Lesley Sisterhen serves as Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy at Baylor University, where she directs the piano pedagogy program, teaches class piano and piano pedagogy, and supervises the Piano Laboratory Program. She holds degrees in performance from the University of Houston and Florida State University and recently earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Sisterhen has written articles for American Music Teacher and the online Piano Pedagogy Forum. An active clinician and researcher, she gave a presentation at the 2006 national convention for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and has presented for numerous music teacher organizations. Her previous faculty position involved teaching group and applied piano on the faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Lesley Sisterhen
Baylor University
One Bear Place #97408
Waco, Texas 76798
254.710.6516
Lesley_Sisterhen@baylor.edu
On Saturday, August 5, participants in the 2006 GP3 Conference broke into seven discussion groups to converse about the topic of "group piano and the millennial student." Much of the conversation that occurred during the breakout sessions revolved around issues presented during previous sessions on the millennial student. On the previous day, Craig Vickio had given an overview of characteristics of the new generation of students. A panel discussion on Saturday morning about group piano and the millennial student also provided fuel for discussion.
Given the broad nature of the topic, a diverse range of issues was addressed among the seven discussion groups. Prior to the conference, participants had been asked to bring ideas for projects or assignments that they have used in their group piano classes that seem to work particularly well with today's generation of students. After sharing these ideas, participants conferred about the following issues: characteristics of the millennial student and how these affect group piano teaching strategies; changes in technology that affect group piano classes; what kinds of skills are most important to implement in class piano, such as theory, aural skills, and accompanying; and problems that arise in the setup of a typical four-semester sequence of class piano.
Activities for today's group piano classes
Teachers were asked to bring their own ideas for activities or projects that are useful for today's group piano students. Linda Owen, who teaches at the University of Central Oklahoma, uses what she referred to as the "chopsticks project" on the first day of class. For this activity, she teaches students to play "Chopsticks," which most students have already heard. Students can be taught by rote to play the piece in the key of C by only using finger 2 with both hands. This motivating and enjoyable activity may be used to reinforce the names of notes on the keyboard. Once students learn the piece, Dr. Owen teaches a simple accompaniment using alternating hands on the tonic and dominant notes C and G. Half of the class then plays the melody while the other half plays the simple accompaniment.
Carlyn Morenus from Illinois State University enjoys teaching jazz scatting with her group piano classes. The students listen to pre-recorded MIDI backgrounds and record their own improvisation. Another teacher has his students perform for a fundraiser. Using the Hal Leonard book Your First Fake Book, the students improvise two-hand accompaniments while singing.
Students are often motivated by games or competitions. One instructor plays the game of "Jeopardy" to reinforce scale fingering. In this version of the game, students play scales for 200 points each and the winners receive brownies. Another participant came up with a version of "musical chairs" that incorporates an improvisation activity. In this game, one student improvises and then comes to a sudden stop while the other students in the class rush to find a chair. The student who does not get a chair then becomes the next improviser.
Characteristics of the millennial student
During the presentation on millennial students, Craig Vickio mentioned that one characteristic of students in this generation is their need for connection with other people and their typically team-oriented approach to learning. Teachers in one discussion group agreed that this characteristic intensified the need for using grouping and partnering activities in group piano. It is well documented that partnering is one of the most effective means of learning, and teachers agreed that most of their students were comfortable working in pairs or small groups.
Most millennial students are techno-savvy. Given the interest and ability of today's student in using technology, some of the discussion groups debated the role of technology in today's group piano classroom. Many students now own iPods, and some participants wondered how they might be used in group piano classes.
Valerie Cisler from the University of Nebraska at Kearney suggested that students could bring in pieces that have been downloaded to their iPod and transcribe them. She added that students enjoy this activity because it allows them to feel successful when they see the end result. Ann Porter, who teaches at the University of Cincinnati, mentioned that a piece of music can be automatically transcribed if it exists in an mp3 format by using a notation program such as Finale or Sibelius. The extra editing that is required makes this an educational activity, and Porter uses this process with her music education students. When questioned about copyright laws, Porter stated that using the transcribed piece for study purposes is fine, but problems arise when the pieces are used for performance.
A participant in another group stated that music files relevant to the group class can be converted to mp3 files and then downloaded to the iPod. A free converter is available from iTunes. For teachers in labs using 3.5" disk drives, it is possible to download the files from these disks by using an external drive that is plugged into the computer. The files can be converted to an mp3 format and then made available to iPods.
What skills should be taught in group piano?
Teachers from various discussion groups agreed that aural skills and music theory concepts should be integrated into class piano courses. By investigating the relationship between these skills, teachers can illustrate the relevance of piano skills across the music curriculum. At one university, all NASM standards for keyboard are fulfilled through aural skills classes rather than class piano. The instructor who represented this particular university explained that students meet three times per week for this class and are required to work at the keyboard during one of the class days each week.
The importance of teaching accompanying was highlighted during the panel discussion on Saturday morning. Research findings by Jamila McWhirter, Karen Beres, and Victoria Johnson illustrated the fact that accompanying should be taught in class piano. Accompanying is a practical skill that is used often by professional musicians. For future choral directors, the importance of developing accompanying skills becomes especially evident at competitions where the director often doubles as the accompanist. This point led teachers in various discussion groups to address the skill of accompanying and how it should be included in a class piano curriculum.
In the groups that addressed this topic, few teachers presently include accompanying in the curriculum. One individual suggested that vocalists should learn to accompany themselves. If the written accompaniment is too difficult for the students' current skill level, they may work instead on analyzing the harmony and playing "boom-chuck" patterns while they sing. Another suggestion was for students to record part of an accompaniment on a sequencer and then play the other part along with the recording.
Group piano teachers differ widely in the amount of time spent on repertoire pieces during a group piano class. Some people were interested in hearing other teachers' perceptions of the importance of learning repertoire and how many pieces should be assigned during a semester. Carlyn Morenus espoused her philosophy that "we are not teaching these students how to be pianists, but how to be functional at the piano." Therefore, she felt that more emphasis should be placed on functional skills rather than polishing solo repertoire. Other teachers in the discussion group argued that repertoire can be a motivational tool for class piano students and is therefore one of the most important components of the curriculum.
Problems with the typical class piano sequence
In two separate discussion groups, some teachers lamented the perceived problems with a typical four-semester sequence of class piano. They noted that after completing their requirements in piano, most students do not continue to practice at the instrument. By the time these students graduate, their piano skills have often deteriorated considerably. The subsequent lack of keyboard skills may have a negative impact on the student's ability to obtain or be successful in a teaching position, especially for choral directors. One teacher remarked that it might be beneficial for students to delay enrolling in group piano until the last two years of school. Another solution cited by a participant was to require students to utilize piano skills regularly in upper-division music courses.
It was noted in one discussion group that group piano might be more beneficial if it is offered after freshman theory is passed. In addition, piano skills should ideally be addressed across the music curriculum rather than only in class piano settings so that the usefulness of these skills is reinforced. The biggest challenge faced by many teachers of class piano is knowing how to teach all of the necessary piano skills in only four semesters.
Summary
Deciding what should be included in a piano curriculum is a difficult task when there are so many skills that must be included. A high priority should be placed on the practical skill of playing piano accompaniments. Aural skills and theory concepts should also be integrated into group piano classes for a well-rounded music education.
Group piano teachers today face many challenges, not the least of which is helping music majors to understand the importance and relevance of learning basic piano skills. Instructors may be able to reach the millennial generation by incorporating technology such as iPods into their classroom activities or placing students into small groups for team-oriented activities. In order for students to be successful in class piano, today's teachers must analyze the traditional structure of group piano teaching and decide how effective these strategies are with the current student population. The need for basic piano skills remains the same for professional musicians in the millennial generation, but the way in which these skills are taught may need to be modified.
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