A PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION

DESIGNER PIANO
TEACHERS ART MUSIC STUDENT
MOTIVATION FORMS OF DELIVERY THE
WHOLE PERSON THE LESSON
LEARNING TO PRACTISE PUBLIC
PERFORMANCE PRACTICE JOURNAL
PRE-EMPTING DEVELOPING
TECHNIQUE STAGES OF CHILD
DEVELOPMENT THE VERY YOUNG
STUDENT METHOD BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS
ADULT TUITION GROUP LESSONS
PREPARING FOR TEACHING EXAMS
POSTURE-USE AND ABUSE OF THE BODY
INTERPRETATION THE STUDIO TUITION
AGREEMENT RESUME THE
ACCOUNTING SIDE THE TRIANGLE -
STUDENTS/PARENTS/TEACHERS THE RESOURCE FILE
A BASIC LIBRARY REPERTOIRE SELECTION THE
INSTRUMENT PIANO CARE PURCHASING AN
INSTRUMENT INTERNET SITES BIBLIOGRAPHY
Piano Teaching



A Guide for Nurturing
Musical Independence










West Australian-born Faith Maydwell has taught piano for more than 30 years.
Her complementary activities since completing a Master of Music degree at the
University of Western Australia in 1982 have included solo recitals, broadcasts
for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, accompanying, orchestral piano
with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, examining for the Australian
Music Examinations Board, lecturing at the University of Western Australia and
the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in the areas of keyboard
harmony, sight reading and piano pedagogy, adjudicating, and presenting papers
at state and national music seminars and conferences. Faiths university piano
studies were under the tutelage of David Bollard (a student of Ilona Kabos and
Louis Kentner), a founding member of the Australia Ensemble. In 1978 Faith
won the Convocation Prize (UWA) for the best student of any year in the
Bachelor of Music course and in 1979 she was a state finalist in the Australian
Broadcasting Commissions Young Performers Awards competition. She has
published a manual, Sight Reading Skills: A Guide for Sight Reading Piano
Music Accurately and Expressively (See inside back cover for details).

Piano Teaching
A Guide for Nurturing
Musical Independence





New Arts Press of Perth
31B Venn Street
North Perth 6006
Western Australia
Copyright 2007 by Faith Maydwell
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
The New Arts Press of Perth and colophon are trademarks of
The New Arts Press of Perth, Inc.
For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases,
please contact:
[email protected]
DESIGNED BY ANTHONY MAYDWELL
Manufactured in Australia
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-publication Data
Maydwell, Faith, 1957-
Piano Teaching: A Guide for Nurturing Musical Independence / Faith Maydwell
Contents:
A Philosophy of Music Education, Designer Piano Teachers, Art Music, Student Motivation,
A Good Question, Forms of Delivery, The Whole Person, The Lesson Learning to Practise,
Public Performance, Practice Journal, Pre-Empting, Developing Technique, Stages of Child
Development, The Very Young Student, Method Books for Beginners, Adult Tuition, Group
Lessons, Preparing for Teaching Exams, Posture Use and Abuse of the Body,
Interpretation, The Studio, Tuition Agreement, Rsum, The Accounting Side, The Triangle
Students/Parents/Teachers, The Resource File, A Basic Library, Repertoire Selection, The
Instrument, Piano Care, Purchasing an Instrument, Appendix: Internet Sites, Bibliography.
1. Piano Pedagogy. 1 Title


CONTENTS

PREFACE__________________________________________________________vii
INTRODUCTION ____________________________________________________1
A PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION _______________________________4
DESIGNER PIANO TEACHERS ________________________________________7
ART MUSIC________________________________________________________12
STUDENT MOTIVATION ____________________________________________21
A GOOD QUESTION ________________________________________________23
FORMS OF DELIVERY ______________________________________________25
THE WHOLE PERSON_______________________________________________26
THE LESSON LEARNING TO PRACTISE _____________________________27
PUBLIC PERFORMANCE ____________________________________________34
PRACTICE JOURNAL _______________________________________________36
PRE-EMPTING _____________________________________________________37
DEVELOPING TECHNIQUE __________________________________________40
STAGES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT __________________________________42
THE VERY YOUNG STUDENT _______________________________________42
METHOD BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS___________________________________46
ADULT TUITION ___________________________________________________47
GROUP LESSONS___________________________________________________49
PREPARING FOR TEACHING EXAMS_________________________________51
POSTURE USE AND ABUSE OF THE BODY __________________________53
INTERPRETATION _________________________________________________56
THE STUDIO_______________________________________________________59
TUITION AGREEMENT______________________________________________60
RESUME __________________________________________________________60
THE ACCOUNTING SIDE ____________________________________________61
THE TRIANGLE STUDENTS/PARENTS/TEACHERS____________________62
THE RESOURCE FILE _______________________________________________63
A BASIC LIBRARY _________________________________________________71
REPERTOIRE SELECTION ___________________________________________73
THE INSTRUMENT _________________________________________________74
PIANO CARE_______________________________________________________76
PURCHASING AN INSTRUMENT _____________________________________78
GOODBYES________________________________________________________79
APPENDIX: INTERNET SITES ________________________________________81
BIBLIOGRAPHY____________________________________________________82


PREFACE

I am not sure that I imagined specialising in piano pedagogy as a young adult but I do
remember asking my professor shortly after completing a masters degree at university,
What do I call myself? His answer was immediate. Why? You are a MUSICIAN. Thirty
years later I find myself feeling passionate about the possibilities of the piano studio and
putting forward a way of teaching that emphasises the development of the whole person and
the complete musician.

The journey has provided experiences in accompanying, solo recitals, concertos and
broadcasts, teaching in tertiary institutions and music specialist schools, orchestral keyboard
playing, examining and adjudicating. Not only am I grateful for the rich and varied
background but I have seen first-hand how different areas of music making are
complementary to others.

When I was completing two performance degrees at university, back in the 1970s and 80s,
there were no specific teaching units for the piano students who planned to be studio teachers.
This was despite the great majority of performance majors, on their exodus from university,
teaching in some capacity to supplement their income. How I first taught was mostly
influenced by what I had experienced in my student years. Over the decades, a range of
teaching experiences and further study has contributed to a major shift in my approach.

I have always enjoyed teaching, but now look forward with great anticipation to the return of
my students after a holiday period and regard music teaching as an exciting and privileged
occupation.

Whilst teaching piano pedagogy at university and wading through the dullest of method
books on the subject, something new would always be revealed. This is what I love about the
subject. It is huge and it is intriguing. For instance, I thought I had the teaching of scales all
wrapped up. However, over lunch recently with a piano teacher, I gained new insight by
listening to a summary of her approach.

Should you decide to become a piano teacher, be prepared to be fascinated for a lifetime.
Reading material is endless and there is always an intellectual or musical challenge to be met.

These pages reflect my observations and lessons learnt over the years.

I realise that people have many different ways of teaching piano. Tertiary teaching, in
particular, showed me that important musical concepts need to be addressed in the early
stages of a students development. If this has not happened all is not lost as much can still be
accomplished with hard work and good teachers. However it would be so much better if
students were helped to be well-rounded musicians from the beginning. I often encounter
adult students who do not know, for instance, how to use their body effectively at the
keyboard, how to hear inwardly, how to produce a variety of tone colours even how to learn
a Bach fugue.

I hope that piano teaching continues to become more professional and that all teachers come
to understand their privileged position.










Acknowledgements

Thank you to these students, friends and colleagues who
through their discussions and encouragement have
enabled this project to be brought to fruition

Jill Ailsa, Vivienne Ward, Patsy Shadbolt, Jody Pettit
Danielle and Michel McCarthy.

Special thanks to Margaret Huggins and Tony Maydwell
for their editing and typesetting skills and ilis McCarthy (age 8) for
the back-page illustration.










Dedication

To my piano teachers
Miss Piercy, Mr Huddle, Dawn Fisher,
Wallace Tate and David Bollard

Faith Maydwell



INTRODUCTION

To whom is this book directed? To piano teachers who may be looking for a fresh perspective
and to piano students who are thinking about piano teaching as a career. It is a manual that
examines the why, how, what, who and when of the subject.

Piano teaching is a profession that is rewarding but also challenging. It suits people who are
fascinated with human behaviour and an art form which demands some of the most
complicated feats of human coordination. It must be remembered that to know the literature
alone is probably too big a task for one lifetime.

As teachers we are extremely fortunate to be working in most situations with one student at a
time. This allows for a closeness that is not possible in a group. Those who have been blessed
with a good teacher who has unveiled the mysteries of music will understand the tenderness
and respect felt for the person who has enriched their lives. I remember Miriam Hydes
keynote address, Memories of My Nine Piano Teachers, at the 5
th
Australian Piano Pedagogy
Conference in 2001. She eloquently recalled what each one of her teachers added to her
pianism. Reading an article such as Edwin Fischer Remembering My Teacher by Alfred
Brendel (On Music, p. 328, A Cappella Books, 2001) shows how a teacher affects a persons
life. My university teacher often recalled stories of his teachers and great pianists he had
heard whilst studying in London. When I recounted this to one of my adult students she was
amazed to hear that attending concerts by pianists such as Richter, Cherkassky, Michelangeli,
Kentner, Arrau, Serkin, Curzon and Giles could have a profound effect on personal and
musical development.

Sadly, from some students I hear accounts of educational experiences that have a negative
impact. Recently I spoke to a mother whose daughter repeatedly endured the criticism of a
music teacher who, amongst other things, called her unmusical. I dont believe children
should be weighed down with criticism, which may cause the wrong preconceptions to be
carried throughout life. Musicality is learnt. Even the tiny percentage of students who seem
incapable of independent development can still enjoy music by imitation. Playing a piece of
music beautifully by rote is more enriching than not to play at all. Piano teaching can build a
students confidence. The experience should be a happy and rewarding one for both student
and teacher.

Those who have learnt from certain teachers will also have had the advantage of being part of
a great composer/performer line, passing down ideas from generation to generation. Even in
Perth, Western Australia the worlds most isolated city I had a teacher whose lineage, in
five steps, goes back to Beethoven via Liszt and Czerny. I had the good fortune to study with
David Bollard for three years before he went to Sydney to become a founding member of the
Australia Ensemble. He studied piano with Ilona Kabos for about a year and a half and then
with Louis Kentner for four and a half years. He talked of the predominant qualities that
emanated from their teaching. Kabos emphasised the need for the music to have a sense of
direction and for the phrase to breathe in a natural way. With Kentner it was the importance
of a beautiful cantabile tone and the awareness of the need to strive constantly to defeat the
basic nature of the instrument, whose sound is produced by percussive means.

I have heard piano pedagogues deride musical lineages saying that this is totally irrelevant
because teaching evolves with each generation. However, keyboard pedagogy has a close
connection to the great masters. If we have the chance to hear at first, second or even fifth
hand how a composer wanted his music to be played, are we not better off? David Bollard
2
told me he questioned Kabos about an interpretive issue in a piece of Liszt, and her reply
was, I know darling, I studied with his pupil!

Sometimes a musician whose main interest is not piano can have a profound effect on a
students life. A Hungarian musician highly regarded and who had a great influence on
Kabos and Kentner, Le Weiner, is listed in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians as a composer and teacher of chamber music having studied composition with
Zoltn Kodly.

It still excites me every time I think of this wonderful line of musicians that I now belong to
and the privilege I have of passing my knowledge on to future generations:



Ludwig Beethoven
Carl Czerny
Franz Liszt
Arpd Szendry
Ilona Kabos
David Bollard
Faith Maydwell

We can learn much from our teachers on the subject of teaching whether they are a well-
known concert artist or the neighbour next-door. I suggest that a list be made of the qualities
admired in your piano teachers as well as the qualities which you do not wish to take with
you into your career.

Be prepared as you examine teaching to change your view. Sometimes issues are not black
and white. I remember my second teacher Mr Huddle who used to pick me up from school
and take me to my home for lessons. The spider webs in the corner of his car used to
fascinate me, as did his thick fingers which had the consistency of crocodile skin. He was a
stickler for key signatures. I am grateful now for not flinching when greeted by a key
signature of six or seven sharps, a skill which has greatly aided my sight reading, though his
method of teaching this filled me with frustration and anger at the time. I dont recall the
method but I do strongly recall the feelings. In my teenage years Mrs Dawn Fisher helped me
to focus during a difficult time. I remember being inwardly rebellious. Piano lessons during
university were the highlights. I would look forward with eager anticipation to each lesson,
riveted to the new score and listening intently to David Bollard as we examined music in
minute detail.

Before the question of why one would want to be a piano teacher is addressed, lets look at
why we are attracted to this instrument in the first place. Over the past few years we seem to
3
have had a glut of piano books and piano films such as The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, The
Piano Tuner, The Pianist and The Piano Teacher. It has always been an instrument
associated with the high life. I have a folder full of accumulated advertisements of the
keyboard and the grand pianos wing shape to help sell designer pens, restaurant meals and
watches. The Australian Broadcasting Corporations survey, Whats the one piece of piano
music you cant live without? attracted 10,000 entries.

The piano has been and remains a popular instrument. Why? Here are a few suggestions:

For many of us the piano was part of the furniture in the family home.

A lucky few were taken to recitals as children.

When striking a chord, we can feel the vibrations physically. For many people, the
pianos main attraction would be its response to touch. It needs a touch full of nuance
and subtlety.

Dynamics on the piano vary according to the touch not achievable on the
harpsichord or organ. Sound matches body movement, so playing the piano can be
intensely expressive.

The ability to produce melody and harmony at one time can be exhilarating. The
piano can be a whole orchestra if need be.

To produce the sound is relatively easy. One does not have to use a lot of breath or
need to tune the note. Nearly anyone can produce a satisfying result fairly quickly.
(Of course this does not imply that it is an easy instrument to master.)

It may be the piano literature that is attractive. It is the largest for any instrument
covering many periods and styles.

It is interesting to ask students why they learn the piano. For the majority who take it up in
childhood, it is the parents who make the decision for them because they in turn had learnt or
owned a piano. One student desired to play the piano from the age of five, was given a piano
when nine years of age but did not agree to lessons until she was twelve because peers had
told her piano teachers shout at you. It was the choir mistress who inspired her initially but
also the fascination with the piano sitting in the corner of the classroom under the crimson
quilt, undressed to be played for hymns at the commencement of the school day and grace
before recess.

Adults responses are more varied when asked the main reason why they commenced or
recommenced lessons; curiosity as to why they could not play well as a child, to make up for
the childhood years when they could not play, pianism is an essential part of their life,
fascination of the piano sound, enjoyment of good music, a help for analysing and
understanding good music, a need to be involved with beauty, career development and of
course to be able to advance their pianism.

In our love affair with an extraordinary instrument, some of us are prepared to go to
extraordinary lengths to obtain the best sounds on the best instruments. Does this necessarily
make such a person suitable for the teaching of music? Well, it is a good starting point but
much more is involved with successful teaching.

4
A PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION

Why is music important in a childs education? What music should we be teaching? How
should we be teaching it? What is the main goal of the piano teacher? How do we achieve
this goal on a week-by-week basis? The answers are involved in building a solid
understanding of piano teaching.

Here are some of the areas that playing the piano affects:

Articulating ideas

Concentration

Confidence

Coordination

Emotional language

Historical knowledge

Knowledge of the other arts

Listening

Memory

Posture

Reading

Relationships

Self-discipline

Understanding of aesthetics

Understanding other genres of music symphonies, string quartets, etc.

The writings of Kodly stress the importance of music to the emotional, intellectual, aesthetic
and physical development of the child. He even suggests that music should be at the heart of
the school curriculum. We should be asking, Why, when it is so beneficial to the child, has
5
our society allowed music to be pushed to the sidelines with little resources given to its
study?

It is clear that music study can have a great effect on a persons life and on society in general.
A father of one of my students confided to me that at the tea table his six-year-old had
declared, Piano is very good because it makes you think and it makes you smart. This alone
would seem to justify piano for every child who wishes to learn. Add to this all the
appreciation of beauty that enters life through it.

One of the most convincing philosophies of music I have read is David Elliotts Music
Matters (Oxford University Press, 1995). So long as you can put up with words such as
musicing and praxial this challenging book presents many convincing arguments on the
importance of music education. He shows how and why the study of music leads to self-
growth, constructive knowledge, enjoyment and increased self-esteem. Reading works such
as this should not be avoided. When you see the big picture you are able to articulate your
goals and explain why music teaching is an essential part of society. It is then relatively easy
to answer many of the smaller questions such as what materials to teach and in what manner
they can be taught.

Philosophy on music education needs to be strong because it is closely related to three areas
of a piano teachers life. Firstly, on a personal level, the job must be regarded as important.
Teachers need to be convinced about what they want to achieve and how to achieve it.
Without this strong direction and because of the isolated nature of the work, it is easy for the
music teacher to become demoralised with feelings of doubt creeping in. If they understand
that piano teaching is sharing one of lifes most enriching art forms then the enthusiasm they
have towards the subject will carry them through the tougher times.

Secondly, in the music studio there needs to be a clear long-term goal so the details of the
week-by-week decisions will be made with a sense of purpose.

The third area where piano teachers can be a force for good is the community. If they have a
chance to put forward an opinion in the public arena on the value of music education then
they should do so. Recently, the university where I was teaching piano pedagogy halved the
course due to economic considerations. Because of my sessional staff position I did not have
any input into the decision, but I still used the opportunity to wave the flag for good teaching
in this area. It felt as if my voice was weak on this occasion, though I believe we should
always be willing to speak up on the subject of music education. Every opportunity that has
the potential to help enrich and strengthen the arts in society needs to be taken.

If you can say I want to be a teacher of piano because I think it is one of the most useful
skills that I can help impart to humankind then you are in a wonderful position.

Next, what is your major objective? What do you think is the main goal of the piano teacher?
When I ask this question of first-year classes I always receive a variety of answers. Here are a
few:

To help students enjoy music
To make great pianists
To help students pass exams
To have fun



6
These are worthy objectives but, for me, the main objective of the piano teacher is:

TO HELP THE STUDENT BECOME MUSICALLY INDEPENDENT
AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE

Heinrich Neuhaus puts it similarly in The Art of Piano Playing (p. 172, Barrie and Jenkins,
1973). Its worth reading.

Independence implies musical maturity with the pupil brought to a stage of knowledge and
understanding to be able to make good musical judgements. My goal is never to produce
pianists but to help produce musicians. Pianists with fast fingers and a smooth action can still
be inadequate musicians, lacking in interpretation and expression. Rounded musicians will
understand their instruments as well as technical and posture issues. Better to be able to
tackle any score accurately and expressively than to be able to play only a handful of
masterpieces precisely. It is the former skill which will provide the opportunity for continual
musical growth.

Why do I write independent as quickly as possible? It is easy to coast along thinking that
piano playing is a long haul, so whats the hurry? We should be making that journey towards
independence as short as possible because we never know when circumstances may change.
If the student departing has not arrived at a certain level, then years of work could be
completely lost. A teacher who had a studio for 50 years told me that she had never been able
to get her students to sight read. I found this distressing. Was there no help for the teacher to
find the key to developing this skill? All her students apparently went into adult life without
one of the greatest joys of music to be able to play new scores readily.

Of course, in the music field we rarely arrive and are always travelling towards perfection.
We may choose to have mentors for feedback throughout our life. However, there is a stage
where we can feel comfortable with our musical decisions and are able to articulate the
reasons for them. There may be only an occasional student we see arrive at this stage.
Nevertheless, this is no reason to stop aiming for the goal.

Elliott (Music Matters, p236) succinctly answers these two important questions.

Should piano lessons be offered only to the select few?

people are born with the capacities of attention, awareness and memory that enable them
to learn to think musically to make music and listen for music competently, if not
proficiently. Musicianship is achieved through music teaching and learning; it is neither a gift
nor a talent. True, some people seem to have high levels of musical intelligence and high
levels of interest in learning to make and listen for music well. These factors may enable such
people to develop musicianship and musical creativity more deeply and broadly than others.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of people have sufficient musical intelligence to achieve at
least a competent level of musicianship through systematic programs of music education.

Why is learning music (piano) of such benefit to human beings?

for the values inherent in knowing how to make and listen for music intelligently are
central to making a life; self-growth, self-knowledge, self-esteem, creative achievement,
humanistic and cultural empathy, and enjoyment are central life goals and life values in all
human cultures.

7

DESIGNER PIANO TEACHERS

Given that teachers are in command of piano and musicianship skills, the piano teacher needs
to be:

Caring
A positive concern for the student will enable students to realise their potential. The concern
needs to be for the total person and not just finger technique or musicianship skills. We do
not give our best if different parts of our being are isolated. We feel special and comfortable
only when our whole personality is acknowledged.

Honest and open
Students eventually see through affectation. Good teachers allow themselves to be themselves
and extend this right to the student.

Respectful
It is exciting for students to learn but also at times confusing, frustrating and unnerving.
There needs to be empathy with a students changing circumstances. It is unacceptable to
make comments such as there is no way you will ever pass this exam. It might be the truth
given the amount of work that the student is exhibiting but the teachers description of the
situation needs to be carefully worded. To do otherwise may cause the student irreversible
psychological damage.

Flexible
The other day a six-year-old came into the studio with her baseball cap on. I suggested that it
be removed mainly because I wanted to see her face. She adamantly refused even after my
second request. I decided not to insist because it is not worth upsetting a lesson over a
baseball cap. I would sort it out with her mother and ask her to send her in without a hat for
the next lesson. I was glad that I did not waste any more time on it because three quarters of
the way through the lesson, the girl said I didnt go to school today because I might have
nits but Mum doesnt think I have them!

Modest
The lesson needs to be student-centred not teacher-centred. This is one area I battle with
when teaching my adult students. Because they all feel like my friends it is easy to switch
into the happenings of our week. Anything personal that needs to be discussed I leave for a
cup of tea before or after the lesson. There are a few adult students who seem to be more
happy discussing musical ideas rather than playing. I dont mind when I can see plenty of
evidence of them exploring new music and teaming up with others for chamber music, lieder
accompaniment, piano duets and so on. Musically, they are alive and well.

Astute
One must be able to gauge what stage a student is at and assign the next level of music and
technique. I have given up using one complete method for beginners. I find it much more
appropriate to create a scrapbook specially designed for each student, created as progress and
difficulties are revealed week by week.

Motivating
Until students learn that the greatest reward is to please oneself, then the teacher has to propel
the student along by whatever means available.

8
Organised
If you have many students at many different stages then a clear view is needed for sequential
development. How this is organised whether in the students book or in the teachers file
is personal but there must be a written form of the journey. This is the one area in life where
my memory does wonders, much to the chagrin of some of my students. Even so I find
myself more and more thinking and organising lessons so that no time is wasted. The once-a-
week visit is already short enough.

Patient
At the end of one year I was presented with a gift and card from a university class of singers
and instrumentalists. Within this year they had learnt scales and arpeggios in all keys, simple
improvisation, figured bass, two recital pieces (memorised), sight reading to the end of
Mikrokosmos Volume III, some history of the piano and some knowledge of great pianists.
On the card thank you for your patience was written again and again. It was not my
eloquence or my pianism that they appreciated the most but my patience! I dont usually like
being described as patient, but if it is patience which enables students to achieve those results
in 26 weeks, then I will take pleasure in the description.

Creative
We are faced with problems moment by moment and may have to find the solutions on the
spot. Students work best when they are alert so we need to be invigorated and on our toes,
working hard to avoid stale and forgettable lessons. Questions need to be challenging and
lead on to deeper thinking and problem solving.

Focused
Hearing and assessing every sound that passes through our ears can be exhausting work but
we must strive to remain focused. Often after a full day of teaching I cannot even handle any
music in the background. My ears long for quietness.

Relaxed
The studio atmosphere should be welcoming and supportive not possible if you are rushing
around and disorganised or thinking about something unrelated.

Detached
We are not mother/father figures. We are helping the student to be independent so there needs
to be a degree of detachment.

Encouraging
After hearing a comment I did not do so well last week, I realised how harshly some people
judge themselves. I thought I had given positive feedback but this student had apparently not
heard it. Measuring out the right amount of encouragement is an art form.

Inspiring
It is your interests, especially in the arts, that students are attracted to. If you wish to be
respected then your life needs to be an example.

Appreciative of humour
This is vital. Sometimes I roar with laughter with my students and how wonderful it feels
after intense concentration and focus. One week my 80-year-old student (I think she is
younger) cracked a joke when she had a cracked rib: It was pain and pleasure as we chuckled
together and as she tried not to disturb her sore rib.

9
Imaginative
A willingness to pretend is a great teaching skill. Try out this exercise using any two lines of
a well-known ditty; e.g.

WASH THE DISHES, DRY THE DISHES
TURN THE DISHES OVER

Have your student recite the ditty portraying one of the listed attitudes below. Allow the
student to pick a word without showing you. This way the student has to work hard to
convince you.

Menacing
Dolce
Sleepy
Bawdy (adolescents and adults)
Animated
Dramatic
Sad
Humorous

An activity such as this can help the student understand and develop expression and
projection. I suggest the teacher master this exercise first to be able to give illustrations.

Another useful exercise is for students to conduct. Through their gestures they can
communicate crescendos and diminuendos, starts, stops and many other musical features.
Students can take the lead while the teacher sings or plays the piano, the students showing
how they desire the music to be expressed through movement alone. Again, the teacher needs
to be proficient at the exercise to demonstrate it.

Communicative
Be clear, succinct and mindful of the age group.

Firm
A six-year-old had only a couple of lessons with me before she felt free enough to express
herself at the piano by banging her fists up and down the keyboard. It was a sound to rival the
unmerciful nature of Henry Cowells Tiger (1928), a solo piano work featuring double-
forearm clusters and extended use of both fists. I was rather taken aback on two accounts
concern for my beautiful Fazioli and because I had not ever had to deal with such a situation
before. A little surprised, I said to her, hop under the piano, lie on the rug and look at the
beautiful wood on the pianos belly while I play you a little lullaby. This worked. Realising
that I could not send her under the piano every time she felt expressive, I searched for an
ongoing solution. It was not the students fault. Her studio experience up to this time had
been to do as she pleased with the teacher following her around. At the beginning of the next
lesson before we even went to the piano we had an eyeball-to-eyeball session. I got down to
her level and explained we had something important to talk about. I said: If I am to help you
become a fine musician then sometimes I have to listen to you and sometimes you have to
listen to me. As you are not in the habit of listening to the teacher I may need to give you a
little reminder. Ill give a reminder by saying stop. I would like you to put your hands in your
lap and to listen and if you do not do this I will pull the fallboard of the piano down and wait
until you do. I needed to do this only twice and the problem was solved. She started to listen
and consequently made remarkable progress.


10
In conclusion I can hear you saying you lost me on quality number three. Its okay. No one
has all these qualities in the right proportion but it does not mean that we should stop working
towards improving them.

COASTING, ROASTING OR TOASTING

With what age group do you think you will be the most comfortable?

How many students do you imagine you will be able to cope with at any one time?

What level of piano would you like to teach?

How would you like to teach in groups or one to one?

What sort of a teacher do you imagine you will be?

Over the years I have observed various types of piano teachers. Some are listed below. I am
sure we will recognise glimpses of other teachers and ourselves or remember times when we
might have been this way.

The Coasters say:

I love piano teaching because I trained as a pianist and there is much about the way I was
taught which can be passed on to my students. I like the way I teach and am satisfied with the
material I use the method books I am familiar with from my childhood.

I love piano teaching because it gives me a pay packet.

I love teaching because you can drift along from week to week doing fun music and
entertaining children and because it takes such a long time to master the instrument, no one
really minds if results are slow in coming. Ive been known to have students sit in
preliminary grade for three years. If I take much longer than three years then some parents
can start to ask questions.

The Roaster/Boasters say:

I love teaching and the results I achieve. My students have a very healthy degree of fear
when they come to lessons. They have even been known to look rather white and trembling
before entering the studio and a great many of them cry when they leave. Of course it is just
my weariness with the whole nature of piano teaching that makes me impatient. Its nothing
personal.

I love teaching because my students sit for exams and if I push really hard and if they ignore
all those areas of music that are accessories like sight reading and improvisation and
harmony work then we can progress through a grade a year and sometimes even two a year.
The public achievements of my students are really important to me.

The Toaster says:

I love teaching because when I answer the studio door I have similar feelings to being part
of a toast at a celebration. Three cheers to life and to good music and to all the wonderful
work that this student has achieved this week. I am prepared to design a special course for
11
each student tailored to their needs that will give them a well-balanced musical diet so they
grow to musical maturity.

If you are already teaching, try this test. Answer Yes or No.

Have you sight read new music every working day of the past week?
Have you listened to a new work of music in the past week that is, truly
listened, sitting still and concentrating on the music alone?
Have you felt good when about to start a few hours of teaching?
Have you felt good after a few hours of teaching? Has the journey been
exhilarating and have you learnt something?

Aspects of the Coaster and Roaster that I do not have a problem with include:

Lessons often profit from using material from the dim dark past.
Learning does need to have an element of fun.
Respect between teacher and student is important.
A pay packet is a necessity.
Goals play a big part in motivation.

Using fear and demoralising behaviour seems to motivate some students in the short term but
it is a dangerous way to work. I have come across students who have a chip on their shoulder
as a result of bad experiences during lessons. They may feel short-changed and resentful but I
have found they mostly quickly recover their love of music in a respectful learning
environment. For a few the damage has been too extensive and I have not been able to help.

What sort of teacher would you like to be? You can be the teacher that the students want you
to be or the teacher that you decide to be. A short time ago from an experienced piano teacher
whom I greatly admire because of the fine playing of her students told me that she was
interested in the talk I gave at the last state piano conference on giving students a well-
rounded musical diet. She agreed that it required creative teaching to produce musicians.
Because her students were bent on achieving the next exam grade she felt that she could not
follow my suggested model of teaching. She had decided to continue teaching in a particular
way because of the pressure from her clientele. This does not diminish the respect I have for
this teacher. However, I make this point to illustrate that we have choices and one of them is:
Do I want to help create whole musicians or students (or parents) who are determined to
pass one exam per year? I am not against exams per se but I am when it means that certain
areas of music making are ignored because of lack of time.

We can be of whatever design we determine. I hope that Toasters will be in the majority.

12
ART MUSIC

How do we know what to include in each lesson? What are the essential aspects of music
making which need to be part of each students development? I see the eight areas below as
important elements:

Aural
This is priority number one. Is the student hearing the symbols on the page? Many students
wait until the note is sounded before they can hear it. Reading is more fluent and accurate
when the mind can imagine the sound before it arrives. Any error can quickly be identified.
How is our inner hearing best developed? By making sure that all the elements of the music
are secure. Can the rhythm be drummed out on a table? Can the melody be sung, all intervals
judged without the help of the piano and the light and shade of the voice express the
phrasing? Can the chords also be pitched singing up and down them? Can the articulation be
vocalised? These sorts of activities can take place from lesson one although I find it most
useful with beginners to work the other way around for a while: Teach them a simple tune by
rote so that the sound is experienced and then look at the layout on the page. Once the
confidence is there, starting with short simple examples, work from symbol to sound.

Another important aspect of aural teaching is to make sure the students are hearing the
sounds they are producing. Not hearing them is the core reason for unmusical playing. When
first asked what did you hear? transfer students are often unable to answer. In fact they can
even be a little indignant because they think they have done well just playing the right notes
and rhythms. And you expect me to be able to hear the sound as well? Well, yes. As well as
playing at the moment and preparing for what is ahead, one must judge what has passed:
three activities, simultaneously. No wonder it takes time to master.

Repertoire
Students are eager to expand their repertoire. Of course an occasional oddball revels in scales
and technical work and readily bypasses the music. Sometimes I feel I am part of a small
minority willing to stand by the quality of the keyboard works of the great masters. The
renowned music educator, Kodly, believed only music of the highest artistic value should be
used! An eighth-grade student joined my studio declaring: I hate playing Bach its
boring. I wondered what had put him off enjoying one of the best composers of all time.
Eight months later the first movement of the Italian Concerto ended up his strongest and
favourite work for his final-year school examination. It would have made me sad to have let
this talented student enter adult life without an understanding of this great composer.

While I support the use of good-quality examples from pop, jazz and blues, I do not believe
they alone should be used to the exclusion of the serious literature. It is the best-quality
music that teaches us the most about music. We can negotiate pop styles if well trained in
classical genres but it is rare to find the student who can work the other way around. In fact I
have not come across one yet. There is plenty of good-quality music, so why not go for the
best?

My piano pedagogy students ask how to determine whether music is good. Two features need
to be present for it to rate as worthy of my attention. It must be interesting rhythmically,
melodically or harmonically and it must be able to stir my emotions.


13
Technique
It is no good trying to learn wonderful repertoire without the means to play it. We have to
build the students facility and strength slowly, a training that is on a par with that of a first-
rate athlete. The minute mile will just not appear overnight. I favour using scales and
arpeggios and their variations as the foundation. This is occasionally supplemented with a
special exercise from the Hanon, Brahms or Dohnnyi exercises. Creating an exercise out of
the music that is being studied is also part of my strategy. I wish I had had more guidance on
the matter of technique during my student years. I would spend much time working at
exercises to get my fingers to play faster and faster. However, time was lost. It would have
been better using some of this time exploring new music and broadening my horizons. I was
perhaps avoiding thinking and feeling. One can go quite catatonic while working through
Hanon. At the same time this area cannot be sidestepped. I once heard an adult perform one
of Brahmss Op.79 Rhapsodies in an eisteddfod and one measure seemed to meld with the
next as the fingers ran completely out of control. It was hard to determine just what part of
the piece was being played. If the basic tools are not there then all good intentions will not
make the music work. (See also Developing Technique on page 40)

Memory
Every aspect of music making involves memory. Without it, for instance, how can we
maintain accidentals until the new measure? Motivic figures often return and to remember the
fingering gives an instant advantage. How can we make a piece belong as a single design if
we do not remember the way we expressed the first entrance of the main theme?

I had little experience with memorising pieces as a student. My sight-reading ability and the
speed at which I could prepare a score were what got me through tertiary education. I
remember performing Liszts Totentanz with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra
without music, mostly through muscle memory a scary scenario. Fortunately all went well.
I did not realise that memorisation was a skill that could be learnt thoroughly.

Memorisation is best taught from the beginning. It should not be left to the student so that
those for whom memory work comes naturally succeed and the others feel like failures. I
have not come across any natural memorisers who are really doing the job thoroughly. Most
rely heavily on muscle memory and a lucky few have elements of photographic memory. At
the end of a lesson I suggested to a new student: If you feel like memorising your sonatina
please do so. All I had time to say was look for the patterns and try to retain them. I then
showed him a scale in the work and we worked out what key it was and what degree it started
and ended on. The next week he came to the lesson with four pages of music flowing
elegantly without the use of the score. I said, I thought you told me that you have never
memorised before except by playing a piece of music a zillion times. He said, Yes, that is
right but I have not been told to look for the patterns before.

Not everything has to be memorised but the process should be understood and part of the
students repertoire known this way. There is much to be discovered through knowing a great
repertoire piece inside out. It is also good for the student to be able to play anywhere and any
time without relying on the score. It boosts confidence, even if the student ends up using the
score for performance. If the music is thoroughly known but the performer is more confident
with the score present then one should go for whatever produces the best musical result. Of
course, unfortunately, some competitions and exams require no use of the score. (See also
The Lesson Learning to Practise on page 27)

14
Understanding
This is usually under the heading of general knowledge but I like the word understanding
because it means having a complete picture. It includes any knowledge which helps the
student interpret the music better. Here are a few examples:

The life and times of the composer
Corresponding art and literature movements
All signs and terms on the page of music
Analysis of harmony, tonal system, rhythmic design, etc.
Other music composed contemporaneously

It is most useful if this information goes hand in hand with learning the music so it is best not
studied just before an exam.

Resources include:

Books
Internet sites
Videos
CDs
Concerts
Newspapers
Magazines
Exhibitions

One of the resources that my students enjoy is the British magazine Pianist (Studio Press,
UK). It has articles on piano education, present and past great pianists, concert information,
instrument care and purchase information, expert advice and answers to common questions
by students, pages of good-quality music of all levels that can be used for sight reading, CD
reviews and much more. Circulating these among my students is easy and they result in
stimulating much interest.

There are many web sites involved with piano and piano music and many are specially
designed for the child. Check out Meet the Composer on Just for Kids at
www.pianoeducation.org/pnokids.html
In the corner of my studio is a handmade wooden music stand. From time to time I change
the material on it. Here are some examples of the type of material I have displayed as a
talking point with those who choose to look:

A program of a recent concert

Some Hungarian stamps that feature Kodly and Bartk

Pictures of instruments

Christmas cards from Paulo Fazioli (always interesting and beautiful)

15
We need to use every means possible to arouse our students curiosity and develop their
knowledge. Curiosity is one of the most useful characteristics for students to possess. It
promotes musical growth. With a five-year-old I illustrated a diminuendo by imitating the
call of a Balinese gecko. I had only just returned from holidaying on the island and had in the
studio a metal gecko hidden under the piano. Great delight resulted when I sent the student
down to find it. When teaching a song about a mossy log to a five-year-old, I was reminded
of the need to check that all the words are clearly understood. He thought I was talking about a
mosquito and had no idea what mossy meant.

Sight Reading
This is one of the most useful skills for a musician. Besides its practical value, it enables
music to flow from the fingers. Observing the level of skill in this area with keyboard majors
on entrance to university, I am often shocked how far behind sight reading is in comparison
to repertoire and technique. I believe that, with knowledge, discipline and focus, a musician
can match technical ability with reading ability. Whatever recital piece is being worked on,
students should be able to read through an unlimited number of similar scores in a
satisfactory manner evenly, accurately and expressively albeit slower than the suggested
tempo. This can happen only if sight reading is an integral part of lessons from the outset.

When I was asked to teach sight reading at university I thought it would be easy. However,
being confident in a skill does not necessarily provide an understanding why others have such
a hard time acquiring it. It took much reading, thinking and experimentation for me to see
significant improvements in the students efforts. An approach that worked well combined
these three areas:

Reading the Signs the rapid recognition of the material in the score
Keyboard Orientation feeling free at the keyboard so that the eyes do not have to
look down continually but can remain trained on the music
Guided Reading playing along with the student to help rhythm and expression

The manual I compiled, Sight Reading Skills: A Guide for Sight Reading Piano Music
Accurately and Expressively (Revised Edition, New Arts Press, 2006), outlines how to
develop these three areas. Dino P. Ascari in The Art of Effective Teaching (Authorhouse,
2003) has some detailed recommendations for note learning and the use of flash cards in the
earliest stages.

Improvisation/Composition
The ability to create music on the spot at the keyboard something as simple as supplying an
accompaniment for a folk tune to making up your own piece or cadenza is an essential part
of learning. There are two reasons. Firstly, it helps the student to understand the nature of
sound so that the imagination can be extended. There are then many more possibilities from
which to decide when planning how to play repertoire. Secondly, it releases a creative spark
in the student and the final composition can be surprisingly wonderful.

Be specific with project suggestions. It can be helpful for the student to work within a
boundary for example a set number of measures, a rhythmic figure to work with, a key or a
title. Make the project tie in with what is being studied in the main repertoire pieces to help
reinforce learning.

16

Two adult students in the same week improvised and then wrote down their composition
which was built on the harmonies of a Schubert waltz. The compositions (Figure 1 and 2)
were quite different in character. A sense of wonder and excitement was expressed by both
students on the completion of the project, along with an appreciation of how great the masters
are.
Figure 1. Waltz based on Schubert harmonies
Figure 2. Waltz based on Schubert harmonies
17
Chords/Harmony
Because of the nature of the instrument, understanding harmony is essential. In the first few
lessons I teach a simple folk tune by rote with the left hand playing the bass and fifth note of
the tonic chord. This material is extended each week with the tunes transposed into all keys
and new chords gradually introduced. It is good to start a list of your favourite tunes and the
chords required so that you have a sequential resource to draw upon. Here is a sample:

Hot Cross Buns tonic chord
Oranges and Lemons tonic chord and dominant
Lavenders Blue tonic, subdominant and dominant

Chords in the left hand are taught by connecting the sound. We mostly play this way on the
piano and when we do, the sound is far more satisfying. For instance, if the hand is moving
from a tonic chord to the closest subdominant position, the lowest note of the tonic chord
remains the same and the upper two notes move up one degree in the scale. The sound in this
case is connected by keeping the middle finger down until the new notes are sounded. This is
a fundamental technique of piano playing and one which gives the illusion of complete
legato. How can you explain the subdominant chord to a beginner? Working in the key of C,
any child can form the triads on each degree of the scale. When they reach chord IV, have
them name the notes and then rearrange the notes so that the C is on the bottom of the chord.
The full explanation and naming of inverted triads is not necessary until children are ready
for it. Most students are really appreciative of just having an understanding of what it is they
are playing.

Combined with some improvisation work, students could use different accompaniment
figures for the tunes. Here are some suggestions:

Walking bass
Oom pah pah
Broken chords
Alberti bass

Sometimes only the accompaniment is played and the tune sung by the student.

All the cadences can be taught if the chords are transferred to the right hand and a single note
added to the base and of course this must be done in all keys. After this I teach telephone
numbers where the students play a series of chords (eg.1, 6, 4, 2, 5, 1), making sure that they
keep the right hand moving to the closest position. If the bass moves stepwise, the top of the
right-hand chord must move in contrary motion to the bass to avoid consecutive fifths and
octaves.

A good book on figured bass written by Handel for one of his students, Continuo Playing
According To Handel ( Clarendon, 1990), is the next step. This sets up the student for
realising baroque chamber music, which also helps in the understanding of classical harmony.

For a full and comprehensive harmony reference for the teacher, see Music in Theory and
Practice Vols. 1 and 2 and the two accompanying workbooks (McGraw Hill, 2003) by Bruce
Benwood and Marilyn Saker.

18
In summing up the essentials for the lesson we have the mnemonic checklist:

A
ural

R
epertoire

T
echnique


M
emory

U
nderstanding

S
ight Reading

I
mprovisation

C
hords


I can hear your question How can this be done in one lesson?

Lets set up a hypothetical situation. Supposing you are introducing a new piece to a student
and having just played it through so he can experience the sound and essence of it, you spend
the next portion of the lesson examining the first two-measure phrase. These activities could
be included:

Tap the rhythm on the fallboard, right hand taking the treble line and left hand the
bass simultaneously. (If this cannot be managed then one hand at a time.)
Sight sing the melody maybe at first sounding the notes involved.
Mark the fingering where appropriate. The fastest way to do this is often not even
sounding the notes but just feeling the distances between them and marking the
fingering with a pencil in the other hand. This helps any fingering issues to be isolated
and dealt with quickly and efficiently.
Look up the definition of any Italian words within these measures unknown to the
student and have him write the definition in his sight-reading diary page for new
terms.
Analyse the first two chords and sing them up and down.
Improvise a melody as the student plays chords.
Have the student sight read the right hand and then the left and then slowly together.
Adjust the balance of the hands so that the texture works well.
19
With such activities, covering all areas of ART MUSIC would set the student up well to learn
the remainder of the piece at home. All of the activities may add up to a few moments or a
whole lesson. There are many factors involved and it is up to the teacher to determine how
fast students can work, how long they can remain focused on one area, etc. I favour the type
of teaching where everything comes from the music and the lesson is not compartmentalised
too much. Many students may dislike aural work, sight reading and theory because the
lessons have not been directly related to real music.

There will be lessons when it is appropriate to spend a long time on one facet. There is no
prescriptive way of doing things because of the uniqueness of both the teacher and the
students and their various strengths and weaknesses. What a good thing too. It would be
boring if we all did it the same way.

Can you see the specialised nature of piano teaching and how the teachers diagnosis happens
on the run? Im uncomfortable with the thought of music teaching being nothing more than a
list of activities to be achieved in a lesson. At the same time we need guidelines to help
ensure that all the essentials are being covered and that each student is making good progress.
Experienced teachers are able to say that a student will have reached a certain stage by this
time next year. However it is easy to get musical growth out of balance. It is a brave teacher
who tackles ART MUSIC but the one who does can be assured of exciting and rewarding
experiences.

Just a word of warning: It is tempting to avoid the weak areas and favour the strengths. Of
course this is less work and stress but in the long run we wont achieve the best results. There
are many books and courses to help us and it is worthwhile availing ourselves of them. This
is important even for teachers who have been teaching for years as there is always something
new to be learnt. Once I was sharing the details of one of my summer-time projects with a
highly experienced piano teacher. I had watched ten long videos on piano technique because
one of my pedagogy students had expressed interest in this particular piano method. I wanted
to know more about it in order to give this student an informed opinion. The response from
the teacher was, Why is the student interested in this method? There is nothing new in piano
playing for the last two hundred years. We miss out on much if we take this position. Whilst
I chose not to follow the approach to pianism illustrated on the videos, I still learnt new ways
of thinking about music.

I have been teaching for many decades but our teaching area is such a large and intriguing
one that I know it is a lifelong journey. Moreover, it is this challenge to which I am attracted.
We need never be bored and there is no limit to learning. Constantly we can check that every
student is receiving a healthy musical diet and find new and better ways of providing it.

I hope this chapter has not been discouraging. The tertiary piano teacher probably has more
support with the students receiving help from experts in aural, harmony, choral and history
and, if you are lucky, sight reading. Teaching needs to be particularly thorough and well
rounded from the first lessons through to these years.

Although I aim for what I have just outlined above, I know I often fall short of the mark for
various reasons. It may be that I get too busy or distracted, or tiredness sets in or I feel the
pressure of preparing a student for an imminent exam. If a survey of piano teachers asked
What is it that makes you the most motivated?, I am fairly confident most would say, To
see musical growth in my students. To enjoy results we have to be able to maintain the
momentum for learning.

20
Here are a few suggestions that help me get closer to my goals:

Keeping fit by exercising thoroughly on a regular basis. Teaching can be an
exhausting business and to be fit is of great benefit. I used to think that running
around after five children was enough to maintain good form. It was not until I started
some serious exercising that I realised I had been kidding myself. Along with eating,
drinking and sleeping well, exercise is essential if we are to give our all in the studio.

Recording in a journal what puzzles me and also the delightful moments. This helps
the mind to keep mulling over problems until a solution is found (see figure 4 page
21) and it is also a record of the successes and the funnier moments. It still makes me
grin when I read such entries as when a 16-year-old student came to lesson and was
playing Mozart dressed in emo-punk as she was attending a fancy dress party
afterwards an incongruous experience and when a 17-year-old male student
arrived at my studio door with a fake lip piercing just to see my reaction. Barely a day
goes by without some special happening which is worth recording. Of course lack of
time and energy does not make this type of activity possible on a daily basis.
However, I am appreciative of these jottings as they jog my memory and provide
information useful in all sorts of situations.

Continuing to perform so that confidence is not lost. I often hear teachers say Im
only a piano teacher. The studio sets up an audience of at least one in an intimate
environment. These situations can have a profound effect on students and their
thoughts on music. All teachers are performers.


Figure 3. A young pupils response to a Chopin waltz

Meeting with other teachers in a relaxed atmosphere to talk over feelings and thoughts
on our career. To hear that others are facing the same difficulties can be reassuring.
We can learn much from one another.

21

Figure 4. Journal Entries

STUDENT MOTIVATION

When have you been the most motivated and why?

When have you been the least motivated and why?

The best type of motivation is intrinsic. Students are achieving because of the sheer
enjoyment of discovering the worth of what they are doing. There are no external factors such
as exams, rewards, parent/teacher response or ego enhancement needed to drive them along.

22
Intrinsic motivation is more valuable than the kind that depends on outside factors (extrinsic
motivation). However it is more difficult to nurture. Students are often more interested in the
goal and need to be taught that the journey is just as important.

Experts say that rewards build intrinsic motivation when they are unexpected and used subtly.
Students should not have a feeling they are being bribed. For instance, a colourful sticker
with a comment could be used as a special surprise so that there is some educational value in
the praise. Next to a picture of a turtle could go a comment, Slow and steady wins the race.
This could be in praise for the student preparing a segment meticulously and carefully and
not succumbing to the desire to race ahead.

At an adult recital night in my studio I decided to do a fun thing for these students. At the end
of the night I presented a certificate to each of them for one outstanding feature of their work.
Here are some of the awards:

Explorer for delving into the back stacks of the Central Music Library each
weekend searching for little-known piano gems.

Meticulous Attention for care taken in examining all detail in the score.

Ensemble for the independent preparation of piano duets.

Memory for preparing for the first time a piece by memory (this student being in her
sixties).

They were a huge success as the participants were congratulated for their work. One cheeky
student presented me with a certificate on my teaching merits at our next lesson. This I
treasure we all love rewards...

Perhaps the primary motivation for students is their sense of musical achievement. Most of us
would acknowledge we feel the most motivated when we feel the most in control. To have
control there must be choice so students should be encouraged to take part in the decision-
making process. Lessons need to be about discovering together and not about one person
telling the other. What type of teaching allows this type of atmosphere? This is teaching that
uses intelligent questions, not the yes/no type but the ones which lead on to problem solving
and creative thinking.

One way to create interest in a subject is to render it worth knowing. Students need to
understand the concept they are dealing with is highly relevant and can be applied to many
other situations. For instance, if a student is learning to balance a chord so that the melodic
note has the loudest dynamic level, followed by the base of the chord and then the fill-in
notes, then the student also needs to understand that this is an important piano technique that
once mastered can be used in varying ways in every piece of music. Knowledge that is not
recognised as relevant is likely to be forgotten.

Teachers need to know their subject intimately in order to give material to students in terms
that they understand. Trivial questions are pointless as are impossibly difficult ones. Through
the use of curiosity, the teacher will lure the student ever onwards. Questions and individual
programs must be developed for each student. Students can become heavily dependent on a
teacher for guidance and approval but the healthiest learning situation is when students, faced
with a problem, can figure out the solution by using what they already know.

23
Ask yourself these questions:

What type of learning situations involving a teacher have I experienced lately?

Was the appearance of the teacher important?

What did I learn about eye contact, body language and speech patterns?

What methods of delivery did I observe and which ones kept my attention the
longest?

Most piano pedagogy students agree the most helpful and memorable learning sessions are
those that involve them in discussion and questions and answers.

For further reading on motivation, see John Biggss The Process of Learning (Prentice Hall,
1987)

A GOOD QUESTION

A good question is generally:

Not too long
Not too complicated
Not too simple (the discussion comes to an abrupt end after the information is
supplied)
Not too limiting (allows for different points of view)

Ask questions that stimulate students to attain higher levels of thinking. Questions are good if
they help students apply knowledge, analyse, synthesise and evaluate. Allow time for
students to respond. Probe and pursue ideas. How did a student arrive at his conclusion?
Good openers may begin with:

Where.?
Why.?
Which.?
How..?
What if?

In a group, ask the question first so the whole class can mentally prepare the answer (it is
hoped) and then name the respondent. Try not to rely on the students who always provide a
good answer or ignore the one who is inarticulate or unimaginative.

Prepare three questions on the following repertoire piece (Figure 5) that would provoke
interest, require concentration or help the student to understand the important elements of the
music.

24

Song of the Reaper

Robert Schumann
Nicht sehr schnell

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Figure 5. Song of the Reaper from Schumanns Album for the Young, Op. 68

Possible questions:

How do we know that the piece is in rondo form?
What features in the music help create a picture of country life and bringing in the
harvest?
Why would a change of finger numbers on the repeated Cs at the end of measure one
and beginning of measure two be needed?
25
FORMS OF DELIVERY

Appraisal
The student prepares an entire piece or section and after performing it you give detailed
criticism. Beware of using vague comments such as very nice or practise some more. Use
questions to help the student find solutions. Avoid breaking in with remarks too often unless
the students performance is completely awry. In this case return to pre-emptive, careful,
examining work with the student. For most of the time, however, a student is performing at
his or her best for that stage of development. I honour this by listening quietly all the way
through the prepared section and then comment.

Demonstration
This sets up a model for the student to follow. I know that the odd teacher refuses to use this
strategy for learning, saying it takes away personal creativity. Maybe in the rare case of
dealing with a genius, I would agree. However, the average student wants to discover fine
musicianship and the easiest way is to explore it together. When the teacher insists on a
single interpretation, the situation becomes unhealthy. Once again questions can be useful.
What did you hear? What other choices are there? Why did this work?

Analysis
This helps the student to understand all aspects of the work melody/accompaniment,
rhythm, key, modulation, form, harmony, composer and style, fingering and other physical
actions needed to produce the sound. It should be done with the least amount of talking and
careful use of questions. The atmosphere can be exciting as you discover together the
intricacies of the music. To clap the rhythm, to sing the melody, to mark the sections with a
highlighter are just some ways of communicating the answers without words.

The manner of delivery needs to be wrapped with inspiration. Every means of variety and
interest needs to be employed to help capture the students imagination and curiosity.





26
THE WHOLE PERSON

One of my students made an exclamation of pleasure after I reached over and illustrated a
sound on the keyboard. Her reaction told me that this had helped greatly whereas the verbal
description I had previously given was harder to grasp. We all have differing strengths and
weaknesses and need to be aware of those of our students. Thomas Armstrongs In Their
Own Way (Penguin, 2000) is an in-depth look at this subject. Below is a list of the
intelligences Armstrong has classified and music teaching techniques that could be used
when students display strengths in these areas:

Linguistic Smart stories, dialogue, poetry, word descriptions, books, writing,
speaking

Number Smart deductive logic, codify, use of patterns and categories

Spatial Smart mind maps, pictures/photos/videos, colours, metaphors

Body Smart dance/movement, conducting, acting

People Smart discussion/debates, social events

Self Smart diary/journal keeping, scrapbooks, self-paced software,
independent projects

Nature Smart references to and observation of nature (I remember reading in a
biography on Debussy that he felt listening to the wind in the trees
taught him more about orchestration than studying treatises)

I do not believe that teachers should concentrate on one method of learning to the exclusion
of others, but using strengths can sometimes greatly speed up the learning process and thus
boost motivation and enthusiasm.

Sometimes students show signs of discomfort when I use a particular type of learning
process. For instance I can think of three of my students who are very quiet and become a
little uncomfortable when I try to engage them in a discussion or ask a question. In such cases
I do not avoid these methods of working but I choose carefully. If confidence is lacking, it is
wise to build it steadily so that all skills can be developed.

Often my adult students occupations are reflected in their approach to music study; the
maths teacher fascinated with Messiaens rhythms and quick at sight reading rhythm; the
literature teacher describing superbly the moods and atmosphere in music; the accountant
detailing music mind maps; the librarian examining music fastidiously.
27
THE LESSON LEARNING TO PRACTISE

The lesson is the place where the student learns to practise. It is unfair to treat music a
particular way in the lessons and then expect students to be able to work by themselves in
another. Lets examine how to deal with technical work and repertoire in the lesson and how
this sets the student up for practising during the week.

Practice needs to be done carefully and speed built up slowly. Movements need to be
mastered slowly so that the muscles gain complete control and the ear can hear all the detail.
Often this requires the hands to be played one at a time to analyse the sound and movement
of either.

For instance the movements needed in the extract below. (Figure 6)

With the first three notes the hand rolls to the right. At the intervals of the fourth
down and the third up, roll to the left then the right and for the last descending five-
note scale, roll to the left. Of course, the action is minuscule and hardly detected by
the observer but if only finger movement is used then, fingers quickly become tired
and the tone may be thin.

The repeated chords are played with a circular, patting action for each chord, the arm
drawing towards the body.

The separated chords are played with a pushing action without upsetting the smooth
upward legato needed for the melody.
Figure 6. Album for the Young, Op. 68, No. 26

One of the most helpful methods that analyses gesture and music is Seymour Finks
Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers (Amadeus
Press, 1992).

Separate practice does not apply only to right hand/left hand. It is sometimes necessary to
separate rhythm from melody, melody from accompaniment, etc. The fastest way to absorb
new work is to do short bursts on sections and not play the whole piece through over and over
from beginning to end. Graham Fitch gave a memorable talk at the Western Australian Piano
Pedagogy Convention in 2002, describing these three important essentials of practice
SLOW, SEPARATE, SECTION. He called his talk THE THREE RS OF PRACTISING
many of us being brought up in a school education system where reading, writing and
rithmetic dominated.

Initially most students do not understand the concept of slow. I often help by indicating the
tempo I want a scale or piece to be played. Skills that have been mastered often go out the
window when speed takes precedence. This means that the tempo is too fast for the mind to

28
absorb all that is going on. A tempo must be found so the student has complete control over
the messages that the brain is sending out to the fingers. It is multi-tasking of the first order.
If sounds cannot be properly heard and described by the student, I suggest a slower tempo
using such tactics as taking out the pedal or listening to what is happening in one hand. By
making elements simpler, students can start to take control. This method of working together
and examining in great detail just one or two measures establishes in the student the valuable
habit of taking small chunks and not pages at a time.

Maxim to help student understand slow: Think slow then halve the speed.

Another aspect of practice that students have great difficulty grasping is that the most
balanced piano development will take place if there are continually different stages of
preparation on the go. In preparing a repertoire piece, the following stages are possible:

Hearing
The score must be heard and the question asked: What is this music about? This does not
mean being able to describe a scene or picture although that might help but to understand
the atmosphere, mood or character of the music. I have occasionally asked piano pedagogy
students this question when they have performed a repertoire piece, and despite being able to
play it in a polished manner they are often lost for words when asked about the meaning of
the music.

Reading well-written articles and books on music will help. Alfred Brendel has a marvellous
article on the characterisation of the Beethoven piano sonatas in On Music (A Capella, 2001).
Within a few pages is a wealth of words describing the music: gracious, impetuous, solemn,
humorous, masculine and so forth. The students need to be taught to look for details that can
give clues as to the message or character of the music. For instance a development section
which constantly repeats a motive moving sequentially upwards against a tremolando-style
accompaniment could be described as insistent or uncompromising. Students are often so
absorbed with playing the notes that the message of the notes becomes secondary.

I have experimented with my piano pedagogy student classes by introducing the use of art to
help identify the character of the music. Whilst the music was performed I asked the students
to do a quick drawing of whatever came to mind. I then asked the class to describe the picture
by using one word each. They had no trouble finding words to describe one anothers
drawings. We wrote a list on the board and then I played the piece again having told them the
title of the work this time. Again and again the words described the music beautifully. When I
had asked the class to do this before their artwork, they struggled to come up with even one
word. This sort of inclusion of other artistic fields could be useful and lead to a deeper
understanding of music. Teachers need to find creative and varied ways to help make a direct
connection to life. Music is about some aspect of life and unless this is understood the
message from the performer will be fuzzy.

An understanding of form (the structure of the work) is helpful at the early stage of learning
new repertoire. To be able to break up the work into various components, the overview must
be clear. Sometimes before the age of twelve, children have some difficulty in grasping form.
They quickly get the idea if corresponding colours match sections within photocopied music
this way the score is not permanently marked.

29
Fingering
Consistency of fingering is a most important element. If students constantly change the
fingering, they are in effect practising the work in many different ways. This is the long way
to achieve results. I have already spoken about isolating fingering as an element by feeling
the positions and stretches with one hand while the other writes the numbers. The student
may choose to do this for the whole piece or when working on a unit. I prefer the second way
when practising but the first way when working with students, as a whole lesson could be
taken up with just fingering and it is difficult for younger students to focus on one thing for
such a long time. Good fingering facilitates good piano playing. It is an integral part of
understanding the nature of the instrument and hands-on keyboard should not be taking place
until a workable fingering is found. A few times played through inaccurately could establish
a bad habit and take a long time to unlearn.

Fingerings are best marked neatly and as close to the note head or the end of the stem on the
outside of the treble and bass staves. Only the essential fingers need be marked. If the
fingering is obvious no number is required. Students need to have a good-quality pencil and
rubber permanently at the keyboard. With beginner pieces especially, it is helpful to have
editions with the fingering already in the music although there must come a time when the
student needs to understand the principles of fingering and learn to work them out. This is
essential if the student is to develop independence.

Working units
Divide the piece into working units. In the beginning keep them as short as possible, marking
them with a sign at the end of each section. Try not to break up phrases. Work on one unit
achieving the goal before moving on to the next.

Rhythm
If the rhythm cannot be accurately played, it is essential to do separate work until it is
internalised and fully understood. The most helpful way is to drum the rhythm out on the
fallboard, counting aloud the main beats and, if the music is really complex, the subdivisions
as well. Sometimes the hands need to work separately at first. Most of my young students
enjoy this part of preparation, especially when they play on my Cook Island split drum.
Hands-on the keyboard should not happen until the rhythm is secure. Playing it incorrectly
once or twice makes for a bad habit. Sometimes the rhythm still cannot be negotiated when
the music is played on the keyboard and it is important to have the student work slowly and
count aloud while playing, counting as many subdivisions of the beat as necessary and slowly
building to the main beats until the rhythm is secure. I find the best way to vocalise the
beats/subdivisions is to sing the music while counting. In this way the shape of the phrases is
also felt. If the student accents the beats strongly when reciting the counts while playing, the
music easily becomes broken up and the overall sound is unmusical and boring.

Analysis
Here are questions to ask:

What is the key?
What are the chords?
Are there any patterns in the music?
How can I describe the design of the music in simple language?

30
Understanding how the music is constructed helps the student commit it to memory.
Memorisation needs to begin as early as possible so that the student does not rely upon
muscle memory alone. An interesting book by Rebecca Shockley, Mapping Music: for Faster
Learning and Secure Memory (A-R Editions, 2001), details how to draw in shorthand the
structure of the music so that the memory is aided by signposts. There is no right and wrong
in the symbols used as long as they prompt the student (see example on pages 32-33). Since
using this method students recording some of the intricacies of construction I have
noticed their excitement towards musical design grow.

Hands-on keyboard
It is now time to do some playing. All the details need to be assimilated from the start
because if accents, for instance, are ignored, the piece has to be relearnt when you decide to
put them in. Learning everything correctly from the onset may be slow to begin with but in
the long run is the fastest and most thorough method. Bad habits can take a long time to
eliminate and may reappear in the heat of performance.

Building blocks
Once the initial unit is secure, it is time to move on to the next. When the piece has been
developed through in this manner, work through the piece again, this time joining unit one
with unit two, unit three with unit four and so on. The next time the working unit will be one
to four. As the units become longer so the tempo will need to be closer to the intended speed.

Memorisation
As you go should be the message at various stages not only when the whole piece can be
performed. Memorisation can be tested in any of the following ways:

Play separate hands

Play any tempo

Start at the beginning of any unit

Record the playing

Play the work in the dark or with eyes shut

Write out any tricky passage

Play the piece in ones head away from the piano

Play the piece in front of someone one feels comfortable with.
31
There are many approaches to memorisation due to each persons strengths and weaknesses.
With the teachers help, students should work out their own approach. However make sure
the four types of memory are being used:

Aural
Can the student sing the melody without music?

Visual
Have one main score to work from. Though few have photographic memory, most of
us do retain some of the page.

Analysis
Can the student describe the structure of the music?

Muscular
Muscle memory is the type most students rely heavily upon. It could be strengthened
by making sure all gestures are economically employed and the music played slowly
as well as up to and slightly above speed.

Rest
Amazing improvements can occur with the internalisation of the music when we give it time;
putting the music aside for a short while. In published interviews with the great pianists, over
and over they state that to prepare a program, they need to start working on the music at least
a year ahead. Yes, an occasional genius can read a score and then perform. However, for
most, coming to terms with great music needs time and a deep understanding to be able to
communicate successfully to others. It is not practical or wise to expect students to master
great music in only a few months. I see this type of planning in the university scene often and
it is distressing when students are expected to work in a way that even most professionals do
not.

Restart
The process will be much quicker the second time round and after another rest and work
through, may even feel like an old friend.

Tryout
Play the work in front of a small group of friends or family. Later try in front of a slightly
larger group. This sort of preparation is needed to get used to playing on different pianos in
different places. Acoustics can vary enormously as can lighting, piano touch and tone and it
is these factors that can be off-putting when performing. I remember accompanying a
harmonica player in the concert hall in an arrangement of Debussys Clair de Lune. The
lighting technician, trying to set up the appropriate atmosphere, cast the harmonica player in a
misty spotlight that left the accompanist to deal with what light was left over. The spotlight
created complete blackness in the middle of the keyboard and brilliant whiteness at the ends
because of the shadow cast by my body. I got through by rocking wildly from side to side,
allowing me to see the score.

If page turners are needed, it is best to have rehearsals with them. Catastrophes can happen. I
have ended up with pages in my lap and having to keep playing as the turner sorted out where
he was up to. The greater the number of preliminary performances, the more helpful it will be
for the final recital or exam.

32

33



Figure 7. Mind map of Schumanns Harvest Song from Op. 68

34
Remember to teach the student that the final moment is not really the final moment. It is
just a step in the journey. One feature of great music is that it can be revisited many times
throughout life, each time with a new light cast on the work because of the changes within the
performer. Learning and enjoying the journey is just as important as the destination.
Repertoire should be at various stages of development. This continual momentum is more
encouraging and helps the student to maintain interest. When working twelve months or more
on the same pieces, the student can even forget the early stages of practice process.

PUBLIC PERFORMANCE

Is it necessary for students to play their work in a recital, eisteddfod, festival or an exam to
make the lessons worthwhile? Most students are pleased to play for such events but there are
always a few who feel extremely uncomfortable performing in front of others and I do no
believe they should be made to do so. To be able to play the piano can provide enormous
pleasure for oneself. If this helps the pupil to move through life with better survival skills
then piano lessons are still worthwhile. There is a colourful chapter in The Piano Shop on the
Left Bank (Vintage, 2000) where Thomas Carhart describes his forced participation in Miss
Pembertons recital nights. It is worth reading.

I attended a cocktail party where two of my adult students performed piano duets as part of
the nights entertainment. They were extremely nervous and said that they would not perform
in public again. What to the audience was a lovely, relaxing and refreshing Sunday evening
was a huge challenge for them. However once they had recovered from the adrenalin rush,
the excitement of music took over and they wanted to play for others again.

I had a phone call from a mature-aged student who was about to sit her Australian Music
Examination Board 7
th
grade piano exam. She wished to withdraw because pre-exam nerves
were making her feel sick. This outcry was from a woman who had played her programme
successfully in front of peers in my studio, who plays at school and in church weekly and
who has her own private studio, often playing for her students. The human mind and the
emotions are complex and even though she was successful as a performer, this student was
extremely fearful of examinations. How would you have responded to that phone call? I told
her the journey of discovery for me was just as, or if not more, important than an exam
certificate. To have forced the issue would only have made her feel guilty, adding to the
already difficult situation. This student knew she had mastered her pieces. I knew it and her
peers knew it. The expertise she had gained would be passed on in her own teaching.
Teachers need to be careful and respectful when dealing with students wishes not to play.
The loss of music in a persons life is a far more devastating blow than a missed exam.

I sometimes organise music evenings for students of similar ages and stages to play for one
another. Occasionally, students may say they do not feel up to playing and I never insist.
They still come and enjoy the music. So far all of these students have been willing to play at
the next music night. Occasionally because of nerves, students do not do as well as I know
they can. At other times I am astounded by some brilliant playing. In any event it is an
encouraging activity and the night always ends in animated discussion with students forming
contacts that lead to swapping musical stories, books, sheet music and so on.

35


Figure 8. Cover of nine-year-old pupils music book


36
PRACTICE JOURNAL

It may be useful to have students maintain a practice journal for a short time in order to learn
how to set short-term goals and assess results. This helps them to organise their practice,
check that they have pieces at different stages and become aware of their own work habits.
This last point may sound a little surprising but I have observed many students practise
without questioning what they are really trying to achieve. Here is a sample of what could be
addressed:

What proportion of the practice kept concentration levels high?

What scales and arpeggios were not at an acceptable standard and why?

Were all areas of ART MUSIC covered?

What were your feelings before, during and after the practice?

Were there any negative feelings? If so what were the causes?

What were the goals for the day and were they achieved?

Some students find that recording their work habits in fairly precise detail is tremendously
revealing, while a small proportion find it confining. Either way, it is a useful project as much
can be discovered if the work is considered carefully. The journal could be discontinued
when the lessons have been learnt.

Practice is not about an amount of time sitting at the keyboard. It is about how the time is
used. Much practice can be done away from the keyboard.
Here are some examples:

Feeling a tempo consistently throughout a movement by hearing the music
internally.

Checking memorisation in the same manner.

Rhythm work at a table or drum.

Singing the melody, harmony (up and down the chords) or bass line.

Calling out fingerings or notes of scales and arpeggios.

Identifying keys and chords.

Writing a mind map of the music to aid memory.

Vocalising the articulation.

Many famous pianists suggest that probably more than fifty percent of practice can be done
away from the instrument. This may come as a surprise to parents and students but
demonstrations clearly show how effective this approach can be. The music is studied from
every angle so that it is known securely.
37
PRE-EMPTING

Four stages are important in the learning process. Lets assume that a perfect cadence is to be
taught. (Its best if the new concept is part of the students repertoire.)

Firstly, students need to have some experience of the new concept. A hands-on approach will
allow them to make a direct connection and immediately arouse their curiosity (for instance,
in hearing the sound or singing the base line). Secondly, a clear definition needs to be found
so that the students can recreate a perfect cadence without the aid of the teacher. It is not
always necessary to use complicated musical terms if a student is not ready for them. It is
more important that students understand and can explain the concept in their own words.
Thirdly, the student demonstrates the concept (create a perfect cadence at the keyboard). The
final stage is to set projects that reinforce the idea so that the concept is internalised.

Problems arise when it is assumed students can perform all these tasks without guidance.
Fixing errors is time consuming and demoralising for both teacher and student. Perhaps some
teachers have not thought of working any other way. Students in these cases are often heavily
dependent on the teacher for providing the answers. It is better to help the student understand
the new concept comprehensively.

The process of experiencing, defining, internalising and reinforcing material is needed before
the student has a chance to reinforce bad habits through a weeks practice. If care is taken by
the teacher and student to play accurately from the beginning, more time can be spent on the
bigger musical issues such as structure, mood, atmosphere, shape and continuity. When
students see how exciting it is to work this way, they will want to take responsibility and care
for the reward of exploring more music.

This method requires the teacher and student to look at a piece of music and be able to pre-
empt the problems. Remembering what material the student has covered is also imperative so
that only the relevant areas are dealt with in the lesson. As an example take a look at Little
Piece from Album for the Young, Op 68, Robert Schumann (Figure 9). List all the musical
issues that need to be addressed in playing this piece well, discussing and working on any
that are unfamiliar before the student leaves the studio. Of course concepts often need to be
addressed more than once and sometimes even many times. However, if an idea is learnt
thoroughly in the first place, then there will be less chance of needing to revisit it.

There need to be times when students are given the opportunity to discover answers by
themselves, but even here the stage needs to be set carefully so that the task can be achieved
(for example building a scale on a new key, a possibility for the student because the
relationship between each note is understood and because of previous scales learnt). In setting
challenges it is important for the teacher not to place guilt on the student if the project cannot
be achieved. It is a case of going back over old material, maybe in a different way, until the
old concepts are more solid and the student can confidently deduce the next step. When
students achieve new steps by themselves, overall confidence and motivation improves. This
in turn helps them to tackle the next project.


38

Figure 9. Robert Schumann, Album for the Young, Op.68

How many of these points did you list?

Definition of Nicht schnell
Use of two treble clefs
Use of F sharp in measures 3 and 13 secondary dominant?
Use of perfect cadence and suspension at the end of each half
Definition of C time signature
Understanding binary form
Understanding the three dynamic markings
Anacrusis of half a measure
Shaping of each phrase
Changed fingering on repeated notes in right hand of measures 3, 7 and 15 to aid a
legato touch
Balance of texture so that right-hand melody sings out and the repeated left-hand note
does not
Fingering throughout to produce legato
Minim in measure 8 and measure 16 to be given its full value
39
Set up a checklist for the student t use during the week to ensure that all details are observed.
Once an area is correct, allow students to tick off that point. This helps promote a sense of
achievement. Whilst I do not promote a manner of teaching that adds the dynamics three
weeks down the track and then the articulation the next week, the various elements that make
up the music need to be recognised. Even when we are trying to observe all the detail from
the beginning, a list is helpful to ensure accuracy. The list could include:

Signs and Terms

Rhythms

Note Names

Fingering

Articulation

Phrasing

Dynamics


Teacher and pupil need to put music under the microscope. The sooner students can do this
for themselves and come up with the answers to interpretation, the sooner they become
independent.




Figure 10. Details of a different kind: Six-year-olds composition after a few lessons

40
DEVELOPING TECHNIQUE

As a technical problem arises in the repertoire, create a memorable exercise to deal with it.
Eventually students will be able to create their own exercises on the spot.

Good scale and arpeggio playing goes a long way in establishing a firm foundation for
technique. I am often amazed at how new students play scales fast, out of control and without
any sense of musicality. Technical work must produce musical sounds or else there is little
point in doing it.

Checklist for Scales and Arpeggios

Is the sound even?

Is the sound muddy because fingers are not releasing notes cleanly?

Is the sound well balanced? The right hand slightly firmer than the left will give a
clearer texture in unison octave playing (also with thirds, sixths and octaves within
pieces).

Are the first and the top note accented? Why students choose to do this I do not
understand. Generally, we dont play phrases this way or maybe they do!

Is the arpeggio felt in fours rather than threes? This produces greater evenness and
also helps to prevent accenting by the thumbs.

Are the hands synchronised?

Is the tone cantabile?

Are there any fingers collapsing at the first joint?

Is the hand/arm moving in and out of the black notes area with the minimum amount
of movement?

Is the hand over the keyboard or is it sloped up from the front of the keyboard at an
angle, thus producing unnecessary tension?


When students master scales and arpeggios they are well on the way to a solid technique.
With older students I write a comment against each scale so they have a list to read through
during the week and a reminder of what to work on. They love to get a list with ticks and no
comments but this can take some time to achieve. I suggest practising one key centre per
week and working through every key so that all receive attention. To know and concentrate
on only what is required for an examination is limiting. Repertoire pieces often need other
hand positions and keys. Students can learn any scale by knowing how it is constructed, e.g.
major scale (tone, tone, semi-tone, tone, tone, tone and semi-tone). Subsequently, I get them
to name the notes, an easy process once they realise that after A there must be a B something
and then a C something, etc. Being able to call out the notes of the scale is helpful as is
calling out the fingering. Finally, I have students learn the key signature connected to each.
These steps of learning may take a number of times cycling through the keys, beginning with
hands separate and building to two hands together for one octave, then two and then four.
41

Piano pedagogy students often ask when it is best to introduce scale and arpeggio playing.
There are several benefits for beginners if carefully selected folk tunes and nursery rhymes
that mostly use the five-finger hand position are taught by rote. Students are dealing with
technical issues such as legato scale playing without needing the hand to turn over or the
thumb under or to be reading music at the same time. Improvisation, harmony and memory
work is also covered. With the eyes not fixed on the music, students are freer to deal with the
use of the fingers, hands and arms. As soon as there is a sense of control I am happy to
introduce scales and a little later, arpeggios. Below is a chart that enables a quick check for
all major and harmonic minor scales and major and minor arpeggios in root position.

Scales

White Keys RH 123 12345 Except: FM & m 1234 1234 BM & m
LH 54321 321 4321 4321

Black Keys RH Thumb after black note Except: E

m B

m 2 123 1234
LH Thumb before black note 21 4321 32 21 321 432

Arpeggios

White Keys RH 1235 Except: D, E, A, BM
LH 5421 5321
Black Keys
RH 2124 Except: F#M 1235 E

m 1235 B

M B

m 2312
LH 2142 5321 5421 3213 3213
Figure 11: Scale and arpeggio fingering chart



For advanced students with particular technical problems I carefully choose examples to
supplement their practice from Johannes Brahms Fifty-One Exercises, Ern Dohnnyis
Essential Finger Exercises and Charles-Louis Hanons The Virtuoso Pianist.

42
STAGES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

How we approach the lesson material depends on many factors. One of the most important is
the age of the student. Teaching a five-year-old is quite different from teaching a ten-year-old
or a 15-year-old. The same matters need to be dealt with but on different levels. Dissecting
and knowing the music is essential whether it is an easy work or concert repertoire. What is
this piece about, what keys are used, how is the main theme constructed, etc.?

Definitions or explanations for some concepts should wait until a certain stage of
development has been reached. A students rate of development can differ markedly from
others. Snowman and Beihlers Psychology Applied to Teaching (Houghton/Mifflin, 2006)
explains this well. Creating a table in point form detailing the social, physical, cognitive,
emotional and musical development of each year group would help. Leave room to add
information as it comes to hand. It is easy to forget the stages of growth with children if you
are not working with them constantly and it is rare that we have students of all ages at one
time. A few of the most important characteristics are:

Pre-schoolers are better at using their large muscle groups rather than the ones used
for subtle and fine movements. Their eyes have trouble focusing on small print.
Emotions are expressed freely and openly.

Six-year-olds are high-energy people who focus well in short bursts interspersed
with rest or a change of pace.

Seven-year-olds are easily embarrassed and seek positive reinforcement.

Eight-year-olds want to participate in adult decisions and values. Criticism and
judgement can have a profound effect.

Nine and ten year-olds are interested in the world and classifying things. Signs of
self-esteem problems can emerge. Abstract concepts such as form can be grasped.

Eleven-year-olds are very interested in the how and why and are eager to
learn. They appreciate the warmth and humour of adults.

THE VERY YOUNG STUDENT

I continue to include young children in my teaching program because I believe if I keep my
hand in working at this level I can be of more help when teaching piano pedagogy students.
Teaching the young forces you to preach what you practise. It is really exciting working with
children as most are like little sponges and have a tremendous desire to please and to learn.
They can produce great results in a short time.

What is the right age to commence piano lessons? I have changed my view on this
considerably since beginning to teach thirty years ago. Once I would have said around the age
of six or seven but now I say as early as possible. The youngest I have worked with are
four-year-olds and I have taught many five-year-olds. If the parents are willing for the child
to have lessons and the child can focus for a short amount of time, then the earlier the better.
Many studies and methods dealing with music education and the young child have been
presented. Reading of the Kodly concept, Dalcroze, Orff, Suzuki and Yamaha systems will
43
reveal helpful information. All of these methods/approaches stress that for music education to
be most effective, it must begin with the very young child.

Kodly developed a system based on singing and the use of folk songs from the childs own
linguistic heritage to be taught from pre-school stages. He believed singing was the best
foundation of musicianship and natural for the young child. Singing can tie in beautifully
with learning the piano. One without the other could have a negative effect. It is through
singing that we naturally feel the shape of the music and it teaches us about the light and
shade of the phrase. Many students have arrived at my studio and when asked to sing phrases
have declared, Oh, I dont sing! However, singing should be an integral part of the piano
lesson from the beginning. Partnered with another essential of the Kodly approach is
rhythm, making use of movements such as walking, swaying, skipping and bouncing balls to
establish a firm musical foundation.

The Dalcroze method develops the ear through carefully structured games to awaken
creativity through improvisation. This helps to develop concentration, memory, coordination
and body awareness.

Orff Schulwerk prepares pre-schoolers for instrumental study through clapping and stamping
rhythms, dancing, reciting rhymes and canons, singing melodies and some improvisation on
Orff instruments such as keyboard percussion, percussion and recorders. Exploration,
imitation and improvisation are important.

The Suzuki method is based on early exposure to music for children, imitation, rote learning,
repetition and a strong emphasis on parental involvement. Shinichi Suzukis Nurtured by
Love (Centre, 1978) is a good starting point for reading on this subject.

Other books on the teaching of young children include Doreen Bridges Music, Young
Children and You (Hale & Iremonger, 1994) and Rhoda Rabins At the Beginning Teaching
Piano to the Young Beginner (Schirmer, 1996). Why wait years when their aural and
technical skills could be forging ahead? So long as the teaching approach is appropriate,
young children can achieve remarkable results.

Qualities of music making that young children can understand include:

High/Low

Soft/Loud

Short/Long

Fast /Slow

Playing a melody when the notes are divided between the thumbs or one finger of
both hands, requiring a degree of musical coordination.

Maintaining a steady beat.

Musical direction up, down, same, skip.


44

You cannot expect a child of four or five to learn in much the same manner as a six or seven
year-old. Reading music is the main difficulty because young children find it hard to
concentrate on and identify small symbols. Music reading can still take place but progress
appears to be more successful when simplified graph notation is used first, e.g. a symbol to
indicate high and low pitch using a group of three black keys.

Here we go Here we go Play-ing the pi - a - no!

My choice is to begin with rote learning combined with lots of singing and rhythm work. The
naming of notes is not even necessary to begin with as the group of two and three black notes
on the keyboard can be used for orientation. Children love nursery rhymes, folk tunes and
snappy little tunes with easy-to-remember words. On the following page are the songs I use
to teach young ones by rote all the letters of the keyboard. Make up your own list
remembering to add only one new note for each step. (Rote learning needs to be followed up
quickly with the early stages of music reading.)

Remember when working with young ones that they need praise and activities need to be in
short bursts because their concentration span is usually not long. Most learning needs to be
done through imitation, much repetition and little explanation. So long as there is plenty of
variety, with moments of concentration and moments of relaxation, then even the young child
can build up concentration and focus. It is best to put highly concentrated material at the
beginning of the lesson when the student is freshest.

Many children love to play duets with the teacher. Collect a series of pieces where the student
can play a simple ostinato pattern against a more interesting part played by the teacher.
Participation in this sort of music making develops ensemble (listening) skills and the student
is also experiencing more challenging music first hand.

Children also love to compose music and verse. Give some guidelines such as:

A short rhyme

A repetitive rhythm

A set of notes

A title or a mood

Most students can compose music on the spot that would put many an adult to shame. The
beginner books in Pauline Halls Oxford University Press series have some wonderful
suggestions in this area.
45
Figure 12. Songs for beginners

Dog

gy

- D

is

next

to

D.

Mis

ter

- C

goes

up

to

D.

Dog

gy

- D

goes

up

to

E.

C.

vi

sit

- Dog

gy

- D.

Bum

ble

- B

and

Mis

ter

- C,

then

go

home

for

tea.

Mis

ter

- C

and

Bum

ble

- B

Up

the

steps.

E.

Down

gain.

- E

C.

F's

fat

and

fun

ny

- fel

low

- Two

are

sit

ting

- on

'cel

lo.

Ge

cko,

- ge

cko

- run ning - down

the wall.

Ge

cko,

- ge

cko

can

not

- fall.

tick

ing

- tock

ing

E.

Gent

ly

- rock

ing,

-

A

46
METHOD BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS

While I do sometimes use beginner method books I prefer to create for each student a book
which addresses individual needs. One method cannot do this. Also with the emphasis on
ART MUSIC (see page 12), few methods will deal with all areas adequately.

It does not take long to jot down a new tune or better still to teach students to do it, possibly
using their own notation. With a big scrapbook, lots of interesting projects can be tackled.
The choice is vast. It is easy to supplement repertoire pieces with the corresponding technical
exercises and scales, transposition, improvisation/composing, harmony, background
knowledge, sight reading and memory work. Some students may struggle with a particular
area. More examples can be given until mastery is achieved. Other students may pass over
particular areas because they are already fully understood. Creating an individual course, the
teacher is free to match the material to the student. Many teachers may not be interested in
working this way saying it takes too much time. However, the preparation and the results of
doing so are worth the extra effort. Students see much more clearly how different elements
relate, thus generating enthusiasm. Time is not wasted ploughing through boring second-rate
music. The rate of progress is really exciting as students learn to give 100 percent to the
musical essentials. Both teacher and student know that the material is being covered
thoroughly and this gives a feeling of security to the student and satisfaction to the teacher.

Here are factors to consider when examining a beginner method:

Age suitability
Approach to reading
Clarity and depth of explanations
Rate of progress
Extra material how many extra books would be needed?
Quality and range of music
The cost
Philosophical approach
Establishment of the five-finger pattern
Length of book
Availability
Use of humour
Presence of aural, improvisation, composition, harmony, memory, sight reading,
transposition and technical work, etc.
Format
Use of colour (appealing to children)
Duets to play with teacher or others
47
Collating information when studying half a dozen beginner methods is easiest done in table
form. Leave room to add details of other methods that you may come across. It is helpful to
create a star rating system so it will be clear which method seems the most favourable for
your use.

Using a method book allows continuity in the approach and generally sequential learning.
Students can receive a sense of achievement working through a book and certainly when they
arrive at the end. Some methods also have teachers manuals.

The disadvantage of using only one method, however, is that teachers can easily slip into a
manner of teaching that requires little thinking. Accepting what is on the next page as the
next necessary step is just nonsense. The student may have prepared the previous page
brilliantly and does not need to do a similar piece yet again. Working on the same pieces with
each student may inhibit creativity and it is difficult when the teacher disagrees with the
method on editorial policies, e.g., fingering or phrasing. It is harder to individualise the
curriculum to meet the special needs of a student. Many methods use banal pieces and delay
the introduction of standard repertoire by great keyboard composers. Some methods present
negative social images with racist and sexist titles or titles which could preclude one gender,
e.g. The Boys Merry-go-round.

Methods that require the student to use the entire keyboard from the earliest stages are the
best, e.g., high and low, white and black notes. It is limiting to have the student work only
around middle C for the first year of their pianistic life. It is much more educationally
significant and fun to learn to use the whole keyboard. Methods which use graphic notation
are a gentle and appropriate approach for children under the age of ten. When staff notation is
introduced the stave should be larger and therefore clearer than conventionally sized music
for younger children.

The stage between beginner methods and preliminary material is the trickiest. It is worth
creating a file of suitable repertoire by great composers to fall back on. At this level students
can quickly become discouraged if they do not feel a sense of achievement.

ADULT TUITION

I have always had a big percentage of adult students. They are often music lovers who have
had negative childhood piano lesson experiences but their love for music has won through.
The longest time between adolescent lessons and resuming lessons for one of my students
was fifty-six years. I always say it is never too late to rediscover this life-enhancing hobby.

The hardest thing about teaching adults who have learnt before is dealing with bad habits.
With patience, techniques can be rebuilt and it is wonderful to witness such students tackle
great repertoire and improve when they have the proper resources. The changes can be
remarkable and this can sometimes give me more of a thrill than putting a student through the
next exam.

There must be a degree of flexibility with lesson times and availability. Adults have many
demands on their time and the last thing they need is to feel guilty about something that
should be a joy in their life. So long as students give reasonable notice, I am happy to
accommodate changes to lessons.

48
Often I have heard from teachers that taking on adults is too frustrating and achieving good
results is rare. However, great results can be achieved with careful tackling of problems and
perseverance.

Lessons with adults can be tremendously stimulating as they share with you various life
experiences. I remember three students telling me about the weeks events one participating
in a Japanese tea ceremony, one teaching maths in the middle of China, one taking German
language classes.

as natural as breathing
sturdy like a good little welsh pony of moderate nature
my God, the piano is on fire
ice droplets from a silver birch
luscious sounds
sardonic humour
swirling, whizzing
they tend to choose the same sort of repertoire
squeezed sounds
where is Iberia?
tears!
she fails to ignite
a bit academic in her approach
marching soldiers, trooping the colour?
plays as though the piano is an extension of the body
I want some fresh air. Burn out.
she woos the piano
serene, calm, measured playing
delicate, lacy playing
enough to give you wind
a magical moment
coaxes his finger over the key.
niggling, dizzying, explosive
crying, lyrical line
cold, bleak sounds
shakes head and neck at the end of each piece.
leaping and running
all things young and boisterous
feverish, manic
sometimes spiky, sometimes scintillating, sometimes drifting
mobile phone in the dying moments. Exterminate the beasts
the style elegant, restrained never histrionic or indulgent sometimes drifting

Figure 13: Extracts from an adult students reflections on the 2004 Sydney Piano Competition
49
GROUP LESSONS

While I am yet to be convinced that it is the way to teach piano for most of time, group piano
teaching, with careful use, can be of great benefit. I have taught piano to groups of an average
of eight in a specialist music school and ten at university. Both groups were mostly
beginners. I could have had the use of an electronic keyboard laboratory, but I chose to teach
using a real piano because it was easier to deal with such matters as tone, touch and pedal.
It meant students had to take turns at the keyboard.

It is important to address the class as a whole and make the lesson relevant to everybody.
Finding confidence in this environment may take time. With my experiences of group
teaching, I was pleasantly surprised at how much could be achieved and how enjoyable the
group dynamics could be.

Group teaching is most useful in my studio when students of similar stages and ages meet to
play for one another. Listening to other musicians greatly aids learning and it is often
motivating. I am impressed by the way music acts as a catalyst for conversation and this
alone is a helpful experience as the piano journey can be long and solitary. Advantages and
disadvantages of the group situation include:

Advantages

Many students can be taught in a small amount of time.

The same resources can be used as in the private lesson.

Students can listen to one another and provide critical feedback.

A broad curriculum is needed to maintain the students interest, thus extending the
teachers skills. (Material has to be sequenced and organised well.)

The teacher needs to be trained to understand group techniques and the use of
competition, co-operation, thoughtful criticism and peer interaction. Greater
understanding in these areas will benefit other teaching situations.

The teacher needs to be facilitator rather than autocrat a much healthier educational
environment.

Ensemble playing is possible.

Potentially a greater source of income.

Can be great fun.

Students enjoy playing for an audience of peers.

Students learn from one another.

Students learn to accept criticism.


50
It is a great motivator for practice as students do not wish to look under-prepared in
front of others.

It cuts down on need for teacher to repeat information.

Make-up lessons are not possible so attendance rates are high.

The teacher needs to have a reliable memory for the lesson to flow. Students would
quickly lose attention if the teacher had to refer to notes extensively. (Memory is a
useful skill to develop, aiding music making in many ways.)


Disadvantages

Harder to foster a close relationship with each student.

Harder to address individual musical problems.

Does not cater for outstanding or struggling students.

The mental and emotional maturity of members of the group needs to be matched.

A larger room and more chairs may be needed.

A quiet student can easily be overlooked.

One disruptive student can adversely influence the whole class.

The slightest interruption with fumbling, loss of concentration or searching for
materials can trigger disorder.

A quiet street may be disturbed by an increase in traffic (an issue which may need
addressing through the local council).


The group has much to offer and should not be discounted. In the early history of music
education, the apprenticeship system was favoured for the great majority of the time. While
one teacher with one student works on the whole very well for the piano studio, students
watching one another, reflecting on their own and one anothers performance is also a great
learning experience. Even if this happens only rarely and is not formally part of the weekly
proceedings, it could contribute much to a students development.

Other ways of organising a teaching routine involve alternating solo and group lessons or
having students of similar stages meeting at regular intervals such as once a month. It is with
group teaching that some of my teaching skills have been the most extended. If you are one
for a challenge, then to deepen and broaden your understanding of music teaching I would
strongly recommend utilising group teaching.
51
PREPARING FOR TEACHING EXAMS
(PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATIONS)

Three main areas need to be addressed:

Material
When planning a lesson the essentials can be covered by running through an ART MUSIC
checklist (see page 12).

Identification
It is important to show you are aware of any problems that arise in the lesson. It might be a
matter of posture or incorrect pitches or rhythm or an inappropriate way of interpreting the
music or a multitude of other possible faults. One should at least acknowledge the major
problems. New students may have many pianistic problems. To identify them all at once
could be too overwhelming. It is also important to identify issues that could become
problems. Working this way teaches pre-empting problems and helps the student to establish
good work habits. This need not be a lecture but a discovery together about what will need
special care. The alternative is to unravel work, wasting much time in the process.

Strategies
How do I go about teaching? There are many options demonstration, explanation,
questioning and prompting to name just a few. Using a wide variety is essential. Listen to the
language you use. Do not use expressions repetitively, e.g. yep or okay. Allow the students to
discover the answers as much as possible rather than telling them. This challenging area
requires much creativity.

When explaining some aspect, be concise. Write down the words you would use to teach a
chromatic scale (assume that the student has already learnt the major and minor scales).
Count the number of words used and see if there is any way to reduce them.

Write down assignments for the student so that it is clear what is expected. As the students
mature they can take more responsibility for the writing.

Use a second piano if available. I have seen studio lessons where there are two instruments
and the second has not been used once. Practical illustrations often reduce the need to talk.

Avoid saying, This is what you should do. It sounds rather authoritarian and does not allow
the student to be part of the process in discovering an answer to a problem.

Evaluate the general mood of the lesson and try to determine the flow.
What was the manner in which you talked and how much encouragement took place?

How well prepared were you and did you achieve your goal? There are times when one is
tempted to drop everything and just concentrate on one aspect but during a demonstration
exam is probably not the right time.

How would you describe the student/teacher relationship? Sometimes this is a difficult area
to judge. Some students are quiet and reticent. It can take a long time for students to relax.
The success of the lesson should not be judged only on the openness and enthusiasm of the
student. The students respect is a better measure.


52

Figure 14. Journal entry


How did the lesson begin and how did it end? The student needs to know clearly when the
lesson has ended. Some students have no qualms about prolonging it.

How were any behavioural problems solved? Threats and punishment are not part of the
equation. Ingenuity must be used to deal with certain situations.

How were individual differences accommodated? I have had students who struggled with
health problems where certain limbs were not so flexible and mobile. Care must be taken to
ensure that the correct adjustments are made and that the teacher is not asking students to do
something they cannot do.

In your teaching diary/journal, write down problems that arose during the lesson. Keep
reflecting on these matters until you think you have a solution and then jot these down. Keep
a list of the good answers, metaphors, stories, etc. that came from either yourself or the
student on the spur of the moment. Keep a record of the delightful moments too. This helps
us maintain a balanced view. Teaching is not all about solving problems.
53
POSTURE USE AND ABUSE OF THE BODY

It is useful for students to have a warm-up routine as preparation for the hard work that is to
take place in the practice session. During winter the hands can be rather stiff and
uncomfortable without a warm-up. Joseph Gt in The Technique of Piano Playing (Covina,
1965) outlines a series of arm, hand and finger exercises which are extensive but it may be
enough to know half a dozen of these. The use of gymnastic exercises goes back as far as
Couperin in The Art of Playing the Harpsichord where he recommends pulling the fingers in
all directions to help the hands to be flexible. The 19th century saw the emergence of all sorts
of dangerous contraptions promoted in the name of making the fingers and hands stronger.
Find out about these:

Chiroplast
Digitorium
Dactylion
Hand Guide

General wake-up, energising, lengthening and crossover exercises that can be done with
children are outlined in Christina Ward and Jan Daleys Learning to Learn (Switched-On
Publications, 1993). Know a few of these, a useful off-the-cuff tool for the appropriate
moment. Some reading and first-hand experience with the Alexander Technique enables us to
understand how we are using our bodies. When observing a few classes, I was mostly taken
with how important the use of the back is with its role as the powerhouse. Since then I have
been aware of how often pianists collapse the top half their backs and misuse the shoulders
and arms. Read Pedro de Alcantaras Indirect Procedures: a Musicians Guide to the
Alexander Technique (Clarendon Press, 1997) for further information. Excellent and detailed
information on use of the body is given in Thomas Marks What Every Pianist Needs to
Know about the Body (GIA Publications, 2003). Finding a healthy approach to piano
technique is extensively covered in A Symposium for Pianists and Teachers: Strategies to
Develop the Mind and Body for Optimal Performance (Editor, Kris Kropff, Heritage Music
Press, 2002).

Playing the piano should not produce pain. If all parts of the body are functioning properly,
one could play for hours without feeling any strain or tension. If a student is complaining of
pain, I would not push practising until the cause is found. The time it takes to recover muscle
or tendon damage can be considerable and it is not worth the risk of long-term injury. It is
more than likely that misuse of the body is occurring and specialised professional help needs
to be sought.

Both teachers and students may exhibit posture faults.

Teachers
My observations of how teachers use their body come from marking many demonstration
lessons and seeing that the body is often not used to full advantage. When it was brought to
their attention, piano pedagogy students were often surprised at how they had used their
bodies. Much time is spent sitting on the teachers seat so check that the back is not
continually stretched forward at an awkward angle when leaning across the keyboard or
towards the student. If the back is slumped forward, it makes deep breaths difficult.
Occasionally, position yourself where you can see the face of the students so that you are not
always talking in their ear off to the side. Make eye contact when you have something
important to communicate. Every now and then take a position in the room where you can
observe from afar. This often brings to notice details which are not so obvious when sitting

54
beside the student such as the position of the feet, the angle of the back, the students overall
approach to the instrument (claiming their space and having a body movement that matches
the music).

Try not to lean on the piano as this sends out a body-language message of tiredness and is not
the way to treat any instrument.

Keep the legs uncrossed to achieve maximum circulation which helps maintain alertness and
energy. Use different positions around the piano or the room to keep students on their toes.
Be a little unpredictable. This helps keep you alert as well. At appropriate times, use physical
action to energise the music or to infuse meaning conducting, waving arms, stamping feet,
clicking fingers, dancing, walking, leaping, etc.

With little ones I sometimes briefly kneel for short periods beside the keyboard so that I am
at their level when talking and working with them.

Students
Many students sit too far back on the stool. If the first third of the stool is used then the feet
are forced to be planted firmly on the ground (or a stool for little people). This is energising
and the body is able to move freely. There is also more stability and mobility when playing at
the extremes of the keyboard as the body is able to lean to the right or left.

In an effort to be expressive and sometimes because of poor posture and laziness, students
often collapse the top half of their backs or extensively move their shoulders up and down
while playing. The back needs to be firm and extended so aches and pains do not set in.
Moving the shoulders up and down in an exaggerated fashion upsets the playing apparatus
and major adjustments of the arm and fingers need to take place. There must be freedom in
the shoulder joint though.

Sometimes, elbows are also misused in the name of expressiveness. While the elbows should
not be held rigidly against the body, if this joint does inappropriately large movements then
the wrist and fingers have to make allowances. Playing becomes more complicated than it
needs to be. Let the elbows fall almost in line with the body so that the arm can keep re-
energising and not become stiff from being held outwards.

Inappropriate dips and humps in the wrist and hand reveals tension or too much flexibility.
The power of the arm is broken at the wrist joint if a disproportionate dip or hump is
continually present. The dip on the top of the hand is caused from fingers being too curved
and pulled back. This extra tension is restricting. Alternatively, a floppy hand means that the
most economical movements are not being made and the tone struggles to be full and warm.

Stand and let the arm fall naturally beside the body. The closer one can maintain this natural
arch-shaped hand at the keyboard, the greater the chance for facility because there will be less
tension in the hand.

The tone made by playing on the pads of the fingers and not the tips/nails, is fuller and more
cantabile. This is an observation made from the Romantic pianists onwards. The hand needs
to be positioned neither too high nor too low so that the natural arch hand shape is not
interfered with. The hand is used in many ways sometimes from a high position and
sometimes close to the keyboard but in teaching a position to beginners, they need to
understand what is normal and the most helpful shape from which to start.

55
The most common finger to collapse at the first joint is the index finger but in some cases I
have seen all five fingers lose the arch shape. This leads to a lack of control with tone and
imprecise coordination. The remedy is not to play high on the tip of the finger but to maintain
a firmly extended arch-shaped finger. This forces the appropriate muscles to come into play.
Otto Ortmann in The Physiological Mechanics of Piano Technique (reprint Dutton and Co.,
1962) recommends this remedy after extensive scientific research.

With little hands it is useful to use the side of the fifth finger still in a curved position but
with the other fingers and the hand gently supporting this weak finger. Gradually it will gain
in strength and facility and be able to move like the other fingers. This way the last joint does
not become permanently collapsed. Trying to fix this problem is particularly difficult in an
adult.



Figure 15. A written and pictorial reflection on posture by two piano students

56
INTERPRETATION

Reading on matters such as pedalling and articulation is especially helpful when academic
and practical in design (such as Boris Bermans Notes from the Pianists Bench, Schirmer,
1981 and Joseph Banowetzs The Pianists Guide to Pedalling, Indiana University Press,
1992). However, you cant learn interpretation from a book alone. It needs the guidance of an
experienced and well-qualified teacher. I realised the importance of this in my own studio. I
took some students for piano pedagogy studies for three years but did not have them for
private lessons until later. We had covered interpretation in pedagogy classes but concepts
were not thoroughly learnt until students had to deal with various issues within their own
performance programmes. This was a huge lesson for me. It is one thing to talk about,
demonstrate, discuss and try out ideas but it is another level of learning when you have to
start producing the sounds in a polished performance. Nevertheless I have outlined some
areas of interpretation that need considerable thought by the teacher so that expertise can be
shared with the student.

Pedalling
Students are surprised that there are many types of pedalling. It is an area of music making
that requires intense listening and subtlety. Below are some of the ways the damper pedal can
be applied. If some of these techniques have not been used before, it could be a good idea to
work your way through them with a teacher.

release pedal early to articulate between sonorities

late-release to merge sounds

half-release to extinguish only part of the old sonority

pedal some sonorities and not others

depress before activating keys to augment sympathetic vibrations

depress only partly to ration the amount of sonority and resonance

release abruptly to help accent sound

keep down while the sound fades away

use a touch of pedal on sf to help augment sound

flutter pedal to blend a passage requiring a cleaner sound than keeping the pedal
down

connect two notes that cannot be joined by fingers requiring careful use so that the
texture is not inconsistent

gradual release of pedal so that the ear cannot tell when release occurs

57
Ornamentation
A book that gives a clear and precise outline of ornamentation from the baroque era onwards,
is the question-and-answer manual, Ornamentation by Valery Lloyd-Watts and Carole L.
Bigler (Alfred, 1995). This is a broad sweep of the topic but could help to consolidate a
foundation if there is confusion. This would need to be supplemented with texts such as
C.P.E. Bachs Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (W.W. Norton and
Company, 1949) to gain a fuller picture and to understand how to interpret lesser-known
ornaments, e.g., the half or short trill which appears over slurred notes. A book such as
Sandra Rosenblums Performance Practice in Classic Piano Music (Indiana University
Press, 1988) deals with an era but others such as Bernard Harrisons Haydns Keyboard
Music (Clarendon Press, 1997) specialises even more. Obviously more specialised studies are
a great resource to draw upon.

To gain information on such musical elements as articulation, pedal work, slurs, phrasing,
fingering and other interpretive matters, I would recommend a selection from the list of
favourites below. The ideal for a piano teachers library would be to include at least one
interpretation book per famous composer. The choice is enormous. Rosenblums book is
essential for understanding the interpretation of Clementi, Haydn, Mozart and other
composers of the early classical era. This would be a good starting point.

EARLY KEYBOARD MUSIC
Howard Ferguson, Style and Interpretation, prefaces to Volume I and II (Oxford
University Press,1975)
Mark Lindley and Maria Boxall, Early Keyboard Fingerings A Comprehensive
Guide (Schott, 1992)

FRENCH BAROQUE
Franois Couperin, The Art of Playing the Harpsichord (Alfred, 1974) edited by
Marjory Halford

J.S. BACH and EARLY CLASSICAL
C.P.E. Bach, Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments, (W.W. Norton
and Company, 1949) edited by William J. Mitchell
Richard Troeger, Playing Bach on the Keyboard a Practical Guide (Amadeus Press,
2003)

EARLY CLASSICAL and CLASSICAL
Sandra Rosenblum, Performance Practice in Classic Piano Music (Indiana University
Press, 1988)
Daniel Trk, Clavierschule (1789), translated by Raymond H. Haggle (University of
Nebraska Press, 1982)
Michael Davidson, Mozart and the Pianist a Guide for Performers and Teachers to
Mozarts Major Works for Solo Piano (Kahn &Averill, 2001)

BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS
Charles Rosen, Beethovens Piano Sonatas (Yale, 2002)
Richard Taub, Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas (Amadeus, 2002)

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NINETEENTH CENTURY
Edited by R. Larry Todd, Nineteenth-Century Piano Music (Routledge, 2004)
Beethoven, Schubert, Weber, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Clara Schumann and
Fanny Mendelssohn, Brahms and Liszt

SCHUBERT
Ernest G. Porter, Schuberts Piano Works (Dobson Books,1980)

CHOPIN
Eleanor Bailie, Chopin: A Graded Practical Guide (Kahn & Averill 1998).This
includes a graded list from 4
th
grade to advanced with detailed chapters on such
matters as ornamentation, pedalling and phrasing, and commentary on all the less-
advanced music. While much of the commentary is detail from the score that any
musician taking care should see and internalise, there are many personal suggestions
for interpretation. While it could be as foolish as listening to a recording of a work
and trying to emulate the style, if it is remembered that it is only one interpretation
and point of view, then this book could be helpful.
Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, Chopin: Pianist and Teacher: as Seen by his Pupils
(Cambridge University Press, 1986), especially the chapter on Technique and Style
Jim Samson, The Music of Chopin (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985)

LISZT
Alan Walker, Franz Liszt the Man and His Music (Barrie & Jenkins, 1970)

TWENTIETH CENTURY
David Burge, Twentieth-Century Piano Music (Schirmer, 1990). An accessible tour of
some of the best and most innovative piano works of this century.

RAVEL
Vlado Perlemuter and Helene Jourdan-Morhange, Ravel According to Ravel (Kahn &
Averill, 1988). Perlemuter studied all of Ravels solo piano music with the composer.

DEBUSSY
Paul Roberts, Images The Piano Music of Claude Debussy (Amadeus Press, 1996)

BARTOK
Barbara Nissman, Bartk and the Piano: A Performers View (Scarecrow Press,
2002). The American pianist Barbara Nissman wrote this book after recording
Bartks works.

PROKOFIEV
Stephen C.E. Fiess, The Piano Works of Serge Prokofiev (Scarecrow Press, 1994).
Works are categorised according to difficulty.

SHOSTAKOVICH
Sofia Moshevich, Dmitri Shostakovich, Pianist (McGill-Queens University Press,
2004). Biographical material is interwoven with analysis of Shostakovichs piano and
chamber works.
59
THE STUDIO

The work environment needs to be well lit, well ventilated and without distractions. After a
lesson with two new students who were sisters I rang their mother to see how they were
going and to ask their impression of the first lesson. After asking her if everything was okay
she said Yes, the girls felt comfortable, are happy with your help and set work but there is
one problem. I braced myself for the worst. They want your music room. It was wonderful
to know these new students were attracted to what would enrich their lives. My family house
is set in a quiet garden with the piano looking out on to a Peruvian pepper tree more than 100
years old. The piano is of outstanding quality. (See The Instrument, page 74) Nearby is a
harpsichord and clavichord, so students can try out the early music works. The room also
contains wall-to-wall books, music and personal musical artworks collected from my travels.
It is wonderful that these new students should be attracted to what will enrich their lives.


Establishing a studio

The best way to keep a studio full and healthy is to be a good teacher. However, to kick-start
the process, these ideas may be helpful:

Have a business card.

Organise a small recital to an invited audience so others can hear you play.

A letter-drop in the local area.

Give flyers on the studio to local schools, private music teachers and shops.

Tell of your plans to friends, family and fellow musicians. Most people are happy to
refer someone they know. Personal recommendation has been the way most students
have joined my studio. Once you have a few students loving music and achieving
worthwhile results, the process is self-perpetuating because they in turn are happy to
recommend you.

Inform your piano tuner as people often ask piano tuners for names of teachers.

Advertise in the local newspaper.

Make a connection with a group of piano teachers who meet regularly.

Inform the local community groups you attend church, clubs, etc

Join a music teachers association.

Create a web page.



Practical Piano Pedagogy by Martha Baker-J ordan (Warner Bros., 2004) provides dozens of
downloadable and modifiable templates of teaching and business forms. These are a practical
aid for matters such as setting up a studio, interviewing, setting assignments and maintaining
student motivation.
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Experienced teachers agree that word of mouth is the main means by which students arrive at
their studio. Suggestions from recently graduated pedagogy students include hiring a music
room at the local primary school as other students and teachers become interested when they
hear the sounds, living and teaching opposite a primary school for the same reason, an
advertisement put up at the local delicatessen and the phone directory. The first suggestion
was so successful that the teacher could not take on all the students who wanted to learn. One
teacher said that a small sign on her fence had produced the most results. Check with your
municipal council for local laws on signage.

Dozens of suggestions for establishing a studio are in the Practicespot Guide to Promoting
Your Teaching Studio by Philip A. Johnston (PracticeSpot Pty. Ltd., 2003).

TUITION AGREEMENT

Formulate a written agreement that outlines your conditions so that parents and students
understand how your studio operates. Points to be addressed include:

Fees How do you want to be paid? One term in advance or monthly?

Policy on missed lessons is there another time arranged if the student is sick and
gives some warning?

Lesson times are lessons suspended in the school holidays and on public holidays?
How much warning is required when the student goes on an extended family holiday
that does not coincide with school holidays?

Discontinuing lessons how much notice needs to be given if a student intends to
withdraw?

Telephone numbers/email addresses and the times the teacher is available to discuss
any issue

Recital policies

Parental involvement

A brief outline of your professional background and professional affiliations

A brief description of your philosophy of teaching, including your goals

RESUME

For employment outside of the private studio, a rsum of your professional background and
experience would be needed. Here are a few guidelines:

Keep the facts brief, listing dates with the most recent first

Classify information using only the year, not the full dates

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Neatness is important so it is best typed

Include only relevant information

Include contact information full name, address, phone numbers, email address

Include history of your education

Include professional experience

Include professional affiliations

Give at least two references that include name, address and phone number, having
received permission to do so from the people concerned

Keep records of your professional activities, including concert details and press clippings, so
that a quick update is easily achievable.

THE ACCOUNTING SIDE

There are two important factors. Firstly, employ a good accountant to do your tax return and
secondly, keep a consistent record of figures and attendances as they happen so that there is
no hassle when the figures are added up and the receipts ordered. It can be quite tricky
working out depreciation of studio materials so it worth every dollar to employ an expert to
do it for you. Here are some costs that may be claimed when doing a tax return (as tax
legislation differs from region to region, seek expert advice):

If travel is involved, car mileage and car maintenance

Purchase of new instruments

Music, books, CDs, videos and magazines

Concert tickets

Studio equipment including lamps, mats, computer, sound system and filing system

Accounting, electricity, mailing, prizes, advertising and recital expenses

Professional development including transport, tuition and housing costs whilst
attending conventions or similar events

Dino Ascaris The Art of Effective Piano Teaching (Authorhouse, 2003) gives comprehensive
suggestions in regard to fee structure and payment.

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THE TRIANGLE STUDENTS/PARENTS/TEACHERS

Before beginning to teach it is important to know what role you wish the parents to play in
lessons and at home. My goal is to help students take responsibility as soon as possible. They
then know what is required and how to be well prepared for the next lesson.

As pre-school students need parental help, a parent should be at the lesson. How long it takes
for school-age students to be working independently differs with each individual. After a
year at school, most can cope without the support of the parent. If parents wish to attend I am
happy for them to do so provided there is no interruption in the lesson and the students are
working during the week mostly on their own.

Parents can be of great help in setting up a healthy environment with a practice area that does
not have distractions and is well lit. Support is also needed in many other areas for instance
a well-maintained instrument, encouraging children to attend concerts and music events,
ensuring correct sleep patterns and nutritional requirements are met and that students are
punctual for lessons.

For the very young student, the parent needs to observe closely all lesson activities and take
down notes so that practice can be gently guided throughout the week. Obviously, this would
require the parent to be able to perform all activities. Sometimes it may be necessary to check
that this is happening. If the student does not have the correct role model then it is unrealistic
to expect steady progress.

Even when students have the independence to work alone, parental support in maintaining a
consistent practice routine is still important. Some students have no trouble at all working at
their music on a daily basis but others are distracted by other activities such as computer
games and TV. More and more these days it is a matter of students fitting the work into a
busy schedule.

I encourage students to practise when commuting (name the notes/fingering of the scale and
arpeggio of the week, analytical work of the repertoire pieces, sing the melody or the bass
line, etc.). Rhythms could be tapped out at the kitchen table. Intervals and melodies could be
sung under the shower. At the computer you could look up musical information. The
possibilities are endless.

Some parents do not want to initiate practice. I would not refuse to teach a child because of a
perceived lack of support from the parent, but I look for ways and means of overcoming the
lack of practice that sometimes occurs. In the students book I mark the practice sessions to
be ticked off by the next lesson. If it is achieved I sometimes give a small reward such as a
sticker, pencil or pen. While I do not agree with rewards as a basis for motivation, in the short
term it may help to establish a healthy practising pattern.

At the other end of the spectrum I have seen the negative results of parents pushing their
children into hours at the keyboard. In the worst cases it has led to students being totally
turned off scales and arpeggios or some other aspect of good practice.

The students, with the help of the teacher, need to work out their own practice routine.
Suggest a minimum time and number of sessions per week as a guide. The amount will differ
from student to student depending on their age and ability to focus.


63
There are a few facts about practising that are relevant for all:

A little every day is far more helpful than a big amount once or twice a week.

Once the focus is lost or the mind/body is tired, it is probably unwise to stay at the
keyboard.

A helpful book for understanding the nature of practice is Madeline Brusers The Art of
Practicing: a Guide to Making Music from the Heart (Bell Tower, 1997). She has devised an
approach that is easy to understand and remember. Particularly insightful is the chapter that
describes the three styles of struggle exaggerated, mechanistic and aggressive music
making.

For the advanced student I recommend Chaffin, Imreh, Crawford and Lawrences Practicing
Perfection (Erlbaun Assoc., 2002). Not only does this book give a detailed account of how a
professional pianist prepares a recital but it also contains many quotes of great pianists and
their attitudes and approaches to practice.

THE RESOURCE FILE

Setting up a resource file should be part of establishing a studio practice. The material can be
tabulated on a computer but have a hard copy on hand during a lesson. Most courses require
such material if one is preparing for a teaching exam. I encourage my students to create a file
that they love going to. Here are some suggestions to add to its appeal: Crisp white paper, a
pen that flows elegantly, a scented satchel in the front pocket, a favourite sticker or picture on
the cover. Do whatever it takes to create good feelings when using it. It can be an extremely
useful tool and if used wisely may well last a lifetime.

It needs to be big so an arch-lever file is recommended and be prepared to divide it into two
or more files in the future. Set up a Contents page, working in pencil for a while as it may
take some time to establish the order that works for you. This way you can rub out and
rearrange. How you choose to organise your material is up to you. Often I do not even make
these suggestions, letting the student teachers think about it and come up with their own
suggestions. Part of being a good teacher is being organised. This skill needs to be developed
because it can save hours of preparation. File dividers help to keep the material neat and
accessible. Use of colours for headings can be effective. One subject per page also helps the
material to be clearly presented. Date everything because after a few years you will probably
not remember when work was done. Acknowledge all references used with full details of the
book, author, publisher and year of publication. It is a lifelong reference so it is worth doing
well.

Here is an outline of the contents of my resource file:

Outlines
Books and Magazines
CDs, Other Recordings and Videos
Community
Competitions/Eisteddfods/Exams
Education

64
Enrichment of Life
Great Pianists
Great Teachers
Instrument
Internet
Interpretation
Music
Practices and Projects
Personal

At the front of the file I keep a big plastic packet where I slot pictures related to the piano or
the arts.

OUTLINES
The first section contains the unit outlines of the courses that my students are undertaking,
e.g. requirements for secondary school music exams. This needs to be accessible in case you
need to check on the requirements in the middle of a lesson, as can often happen when you
have many students doing different courses and exams. I also have marking sheet templates
and copies of my studio policy at hand.

BOOKS/ MAGAZINES
My main reference list and publications I wish to read have these headings:

Education
Music Methods
Music
On Pianism
Pianists/Composers
Pianos
Teaching Skills
Magazines
Theory Books
Videos

I also have a copy of the bibliography of excellent reference books such as The Well-
Tempered Keyboard Teacher by Marienne Uszler (Schirmer, 1991). To read the main
literature on piano pedagogy is a huge study. It takes years to be well read in the subject. This
section of the file also contains published reviews of music books.

CDs/ RECORDINGS/ VIDEOS
Listed are favourite old recordings of great pianists. Examples are: Beethoven/Artur
Schnabel, Chopin/Arthur Rubinstein and Debussy/Walter Gieseking. A helpful resource in
this area is David Dubals The Art of the Piano (Summit Books, 1989) where a list of famous
recordings is entered after a short description of the work. The first half of the book details
renowned pianists, giving a short biography of each. The second half is about the composers
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and their works. As well as my favourite performers of great composers, I also have a list of
some poor examples. While I generally try to teach so that the positive is emphasised,
occasionally it helps to draw on the negative for illustrations. Otherwise how will students
become truly discerning?

COMMUNITY
This section contains advertising material of schools of music I respect, addresses of
organisations that have relevance to piano teaching such as the Dalcroze Society, conference
details and copies of talks that I have delivered, data on institutions so that I have at hand
information when offering recommendations to a student, the relevant directory of accredited
music teachers, etc.

COMPETITIONS/EISTEDDFODS/EXAMS
This section contains a booklet listing all the major piano competitions in the world for the
year, any information on local eisteddfods and competitions, exam reports of my students and
report forms for eisteddfods at which I have adjudicated.

EDUCATION
Here is information on methods such as Alexander Technique, Dalcroze, Orff Schulwerk,
Kodly Concept and Suzuki, which could greatly aid a pianists development. Heres how:

Alexander Technique, Frederick Matthias (1869-1955) with posture and
movement at the keyboard, control of nerves, use of breath and establishing
relevant tempos

Dalcroze, Emile (1865-1950) movement/music, mental responsiveness, aural
perception

Kodly, Zoltn (1882-1967) aural development (inner hearing), improvisation,
memory development, singing/expression, sight reading

Orff, Carl (1895-1982) timbres, improvisation, rhythm

Suzuki, Shinichi (1898-1998) use of imitation and repetition, aural perception,
early-childhood music development

It is also interesting to look further back in history and see how music education has evolved.
One of the best books I have read on the development of music education through the ages is
Bernarr Rainbows Music in Educational Thought and Practice (Boethius Press, 1989).

Check out these great contributors to the development of education:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

66
ENRICHMENT OF LIFE
This includes material such as concert programs, art exhibition catalogues and reviews on
interesting books that might not be directly related to music but can help teaching in some
way. In the mid-year break of the first-year piano pedagogy course, I send the students to an
art gallery. For a few, this is sometimes their first time. I ask them to write down all the
words shared by piano playing and fine arts. Here are just a few:

POINT DISSONANCE BALANCE HARMONY
FORM COLOUR ATMOSPHERE MOOD
DEPTH LINE TEXTURE LIGHT
FOREGROUND SHADE HUE
COMPOSITION DESIGN
BACKGROUND

This is where I place special stories, poems and words that can be used at the appropriate
time. Goethes Apprenticeship was perfect to include on the parting report for a final-year
group of piano pedagogy students.

One ought every
day at least, to
hear a song,
read a good poem,
see a fine picture,
and, if it were
possible, to speak
a few reasonable
words.

GREAT PIANISTS
This section contains articles on famous pianists and reviews of their performance. It is
important to be knowledgeable in this area. How can we grow musically if we are not
listening to the greatest musical interpretations? In first-year university it is not uncommon
for some students to struggle to name one great pianist. Certainly, by the end of the course,
one would hope that many names would be known. We are training students to become the
finest performers possible. We and they should know what this means. This section also lists
the years happenings in places such as Wigmore Hall in London in order to keep abreast of
the top end of our profession in one of the most exciting music centres of the world.

Harold Schonbergs The Great Pianists (Simon & Schuster, 1963) is a good starting point for
reading about pre-eminent masters. The DVD The Art of the Piano (WEA Corp, 2002)
illustrates many of the great pianists of the twentieth century. From the DVD, The Golden
Age of the Piano, with David Dubal (Universal Music & VI, 2003), how many of these
names below do you recognise?

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Vladimir Horowitz Rudolph Serkin Claudio Arrau

Fryderyk Chopin Sergei Rachmaninoff Ignacy Jan Paderewski

Franz Liszt Felix Blumenfeld Anton Rubenstein

Clara Schumann Johannes Brahms Bartolomeo Cristofori

Gottfried Silbermann Frederick II (the Great) Glenn Gould

Wanda Landowska Muzio Clementi Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ludwig van Beethoven Myra Hess Jan Ladislav Dussek Carl Weber

John Field Percy Grainger Alfred Cortot Amy Beach

Van Cliburn Ignaz Moscheles Arthur Rubinstein

Alexander Brailowsky Robert Schumann Teresa Carreo

Carl Czerny Sophie Menter Cecile Chaminade

Julie King Arabella Goddard Louis Gottschalk

Hans von Blow Theodor Leschetizky Moriz Rosenthal

Arthur Friedheim Leopold Godowsky Joseph Hoffman

Vladimir de Pachmann Martin Krause Rosina Lhevinne

With enough practice we can sometimes even recognise who is playing on the radio. Our
approach to the piano is like a fingerprint unique for each person. Of course in a healthy
performer the approach to pianism is constantly evolving never standing still. There is
always a new way of thinking, feeling, and regarding great music as we grow and mature.
A project I have given to piano pedagogy students is to accumulate in their file a list of words
and their meaning that describe pianists approach to music making. If our business is sound,
then we need to be able to describe it. A good starting point is to read CD reviews. Once a list
is built, the opposite word could be found. Try yourself out on the list below:

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THICK ............................ SPONTANEOUS ...........................
GENEROUS ............................ INTIMATE ...........................
RICH ............................ LUMINOUS ...........................
ELEGANT ............................ WEIGHTED ...........................
CEREBRAL ............................ COLOURFUL ...........................
SPACIOUS ............................ CRYSTALLINE ...........................
SENSITIVE ............................ LEAN ...........................
ORCHESTRAL ............................ DYNAMIC ...........................
IMAGINATIVE ............................ HEATED ...........................
PLANGENT ............................ PROFOUND ...........................
HISTRIONIC ............................ BOLD ...........................
LYRICAL ............................ INTENSE ...........................
WARM ............................ SUBTLE ...........................
VIRTUOSIC ............................ FLUID ...........................
PELLUCID ............................ SOPORIFIC ...........................
IMPASSIONED ............................ POISED ...........................
GLITTERING ............................ MECHANICAL ...........................
DELICATE ............................ DANCING ...........................
PRECISE ............................ INTROSPECTIVE ...........................

GREAT TEACHERS
A useful record is a genealogy chart of who taught whom. It helps to understand the various
schools of piano playing through history. For example Hummel studied both with Mozart as a
boy and later with Clementi. He was an important link between the Viennese and English
schools of piano playing in the early nineteenth century, teaching such greats as Hiller,
Henselt, Pauer, Pixis and Thalberg.

This section also lists any articles on great keyboard teachers throughout the ages and some
interviews with famous teachers. This is an important area that often gets overlooked even in
piano teaching degrees. Great musicians such as Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt can
teach us much about keyboard if we examine how they approached teaching.

Here is some relevant information on just a few of them:

Bach, according to his first biographer, Johann Nicolaus Forkel, for months made his
students practise nothing but isolated exercises for all the fingers of both hands in
order to achieve a clear and clean touch. We have some of the finest teaching pieces
in Bachs Little Preludes and Two and Three Part Inventions, pieces exquisite in their
own right but also specifically designed to help the student.

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The preface to the Hans Bischoff edition of J.S. Bach Two and Three Part Inventions
(Edwin Kalmus) also reveals much about Bachs attitude to teaching:

A proper introduction, whereby lovers of the clavier and especially those with
a thirst for true knowledge are shown a clear way not only of learning to play
clearly in two voices, but also with further progress to proceed with three
obligato parts correctly and well at the same time not only receiving good
ideas but also utilising them for the development of a cantabile style of
playing and for the procurement of a thorough foretaste of composition.


From this passage we can assume that Bach valued:

Curiosity
Accuracy
Clarity
Working with good resources (music)
A singing tone/sound
Understanding of composition
A clear learning process logical and sequential

Beethoven expressed a wish to write a textbook for piano students but other than a
few challenging exercises never got around to it. Music that was important to his
teaching was Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier and Two and Three Part Inventions, the
sonatas of Clementi and the etudes of Cramer.

Chopin was admired and respected for his professionalism as a teacher. He was
inspiring as well as disciplined in his approach. To be without stiffness was important
to him as was having independent fingers. He would teach the B major scale first
because he felt that this hand position was a far more natural one than the customary
C major. The long fingers fall over the black notes and the thumb and little finger fit
snugly over the white notes. He disliked thoughtless repetitive practice and promoted
a balanced lifestyle. For him everything depended upon how to finger correctly. He
was partial to Pleyel pianos because of their light touch and silvery and veiled
sonority. In his teaching, he mainly used Clementi, Cramer, Moscheles, Bach,
Hummel, Beethoven, Schubert, Weber, Mendelssohn, Liszt and Mozart.
Jean-Jacques Eigeldingers Chopin: Pianist and Teacher: As Seen by his Pupils
(Cambridge University Press, 1986) is a wonderful book full of first-hand accounts of
Chopin and his lessons.

Liszt as a twenty-year-old teacher and Liszt in the last decade of his life were two
distinct teaching personalities. While he spent much time talking about posture and
technique early in his life and even recommended using Kalkbrenners Chiroplast, in
master classes later in life he refused to talk about such matters. He did much

70
demonstrating in lessons, students admiring him for superb musicianship and sight
reading skills. Here is a list of famous pianists who studied with Liszt:

Carl Tausig
Hans von Blow
Moriz Rosenthal
Emil von Sauer
Alexander Siloti
Amy Fay
William Mason
Eugen dAlbert
Sophie Menter
Karl Klindworth
Martin Krause

Reginald Gerigs Famous Pianists & Their Technique (Robert B. Luce, 1974) is one of the
most useful books on the subject of famous pianists and their approach to playing and
teaching. It provides answers to such questions as, Who wrote the earliest surviving
keyboard method? and Does any of the advice given in the method relate to piano playing
today? (Girolamo Diruta, Il Transilvano dialogo sopra il vero modo di sonar organi, et
istromenti da penna, Venice 1593-1609). Gerig outlines all the major keyboard methods up
to the 1970s.

Of the twentieth-century literature on pianism and piano teaching, these books could be a
starting point to establish a broad base:

George Kochevitsky, The Art of Piano Playing (Summy-Birchard, 1967)

Heinrich Neuhaus, The Art of Piano Playing (Barrie and Jenkins, 1973)

Walter Gieseking, Piano Technique (Dover 1972)

Seymour Bernstein, With Your Own Two Hands (Schirmer, 1981)

Boris Berman, Notes from the Pianists Bench (Yale 2000)

(See the reference list for further suggestions page 82).

INSTRUMENT
Here lies accumulated information on piano care, transport and purchase and
newspaper/magazine articles on piano manufacturers. The section has many pictures, often
providing a quicker and easier explanation.

INTERNET
This section contains listings of the major music stores for purchasing music, bookstores,
sites that offer free music and sites for information (See Appendix, page 81).
71
INTERPRETATION
Areas covered in this section include articles on specific pieces of music, interpretation of
baroque-ornaments, pedalling and fingering. However, the possibilities for inclusion are
virtually endless.

MUSIC
This section includes lists of music such as music for children, urtext editions, repertoire for
piano one hand, my favourite music stores catalogue of music and a photocopy of the titles I
have on CD Sheet Music for easy access.

PRACTICES AND PROJECTS
Here is information on topics such as beginner lessons, adult needs and group piano. One of
the most useful sheets is a pronunciation guide for French, German and Italian. Students are
encouraged to sound the composers name, title and any signs and terms correctly, as this
helps overall confidence.

PERSONAL
Contracts are stored here along with curriculum vitae and a short biography.


A BASIC LIBRARY

When purchasing music make sure that it is an URTEXT (original text) edition. This means
that the music should clearly show what the composer put on the page as distinct from any
editing. With music for beginners it can be helpful to work from editions that have good
fingering as it can be time-consuming working these out as well as guiding the student
through all the other basics. However, I still like to have urtext scores of all my music so that
I know what the original music contained especially regarding articulation, phrasing and
dynamics. The score each teacher wishes to use is personal. I would suggest that once you
find a good edition, keep a record of it as a reference for students who want to purchase a
new score. Here are some of my favourites:

Johann Sebastian Bach
Henle

Domenico Scarlatti
Heugel/Le Pupitre (Kenneth Gilbert) this is expensive but would be worth
citing as a score available in a library.
Henle
Editio Musica Budapest

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Henle
Knemann
Neue Mozart Ausgabe Brenreiter

Franz Joseph Haydn
Wiener (Christa Landon/Oswald Jonas)

Ludwig van Beethoven
Universal (Schenker)

72

Franz Schubert
Universal (Fussl/Landon)

Fryderyk Chopin
Henle

Robert Schumann
Henle

Franz Liszt
Editio Musica Budapest (Gardonyi/Szelenyi)

Claude Debussy
Wiener (Stegemann/Beroff)
Durand-Costallat (Roy Howat)

Maurice Ravel
Peters (Roger Nichols)

Factors which determine why you are attracted to one score and not another could include:

A hard or soft cover
The quality of the paper
The layout
The preface notes, such as by Christa Landon in the Wiener edition of Haydn,
which are extremely informative and well researched
The fingerings, such as Beethovens in the Universal and Dover Editions, are
fascinating and essential information even if not always chosen
Clear information if there is doubt over any detail or difference between the
autographed score and first editions

Scores that are not urtext can still provide ideas and extra insight into the music; e.g. The
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Musics edition of Beethovens Pianoforte Sonatas
(Craxton and Tovey).

A good reference book to have at the ready if students sustain a hand or arm injury is
Theodore Edels Piano Music for One Hand (Indiana University Press, 1994). It lists 1,000
left-hand and 60 right-hand solo works as well as dozens of concerti and chamber music for
one hand.

The library of a music studio should contain The New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (second edition; 29 volumes; London,
2001) or the teacher should subscribe to Grove Music Online. A smaller investment in the
short term could be The New Oxford Companion to Music or The New Harvard Dictionary of
Music and the concise Bakers Biographical Dictionary of Composers and Musicians or The
New Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music.

73
It helps to have Italian, French, German and Spanish dictionaries for unusual terms that are
not listed in a small music dictionary. When choosing a small dictionary where signs and
terms can quickly be checked and defined, look for one which lists the major composers and
provides pronunciation of their names.

The section Great Teachers (page 68) has already detailed some helpful pedagogy
books/methods. I would add The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher by Uszler, Gordon,
McBride-Smith (Schirmer, 2000) for its comprehensive overview of piano teaching and its
extensive reference list. The section on interpretation also has suggestions for a studio library.

Maurice Hinsons The Pianists Bookshelf (Indiana University Press, 1998) outlines nearly
700 videos and other resources that have been published in the decade since 1987. It must be
remembered that much has been published before and after these dates.

REPERTOIRE SELECTION

The teachers role includes:

Making sure the choice of music is suitable. The students level of musical
maturity, technical ability and the size of the hand might be restricting factors

Choosing from a variety of periods so that the student has exposure to styles
including early keyboard, baroque, classical, romantic, twentieth century and
contemporary

Providing a variety of genres: dances, sonatas, nocturnes, etc.

Choosing from a wide range of composers

Involving students in choosing repertoire. Are there any pieces in this book that
you want to learn? or What composer would you like to study next?

Encouraging students to listen to a wide range of music so they can be more
informed when helping to choose repertoire

Getting to know students predilections for repertoire selection

Continuing to sight read, listen to recordings and keep playing new repertoire so
that ones reference list grows

Maintaining ones professional development through repertoire, books, seminars,
conferences, magazines, DVDs and CDs

Fostering a love of good music

Ensuring that the student is feeling, inwardly hearing and completely absorbing all
the detail in the score

74
THE INSTRUMENT

Do you know the answer to these questions?

What is the make of your piano? You would be surprised by the number of people
who cannot answer that question.

How long has the manufacturer been in production?

What is the history of the firm?

How many pianos does it produce each year?

Are there any special characteristics that belong just to your piano?

The story of how I came to own my piano began when my university teacher mentioned years
ago the name of a fine piano that had impressed him whilst touring in New Zealand. It was a
Fazioli and it was this name that caught my eye in a music shop when my husband and I were
strolling through a lane in the middle of Bern, Switzerland. We learnt that we would need to
take a tram ride to the factory where the instrument was stored and as it was rather late in the
day we declined this suggestion. However, it prompted us to contact the Fazioli retailer on
our return to Paris and ask if it would be possible to try out the instrument. We arranged to
meet the next day and the manager promised to have several instruments tuned for our
inspection. On our arrival we found a six-foot and a special ten-foot concert grand sitting
in the showroom and we both excitedly moved from one to the other enjoying the experience.
Soon after that a gentleman who was not part of the sales team entered the room. It was Paolo
Fazioli who happened to be in Paris to attend a recital that Aldo Ciccolini was presenting in a
circus tent at Parc de St Cloud. It was wonderful to talk to the maker and find out about his
instruments first hand. He suggested we attend the Ciccolini concert the next night. Finding a
circus tent in the middle of a very big park at sunset is another story other than to say that I
remember asking my husband to get out his mobile phone in case of a mugging. Our Paris
hosts laughed later at our story, incredulous that we could equate the Parc de St Cloud to
Central Park, New York. Fortunately, we found the tent in time where a recital of Chopin and
Liszt was to take place and were overwhelmed by the power and resonance of this beautiful
instrument. Even in a circus tent the sound was magic.

On our return to Australia we ordered a six-foot grand for our studio and three months later it
arrived via air. One of the most exhilarating moments for us came as the back of the tightly
packed box was opened at the airport to allow the quarantine inspector to have his sniff. The
underside of the instrument was a sight to behold with its polished wood and exquisitely
finished edges. You can imagine how excited we were on its arrival at home, the instrument
was unpacked before our eyes, assembled and then we were able to try out the sound. It was
as Fazioli himself had promised master craftsmanship.

My piano had a relatively easy journey from the opposite side of the world, in comparison to
that of icy winter storms of the Straits of Gibraltar and a lumbering carriage ride over muddy
roads for the Broadwood piano sent from England to Beethoven. Up-to-date technology such
as indicators that change colour if the box is tipped at too much of an angle now enable the
transport of an instrument to be monitored over long distances.

It is really thrilling to have an instrument that you love the sound of and the maker is known
to you. We have never regretted purchasing such a fine instrument. I am dealing with sound
75
for hours each day and if it can be the best sound possible how much more enjoyable the day
is. Even my youngest students work on this instrument because teaching them about good
sound is essential to understanding musicianship. Sometimes, if a student is wearing a large
ring with exposed diamonds, I ask for the ring to be taken off. This helps to avoid scratches
on the polish when the music gets exuberant. May I give a word of warning here? Do not
allow students to place anything on the side of the music stand. A mature-age student took off
her ring and placed it in this position. In the heat of the moment when the music was gaining
momentum, the reverberations sent the ring inside the piano. We searched in vain until it was
spotted on one of the tuning pins camouflaged by the golden tints of the metal frame. I also
cover the music stand with a soft cloth so that music files do not scratch it. With these
precautions I am more than happy to use the Fazioli for lessons.

J.P. Williams The Piano (Watson-Guptill, 2002) covers the history and special
characteristics of pianos. It also has relevant information on voicing, regulating, buying,
renovating and caring for pianos.

David Crombies Piano A Photographic History (Balafon, 1995) gives a clear and
interesting history of the instrument. This book came in handy when I took on a five-year-old
student who arrived for his first lesson after having fallen asleep in the car. Naturally he was
fairly grumpy. I picked up this book and started to turn the pages and talk to myself about the
different types and shapes of pianos. Before long he started to look over my shoulder to see
what I was talking about. He was then willing to go over to the piano and find out what shape
it was under the cover and once there had his head in the belly discovering all sorts of things.
We were off and away. I worked really hard to make this initial meeting successful because it
could be the making or breaking of music in a persons life. It was the beautiful colour
pictures that helped to save the day.

Here are some questions that could be the basis of fun projects for students:

What is voicing?
What is regulating?
What do you need to look for when purchasing a second-hand piano?
What are favourable temperature and humidity conditions for a piano?
How often should a technician attend your piano?
What shape is a lyre, pyramid, square, doggy kennel and cabinet piano?
How many keys are on the average piano?
What are the three pedals for?
Are there dampers for every note?
How many octaves were in the pianos of Mozarts time?
There were two main piano types around 1790 the English and the Viennese.
How did these pianos differ?
How does a grand piano fit through a door?

76
What was the piano workshop like in the 1770s, 1830s, 1860s and 1960s?
When was the iron frame invented?
What shape is a clavichord?
What is a short octave?
What is the difference between a fretted and unfretted clavichord?
What are the shapes and sizes of harpsichords and spinets?
How does the touch of a harpsichord differ from that on the piano?
What is the action of the harpsichord?
What is the nature of a harpsichords sound?


PIANO CARE

For the best response from pianos, the temperature and humidity need to be right. A humidity
of between 50 and 60 per cent is ideal. Materials such as wood, leather and felt are highly
responsive to atmospheric change so they need consistent conditions. Too much humidity can
cause rust, sticking keys, a dull hammer action and resultant unclear tone. On the other hand
excessive dryness, mostly caused by heating and cooling systems, can be even more
damaging. Wooden and felt parts can shrink resulting in the soundboard and joints splitting
or coming apart and this can cause extraneous noise. The tuning pins can become loose
perhaps putting the piano out of tune. Excessive dryness can be rectified using a humidifier or
pot-plants in the room.

Sudden temperature changes should be avoided. A cold room warmed suddenly means that
moisture can condense on the strings causing rust. Protection from the elements when the
weather is unusually inclement is important. Close windows and make sure that the piano
top-board is closed when playing is finished.

The pianos thick cover needs to be aired on fine days. Sudden temperature changes can
happen when moving the piano into a room without windows or with windows that let
sunlight in.

The piano should not be in direct sunlight.

Ventilation is another important factor. The piano needs some ventilation but should not be in
a draught. In the case of upright pianos, against an interior wall is best.

Objects on top of the piano can cause vibrations as well as scratch and damage the case. A
vase of flowers if spilled can do serious damage to the action and hammers and rust the metal
parts.


77










Figure 14. The project of a nine-year-old to outline piano shapes

78
PURCHASING AN INSTRUMENT

Whether one opts for a grand or upright depends on circumstances. Points to consider
include:

The Grand

Because of the action, a note can be repeated when the key is only half
returned so repetition is faster.

Touch is more responsive because of the longer key length, giving greater
dynamic control.

Those over the size of five feet (1.5 metres) in length have longer string
lengths and larger soundboards than uprights so will be able to generate a
larger dynamic range and richer tone.

It is an aesthetically pleasing addition to any decor.

When working with instrumentalists and singers, making visual connection
between the musicians is easier than with an upright.

The choice of lid positions makes different levels of sound possible (with the
lid closed, small stick, half stick and full sticks).

The music desk is wider and pages of music can be stretched out.

Most grand pianos have the middle sostenuto pedal, a selective damping
effect.

Uprights

The shape takes up less floor space than a grand.

Some uprights have a middle pedal, a mute effect useful for late-night
practising.

Taller upright pianos (over four feet or 1.2 metres) generally produce a richer
sound than grand pianos smaller than five feet three inches.

Uprights are generally less expensive than grand pianos.

Electronic
Pianos have a vibrating string and touch sensitivity which cannot be duplicated on an
electronic instrument. Using one of these instruments could be useful to gauge whether the
student is serious about piano study. However, if a healthy touch is to be developed, students
will soon need a pianoforte.

One of my former pedagogy students rang me distressed because the school where she was to
begin teaching had announced just before the start of term that the piano lessons would have
to be given on an electronic keyboard. Her dismay was understandable after she had spent
79
three years training to teach pianoforte plus many years in learning the piano herself. She was
a musician specialising in and committed to the classical repertoire. Her area of expertise was
classical piano and it was this subject that the students parents were paying lessons for. She
had every right to be teaching on the instrument that she had agreed to teach. If the school
wanted a keyboard teacher, that is who they needed to employ. Fortunately, after putting in
writing the reasons for her unwillingness to teach on anything other than a piano, the school
reconsidered and a piano was made available. If the piano is our choice of career, then we can
unashamedly be proud of teaching this wonderful instrument and its enriching repertoire.

Second-hand
I recommend when purchasing a second-hand instrument that once a piano has been found
where the sound and touch are to the buyers satisfaction, the services of a qualified piano
technician be engaged to give a professional opinion. Avoid small pianos as the tone is
unsatisfying. Also avoid pianos which have an over-damper system (birdcage actions)
because they are hard to service and the damping of the strings can be unreliable.

Makes
A thorough list of piano makes and their histories is in John-Paul Williams The Piano. This
also gives pictorial information, including unusual casework. For instance the Steingraeber &
Shnes model Eucalyptus stunningly contrasts black and eucalyptus panels. This firm also
makes an upright piano that can be used by players who do not have use of their legs,
positioning the pedal levers wherever the player finds it the most comfortable.

GOODBYES

Piano teaching is not without disappointments. There are patches when students do not
achieve what you believe they are capable of. At other times reports and exam results do not
reflect a students true capabilities we all have good and bad days. There are times when the
student seems to sit on a plateau and we wait with anticipation for them to take the next step
up. Nevertheless, remember: the tougher the battle the sweeter the victory. A capable student
mostly progresses well and quickly and of course this sort of progress produces quiet
satisfaction. Where there has been blood, sweat and tears and eventually a musical matter
mastered, the feeling can be quite euphoric. Then you begin to understand the special nature
of music teaching.

Care needs to be taken not to mix disappointments with failure. If there is musical growth
then failure is not part of the equation. The tougher moments are sometimes perplexing and
frustrating. The upside is that problems are often the catalyst for finding better ways of
teaching.

On rare occasions, I have declined to continue lessons when a student has been disrespectful.
This is a hard decision and made only after trying to talk through the problem and the
students having the opportunity to change their attitude. I do not regard this as a failure.
Human relationships are complex and one personality is not going to click with all student
types. Making a stand in such circumstances may be the only opportunity for disrespectful
students to learn that such behaviour is inappropriate and unacceptable.

The student-teacher dynamic reminds me of the parent-child relationship. Students are on
loan to us for just a short while. If we do our job well then they will leave the studio strong
and capable musicians. We can feel delighted that we have been a small part of helping them
along the way. They leave the studio knowing that with time and work there is no ceiling on

80
their development. Here are a couple of my favourite comments in letters from students or
their parents

Isnt it amazing how truly brilliant music just hooks itself into some place inside you?
(This is what we wish for the children to carry through their whole lives.)

I know one of the most important things a teacher can do is to teach their students to
teach themselves and I certainly feel well on my way to tackling new material with
confidence.

It isnt easy, yet your belief in me is giving me the courage to take on the piano
accompanying at school

Thank you for resurrecting my confidence in both myself and my playing. When it
comes to performance, I always wrote myself off as a mediocre student and although
Ill never be a concert pianist, you have helped me to see that I can create beautiful
sounds. You have returned my joy in playing the piano

Thank you for putting music into my own hands.


Figure 15. Floating by Hannah Bailey

After learning tonic, subdominant and dominant chords and harmonising simple well-known
tunes, Hannah brought me her composition. This was completely unsolicited and she was
bursting to perform it. What was it that caused her to write her own music with such urgency
that she had to get it down on the first piece of paper that came her way? We can learn much
from her enthusiasm. The result was an example of originality springing from what she had
learnt through past musical experience. When we can tap into this kind of spontaneity and
approach to work, then we will reap unique, creative and worthwhile moments. I wish you
many rushing-for-a-piece-of-paper moments throughout your teaching careers.
81
APPENDIX: INTERNET SITES

Books to buy
www.amazon.com
www.amazon.uk
www.bamm.com

Bach
jan.ucc.nau.edu/~tas3/bachindex.html (Well-Tempered Clavier)

Beethoven
www.ludwigvanweb.com

Chopin
http://chopin.lib.uchicago.edu (over 400 first and early editions of Chopin scores)

Concerts
www.wigmore_hall.org.uk

Education
www.classicalmus.hispeed.com/articles
www.pianoeducation.org
www.musicteachers.co.uk
www.web-helper?net/PDMusic/Biographies

Music CDs, DVDs, Videos
www.cdnow.com
www.towerrecords.com

Music Scores
www.di-arrezzo.com
www.sheetmusicplus.com

Free Music
www.chopinfiles.com
www.freesheetmusicguide.com
www.mfiles.co.uk
www.music_score.com
www.sheetmusicarchive.net

Reviews
www.andante.com
www.gramophone.co.uk
www.guardian.co.uk/arts
www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/music

Tuners
www.aptta.org.au
www.pianotuner.org.uk
www.ptg.org

82
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83
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84
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Learning to sight read well involves knowing such skills as how to read
the music, how to position the body and how to find the notes without having
to look at the keyboard. This guide lists music by great composers that can
be worked through sequentially so that growth in reading and musicianship
can be measured. This is a proven approach showing how the student can
move from the earliest stages to Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier.
The guide includes many quotes on sight reading by great composers
and pianists. It also contains a unique, compact and quick-to-learn
table for the fingerings of scales and arpeggios.

Available from www.faithmaydwell.com