Music Teachers National Association

The National Conference on Piano Pedagogy: Whither and Wherefore

Author(s): Richard Chronister
Source: American Music Teacher, Vol. 50, No. 5 (April/May 2001), pp. 30-34
Published by: Music Teachers National Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43547722
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Music teacher,
The Official Journal of Music Teachers National Association

January 1988

30 APRIL/MAY 2001

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 The National Conference on
Piano Pedagogy:
Whither and Wherefore
Editor's Note: In celebration of
AMT s 50th anniversary, we are fea-
turing a reprinted article in each issue
this year. This is the fifth of the series.

This is the text of an address given by I asked his opinion on what these Teachers, for as long as we can
Richard Chronister for the opening students should be prepared to do remember, have had to grin and bear
Music in Higher Education session , when they graduate from college. His such sayings as, "Those who can, dc
MTNA National Convention, New York answer was a list of typical repertory Those who can't, teach." Teachers
that such a student should be able to have allowed this sort of ridicule to
City, March 22, 1987. It also appeared
perform acceptably. I asked if there is weaken and diminish the importance
in the spring 1987 National Conference
on Piano Pedagogy Newsletter and anything else these students should of their work. They have succumbed
be prepared to do. He indicated that to this kind of treatment to the poini
in the January 1988 AMT.
this was an odd question, that he didthat anyone electing to become a
not understand what I meant. teacher is automatically considered tc
ance before I said that his list of repertory be less capable than those entering
an audience at suggested that all his students would other fields. And now, after years of
an MTNA be able to concertize sufficiently to this, we have come full circle, and if
National Con- earn their living. He said that he did we look closely enough and coura-
vention was not mean that at all, that they would geously enough, we will find evi-
MY an ance an National vention in first 1970 audience MTNA before appear- was in Con- at
in 1970 in probably earn their living as teachers, dence that the shoe fits perfectly.
Miami Beach. My address was titled as he himself planned to do. New teachers in every discipline,
"The Naive, Brainwashed, Disillu- I asked if this career - teaching - not only music, are more apt than
sioned Piano Teacher." I began with requires no preparation. not to be at the bottom of the intel-
this: "Of course not," he said. lectual scale, and they step into the
"Why not?" classroom - or studio - naive,
The greatest problem facing piano "Because 1 had no preparation for brainwashed and soon become

teaching and piano teachers today teaching and I can teach." disillusioned. . .

can be illustrated by relating a recent "Have you ever taught?"

conversation I had with a graduate "No," he said. As 1 read through the rest of that
student of one of the largest and Subsequent conversations with address, I kept waiting for something
most respected university music other college students nearing the that would cause me to feel that this
schools in the United States. This end of their college career and dis- interim of seventeen years has brough
student has a bachelor's degree, a cussions with college teachers appear about substantial change. Instead,
master's degree, is completing his to substantiate that this attitude of, "I what kept occurring to me was a
doctorate and seeking a position on a teach because I must, and teaching conversation I had only a couple of
college piano faculty. As the conver-requires no preparation" is, indeed, months ago.
sation progressed, the goals of col- nothing but the normal and accept- During this conversation I was tole
lege music degree programs were able attitude, explicit or implicit, of about a dean of another of our most
discussed. His greatest interest is in most college teachers and of those prestigious university music schools
those students working toward the college students preparing to follow and what he feels about the subject
performance degree, the Bachelor ofin their footsteps. of music teacher preparation. I can-
Music degree. What could be a more perfect not quote this dean, but his position
breeding ground for developing was related to me as something like
The author is the executive director naive, brainwashed and disillusioned this: I have no trouble choosing
of the National Conference on piano teachers? Because of this typi- among our candidates for teaching
Piano Pedagogy ; president of the cal attitude of college teachers, no assistantships. I just look at their list
National Keyboard Arts Associatesself-respecting college freshman of performance teachers. If they play
and chairman of the Piano Depart- would dare admit, even to him- well enough to be accepted by the
ment, Community School of Per- self, that teaching is a desirable goal right performance teachers, then I
forming Arts in Los Angeles. in life. know their teaching will be adequate

AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER 3 1

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 piano literature an unnecessary part
te n years ago, that "W
of the curriculum?
was now. And that Do these "right performance teach-
was not a graduate ers" take time to teach their students
school student, that pe
how to teach the kind of reading,
was a music school rhythm and technique to beginners
THAT scho l was te n dean. was was a now. not years was To music sdean.
tudent, a complete not AndTo
graduate ago, complete
scho l seven- that that that pe
that will insure success in the inter-
the picture, I should tell you that the mediate and advanced years of piano
graduate student in the first conversa- study, making pedagogy studies in
in
tion is, today, high in the administra- elementary piano study an unneces-
tion of the same school from which sary part of the curriculum?
he graduated. ea Will the "right performance teacher"
I know what some of you are think- make sure each student acquires the
ing: There has been some improve- kind of understanding of learning
ment, things are not as bad as they at theory that allows a teacher to make
were seventeen years ago. Of course, su the right decisions and choose the
that is true. I could fill out my time sh right approaches to various kinds of
this afternoon with many signs of W students and situations, making
change, many steps forward, manyIn 1985, 334 came to Ohio State courses in pedagogy which include
indications of progress. But I'm not University. In Ann Arbor, in October this kind of thing unnecessary?
satisfied with those signs, steps and 1986, the registration was 464. While Can these "right performance
indications. And the short history numbers
of alone mean little, growth teachers" possibly take the time to
the National Conference on Piano from sixty to 460 and the enthusiasm oversee the experience of practice
Pedagogy indicates that I am not generated by a lot of people together teaching that hones the skill of any
alone in my dissatisfaction. - who often find themselves isolated teacher, thus making intern teaching
In the fall of 1978, James Lyke andand alone in their working environ- an unnecessary part of the curriculum?
I sent a letter to a few hundred of ment - can easily be the fuel which What if the students of these "right
our piano pedagogy colleagues and drives the engine of change. performance teachers" are fortunate
asked them to join us on the campusIf anything is clear after eight years it enough never to teach a young begin-
of tiny William Jewell College in is this: those whose charge it is to ner or even a young intermediate
Liberty, Missouri, just outside Kansasprepare piano majors for successful student; what if every one of their
City. We chose that campus because teaching careers have come to believe students lands a job in a college or
the dean of that college, Wesley For- that change is possible. It is the university teaching advanced piano
bis, agreed to underwrite this first desire of the National Conference on majors - should we not consider
attempt to call together those in Piano Pedagogy to be one of the that a very likely teaching assignment
charge of piano teacher training engines of that change. will include teaching class piano to
programs in America. What change is needed? Let's go college-age beginners, intermediate
Sixty-one pedagogy teachers came back and examine our anonymous literature to string majors and, God
to Liberty in a snowy January, and dean's position on choosing teachingforbid, teaching piano pedagogy to
one of the most important decisionsassistants. In case you have forgotten, those poor freshmen who can't go to
made was that the next meeting this was his position: the colleges where utlimate success
should be in October. The excite- "I have no trouble choosing among is assured or may not be accepted by
ment generated during that short our candidates for teaching assistant- the "right performance teachers"?
meeting assured Jim and me that itships. I just look at their list of per- Is this dean's "right performance
was indeed time for this group of formance teachers. If they play wellteacher" also going to prepare all his per-
professionals to begin the process ofenough to be accepted by the rightformance students to teach class piano
learning from each other. Not only performance teachers, then I knowand piano pedagogy, making these an
was there no basis for communica- their teaching will be adequate." unnecessary part of the curriculum?
tion between one pedagogy teacher We must admit that performance isWill the "right performance teacher"
or program and another, many of a major part of any piano teacher's prepare the student to establish and
those attending this first meeting had
preparation, but is there anything run an independent piano studio,
never even met each other. A signifi-that is not covered by the perfor- should that be the student's choice
cant aspect of this group of sixty was
mance teacher that might be impor-of career, making the business of
that a number of those who are con- tant in a teaching situation? music teaching an unnecessary part
sidered leaders in this field were in What about repertory? Do these of the curriculum?
attendance, many of them meeting"right performance teachers" teach Can it be true that the "right per-
each other for the first time. the scope of advanced literature that formance teacher" is indeed able to
The decision to meet only every is required for a teacher of advanced do all these things, making obsolete
two years found us, in October 1980, students, making courses in advanced all the courses in repertory and peda-

32 APRIL/MAY 2001

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gogy which now appear in most It is besieged by the kind of confu- not made. Even so, I have yet to hear
curriculums? Or is it possible that I sion and consternation that always a performance teacher suggest that
misread the meaning of the dean's accompanies growth. Piano pedagogy this means that they don't need
is definitely at a disadvantage when piano lessons. Talented pianists need
position? Is it possible that he believes
that those piano students who have compared to the centuries-old tradi- training for the same reason talented
chosen the 44 right performance tions of the performance teachers. teachers need training. Talent does
teacher" are the kind who will But even so, it is already old-fashioned
not provide all the skills and experi-
prepare themselves in all these to expect the knowledge, skills and ences that are necessary to good
areas, on their own time and in their experience necessary for successful playing or teaching.
own way? teaching to be acquired through a Performance teachers sometimes
Or am I even further off the track? weekly piano lesson with the right suggest that their students learn to
Could this dean possibly believe that performance teacher. teach by observing and absorbing
good teaching happens without the And it is already old fashioned to what goes on at their own piano
prospective teacher ever having dealt expect teaching competence to come lessons and what they see and hear
with: from a one- or two-semester course in master classes and other learning
• learning more advanced repertory in methods and materials taught byexperiences. But never is it suggested
than is required for a performance whatever faculty member whose turn that pianists learn to play only by
degree has come. These are old-fashioned observing and absorbing what other
• learning and playing the intermedi- ideas because we no longer believe pianists do.
ate repertory that only the talented can learn and Performing is an art and teaching is
• learning and experiencing success an art. Performing requires skills and
that talent will out, regardless of the
with the elementary level teaching. The competence of the teaching requires skills. Traditionally,
• learning to be competent in group teacher is now as important as thea pianist requires a teacher who sees
and class situations talent and diligence of the student.and hears what practice has pro-
• practice teaching at all levels To see that piano pedagogy is com- duced in order to provide guidance
• learning about the business of ing of age, one need only to look at for improvement. The improvement
music teaching the two Pedagogy Conference publi- of a teacher comes about in the same
• learning to help prepare the nextcations prepared by our Committee way.
generation of music teachers? on Administration/Pedagogy Liaison. But what about those without
Most of us choose to believe that The descriptions of a number of special talent? We wouldn't think of
no one really believes these things pedagogy degree programs from telling the parents of a seven-year-old
aren't necessary We also believe that around the country show that we are that only the talented should take
this area of study belongs in the fieldfinally coming to terms with the old piano lessons, that a potential career
of piano pedagogy under the direc-attitude which allowed us to believe in music is the only reason to give a
tion of those who are specializing in that failure to learn was always the child piano lessons. We believe that
the area of teacher preparation, justresult of no talent or a lack of all can learn to play the piano and
as performance teachers have special- practice. that all should have the opportunity
ized in the area of performance. We We are facing the fact that failure to advance as far as their ability will
believe that performance teachers and might be the teacher's fault - and allow. We know that there are some
pedagogy teachers are both integralthat proper teacher preparation can pianists who are entirely made, not
parts of piano education, each with be a factor in producing more favorable born, and that the enjoyment they
vital roles to play. results in the piano teaching studio. receive from whatever level they
The question is, what is teacher prep-
This does not mean that a perform- reach is worth the teacher's time
ance teacher and a pedagogy teacheraration? Or even, is there such a and efforts.
could not be the same person. Often,
thing as teacher preparation? Who is going to teach these less
this is the case. Neither does it mean Sometimes we hear the comment,
talented students? And who is going
that the separation of these two spe- "Teachers are born, not made - you to be teaching the talented ones
cialties is bad, so long as pedagogy can't teach someone how to teach." before their talent surfaces? Certainly
teachers remain performers and per- No one argues with the fact that the not those especially gifted pianists
formance teachers become knowl- best teachers have a special talent for
who hold doctorates from leading
edgeable about pedagogy. It simplyteaching. At the same time, those performance schools. Probably not
means that performance training and best teachers can always cite exam-even the pianists holding graduate
teacher training are different, withples of incidents and experiences degrees in piano performance. Most
different aims and different needs. which made them better teachers. piano teachers have a bachelor's
We believe that our biggest prob- They are good teachers for many degree (if any degree at all) from one
lems are generated by the fact that reasons, including talent, learning andof the thousands of colleges and
piano pedagogy as a discipline has experience. universities whose purpose is
grown up too fast and has not yet The same comment can be made not to prepare the next generation's
formed its character and personality. about talented pianists: they are born,
concert pianists.

AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER 33

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 It is in these schools where we see It is our belief that the evaluation your thinking, I will suggest a few
more emphasis on teacher training. Itan advanced performer's teachingthings sure to provide controversy.
of
is a healthy sign that many under- is as important as the evaluation of What I hear about a number of piano
graduate degree programs are putting that advanced performer's playing. Inpedagogy lecture courses leads me to
equal emphasis on performance train- fact, the evaluation of teaching and believe that at least half of that time
ing and teacher training. However, the evaluation of playing should might be better spent in the studio,
with this phenomenal growth of complement each other. observing and assisting a master
more comprehensive pedagogy cur- For example, if the performance teacher - at any level. What I hear
riculums comes the possibility of the teacher observed, on a regular basis,about some piano literature courses
pendulum swinging too far in the each of his students teaching, it leads me to believe the same thing.
opposite direction. Going from no would more quickly become clear What I hear about some perform-
pedagogy curriculum to too much whether or not the performance ance teacher's private piano lessons
pedagogy curriculum could easily teacher's own teaching was being leads me to believe the possibility
impede our progress. understood and assimilated. However, that a lesson every other week might
Our task is to decide two things: a brief example of this kind of thing accomplish the same results - leav-
what is really necessary and how can such as we had in Ann Arbor, while ing the alternate weeks for that per-
we be the most effective. The pur-stimulating, provocative and reveal- formance teacher's observation and
pose of the National Conference oning, is virtually useless. Only if it evaluation of that piano major's
Piano Pedagogy is to provide the raw becomes an ongoing part of a peda- teaching. As painful as this would
material for the decision making gogy curriculum will it have any probably be, the performance teacher
which will bring us in balance. impact on teacher training. would get a clearer picture of what is
One aspect of the existing peda- The same kind of thing needs to being absorbed in that piano major's
gogy curriculums which causes con- happen at the intermediate level. The own private lessons. If this were to
cern to many is the lack of adequate college faculty member who is begin in the freshman year, it might
supervised teaching experience for responsible for making sure the piano be the introduction to piano peda-
pedagogy students. Certainly one major knows and plays the intermedi- gogy that even a Carnegie Hall-bound
piano pedagogy necessity is practice ate literature is the faculty member piano major might find challenging.
teaching. The core of any teacher who should observe and evaluate There are all kinds of possibilities.
training program is the internship these piano majors teaching the same Step one is deciding what is really
which provides the practical applica- intermediate literature. essential to the training of both play-
tion of all the rest of the curriculum. The same is true for the elemen- ing and teaching. Step two is decid-
To be most effective, this internship tary level. Some view this as ridicu- ing how, most effectively, to do the
must cover all levels of performance lous, but competency at the elemen-essential. We will find answers only if
and be supervised by master teacherstary level includes some attention to our minds are open to any possibility,
of all levels. Only a few teachers playing the elementary literature, only if we are willing to consider
come to mind who are competent to even if it is "Teaching Little Fingers alternatives to what is happening
teach it all: advanced performance to Play." The faculty member who is now - in both performance teaching
and advanced pedagogy, intermediateresponsible for this level should, first and pedagogy teaching - rather
performance and intermediate peda- of all, provide a model of successfulthan doggedly holding onto what has
gogy, elementary performance and elementary playing and teaching in always been, or patching what
elementary pedagogy. There are addition to observing and evaluatingalready exists.
some, but not many. the piano major's elementary teaching. Whither the National Conference
In most cases, these responsibilities Finally, no internship of any kind ison Piano Pedagogy? The fullest possi-
will have to be shared by several effective unless the scope is large ble collaboration of those who are
faculty members, all with mutual enough to insure the acquisition of truly seeking to know what is the
respect for the work of each other. skills. Two or three observations and essential preparation for pianists and
For example, those whose specializa- evaluations over a one- or two-semester teachers. That is the destination of
tion is teaching advanced perfor- period of time will not produce skills the National Conference on Piano
mance should be involved in the partin teaching any more than one or Pedagogy - full collaboration.
of the curriculum that deals with the two piano lessons in one or two Wherefore the National Conference
pedagogy of advanced performance. semesters will produce skill in on Piano Pedagogy? We exist because
At the Ann Arbor Conference, one of playing. we believe that those in the field of
our aims was to demonstrate how Which brings us to the question of performing and teaching are ready to
this might be done by asking per- time. This is our dilemma and one share their knowledge and come up
formance teachers to critique the with which we must deal. If the with effective ways to teach the
teaching of a number of graduate practical experience and evaluationessential. of That is the "why" of the
pedagogy students, a practice which teaching is the core of teacher train- National Conference on Piano Peda-
would enhance any pedagogy ing, then we must find a way to gogy. This is the right time for full
curriculum. include it in the curriculum. To start collaboration. AŘŘ T

34 APRIL/MAY 2001

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