Arguably, facilitating student learning and performance during the intermediate-level years is where many teachers spend most of their teaching hours. Intermediate piano music takes years to work through and as the music becomes more demanding, these years coincide with activities that compete for students' attention. For some, the intermediate yea...

PAMELA D. PIKE, Editor in Chief and Chief Content Director As I write the editorial column for this issue, the restful summer days are waning, autumn is on the horizon, and preparations for a new year of teaching are underway. Parker Palmer reminds us that autumn "…scatters the seeds that will bring new growth in the spring…"1 This is a valuable me...

What does it mean to be a good teacher? What separates good teachers from truly great teachers? Educators and researchers have spent untold hours studying outstanding teachers and written hundreds of papers on teaching expertise. In music and piano education, we have a rich body of work that highlights traits of effective teachers. But, as with man...

Eugénie Rocherolle has written numerous compositions inspired by the music and culture of her hometown of New Orleans. Many of these appealing pieces offer students opportunities to learn about styles of music that permeate the parades and festivals in the city while developing important technical and musical skills. Her suite, New Orleans Sketches...

After the long, dark winter, springtime represents a time for rebirth and renewal. Yet, as we head into the second year of our new "pandemic" normal, many musicians have grown weary of what they had assumed would be temporary inconveniences—teaching online, physically distant performances, and time-shifted chamber music experiences. I'm struck by h...

Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized on December 17, 1770, in Bonn. Although unimaginable on that winter day, his influence on generations of musicians across Europe cannot be overstated. To this day, his work occupies an enormous part of our musical canon and playing certain Beethoven sonatas remains a rite of passa...

Town Hall Discussion: Effective Teaching in Challenging Times and Beyond with Jennifer Snow, Sara Ernst, Andrea McAlister, Pamela Pike, and Craig Sale Did you enjoy this webinar? Please complete our brief survey to help us improve our webinar series and continue to bring you the highest quality resources in piano teaching. 

Town Hall Discussion: Teaching Adults Online with Pamela Pike, Jackie Edwards-Henry, Rebecca Bellelo, Yeeseon Kwon, Timothy DePrey & Chris Madden.  Did you enjoy this webinar? Please complete our brief survey to help us improve our webinar series and continue to bring you the highest quality resources in piano teaching. 

One of the hallmarks of being human and living in a knowledge-based society is the ability to learn and adapt throughout our lives.1 Once thought to be a purview of youth, adults now recognize the necessity of continuing to increase knowledge and develop skills. Although formal learning and professional development opportunities, organized by educa...

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Typically, summer is a time of rest and renewal for piano teachers and performers. Even those who are lucky enough to perform and participate in summer festivals benefit from the change in pace and location. Finding time for purposeful renewal is crucial this year. Although only midway through 2020, it is turning out to be an exceptional year. Sinc...

LEARNING BEFORE 2020 While teaching online is a new adventure for many professional musicians, it is an extension of distance education that began in the United States in the nineteenth century and was subsequently developed in Europe, Canada, and Australia.1 Often, these were courses offered through extensio...

Excellent piano teachers negotiate the delicate balance between preparing and planning for each lesson, and responding to unanticipated student needs during the lesson. These two skills, careful preparation for upcoming lessons and thoughtful flexibility during actual lessons, are essential during the COVID-19 global pandemic. So, even as we strugg...

In this issue of the Piano Magazine, we explore the impact of inspirational pedagogy on pianists of all ages and abilities. Teaching and learning piano requires dedication to developing skills, such as technique, voicing, balance, sight reading, and improvising, to name just a few. But, music is written to be shared with others, sometimes with peer...

Kayo Anderson is a musician with LA Community Action Network (LA CAN), who works with Skid Row artists, many of whom are former industry-level musicians, to understand their unique challenges and help them facilitate their return to employability. In the United States, employment brings personal satisfaction but also stability for necessities such ...

As pianists and educators, many of us excel at creating meaningful musical opportunities for students and audiences whose backgrounds are similar to our own. But, how might we serve people whose experiences are different from ours, in their own communities, in ways that enable them to participate in personal music making (or "musicking," as Christo...

At the 2019 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, Jane Magrath and E. L. Lancaster will receive the NCKP Lifetime Achievement Award. Magrath grew up in South Carolina and earned degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wesleyan College, and a D.M. from Northwestern University. She joined the faculty of the University of Okl...

Preparation and Presentation Context: Pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one Berens: Op. 70, No. 8 & No. 23Christopher Norton: Duet for One (from The Microjazz Collection 1) Czerny: Op. 777, No. 3Konrad Kuhner: School of Etudes, No. 1(right before or after) Schumann: Op. 68, No. 3 Get Ready: creative a...

Performance Practice I began subscribing to Clavier within the first month of my undergraduate studies; it was required reading in my studio, but it became essential reading as I developed my piano skills. I initiated my Keyboard Companion subscription once I moved to the United States for graduate studies and became m...

Celebrating Ten Years of Clavier Companion: Returning to Our Roots and Embracing Change If we do not change, we risk failing to grow and evolve as human beings. The same can be said for organizations and for resources that we depend on for our professional development. At the dawn of the new year, I am please...