Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-5nwft Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-18T03:55:51.659Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The intermediate piano stage: exploring teacher perspectives and insights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2013

Ryan Daniel  and
Julia Bowden
Ryan Daniel
Affiliation:
School of Creative Arts, James Cook University, Townsville, AustraliaRyan.Daniel@jcu.edu.au, Julia.Bowden@jcu.edu.au
Julia Bowden
Affiliation:
School of Creative Arts, James Cook University, Townsville, AustraliaRyan.Daniel@jcu.edu.au, Julia.Bowden@jcu.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

While many piano students successfully progress beyond beginner status to reach what is commonly referred to as the intermediate stage, there is minimal research specific to this area of practice. This is despite the fact that there is a high drop-out rate at this stage. This research study therefore set out to develop an in-depth understanding of the key issues of relevance from the perspective of the teachers who work with intermediate piano students. In order to develop a substantial body of data and therefore increase the validity of the findings, a comprehensive e-survey was developed and distributed to practitioners in the UK, USA and Australia, with 583 practitioners participating in the research. The findings highlight some of the key challenges teachers face when working with intermediate students, one of which is the priority students place on their piano studies, with teachers arguing that external commitments have a negative impact on commitment and progression in piano lessons. The data also reveal that repertoire is a major factor of relevance, with teachers citing popular music styles as of more interest to most students than traditional Western art repertoire, yet it is the least studied area in lessons. Given the impact that these two issues have on teachers' experiences of working with piano students and relevant drop-out rates at this stage, it is clear that there is a significant need for further research by engaging other key stakeholders, in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in this area of music education.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , July 2013 , pp. 245 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ALBERGO, C. & ALEXANDER, R. (2000) Intermediate Piano Repertoire: A Guide for Teaching, 4th edn. Ontario: Frederick Harris Music.Google Scholar
BAKER-JORDAN, M. (2003) Practical Piano Pedagogy: The Definitive Text for Piano Teachers and Pedagogy Students. Miami, FL: Warner Bros.Google Scholar
BASTIEN, J. (1995) How to Teach Piano Successfully, 3rd edn. San Diego, CA: Kjos.Google Scholar
BURWELL, K. (2005) A degree of independence: teachers’ approaches to instrumental tuition in a university college. British Journal of Music Education, 22, 199–215.Google Scholar
COATS, S. (2006) Thinking as You Play: Teaching Piano in Individual and Group Lessons. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
CREECH, A. (2010) Learning a musical instrument: the case for parental support. Music Education Research, 12, 13–32.Google Scholar
CREECH, A. & HALLAM, S. (2002) Parent–teacher–pupil interactions in instrumental music tuition: a literature review. British Journal of Music Education, 16, 79–95.Google Scholar
DANIEL, R. (2008) Group Piano Teaching. Saarbrucken: VDM Verlag.Google Scholar
DAVIDSON, J. W., MOORE, D. G., SLOBODA, J. A. & HOWE, M. J. A. (1998) Characteristics of music teachers and the progress of young instrumentalists. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 141–160.Google Scholar
DENZIN, N. & LINCOLN, Y. (Eds) (2011) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
DIXON, R. & TURNER, R. (2007) Electronic vs conventional surveys. In Reynolds, R., Woods, R. & Baker, J. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Electronic Surveys and Measurements (pp. 104–111). Hershey, PA: Idea Group.Google Scholar
GAUNT, H. (2008) One-to-one tuition in a conservatoire: the perceptions of instrumental and vocal teachers. Psychology of Music, 36, 215–245.Google Scholar
HALLAM, S. (1998) Instrumental Teaching: A Practical Guide to Better Teaching and Learning. Oxford: Heinemann.Google Scholar
HARRIS, P. (2003) Practice makes perfect: the final connection. Bravura, July, 5–8.Google Scholar
HINSON, M. (2000) Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire, 3rd edn. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
JACOBSON, J. M. (2006) Professional Piano Teaching: A Comprehensive Piano Pedagogy Textbook for Teaching Elementary-Level Students. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred.Google Scholar
LAMMERS, W. (2006) Factors Affecting Performance Proficiency: A Case Study Involving Intermediate Piano Students. Unpublished Master of Education thesis, Brock University.Google Scholar
MACMILLAN, J. (2004) Learning the piano: a study of attitudes to parental involvement. British Journal of Music Education, 21, 295–311.Google Scholar
MAGRATH, J. (1995) The Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing.Google Scholar
MAK, P., KORS, N. & RENSHAW, P. (2007) Formal, Non-formal and Informal Learning in Music. Groningen/The Hague: Lectorate Lifelong Learning in Music.Google Scholar
PRESLAND, C. (2005) Conservatoire student and instrumental professor: the student perspective on a complex relationship. British Journal of Music Education, 22, 237–248.Google Scholar
PUNCH, K. (2009) Introduction to Research Methods in Education. London: Sage.Google Scholar
RENWICK, J. M. & MCPHERSON, G. E. (2002) Interest and choice: student-selected repertoire and its effect on practising behaviour. British Journal of Music Education, 19, 173–188.Google Scholar
REYNOLDS, R., WOODS, R. & BAKER, J. (Eds.) (2007) Handbook of Research on Electronic Surveys and Measurements. Hershey, PA: Idea Group.Google Scholar
RIFE, N., SHNEK, Z., LAUBY, J., & LAPIDUS, L. (2001) Children's satisfaction with private music lessons. Journal of Research in Music Education, 49, 21–32.Google Scholar
RUISMÄKI, H. & TERESKA, T. (2008) Students’ assessments of music learning experiences from kindergarten to university. British Journal of Music Education, 25, 25–39.Google Scholar
SALDANA, J. (2009) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: Sage.Google Scholar
SCANLAN, M. K. (1988) The structuring, analysis, and teaching of intermediate piano repertoire: an approach for use in a piano pedagogy course. In The National Conference on Piano Pedagogy: Proceedings of the Chicago Conference in Oakbrook, Illinois. October 20–22, 1988 (pp. 71–82). Princeton, NJ: The National Conference on Piano Pedagogy.Google Scholar
SCHONLAU, M., FRICKER, R. D. & ELLIOTT, M. N. (2002) Conducting Research Surveys via E-mail and the Web. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.Google Scholar
SPOELMAN, B. (2009) Enhancing Intermediate Piano Study through Group Lessons: A Guide for the Studio Teacher. Unpublished DMA dissertation, Arizona State University.Google Scholar
STGEORGE, J. (2004) The musical dropout: a new perspective. Proceedings of the XXVIth Australian Association for Research in Music Education conference. Southern Cross University CD-Rom, 315–322.Google Scholar
STGEORGE, J. (2006) Engaging with learning: persistence and attrition in music lessons. Music Forum, August–October, 47–49.Google Scholar
THOMPSON, S. (2002) Ways to motivate students. Bravura, April, 38–42.Google Scholar
USZLER, M., GORDON, S. & SMITH, S. (2000) The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher, 2nd edn. New York: Schirmer.Google Scholar
YIN, R.K. (2009) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 4th edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
WALSH, M.A. (2007) Today's Pianist: A Piano Series Designed to Develop Technical and Musicianship Skills in Intermediate Piano Students with Limited Time. Unpublished DMA thesis, University of Miami.Google Scholar
WINSTON, B. K. (2003) The Development of a Multimedia Web Database for the Selection of 20th Century Intermediate Piano Repertoire. Unpublished DMA thesis, University of Texas.Google Scholar
WÖLLNER, C. & GINSBORG, J. (2011) Team teaching in the conservatoire: the views of music performance staff and students. British Journal of Music Education, 28, 301–323.Google Scholar
WRIGHT, K. (2006) Researching internet-based populations: advantages and disadvantages of online survey research, online questionnaire authoring software packages, and web survey services. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10:00. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2005.tb00259.xGoogle Scholar