the differences in contact points of the fingers as they touch the keys. Whereas Selva chose a fingering to produce an imprint, this study used imprint to find alternative fingering possibilities for musical passages.The study contains an historical survey of fingering which places the subject of fingering in an historical framework wherein the development of modern concepts can be seen as they emerged in the literature. A review of literature, in which the writer critically surveyed some forty-five sources from music periodicals and books in English of the twentieth century, set forth the contributions made by writers in recent times and at the same time demonstrated the need for a more systematic approach which could be adapted to the needs of the individual pianist. No sources were found which provided a system for finding alternative fingerings. However, several valuable concepts did emerge which approach the imprint idea, such as the grouping and blocking of notes in passages.The major contribution of the study was the adaptation of Blanche Selva's imprint analysis to a system of fingering piano music. Translations were made of key portions of L'Enseignement musical de la technique du piano which were extracted and adapted to fingering. In order tooffer a means of finding many alternative fingering solutions to fingering problems a mathematical system of grouping imprints according to the number of notes in the passage was used. Fingerings were thus determined by (1) the fit of the pianist's fingers to the passage and (2) the mathematical possibilities which are compatible with the fit of the hand to the keyboard. All of the concepts presented were illustrated with musical examples from the standard piano literature.The writer concluded that the study provided a useful approach to fingering for the following reasons: (1) the procedure for using imprint analysis provides a means for finding fingerings suitable to all pianists because the choice is left to the needs of the individual; (2) the system is based only upon the conformation of the hand to keyboard intervals; (3) it is not limited to a specific type of passage or style of writing; (4) the approach incorporates both grouping and blocking which many teachers believe helpful for security of learning and memorizing; (5) it can be as systematic and comprehensive as needed for difficult passages because of the use of mathematical groupings; (6) the naturalness of hand position which is a part of the imprint concept in many cases minimizes the need for rigorous searching.

The Southern Baptist Convention's Music Department and state associations, with their vast influence yet often modest resources, educated generations of pianists and organists in the arts of accompanying and service playing. Chapter 1 examines the genesis of this education movement, beginning with B. B. McKinney's interest through the Southern Baptist Convention's Music and Worship committee. Chapters 2 and 3 contain an overview of previous studies and the materials of other protestant American denominations and Baptists used to train keyboard musicians. These include Lutheran, Nazarene, Methodist, and independent Baptist. Chapter 4 covers the results of the work of the Music and Worship Committee to the establishment of the Music Week at Ridgecrest, a Southern Baptist retreat, the formation of the Church Music Department and Music Week's expansion to Glorieta, another Southern Baptist retreat, and the decision to begin

Pianists from Buenos Aires, both artists and students, have seemed to this writer to possess common qualities of spirit, fluency and command. The research project was organized to investigate facets of Argentine culture and the training of pianists in Buenos Aires which may have contributed to this perception. Observations of musical education in Buenos Aires were conducted in August and September of 1986. Learning situations observed included piano lessons in private studios, public and private conservatories and preparatory schools. Also observed were aural perception training and general music education in private elementary schools, public high schools, pre-professional schools, public and private conservatories and preparatory programs. The social, political, cultural and economic conditions that existed were also studied in order to better understand the climate in which musical training occurred.Those factors in the culture and training of pianists in Buenos Aires that would seem to have a discernible effect on students within that system include: 1) The Argentines' sense of cultural identity is consciously enhanced by deliberate inclusion of Argentine culture in the Music Education curriculum and the conservatory syllabus. 2) Important to the sense of command and success is the will to succeed in the struggle against the economic and political hardships of life in Argentina. 3) Music education is highly structured and weighted toward aural perception training. Aural skills were taught thoroughly and with great consistency of method in every class visited. 4) The piano teaching was carried out with expert technical guidance, beautifully played demonstrations and much singing of phrase and tone. 5) The central government established for the conservatories a ten-year Programa de Piano, which insures consistent standards of achievement in technique and literature throughout the country. 6) The Argentine government offers totally free public education. Any students able to pass the entrance examination at the conservatory can avail themselves of the country's best education in music. / School of Music

Piano proficiency students who are required to memorize music take different approaches in their learning process. They may not be aware of how they memorize or how these approaches are related to their learning style preferences. Seventeen test subjects (N=17) who volunteered from a private university in north central Indiana were _ tested for their learning style preferences and then were given a sample of music to memorize. A video camera recorded the memorization process for observation of the learning approaches each subject used while memorizing. In addition, each subject completed 1) a brief experience and task ease pretest, 2) an interview while observing the video of what took place during the memorization process, and 3) a posttest questionnaire on learning approaches used.The purpose of this study was to observe which learning approaches to memorization were being used by group piano students and which of these were most effective in short memorization tasks. Investigation of existing literature of piano pedagogy found that the most common ways in which pianists memorize are by using aural, visual, tactile and analytical approaches.Subjects who were observed for this research had a tendency-to memorize more from the visual and tactile approaches. Out of the 17 class piano students who were observed, 15 or 88% used visual and or tactile memory as their preferred approach. Students also assessed their own procedure of memorization by rating the approach as to how much they used it. Findings in this posttest questionnaire indicated that the aural and visual approaches to memory were rated by the students as being the preferred ways of memorizing. Thirteen subjects or 76% indicated that they preferred the aural and or visual memory approach to memory.The effectiveness of these approaches was indicated by the subjects receiving a memory performance rating. This research showed that there was more tendency for subjects using visual approach memory to receive the best memory scores (excellent, no errors). This study also indicated that students using the analytical approach to memory tended to have the highest percentage of best performance score (two of three received excellent/no errors scores). / School of Music

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.