In groups as large, active, and diverse as most state and local music teacher organizations, the task of hiring an evaluator is one that circulates among different members. While I'm aware that the terms adjudicator and/or judge are probably used more often than evaluator , they are all one and the same. My personal preference is evaluator, as I be...

Not too long ago (say, way back in the 1990s), if you wanted to learn to play the piano, you basically had two options: you could find a teacher and take traditional lessons, or you could buy a book and try to teach yourself. With the growth of the internet and the arrival of smart mobile devices, those opportunities have expanded considerably.&nbs...

There is a long tradition of teaching quality classical piano in Canada. There are also a myriad of support systems to teach theory and written scores in a variety of contemporary styles. Then there's jazz. Some teachers like it and some don't. Others don't feel knowledgeable enough to include it in their studios. For many teachers it is a big unkn...

The music of Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee provides a refreshing look into the field of contemporary piano teaching repertoire. Rahbee, born in 1938, is an Armenian-American composer whose works for solo piano have been favorably received by pianists and audiences worldwide. She has written more than 200 works, and her catalog includes music for ensembl...

It always makes my day and warms my heart when my students "get it," when they experience an "ah-ha," when understanding dawns, when recognition lights up their eyes. It's the reason I still love teaching music after thirty years.  One of those moments occurred in a recent lesson when sisters Georgie and Carly were working on their duet, Falli...

Editor's note: In the November/December 2014 issue, Clavier Companion launched a series of articles addressing the future of piano teaching. The following article is part of that series, which will continue in future issues.  At the recent National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, I opened my session by asking if anyone used YouTube. Everyone ...

Herbert Chatzky, my beloved piano teacher from my teenage years, passed away at the age of 78. His pianism and musicianship were a huge inspiration for me. Herb studied with Irwin Freundlich at Juilliard in the 1950s. He received his B.S. in Piano in 1957 and his M.S. in Piano in 1958, winning the concerto competition that year. His time at Juillia...

As a pedagogy professor, I try to keep my students abreast of the latest publications and teaching approaches, maintain an up-to-date pedagogy library, and offer flexible office hours. So it was a humbling and eye-opening experience recently when a graduate student stopped by my open door and said "I was stuck on what to do with Billy, so I went on...

Dr. Guy Duckworth, a pioneer of group piano pedagogy, died on January 27, 2015, at the age of 91. He was my professor in the unique graduate programs that he created and directed at the University of Colorado at Boulder in Piano Performance Literature and Pedagogy: Process of Group Environments. His legacy will live on through the students he taugh...

In the Spring of 2014, Clavier Companion sponsored its seventh annual Collegiate Writing Contest, inviting college students from around the world to submit 1,500 word essays on a pedagogical topic of their choice. The esteemed panel of judges was comprised of Linda Christensen, Andrea McAlister, and Lesley Sisterhen McAllister. We extend our congra...

No one questions that Beethoven's controversial choices in his work are appreciated as groundbreaking. But nearly anyone would question a choice made by a young pianist to deviate from instructions printed in Urtext scores. As a young student, celebrated pianist and best-selling author Seymour Bernstein made that conscious choice in a passage of Be...

A native o f Montreal who now makes his home in Boston, Marc-Andre Hamelin is noted for his expan sive repertoire, virtuosic technique, and thoughtful expression. The 47-year-old pianist studied at the Ecole Vincent-d'Indy in Montreal and Temple University in Philadel phia ; his teachers include Yvonne Hubert, Harvey Wedeen, and Russell Sherman. He...

I n the Spring of 2008, K ey board Companion sponsored its first annual Collegiate Writing Contest. College students at any level from any country in the world were invited to submit 1,500 word essays on a pedagogi cal topic of their choice, and grand prize was publication of the winning essay in K ey board Companion. The esteemed panel of judges w...