Piano Magazine

A Continuum Between Teaching Styles: Reflections from the US and Chile

Written By Paulina Zamora

We would like to thank Paulina Zamora for this insightful article on her experiences growing up as a musician in Chile. Want to learn more about international teaching practices? Attend our webinar, “International Perspectives: Piano Methods from Different Corners of the World,” with guests Yuval Admony, Rae de Lisle, and Carla Reis, with Luis Sanchez, host. The webinar is today, April 3rd at 11am ET. Learn more and register here.

The international column has frequently focused on comparing music education systems in different parts of the world, with previous articles discussing subjects such as the Australian Music Examinations Board, as well as thoughts from professors of Asian conservatories about sending students abroad to Europe. In continuing this trend, I sought out my former classmate Paulina Zamora, whose journey as student and professor in North and South America presents a unique perspective on the music training in both regions that has proven to be wonderfully illuminating. -Jerry Wong, International Column Editor

My trajectory as a concert pianist, teacher, and scholar followed a similar international pathway as many musicians whose native origins are far from the traditionally accepted educational music centers of the world. I excelled in my native Chilean environment until completion of my undergraduate degree and went on to graduate studies abroad. After twenty years of artistic and professional career growth, I returned to Chile and began to forge a teaching career in academia, while steadily building international opportunities for performances and masterclasses.

My beginnings were similar to that of a child prodigy, but I prefer to think that I was a very talented girl with lots of potential and a serious, no-nonsense attitude. From the age of five I intuitively knew I would dedicate my life to music. As the youngest of three sisters, my father’s immediate attention went to fostering a musical upbringing in my oldest sister. I can recall interrupting my sister’s piano lessons and begging my father to teach me as well. After many bold attempts for attention, my father conceded. It is so meaningful to me that as adults, my oldest sister became a beautiful ballet dancer and I am now a professional pianist. We often rejoice in the commonalities between these two art forms.

The Music Department at the University of Chile offers an eight-year pre-collegiate program which is referred to as the Basic Period (conservatory level) and a five-year Undergraduate degree. I undertook studies at both levels, receiving the standard two piano lessons per week during both courses of study. During the Basic Period, piano lessons were complemented with fundamental courses such as Theory, Harmony, and Introduction to Music History. While pursuing my undergraduate, I received the traditional curriculum of a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Furthermore, during my early conservatory years, I would spend summers receiving daily piano lessons. An outcome of this intense training was to play my first formal recital at age nine, performing from memory the fifteen two-voice Inventions by Bach. This was followed, a year later, by the Fifteen Sinfonias. At that time, I did not feel comfortable questioning my teachers or proposing different options and, of course, this exercise gave me invaluable lessons in self-discipline and focus. Years later I would return to these works in recording and editing projects. Having said all of that, I do refrain from reassigning this task to young students of my own!

Pursuing graduate studies in the Unites States presented all sorts of enlightenment and change. The most obvious difference was the adjustment from two or more hours per week of lessons to just to one hour per week, and sometimes less if the artist-teacher was away. The reasoning behind this amount of instruction made sense to me, but it took me a few months to adjust. Ultimately, acquiring self-reliance and independent musical thinking was a valuable lesson from those years.

During my studies at the Eastman School of Music and Indiana University, I had moments to reflect on the wonderful teaching I had received in Chile, while also embracing the opportunity to understand more fully what still needed to be learned. I was mesmerized by the infrastructure of the schools: the buildings themselves, the magnificent libraries, the many practice rooms with decent pianos, stunning concert halls, and the rich musical life of each respective city. The academic level of both schools was outstanding, and I felt this from my first days of attending music-related classes.

We hope you enjoyed reading this excerpt from Paulina Zamora’s article, “A Continuum Between Teaching Styles: Reflections from the US and Chile.” Read the full article by clicking here.

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A Continuum Between Teaching Styles: Reflections from the US and Chile
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Norwegian Folk Songs: Making Rhythmic Complexities Easy and Enjoyable

Written By Sarah Jenkins

We would like to thank Sarah Jenkins, our 2020 Collegiate Writing Contest Winner, for this insightful article on Norwegian folk songs. Are you a student interested in sharing your research and projects with the piano pedagogy community? On Friday, April 26th at 11am ET, the Frances Clark Center is hosting “Collegiate Connections,” an event to celebrate collegiate groups and their innovative projects. Learn more and submit a proposal, click here. The deadline is tomorrow, April 2nd!

Developing an internal sense of metric pulse and an understanding of subdivisions of beats is essential to the success of a young performer. Without establishing a strong sense of pulse, complex rhythms can be played incorrectly. This is too often a source of frustration for students—and teachers. By choosing repertoire where these aspects are highlighted and emphasized, students gain confidence in these areas of their musical training. Some of the standard teaching repertoire used for rhythmic development can be unappealing to students, due to a seemingly high level of difficulty or lack of interest in the character. The good news is these pieces do not have to be boring—they can be fun to learn and entertaining to play! Assigning pieces that have appealing melodies and fun character will motivate students to push through the potential rhythmic challenges. Two pieces by Agathe Backer Grøndahl, Springdans from Op. 30 and Halling from Op. 33, provide examples of how her arrangements of Norwegian folk songs offer students exciting tunes that also serve as exercises to promote rhythmic development.

Springdans, Op. 30 and Halling, Op. 33 are similar in many ways. They both offer students sources of metric pulse that allow them to further internalize the beat, and they both have lively and animated melodies. Because they are folk songs, each has a continuous, easy-to-follow melody throughout. These two pieces pair nicely together because they offer similar skills that are presented in different ways. Where Springdans offers a strong left-hand position and a grounding right-hand finger one as means for metric support, Halling contains sections that have an ostinato quarter-note pattern that is played primarily by finger five in the right hand. Students will be able to transfer the concepts learned in Springdans, where the supporting elements were more prominent, to Halling, where the rhythmic stabilizers require more sophisticated skill.

This springdans (leaping dance for men) is bouncy, fast, and rhythmically diverse. A forte dynamic marking and accented rhythms, combined with a melody that primarily uses steps and skips, create a fun and lively opening section. There are three distinct rhythmic patterns used throughout. These increase in complexity as the piece moves forward. Within the first three measures, the piece moves from a quarter note, to eighth notes, to triplets, to dotted-eighth sixteenths (see Excerpt 1).

A student might struggle with the juxtaposition of these rhythmic patterns. However, Grøndahl uses accented half-note and quarter-note accompaniment patterns to support the rhythmically complex melody. The open fifth in the left hand is commonly used in beginning method books and repertoire because it creates a strong, but comfortable, hand shape. In this piece the hand position is coupled with an accent—allowing for an overemphasized downbeat. The first finger in the right hand shares this accented rhythm, also giving the right hand a source of stability. Using fingers one and five, the right-hand octave downbeats also help create a strong hand position. Although playing multiple rhythmic subdivisions in succession can be challenging, students will find that the sources of rhythmic stability will help them in maintaining the metric pulse.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Sarah Jenkin’s article, “Norwegian Folk Songs: Making Rhythmic Complexities Easy and Enjoyable.” To read the full article, click here.

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2020 Collegiate Writing Contest Winner: Norwegian Folk Songs: Making Rhythmic Complexities Easy and Enjoyable
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Collegiate Essay Winner: Emerging Adulthood and Undergraduate Group Piano

Written By Melody Morrison

We would like to thank Melody Morrison, who was named the winner of the 2023 Collegiate Writing Contest, for this insightful article on adulthood and collegiate group piano. Are you a collegiate student interested in submitting your writing to the Piano Magazine? We encourage all collegiate students to enter the 2024 Collegiate Writing Contest! Materials are due on May 1, 2024. To learn more and submit an article, click here.

Typical college students find themselves in a phase of life that has been identified as “emerging adulthood”— a time when characteristics of both children and adults are present in individuals who are in their late teens to early twenties.1 Collegiate group piano classes consist of mostly first- and second-year students (likely seventeen to twenty years old) and are in the beginning stages of emerging adulthood.2 Because the students who are in undergraduate group piano classes exhibit traits of children and adults, elements from both pedagogical and andragogical teaching approaches should be applied. It is therefore beneficial for a teacher to understand the teaching methodologies which highlight the adjustment of one’s teaching style according to the age of the student.3

This discussion will synthesize the research literature related to the differences between pedagogy and andragogy, and undergraduate class piano. In conclusion, implications and suggestions for teaching undergraduate class piano and this age population will be presented.

Pedagogy and Andragogy: History, Characteristics, and Differences

Pedagogy has often been used to encompass learning in all stages of life. However, the word “pedagogy” is derived from the Greek words paidos and agogus which translate to “child” and “leader of” respectively.4 Pedagogy, therefore, can be defined as the art and science of teaching children.5 European monks between the seventh and twelfth centuries began to observe how children learn and developed the first pedagogical concepts. Ideas from this era were eventually seen in schools throughout Europe and North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and educational psychologists continued to study and develop the pedagogical model.6

A new focus on effective adult learning within the United States in the 1920s demonstrated that pedagogical concepts did not appear to work with the same success rate in adult students. Different teaching methods for adults began to develop throughout the twentieth century, and in the 1960s American educator Malcolm Knowles popularized the term andragogy. Andragogy originates from the Greek words aner whose stem andra means “man,” not “boy,” and agogue which means “leader of.” Knowles emphasized that andragogy was different from pedagogy, the latter referring to the education of children.7

The differences between pedagogy and andragogy can be summarized in six “assumptions” found in Figure 1.8 One of the noticeable differences between children and adult learners is that children often willingly receive instructions from a teacher if the directions are clear, while an adult learner will want to know the importance of a concept before they take the time to study it. Adult learners also carry with them many life experiences which will affect numerous areas of their learning.9 Children on the other hand come to a learning environment with more of a “clean slate.” Another difference between pedagogy and andragogy is that children often are motivated by outside forces, while adults demonstrate more internal motivation.10 Lastly, adults have shown preference toward self-directed learning.11

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Melody Morrison’s article “Emerging Adulthood and Undergraduate Group Piano,” you can read more here: https://pianoinspires.com/article/collegiate-essay-winner-emerging-adulthood-and-undergraduate-group-piano/.

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Collegiate Essay Winner: Emerging Adulthood and Undergraduate Group Piano
SOURCES

1 Jeffrey J. Arnett, “Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development from the Late Teens through the Twenties,” American Psychologist 55, no. 5 (2000): 469–480.

2 Christopher Fisher, Teaching Piano in Groups (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010); Pamela D. Pike, Dynamic Group-Piano Teaching (New York: Routledge, 2017).

3 Malcolm S. Knowles, The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy (Englewood Cliffs: Cambridge Adult Education, 1980); Joseph Mews, “Leading through Andragogy,” College and University 95 (2020): 65–68.

4 Malcolm S. Knowles, The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species (Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, 1973); Malcolm S. Knowles, Elwood F. Holton III, and Richard A. Swanson, The Adult Learner (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2012).

5 Geraldine Holmes and Michele Abington-Cooper, “Pedagogy vs. Andragogy: A False Dichotomy?” The Journal of Technology Studies 26 (2000). doi.org/10.21061/jots.v26i2.a.8

6 Knowles, The Modern Practice of Adult Education.

7 Ibid.; Joseph Davenport, “Is There a Way Out of the Andragogy Morass?” Lifelong Learning 11, no. 3 (1987): 17–20.

8 Darcy B. Tannehill, “How Do Post-Secondary Institutions Educate and Service Adult Learners?” EdD diss., (University of Pittsburgh, 2009).

9 Sang Chan, “Applications of Andragogy in Multi-Disciplined Teaching and Learning,” MPAEA Journal of Adult Education 39, no. 2 (2010): 25–35.

10 James A. Draper, “The Metamorphoses of Andragogy,” Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education 12, no. 1 (1998), 3–26; Mews, “Leading through Andragogy.”

11 Sharan B. Merriam, “Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory,” New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, (Spring 2001): 3–14. doi.org/10.1002/ace.3

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Spring 2021: Pupil Saver: Adagio in F Minor by Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Written By Leah Claiborne

We would like to thank Leah Claiborne for this insightful article on Chevalier de Saint-Georges’s Adagio in F Minor. Want to learn more about Black composers? Check out our latest publication of Thomas Henderson Kerr Jr.’s Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel? for two pianos! This publication, spearheaded by Susanna Garcia and William Chapman Nyaho, is the first in a series of three publications of Kerr’s piano works by the Frances Clark Center. Learn more and order a copy here.

Can you imagine performing a piece by a Black composer who was born into slavery? What a piece of history you would have at your fingertips!

Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799) was a virtuoso violinist, conductor, and composer. Born in Guadeloupe, his father was a wealthy plantation owner and his mother was enslaved on the plantation. His father took him to Paris, France when he was seven years old to further his education. He became a leading concertmaster in Paris, performing his own violin concerti, and concerti that were dedicated to him by other leading composers of the time. Some of these composers include Antonio Lolli and Carl Stamitz. Chevalier de Saint-Georges composed operas, solo vocal and instrumental works, chamber music, and symphonies. All of the music that this composer created is hardly ever performed, but that can change right now by incorporating Adagio in F Minor into your repertoire.

Adagio in F Minor is a solemn, expressive piece that would be a wonderful predecessor before a student tackles Clementi sonatinas. It can be challenging for teachers to find music that bridges the gap between method book repertoire and sonatinas, as well as the transition from sonatinas to sonatas. Adagio in F Minor fits perfectly into an early-intermediate pianist’s studies. This piano piece in F minor features a melancholic melody with expressive harmonic support (see Excerpt 1). The musical maturity needed for this piece often makes this a favorite amongst intermediate adult students as well. 

Excerpt 1: Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Adagio in F Minor, mm. 1-4

CHALLENGE #1

The student is asked to perform scale passages in thirds in the right hand (see Excerpt 2). The thirds in Adagio in F Minor are beautifully intertwined with the melody and should be voiced to the top note. A similar example of right-hand thirds being used as the melody in the teaching repertoire is found in Czerny’s 100 Progressive Studies, Op. 139, No. 38 in G major, which can be a great companion etude when a student is learning this piece (see Excerpt 3). 

Excerpt 2: Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Adagio in F Minor, mm. 8-10.
Excerpt 3: Carl Czerny, 100 Progressive Studies, Op. 139, No. 38, mm. 1-4.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Leah Claibornes’s article “Spring 2021: Pupil Saver: Adagio in F Minor by Chevalier de Saint-Georges.” You can read more by clicking here.

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Spring 2021: Pupil Saver: Adagio in F Minor by Chevalier de Saint-Georges
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Create to Motivate: Using Repertoire to Incorporate Creativity in Lessons

Written By Chee-Hwa Tan

We would like to thank Chee-Hwa Tan for this insightful article on creative activities to explore with your students. Want to apply these tips with your students? We encourage your students to submit to the Piano Inspires Kids 2024 Composition Contest. Student applicants are tasked with composing a fanfare inspired by the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics. Learn more here: https://kids.pianoinspires.com/composition-contest/.

The ability to experiment and create with our instrument is an important part of piano study. Yet I would venture that for many of us who teach, this component of piano study presents a logistical challenge as we juggle the many aspects of music study. We may feel defeated at our inability to include creative activities like ear training, improvisation, transposition, musical composition, and analysis within lesson time, experience an existential crisis at the prospect of teaching what we did not ourselves learn, or feel overwhelmed about plowing through stacks of resources purchased at a workshop. On the other hand, when we do include these activities, perhaps our student freezes like a “deer in the headlights” when asked to improvise or create. If any of these scenarios are relatable, you are in good company.

This article will explore how we can use repertoire assignments to integrate experimentation and creation into regular lessons. Repertoire study is a staple of every lesson; assigning pieces that meet performance study needs, and that also serve as inspiration for creative assignments, is a way to meet both goals in a sustainable manner. This approach can be utilized during summers, several times a year, every other month, or with alternating pieces. 

I will address this topic from the following framework:

  1. A “whole” teaching philosophy: I start with this because our teaching philosophy impacts how we motivate students and whether we prioritize time for creativity.
  2. Repertoire selection: How to select the right kind of music to organically incorporate creative activities in your lessons, without designing a whole separate track.
  3. Basic principles: What to do with repertoire that you assign in your lessons.
  4. Examples: Practical applications from a selection of pieces at different levels. 

A “Whole” Teaching Philosophy

Our teaching philosophy states WHY we teach and WHAT is important to us in our teaching. A teaching philosophy serves as a compass—a “priority check” for us when we feel overwhelmed by all the teaching to-dos and performance deadlines. As educators, it is good to revisit our teaching philosophy periodically to allow for personal growth and adjustments. Here, I share here my personal teaching philosophy:

I teach…

  1. To nurture a love and understanding of music.
  2. To create a pathway to lifelong music making at the piano, for both the hobbyist and the professional. 
  3. To equip my students with skills that will make them independent learners and to give them ownership of their music.
  4. To pursue music making with joy, with abandon, without guilt.
  5. So that my students will be more whole from the experience. 

As teachers, we imprint a “feeling“—a feeling about the student’s identity in relationship to their music study. Long after formal lessons have ended, our students may not remember much of what they learned or even how to play what they learned, but they will remember how they felt in their lessons. This feeling will spur them to continue to pursue music in some shape or form, or this feeling will cause them to be afraid to try because they feel they are “not good enough” to meet the standards or expectations. Reviewing my teaching philosophy helps me to remember to prioritize the emotional connection with my student and the music making process and then to ask myself: What skills do I want my student to still have twenty to thirty years from now? 

A lot of what we do as teachers focuses on the “what” and the “how”—specific skills for teaching repertoire and technique, materials, how to practice, style and interpretation, pedaling, theoretical knowledge—the list goes on. However, far more important than this is teaching the “why?” Do our students know the overarching purpose behind the concepts and skills that we teach them? Are they able to take what they learn in their music and apply it for their own purposes? Students who can do this are students who will make music for the rest of their lives.

Why is it important to encourage students to create? 
  1. When we create, we get ownership of our learning.
  2. Ownership empowers.
  3. This makes us curious to learn more. 
  4. Curiosity is motivating!

If we have not experienced this type of process ourselves, this can be intimidating. The underlying philosophy is to nurture a sense of wonder and curiosity about this amazing process we call music. From the very beginning of piano study, slow down and reinforce theory and musical concepts by helping the student discover or identify the sounds in each of the pieces they study. Then, experiment with at least one of these concepts through listening and explorative play with the student.

Why use repertoire as the basis for composition or improvisation? 
  1. Using specific pieces provides a natural structure from which to take off—a blueprint for concrete inspiration. This is common practice throughout music history.
  2. It is less intimidating to have a few guidelines or a “track” to stay within.
  3. Students need to learn that there is structure in creativity.
  4. Music is all about structure—neurological studies show that our brains automatically search for aural patterns in music.
  5. Everything has a form and structure—rhythmically, melodically, and harmonically. Entities that do not have clear form tend to lack longevity.

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Chee-Hwa Tan’s article “Create to Motivate: Using Repertoire to Incorporate Creativity in Lessons,” you can read more here: https://pianoinspires.com/article/create-to-motivate-using-repertoire-to-incorporate-creativity-in-lessons/.

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Spring 2022: Create to Motivate: Using Repertoire to Incorporate Creativity in Lessons

Chee-Hwa Tan has served as the Head of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, as well as on the piano pedagogy faculties at the Oberlin Conservatory and Southern Methodist University. Ms. Tan is the author of internationally acclaimed A Child’s Garden of Verses and other piano collections. Her music is published by Piano Safari; with selections included in the Repertoire and Study series of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada, and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, London.

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Walk a mile in your neighbor’s shoes: Diversity in the teaching studio

Written By Rachel Kramer, Bennyce Hamilton

We would like to thank Bennyce Hamilton and Rachel Kramer for this insightful article on diversity in the teaching studio. Want to learn more about DEI? Check out our new course, Piano Teaching through the Lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The course is now available for presale purchase. Click here to learn more.

Connor Chee, Ann DuHamel, Leah Claiborne, and Sara Davis Buechner at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference.

Music is the universal language.

This phrase has been in my vocabulary since I was young enough to understand what it meant. As I have become a performing musician, music educator, and community arts participant, I continue to believe the statement is true. However, as I look at the faces in my studio and consider the studios of my colleagues, I wonder just how “universal” we really are. Who exactly has a seat in our studio? Are there more seats for students of a certain background? For most of us we set a table of convenience, with seats for those in our immediate community who are interested, educated, and able to pay. While it is not our intention to exclude anyone or refuse students, to diversify means that we must do so with intention. Take a moment to consider the faces that populate your studio. What percentages are white, Christian, educated, heterosexual, and middle class? Whether you know the number or have not thought about it— the time for an honest, reflective conversation is long overdue. We need to address diversity deliberately and intentionally within our everyday lives and within our studios. Maya Angelou may be right when she said, “We are more alike than unalike, my friends.” Our understanding and appreciation of diversity remains a crucial step in building and maintaining community. How do we find common ground? How are we being mindful of the differences that exist? How can we change our mindsets to be more inclusive? Our own educational background is heaped in the traditions of Western music. Does this limit our vision or the population of our studios? 

Let change begin

Change begins with awareness of ourselves and of our communities. Initiating conversations about diversity may be the first actions we take. Dr. Bennyce Hamilton is the Regional Director of Diversity for Miami University of Ohio. Her work in leading workshops, providing training, and developing “common ground” understanding helps people recognize different points of view and see what it feels like to walk in another’s shoes. Dr. Hamilton’s dissertation presents the idea of becoming a reflexive, culturally-relevant practitioner. Based on her research and current work we will lay the groundwork for all of us to become more intentionally inclusive in our studios. —Rachel Kramer

Where to begin

Beginning the work of inclusion and diversity means that we acknowledge that there are students who are from all faiths/beliefs, races, and socioeconomic levels. This could mean that we need to change our registration forms to say “Guardians,” instead of Mom and Dad. This could mean that we need to change or add to our recital themes or holiday breaks. We must be intentional and purposeful. It is not enough to think or say that you want your business to reflect a diverse population. We must actively seek out those who are not represented. Thinking about our current students: Do they all come from the same neighborhoods and schools? Are they all white? Are they all Christian? Can they all afford music lessons? Do they all have a Mom and Dad? It is only after we have addressed these kinds of questions that we can begin to operate differently. Intention means that we go above and beyond our usual way of conducting business. Intention means that we are deliberate in how we find students, the materials and methods we use, and how we retain students. We must acknowledge that we do not have all of the answers and that we can ask for help.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Bennyce Hamilton and Rachel Kramer’s article “Walk a mile in your neighbor’s shoes: Diversity in the teaching studio.” You can learn more about diversity in the teaching studio by purchasing our newest course, Piano Teaching through the Lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Learn more by clicking here.

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Cultivating Brave Spaces in the Piano Studio Using DEI Repertoire and Practices

Written By Penny Lazarus

We would like to thank Penny Lazarus for this insightful article on inclusive programming. Want to learn more about Penny Lazarus’s work in DEI and her thoughts on inclusive programming? Lazarus is a contributor for our new course, Piano Teaching through the Lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The course is now available for presale purchase. Click here to learn more.

I am an independent music teacher with a 45-student piano studio in Newburyport, MA. Like you, I always wanted our piano recitals to engage and help my students connect expressively with their music beyond just notes on a page. I think you will recognize the recital themes I used before 2015.

Previous Recital Plans: “Beethoven and Friends,” “History of the Piano,” “Water Music,” “Carnival of the Animals,” “My Favorite Things,” and “Pictures of an Exhibition.”

In 2016, a new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, came out. I created a practice challenge based on that movie, pretending “The First Order” bans all music. Our students had to preserve the world’s music until “The Resistance” could find Jedi Luke Skywalker and restore the universe. For every piece learned, my students added a glow-in-the-dark star to the ceiling of my studio. They tended to group their stars into distinct separate “neighborhoods” representing individual symbols of achievement. Dismayed by these walled-off individual neighborhoods, the following week, I laid out a map of our solar system. From then on, students placed their stars to match the constellations of our universal night sky. We celebrated music making together in an informal recital under our glowing stars and a feeling of community in the studio was born.

Penny Lazarus

Profound Purpose and Piano Study: Parallel Paths

I couldn’t shake the feeling that entire countries had cultural bans in place that severely limited the study of music, art, and literature. The following year, 2017, I decided to explore Eastern European music, a topic I knew little about except the work of Béla Bartók. It takes some trust in the universe “to go where one hasn’t been before” as a piano teacher. But it is invigorating to explore a new topic. I mentioned this to an acquaintance and learned her husband was working with the Peace Corp in Albania, a country in the Balkans. He had befriended a wonderful Albanian composer Alban Dhamo. I learned Albania only recently emerged from five decades of an oppressive dictatorship that banned all cultural practices. Alban and his wife Erinda Agolli, an opera singer, helped launch the Lincoln Center for the Arts, named after Abraham Lincoln, in the capital city Tirana, to restore piano lessons for local children. The school had only a few electric keyboards and little music. We created a cultural exchange: Alban wrote twenty pieces for our studio, based on Bartók’s Albums for Children, using Albanian folk melodies. We raised money to send over a hundred leveled-music books. Alban’s Balkan rhythms were tricky, but I witnessed new energy from my students who practiced harder than ever, because they had a personal stake and a responsibility for engaging with a living composer in another part of the world. When they played Alban’s pieces during a Facetime recital, the composer was brought to tears.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Penny Lazarus’s article “Cultivating Brave Spaces in the Piano Studio Using DEI Repertoire and Practices.” You can read more by purchasing our newest course, Piano Teaching through the Lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Learn more by clicking here.

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Spring 2021: Pupil Saver: Adagio in F Minor by Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Written By Leah Claiborne

We would like to thank Leah Claiborne for this insightful article on Chevalier de Saint-Georges’s Adagio in F Minor. Want to hear more about Leah Claiborne’s research and work at the Center? Check out the latest installment of the Piano Inspires Podcast. In this episode, Craig Sale and Leah engage in an inspiring conversation about her musical and personal journey. To learn more, visit pianoinspires.com. Listen to our latest episode with Leah Claiborne on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

Can you imagine performing a piece by a Black composer who was born into slavery? What a piece of history you would have at your fingertips!

Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799) was a virtuoso violinist, conductor, and composer. Born in Guadeloupe, his father was a wealthy plantation owner and his mother was enslaved on the plantation. His father took him to Paris, France when he was seven years old to further his education. He became a leading concertmaster in Paris, performing his own violin concerti, and concerti that were dedicated to him by other leading composers of the time. Some of these composers include Antonio Lolli and Carl Stamitz. Chevalier de Saint-Georges composed operas, solo vocal and instrumental works, chamber music, and symphonies. All of the music that this composer created is hardly ever performed, but that can change right now by incorporating Adagio in F Minor into your repertoire.

Adagio in F Minor is a solemn, expressive piece that would be a wonderful predecessor before a student tackles Clementi sonatinas. It can be challenging for teachers to find music that bridges the gap between method book repertoire and sonatinas, as well as the transition from sonatinas to sonatas. Adagio in F Minor fits perfectly into an early-intermediate pianist’s studies. This piano piece in F minor features a melancholic melody with expressive harmonic support (see Excerpt 1). The musical maturity needed for this piece often makes this a favorite amongst intermediate adult students as well. 

Excerpt 1: Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Adagio in F Minor, mm. 1-4

CHALLENGE #1

The student is asked to perform scale passages in thirds in the right hand (see Excerpt 2). The thirds in Adagio in F Minor are beautifully intertwined with the melody and should be voiced to the top note. A similar example of right-hand thirds being used as the melody in the teaching repertoire is found in Czerny’s 100 Progressive Studies, Op. 139, No. 38 in G major, which can be a great companion etude when a student is learning this piece (see Excerpt 3). 

Excerpt 2: Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Adagio in F Minor, mm. 8-10.
Excerpt 3: Carl Czerny, 100 Progressive Studies, Op. 139, No. 38, mm. 1-4.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Leah Claibornes’s article “Spring 2021: Pupil Saver: Adagio in F Minor by Chevalier de Saint-Georges.” You can read more by clicking here.

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Spring 2021: Pupil Saver: Adagio in F Minor by Chevalier de Saint-Georges
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Remaking Ourselves and the Standard Canon: Perspectives and Resources for Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Classical Music

Written By Nicholas Reynolds

We would like to thank Nicholas Reynolds for this insightful article on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the classical music world. Did you hear about our new course—Piano Teaching through the Lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion? Join us on February 21st at 11:00am ET for a discussion of this new course in our webinar titled: Introduction to the Frances Clark Center’s New Online Course: Piano Teaching through the Lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Learn more and register by clicking here. You can also purchase the course on presale! Click here to learn more.

The life-altering events of the past year have been a wake-up call for all of us to reassess our values and practices as artists and educators. Our musical community has developed a collective sense of advocacy and accountability that has been tremendously overdue, geared towards a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable field of music. Many of us may consider ourselves supporters, advocates, and allies, but how do we ensure that we use our good intentions to become true and respectful agents of change? Our language, tools, resources, and approaches need constant internal and external reassessment; our goal is a moving target that we must always and continuously strive towards. A good place to start is a common understanding of the language—what do the terms diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to each of us, and how do we make sure we are constantly upholding these values?

The term diversity embraces not only the equitable representation of people of different backgrounds, lived experiences, and perspectives, but also the way we understand and honor the ways in which people are unique. The diversity that we strive for in our communities can be reflected in our musical lives as well, from the repertoire we perform and assign students, to guest artists we invite to our schools, to hiring practices at our institutions. However, diversity in itself is insufficient unless it is in tandem with the values of equity and inclusion. Equity ensures that all groups and individuals have what they need in order to be successful; it also recognizes the agency of those who are under-represented and marginalized and respects their role in decision-making situations. Inclusion invites us to listen to our differences and treat others with respect regardless of those differences; it means choosing a language that doesn’t inadvertently exclude or insult others and striving to be informed and respectful of our differences.

Racial and gender diversity have been at the forefront of the DEI movement in classical music given the historically perpetuated marginalization of BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) and women composers. To Brazilian pianist Daniel Inamorato, founder of The Toy Piano Sanctuary and Neurodiversity Music Institute, the conversation about diversity in classical music should not only include racial and gender identity, but also diverse physical and neurological abilities. Based on his experience working with students of many such backgrounds, Inamorato reminds us that students and artists can possess one or a mix of distinguishing traits, and it can be insensitive and alienating to categorize them based on one single kind of diversity. Avoiding assumptions and stereotyping, as well as being invested in their individual identity, is a mindset we can constantly advocate for in every aspect of our musical and personal lives.

Both music and society have changed immensely in the past 400 years, yet the repertoire in our traditional canon still includes very few works by historically underrepresented composers and new compositions. Rethinking our traditional repertoire selections, even one bit at a time, can have a great potential to reflect the changes we want to see in our society and to inspire and empower future generations of artists, teachers, supporters, and leaders. However, when it comes time to program a concert or assign pieces to students, many of us may struggle to find inclusive and diverse elementary and intermediate repertoire that is age and level appropriate. 

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Nicholas Reynold’s article “Remaking Ourselves and the Standard Canon: Perspectives and Resources for Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Classical Music.” You can read more by clicking here.

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Remaking Ourselves and the Standard Canon: Perspectives and Resources for Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Classical Music
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Perspectives: Managing performance anxiety

Written By Ali Snow

We would like to thank Ali Snow for this insightful article on managing performance anxiety and motivation. Want to learn more about motivation? Join us on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 11am ET for “Determinants of Motivation in World-Class Musicians and Olympic Athletes: Exploring the Front and the Back Side of the Medallion,” a webinar that highlights connections between sports and music research. Learn more and register by clicking here.

Mastering the inner game: Three “mind coaches” on managing performance anxiety

“Don’t be nervous! You’ll do fine!” “Take a few deep breaths and it’ll all be OK.” “Here, eat this banana. It’ll help your nerves.” “Just picture the audience in their underwear!” “You should put yourself in a lot of pressure-filled situations and soon you’ll just get used to it.” 

Sound familiar? These are just a few of the most common answers musicians hear when asking how to overcome performance anxiety. Although well intentioned, each statement is either false folklore or a fad that has gone in and out of style. So why are students seeking advice in the first place? Perhaps it is because one of the biggest challenges many music teachers face is how to adequately prepare their students for the mental side of performance. In his classic book The Inner Game of Tennis, author W. Timothy Gallwey wrote, “Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game.”1 If this is true, then how can teachers effectively teach the inner game, a game that often seems so abstract? This question will be explored through tips from three leading minds in this arena: performance coaches Jon Skidmore and Kjell Fajèus, and sports psychologist Richard Gordin.  

Figure 1: Brain diagram. Illustration by jonskidmore.com

Physiological responses and the brain

According to Jon Skidmore, a performance coach and adjunct professor at Brigham Young University, the first major obstacle in approaching the inner game is rooted in the very definition of a “performance.” Rather than labeling it as an event, a performance should be shifted into the context of a process. “If you’re a professional and you’re throwing a gig, that’s an event. There are certain expectations,” says Skidmore. “But if you’re a student learning, you’ve got to look at this as an experience—whether it’s a performance or recital or audition. [This is] part of the process of becoming the musician you want to be.”

Consider how an event is processed in the mind: A portion of the brain called the midbrain constantly scans every experience for danger. It functions as a survival center (see Figure 1). “Once something has been programmed into the midbrain, there’s an automatic response,” says Skidmore. “It is often referred to as the ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ response. Now that works great for a rattlesnake, but it can be devastating in an audition.” 

What Skidmore suggests is to shift the focus out of the midbrain and into another area, the prefrontal cortex (see Figure 2). This highly-developed part of the brain assigns meaning and allows for reasoning. By making this change, students can be in control by designing their mindset, rather than reacting by default.

Figure 2: Prefrontal cortex.
Illustration by Wikimedia Commons

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Ali Snow’s article “Perspectives: Managing performance anxiety.” You can read more by clicking here.

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Perspectives: Managing performance anxiety
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Collegiate Essay Runner-Up: The Unrecognized Performing Art of Group Piano Teaching

Written By Dominick Cristofori D’Alessandro

We would like to thank Dominick Cristofori D’Alessandro for this insightful article on collegiate group piano and motivation. Want to learn more about motivation? Join us on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 11am ET for “Determinants of Motivation in World-Class Musicians and Olympic Athletes: Exploring the Front and the Back Side of the Medallion,” a webinar that highlights connections between sports and music research. Learn more and register by clicking here.

Four months ago, if someone had asked me to explain the difference between giving a piano recital and teaching a group piano class, I would have replied with a lengthy answer detailing the unpredictability of live performance versus the necessity of lesson planning. If asked that same question today, my response would be, “The amount of time you spend standing up!”

Throughout the spring 2023 semester, I held a supervised teaching role in two group piano classes at Temple University. My students were undergraduate music majors in their fourth, and final, semester of the secondary group piano curriculum. Initially, my teaching duties included a weekly sight-reading exercise, but my responsibilities gradually increased, and I began teaching the classes in their entirety by midterm. Despite having completed ten piano pedagogy courses throughout my undergraduate and graduate education, no amount of theoretical study could fully prepare me for the experience of teaching my first group piano class. Standing before a dozen students, I quickly realized that teaching is a performance.

Classroom dynamics is arguably the most complex aspect of group piano teaching. It represents all the intricate social interactions in teaching that cannot truly be learned from a textbook. Hypothetical discussions may allow pedagogy students to plan for classroom dynamics, but actual teaching is the only true way for new teachers to experience the phenomenon. Three key components of classroom dynamics that I have noticed throughout my student teaching are real-time feedback from students, the physical environment of the classroom, and the social environment of the classroom.

Real-Time Feedback from Students

During class, group piano students provide teachers a great deal of real-time feedback, which is often communicated silently through body language and facial expressions. Teachers must learn to use this valuable information to improve their lesson plans. For example, perhaps the way you initially present a new concept is met with confused looks from most of the class. First, try to explain it again but in a clearer and more deliberate manner. Successful teachers should always be ready to convey the same lesson in different ways to accommodate various learning styles. For students of different musical backgrounds, simply translating between pitch names, solfège syllables, scale degrees, or intervals can make all the difference. Second, take a moment to pause and give students time to digest and consider the information. It may be helpful to silently count for a few seconds; sense of time is significantly sped up while teaching. Third, ask the class if there are any questions. Some students tend to be reluctant to ask questions. Occasionally encouraging quiet class members to share may convince them to raise their hand. Finally, consider including an activity students particularly enjoy. Even with a busy lesson plan, spending a few extra minutes on a fun activity can greatly increase class morale. It allows students to have a gratifying experience in a course that may be challenging or viewed only as a requirement outside of their major area of study. This activity can be as simple as an online tool that randomly selects keys for a technique review. As long as it works on a skill and students find it enjoyable, it may be worth devoting extra time to it.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Dominick Cristofori D’Alessandro’s article “The Unrecognized Performing Art of Group Piano Teaching.” You can read more by clicking here.

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Collegiate Essay Winner: Emerging Adulthood and Undergraduate Group Piano
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Collegiate Essay Winner: Emerging Adulthood and Undergraduate Group Piano

Written By Melody Morrison

We would like to thank Melody Morrison for this insightful article on adulthood and collegiate group piano. This year more than a dozen collegiate students submitted essays in the collegiate writing competition. The topics were varied and the entrants, who came from eleven different universities, were at different stages of undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees. The judges chose a winner, runner-up, and an honorable mention. We are printing all three of these essays, as they represent the top “collegiate voices” from the 2023 competition. We thank pedagogy faculty Dr. David Cartledge (Indiana University), Dr. Meg Gray (Wichita State University), and Dr. Ivan Hurd (University of Texas–San Antonio) for completing blind reviews of the entries and for reaching consensus on the 2023 winners. Thanks to the pedagogy instructors who mentor their students as they refine their ideas and write their essays. We encourage all collegiate students to enter the 2024 competition (essays will be due on May 1, 2024).

Typical college students find themselves in a phase of life that has been identified as “emerging adulthood”— a time when characteristics of both children and adults are present in individuals who are in their late teens to early twenties.1 Collegiate group piano classes consist of mostly first- and second-year students (likely seventeen to twenty years old) and are in the beginning stages of emerging adulthood.2 Because the students who are in undergraduate group piano classes exhibit traits of children and adults, elements from both pedagogical and andragogical teaching approaches should be applied. It is therefore beneficial for a teacher to understand the teaching methodologies which highlight the adjustment of one’s teaching style according to the age of the student.3

This discussion will synthesize the research literature related to the differences between pedagogy and andragogy, and undergraduate class piano. In conclusion, implications and suggestions for teaching undergraduate class piano and this age population will be presented.

Pedagogy and Andragogy: History, Characteristics, and Differences

Pedagogy has often been used to encompass learning in all stages of life. However, the word “pedagogy” is derived from the Greek words paidos and agogus which translate to “child” and “leader of” respectively.4 Pedagogy, therefore, can be defined as the art and science of teaching children.5 European monks between the seventh and twelfth centuries began to observe how children learn and developed the first pedagogical concepts. Ideas from this era were eventually seen in schools throughout Europe and North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and educational psychologists continued to study and develop the pedagogical model.6

A new focus on effective adult learning within the United States in the 1920s demonstrated that pedagogical concepts did not appear to work with the same success rate in adult students. Different teaching methods for adults began to develop throughout the twentieth century, and in the 1960s American educator Malcolm Knowles popularized the term andragogy. Andragogy originates from the Greek words aner whose stem andra means “man,” not “boy,” and agogue which means “leader of.” Knowles emphasized that andragogy was different from pedagogy, the latter referring to the education of children.7

The differences between pedagogy and andragogy can be summarized in six “assumptions” found in Figure 1.8 One of the noticeable differences between children and adult learners is that children often willingly receive instructions from a teacher if the directions are clear, while an adult learner will want to know the importance of a concept before they take the time to study it. Adult learners also carry with them many life experiences which will affect numerous areas of their learning.9 Children on the other hand come to a learning environment with more of a “clean slate.” Another difference between pedagogy and andragogy is that children often are motivated by outside forces, while adults demonstrate more internal motivation.10 Lastly, adults have shown preference toward self-directed learning.11

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Melody Morrison’s article “Emerging Adulthood and Undergraduate Group Piano,” you can read more here: https://pianoinspires.com/article/collegiate-essay-winner-emerging-adulthood-and-undergraduate-group-piano/.

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Collegiate Essay Winner: Emerging Adulthood and Undergraduate Group Piano
SOURCES

1 Jeffrey J. Arnett, “Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development from the Late Teens through the Twenties,” American Psychologist 55, no. 5 (2000): 469–480.

2 Christopher Fisher, Teaching Piano in Groups (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010); Pamela D. Pike, Dynamic Group-Piano Teaching (New York: Routledge, 2017).

3 Malcolm S. Knowles, The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy (Englewood Cliffs: Cambridge Adult Education, 1980); Joseph Mews, “Leading through Andragogy,” College and University 95 (2020): 65–68.

4 Malcolm S. Knowles, The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species (Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, 1973); Malcolm S. Knowles, Elwood F. Holton III, and Richard A. Swanson, The Adult Learner (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2012).

5 Geraldine Holmes and Michele Abington-Cooper, “Pedagogy vs. Andragogy: A False Dichotomy?” The Journal of Technology Studies 26 (2000). doi.org/10.21061/jots.v26i2.a.8

6 Knowles, The Modern Practice of Adult Education.

7 Ibid.; Joseph Davenport, “Is There a Way Out of the Andragogy Morass?” Lifelong Learning 11, no. 3 (1987): 17–20.

8 Darcy B. Tannehill, “How Do Post-Secondary Institutions Educate and Service Adult Learners?” EdD diss., (University of Pittsburgh, 2009).

9 Sang Chan, “Applications of Andragogy in Multi-Disciplined Teaching and Learning,” MPAEA Journal of Adult Education 39, no. 2 (2010): 25–35.

10 James A. Draper, “The Metamorphoses of Andragogy,” Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education 12, no. 1 (1998), 3–26; Mews, “Leading through Andragogy.”

11 Sharan B. Merriam, “Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory,” New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, (Spring 2001): 3–14. doi.org/10.1002/ace.3

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Create to Motivate: Using Repertoire to Incorporate Creativity in Lessons

Written By Chee-Hwa Tan

We would like to thank Chee-Hwa Tan for this insightful article on creative activities to explore with your students. Want to apply these tips with your students? We encourage your students to submit to the Piano Inspires Kids 2024 Composition Contest. Student applicants are tasked with composing a fanfare inspired by the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics. Learn more here: https://kids.pianoinspires.com/composition-contest/.

The ability to experiment and create with our instrument is an important part of piano study. Yet I would venture that for many of us who teach, this component of piano study presents a logistical challenge as we juggle the many aspects of music study. We may feel defeated at our inability to include creative activities like ear training, improvisation, transposition, musical composition, and analysis within lesson time, experience an existential crisis at the prospect of teaching what we did not ourselves learn, or feel overwhelmed about plowing through stacks of resources purchased at a workshop. On the other hand, when we do include these activities, perhaps our student freezes like a “deer in the headlights” when asked to improvise or create. If any of these scenarios are relatable, you are in good company.

This article will explore how we can use repertoire assignments to integrate experimentation and creation into regular lessons. Repertoire study is a staple of every lesson; assigning pieces that meet performance study needs, and that also serve as inspiration for creative assignments, is a way to meet both goals in a sustainable manner. This approach can be utilized during summers, several times a year, every other month, or with alternating pieces. 

I will address this topic from the following framework:

  1. A “whole” teaching philosophy: I start with this because our teaching philosophy impacts how we motivate students and whether we prioritize time for creativity.
  2. Repertoire selection: How to select the right kind of music to organically incorporate creative activities in your lessons, without designing a whole separate track.
  3. Basic principles: What to do with repertoire that you assign in your lessons.
  4. Examples: Practical applications from a selection of pieces at different levels. 

A “Whole” Teaching Philosophy

Our teaching philosophy states WHY we teach and WHAT is important to us in our teaching. A teaching philosophy serves as a compass—a “priority check” for us when we feel overwhelmed by all the teaching to-dos and performance deadlines. As educators, it is good to revisit our teaching philosophy periodically to allow for personal growth and adjustments. Here, I share here my personal teaching philosophy:

I teach…

  1. To nurture a love and understanding of music.
  2. To create a pathway to lifelong music making at the piano, for both the hobbyist and the professional. 
  3. To equip my students with skills that will make them independent learners and to give them ownership of their music.
  4. To pursue music making with joy, with abandon, without guilt.
  5. So that my students will be more whole from the experience. 

As teachers, we imprint a “feeling“—a feeling about the student’s identity in relationship to their music study. Long after formal lessons have ended, our students may not remember much of what they learned or even how to play what they learned, but they will remember how they felt in their lessons. This feeling will spur them to continue to pursue music in some shape or form, or this feeling will cause them to be afraid to try because they feel they are “not good enough” to meet the standards or expectations. Reviewing my teaching philosophy helps me to remember to prioritize the emotional connection with my student and the music making process and then to ask myself: What skills do I want my student to still have twenty to thirty years from now? 

A lot of what we do as teachers focuses on the “what” and the “how”—specific skills for teaching repertoire and technique, materials, how to practice, style and interpretation, pedaling, theoretical knowledge—the list goes on. However, far more important than this is teaching the “why?” Do our students know the overarching purpose behind the concepts and skills that we teach them? Are they able to take what they learn in their music and apply it for their own purposes? Students who can do this are students who will make music for the rest of their lives.

Why is it important to encourage students to create? 
  1. When we create, we get ownership of our learning.
  2. Ownership empowers.
  3. This makes us curious to learn more. 
  4. Curiosity is motivating!

If we have not experienced this type of process ourselves, this can be intimidating. The underlying philosophy is to nurture a sense of wonder and curiosity about this amazing process we call music. From the very beginning of piano study, slow down and reinforce theory and musical concepts by helping the student discover or identify the sounds in each of the pieces they study. Then, experiment with at least one of these concepts through listening and explorative play with the student.

Why use repertoire as the basis for composition or improvisation? 
  1. Using specific pieces provides a natural structure from which to take off—a blueprint for concrete inspiration. This is common practice throughout music history.
  2. It is less intimidating to have a few guidelines or a “track” to stay within.
  3. Students need to learn that there is structure in creativity.
  4. Music is all about structure—neurological studies show that our brains automatically search for aural patterns in music.
  5. Everything has a form and structure—rhythmically, melodically, and harmonically. Entities that do not have clear form tend to lack longevity.

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Chee-Hwa Tan’s article “Create to Motivate: Using Repertoire to Incorporate Creativity in Lessons,” you can read more here: https://pianoinspires.com/article/create-to-motivate-using-repertoire-to-incorporate-creativity-in-lessons/.

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Spring 2022: Create to Motivate: Using Repertoire to Incorporate Creativity in Lessons

Chee-Hwa Tan has served as the Head of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, as well as on the piano pedagogy faculties at the Oberlin Conservatory and Southern Methodist University. Ms. Tan is the author of internationally acclaimed A Child’s Garden of Verses and other piano collections. Her music is published by Piano Safari; with selections included in the Repertoire and Study series of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada, and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, London.

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Engaging the Brain: Practice Tips from an Interview with Spencer Myer

Written By Barbara Fast, Spencer Myer

We would like to thank Barbara Fast and Spencer Myer for this insightful interview on practice. Want to learn more about practicing? Register for the free webinar, “#100daysofpractice: Selection and adaptation of self-regulated learning strategies in an online music performance challenge” presented by Camilla dos Santos Silva and Helena Marinho, hosted by Alejandro Cremaschi on November 29. Learn more and register here: https://pianoinspires.com/webinar/11-29-23-webinar/.

I attended Spencer Myer’s practicing workshop at the NCKP 2019 Conference. His emphasis on engaging the brain in variable practice techniques sparked my interest and supports research on how we learn. I thought I knew every possible practice suggestion, but Spencer presented and demonstrated many new and unusual ideas that he was using in practicing and teaching. I found myself using the notes I had taken for my own practicing workshops and classes, and knew I needed a concrete way to share his tips with other musicians. I interviewed Spencer Myer on February 2, 2020, as a way to share his thoughts on practicing with piano teachers throughout the world. The article is the essence of our interview together.

Barbara Fast: What prompted your interest in the topic of practicing?

Spencer Myer: I discovered the practice techniques that I’ll be discussing during the period of my life when I was entering competitions. I was practicing with the intent of complete cleanliness and solidity. I thought, “how am I going to get to the point where I can walk on stage and not be afraid of having a memory slip?” I started to explore what seemed at a time to be different, crazy, and random practice techniques.

BF: What are your foundational ideas about practicing for performance?

SM: I feel that our memory is made up of 80% muscle memory and 20% other memory. Of course, playing an instrument is physical, so muscle memory has to be part of the equation. We are all human; memory slips happen for everyone, and relying on muscle memory from hours of repetition can be an aid to get through a memory slip. But strengthening our brain, getting away from relying only on muscle memory, that other 20%, is where we find the mental solidity that we’re going for in a performance.

BF: Strengthening the brain: how does that help you go beyond muscle memory?

SM: The point about muscle memory is that studies have shown it’s impossible for our brains to multitask; we can’t think about two things at once. Removing muscle memory, taking it away in our practice, increases the brain’s involvement in our memory. The idea is how to make the passage feel different or foreign to our body so that our brain is forced to engage.

BF: What’s your first practice tip for changing physical sensation in the body?

SM: The most obvious example for changing physical sensation is slow practice. It’s a useful tool for drilling and refining minor muscle motions that we are required to use with great speed in performance. Slow practice is often viewed as a tedious or brainless exercise that our teachers tell us to do. Actually, it really engages the brain, because it deviates from the repetition we are so used to. Practicing the music in a way that feels physically different—slowly, or with inconsistent tempos—that is the key.

BF: Practicing with inconsistent tempo – that’s an unusual idea.

SM: Inconsistent tempo is something that I often utilize in practice. It’s similar to slow practice because inconsistency forces the brain to think about every next note more consciously. Changing tempo also allows us to practice in a much more improvisatory way. It’s much more fun and propels exploration of phrasing and musical intent, which further engages the brain.

BF: Do you also use alternating rhythm practice?

SM: Alternating rhythms is something we tell our students to do and it can often be mindless. But, I think it’s a great exercise for the brain because it’s a huge changeup. For me it works best with challenging sections, such as scales and arpeggios in the repertoire. The basic idea is utilizing dotted rhythms, and their reverse, in place of even rhythms. Triplets and groups of four notes can also be performed, with length added to any chosen note of each group. These alternating rhythms can be random or much more regular. But again, it’s the extreme change in physicality that engages our brain that is important.

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Barbara Fast and Spencer Myer’s interview “Engaging the Brain: Practice Tips from an Interview with Spencer Myer,” you can read more here: https://pianoinspires.com/article/engaging-the-brain-practice-tips-from-an-interview-with-spencer-myer/.

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Change It Up!: Interleaved Practice–What It Is, Why It Works

Barbara Fast is Piano Chair and Director of Piano Pedagogy, coordinates the group piano program and teaches graduate piano pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma. An active workshop clinician, she co-founded the Group Piano/Piano Pedagogy (GP3) Forum. She is the co-author of iPractice: Technology in the 21st Century Music Practice Room.

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From the Archives: How Do You Teach Students to Plan Fingering?

Written By Bruce Berr

Quer saber mais sobre dedilhado? Inscreva-se no nosso webinar internacional gratuito, “ A dedilhação como elemento de expressividade na performance pianística” apresentado por Luis Pipa no dia 4 de novembro. Saiba mais e inscreva-se aqui: https://pianoinspires.com/webinar/11-04-23-webinar/.

The following contribution from Bruce Berr appeared in an article edited by Richard Chronister titled “How Do You Teach Students to Plan Fingering” from Keyboard Companion, Spring 1995, Vol. 6, No. 1. The entire article is found here: https://pianoinspires.com/article/how-do-you-teach-students-to-plan-fingering/.

The teacher must consider the skills that the student has already mastered…

The most important fingering idea that beginners must learn is that five fingers fit conveniently over five adjacent keys. This basic “prime directive” of fingering provides the rule while students begin to experience elaborations on this principle. A crossover is usually the first kind of shift that might make the student think that the five-finger idea is no longer operative. I teach students to feel a crossover not as a finger reaching for a key but rather as a smooth rollover from one five-finger position to a different one; it is important that the entire hand move into place as the crossover happens. An effective way to guarantee this is to have the student insert a practice pause while holding the crossover note. This allows the hand to comfortably feel a new five-finger position before playing is resumed:

What is temporarily sacrificed by this rhythmic interruption is more than compensated for by a fluid, relaxed motion. When students first do crossovers, I’m pleased when the music has the finger cue written in for the crossover note and for the note that immediately follows it so that the idea of having moved into a new five-finger position is communicated. I also hope that there are no more finger numbers written in if all of the notes in that phrase already fall comfortably under the fingers because those would be unnecessary and therefore detrimental. Only essential finger cues should be in the student’s music; if extraneous ones are allowed to remain, students eventually learn to ignore all fingerings, even the good ones. 

Which fingerings should remain in the score becomes more complex at the mid- and late-elementary levels. As teachers of this music, we must constantly “read between the lines” to interpret what is meant and what is not meant by a given fingering. I frequently struggle with this problem as a composer and arranger of educational piano music, due to an unavoidable fact: all fingering cues imply a certain approach to technique and teaching. Therefore, an educational author has at least three possible choices: 1. Indicate fingerings that represent the easiest possible physical approach; or 2. Indicate fingerings that represent the easiest possible conceptual approach; or 3. Indicate no fingerings at all. 

When (1) and (2) are the same fingering there is no problem, but frequently they are not the same, so a choice must be made. Any fingering that a composer or editor indicates tends to unwittingly favor one approach over another. For example, in this elementary excerpt from Eency, Weency Spider, the student gets to play a fun, short chromatic fragment in a piece that is predominantly in five-finger positions elsewhere. The printed fingerings are the easiest from a conceptual standpoint, because the keys are next to each other and so are the fingers that play them; this is an important idea to reinforce at this level. The given fingering also encourages the student’s hand to, well, “walk like a spider”!

“Eency, Weency Spider” from Animal Songs

I also considered the following fingering: 1-3-1-3-1-3-1. This fingering is better from a physical standpoint because it invites greater participation of the entire hand and forearm in rotating, and thus it produces a freer and more balanced gesture. However, this fingering contradicts our “prime directive” by using non-adjacent fingers on keys that are as adjacent to each other as can be; thus, it may set back our work with students who have needed reminding about fingering in five-finger positions. I could have also indicated no fingering at all in this passage. This would make it convenient for each teacher to use his or her own fingering without having to leave behind a trail of blackened splotches on the page. If a child were learning this piece without the benefit and guidance of a teacher, however, an absence of fingering hints might breed all kinds of indecent fingerings not fit to print here!

Thus, for a teacher to make best use of whatever fingerings do appear printed in educational music, the teacher must interpret each fingering to ascertain its benefits and disadvantages, and must consider the skills that the student has already mastered or not mastered. Only then can an assessment be made whether a particular student will benefit from the given fingering, or whether a different one would be more suitable. In the above passage, if a student has been playing comfortably in five-finger positions, replacing the 2s with 3s would allow that student to experience a new fingering principle. For students who still look at their hands while playing in five-finger positions, however, this indicates a lack of fluency in reading and playing within five-finger positions; thus, the original, safer-feeling fingering would be better. 

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