Piano pedagogy: a preliminary investigation into the benefits and current adoption of holistic learning programs for beginner students

Conference Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Daniel, Ryan ;Bowden, Julia
Abstract

Teaching the beginner piano student can be an exciting yet daunting process. A teacher must decide what skills and techniques the student should develop and how these will be taught. There are countless method books available for teaching the beginner student, yet despite this abundance, there is little written that encourages or provides for a holistic learning program. Most method books focus on one aspect of the learning (e.g. technique or aural skills) or require the teacher to supplement the learning with additional activities. In order to investigate the design and implementation of beginner piano student learning programs, a sample of thirteen piano teachers in a regional city was interviewed. Each teacher was asked to describe a typical lesson for their beginner students, the musical skills they found important, and whether they used a method book to assist the learning. The results demonstrate that all of the teachers use a method book for their beginner students, and while many attempt to provide a holistic program of learning, it is often tokenistic in nature. The skills that teachers believe a beginner student should learn and the structure of their lessons predominantly revolves around the development of technique and note reading skills.

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Innovation and Tradition: Music Education Research

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978-0-9803116-5-5

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10

Location

Melbourne, VIC, Australia

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Australian and New Zealand Association for Research in Music Education

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Publisher Location

Melbourne, VIC, Australia

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