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Music Education Research

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University-level group piano instruction

and professional musicians
a
Margaret Mary Young
a
Department of Music, Ohio State University at Lima, 4240
Campus Dr., Reed Hall 142, Lima, OH, 45804, USA
Version of record first published: 09 Nov 2012.

To cite this article: Margaret Mary Young (2013): University-level group piano instruction and
professional musicians, Music Education Research, 15:1, 59-73

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 Music Education Research, 2013
Vol. 15, No. 1, 59
73, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2012.737773

University-level group piano instruction and professional musicians

Margaret Mary Young*

Department of Music, Ohio State University at Lima, 4240 Campus Dr., Reed Hall 142, Lima,
OH 45804, USA
(Received 2 May 2011; final version received 3 October 2012)
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Group piano courses for undergraduate music majors have been charged with
developing the piano skills used by professional musicians; however, the only
information available on the use of piano skills by professional musicians has
been limited to one profession: public school music teachers. No one has
attempted to identify the piano skills used by faculty members, performers or
private music teachers. The purpose of this study was to gather information
about professional musicians’ development and use of piano skills in their careers.
A questionnaire was distributed to (N 393) faculty members, professional
performers and private music instructors. The survey gathered information about
their careers, piano training, use of piano skills and proposals for the piano
training of undergraduate music majors in their field. In total, 109 musicians
completed the study: faculty members (n 43), performers (n 38) and teachers
(n 28). The results of this study showed faculty members, performers and
teachers generally performed similar musical activities had comparable piano
training, used similar piano skills and agreed with each other about their
suggestions for undergraduate piano training. There were, however, subtle
differences among the three groups in the frequency with which they used certain
piano skills.
Keywords: group piano class; professional musicians; piano skills; piano; music
education

Introduction
Historical significance of group piano courses
Group piano courses originated in Europe during the early nineteenth century
(Richards 1962). These courses, which held between 10 and 30 students, were
designed to improve rhythmic stability and learn piano repertoire. By the twentieth
century, group piano courses were included in private schools and public elementary
schools and in the 1930s were introduced to universities. The primary objectives of
the early university-level group piano courses were to teach standard piano repertoire
and develop functional piano skills, such as: sight-reading, harmonising and
transposing (Richards 1962; Skroch 1991). Currently, group piano classes can be
found in private studios, public schools and institutions of higher education (Tsai
2007). Teachers continue to employ the group piano format because it is efficient and
musical skills develop more quickly in a group setting (Kokotsaki and Hallam 2007;
Shockley 1982).

*Email: young.1661@osu.edu
# 2013 Taylor & Francis
 60 M.M. Young

Of the settings in which group piano classes can take place, university-level group
piano courses are most common (Tsai 2007). University-level group piano courses
fall into two major categories: courses for music majors and for non-music majors.
Courses for non-music majors introduce non-musicians to reading notation and
beginning piano pieces, whereas piano classes for music majors are responsible for
developing the functional piano skills that undergraduate music students will use in
the future (Chin 2002; National Association of Schools of Music [NASM] 2009; Tsai
2007). Now ubiquitous in universities and colleges in the USA, group piano courses
for music majors are charged with developing the functional piano skills that
undergraduate music students will use in their intended careers (Chin 2002; NASM
2009). However, what are the piano skills that undergraduate music majors may need
in the future?
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Functional piano skills

Group piano courses are the place in which undergraduate music students learn basic
piano skills, such as: sight-reading, harmonising, transposing and improvising. The
NASM requires that all music majors develop a rudimentary knowledge of the
piano; specifically the acquisition of functional piano skills. Functional piano skills
are those skills that allow a musician to use the piano as a tool to enhance other types
of musical learning. For example, sight-reading, open score reading, harmonising,
playing by ear, improvising, transposing, playing scales and accompanying. These
skills allow students to perform, create, and teach while at the piano
fulfilling
some of the essential goals of current music education programmes (Elliott 1995).
In fact, playing an instrument often leads to ‘positive educational benefits including:
increased motivation and self-awareness, enhanced self-esteem, personal satisfaction,
and raising standards of music awareness’ (Teixeira dos Santos and Hentschke
2010, 248).
Throughout the past 60 years, researchers interested in the preparation of future
music educators have surveyed public school music teachers to gather information
about the functional piano skills they use in their daily teaching (McWhirter 2006).
Most school music teachers value the ability to sight-read, read open scores,
accompany their ensembles, harmonise melodies and lead warm-ups (Christensen
2000; Graff 1985; March 1988; McWhirter 2006). The skills that teachers use
regularly, however, vary according to their discipline (Christensen 2000; Freeburne
1952). For example, instrumental directors read scores and accompanied their
students most, whereas general music specialists harmonised melodies most
(Christensen 2000) and choral directors used the piano for warm-ups and sight-
read accompaniments (McWhirter 2006).
Although research studies examining the use of piano skills by music educators
are abundant, teaching music in public schools is only one of the many career paths
that undergraduate music majors take upon completing their degrees. To date, there
is little information available regarding the professional lives of classical musicians
(Bennett 2008), and no information is available on the piano skills used by other
professional musicians such as professional performers, faculty members or private
music teachers.
 Music Education Research 61

Music careers
There are many career paths that music majors can select upon completing their
undergraduate studies. Some of the more common careers in music include public
school music teachers, university faculty members, professional performers, and
private music teachers (Mathaug 2004). Many musicians assemble a career by
teaching private lessons, playing in ensembles, and working at a university or college
(Mills 2004; Walker 2008); in fact, most professional musicians engage in both
performing and teaching (Bennett 2008; Fredrickson 2007a, 2007b). As early as the
eighteenth century, musicians subsidised their work at courts by playing wedding and
funerals, or by teaching music privately (Bennett). This practice continues today. For
example, university faculty members are often required to teach lessons, pedagogy
courses, music history or theory while maintaining an active performing career (Rice-
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See 2003; Watson 2010). The multi-faceted career is especially true of orchestral
musicians (Bennett 2008). Many orchestral musicians perform, teach, and some find
work outside the music field (Bennett). It is the responsibility of music faculty
members to prepare undergraduate music majors for the career options available to
them, including developing the identities of both a performer and a teacher because
that is the reality that most graduates will face (Bennett 2008; Bernard 2004; Isbell
2008; Pellegrino 2009; Triantafyllaki 2010).

Statement of the problem

Ultimately, the training that music majors receive during college is designed to
prepare them for their intended careers. Most university music students take music
theory, music history, aural skills, applied lessons and group piano classes. Many
music majors who take class piano in college wonder why they are required to take
group piano courses; in their view, the information and skills they learn in group
piano classes do not contribute to their professional training (Young 2009).
Providing university music students with evidence that professional musicians use
functional piano skills could positively affect their attitude towards group piano
classes. It is the responsibility of music faculty members to collect information
regarding the skills and knowledge students will need to be prepared for their careers
(Maris 2000). For group piano teachers, this means collecting information about how
professional musicians use the piano, including the functional piano skills they use
regularly and how important piano skills are to their careers.
It is clear from the extensive studies conducted with music educators that they
value the ability to play from an open score, harmonise a warm-up, or accompany
their ensemble during a rehearsal. Although teachers have often complained about
their lack of preparation with the piano skills they use in their teaching, very few
changes have been made to group piano programmes (Chin 2002). If the intention of
group piano instruction is to supply music majors with the piano skills they will need
in the future, then the curriculum needs to reflect these skills.
The purpose of this study is to determine which functional piano skills
performing musicians, private music instructors and university-level music faculty
members use most often. A secondary purpose is to gather information about how
effectively university group piano programmes prepared these musicians to use the
piano in their careers.
 62 M.M. Young

Methodology
Questionnaire
I composed a questionnaire that consisted of five sections: demographic information
(gender, professional responsibilities, years of experience and education), piano
training, current piano use, recommendations for undergraduate music major piano
preparation and comments. Several questions used in previous studies completed
with public school music teachers (Christensen 2000; McWhirter 2006) were
included, so comparisons could be made across music professions. The survey
consisted of 19 questions, some of which had multiple components.

Participants
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I contacted members of four university music departments including both private

and public universities that offered at least one degree in music with populations
ranging from 2000 to more than 50,000 students, four performing ensembles (two
vocal and two instrumental) and four private music schools from different regions of
the USA by email. Included in that email were a cover letter and a link to the
electronic survey. In total, 393 questionnaires were distributed to professional
musicians: faculty members (n 234), performing musicians (n93) and private
music teachers (n66), and 109 (28%) surveys were completed and included in the
data analysis (Table 1).
For the much of the analysis, participants were categorised based on their answer
to: Please describe your current involvement in the music profession. Most participants
were involved in more than one professional activity (e.g. faculty member and
performing musician). This is in accord with Mills (2004) and Bennett (2009), who
found that most musicians engage in multiple music activities. In this study,
43 participants were faculty members, 18 participants were performers and 7 were
teachers, 21 participants performed professionally and taught pre-college music

Table 1. Instruments played by participants.

Instruments Percentage

Voice 32.0
Oboe 3.5
Organ 1.8
Piano 25.0
Cello 3.6
Violin 14.3
Flute 1.8
Trumpet 5.4
Saxophone 1.8
French Horn 1.8
Trombone 1.8
Tuba 1.8
Percussion 1.8
Guitar 1.8
Harp 1.8
 Music Education Research 63

Table 2. Activities performed regularly by faculty, performers, and teachers.

Faculty Performers Teachers

Activities (n 99) (%) (n114) (%) (n 84) (%)

Pre-college lessons 11 14 26
College lessons 22 20 8
Precollege classes 4 4 17
College classes 26 13 6
Solo performance 20 19 13
Ensemble performance 15 27 27
Other 1 3 2
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students, 14 respondents indicated that they performed professionally and were

employed as music faculty members, and 6 participants were music faculty members,
professional performers, and private music instructors. Participants were categorised
as faculty, performers or teachers in order to make comparisons across those three
careers. For the remainder of the analysis, participants who identified themselves as
music faculty members only (n43), were categorised as faculty members. The
teacher category (n28) included respondents who identified themselves as teachers
at non-university levels regardless of whether they performed professionally. The
performer category (n 38), included all individuals, other than teachers, who
reported performance as one of their professional activities (Table 2). Data from the
questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics and proportions.

Results
The results of this study describe the opinions of a select group of professional
musicians. Therefore, generalisations should be limited to members of that
population; however, this questionnaire could serve as a model for further
investigations into the use of functional piano skills by professional musicians.

Demographic information
Of the 109 participants who completed the survey, 52% were female and 48% were
male. The majority of faculty members (84%) had completed a doctoral degree,
whereas the highest degree that most performers (47%) and private music teachers
(46%) had earned was a master of music. Most participants, regardless of their
indicated career, earned degrees in performance (38%). Other common degree
programmes included music theory and musicology (31%) and music education
(19%), and several participants (11%) earned degrees outside of music, such as
library science or business. Regardless of their indicated career, many participants
(37%) indicated that they performed professionally in an ensemble or as a soloist.
Almost all participants (n 102) indicated that they taught music regularly (Table 3);
in fact, the only individuals (n 7) who did not report teaching as a regular
professional activity were performers.
 64 M.M. Young

Table 3. Teaching responsibilities of faculty, performers and teachers.

Faculty Performers Teachers

Teaching area (n 66) (%) (n 41) (%) (n 39) (%)

Not applicable 0 17 0
History courses 9 5 0
Lessons 30 56 54
Classes for non-music majors 5 0 0
Conducting 12 15 3
Music theory courses 18 5 10
Composition 5 2 5
Group piano courses 3 0 3
Other group classes 19 0 27
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Piano training
Most participants (86%) fulfilled a piano requirement, and it typically (69%) took
place during their undergraduate studies. During college, faculty members took
nearly twice as many semesters of group piano classes and piano lessons as did
performers and private music teachers. In addition to the piano training they
received in college, many participants (84%) took piano lessons prior to entering
their undergraduate programmes. Although most participants had taken piano
lessons before college, only a few participants (8%) took group piano classes prior to
college.
Participants were asked to indicate the class in which they learned 13 functional
piano skills; they could choose from piano lessons, group piano courses, non-piano
courses or never taught that skill. Most participants learned how to play scales
(67%), develop technique (77%) and sight-read (47%) in piano lessons. Other music
classes, such as music theory or music education methods, were responsible for
teaching participants how to play chord progressions (44%) and read open scores
(35%). Many participants reported never receiving instruction on accompanying
(46%), transposing accompaniments (50%), improvising melodies (53%) and
improvising with chords (39%) and no skills were clearly identified by the majority
of participants as being learned in group piano classes (B30%).

Current piano use

In this section of the questionnaire, participants indicated how frequently (regularly,
occasionally or never) they used 19 piano skills (Table 4). I expanded the list of
13 piano skills to 19 to gain further insight into how each piano skill was used by
professional musicians. Participants reported regularly transposing melodies (34%),
sight-reading accompaniments (46%), playing scales (36%) and accompanying
soloists (32%). Participants occasionally harmonised melodies with and without
symbols (35%), improvised accompaniments (32%), transposed accompaniments
(37%), read open scores (38%), played in alto clef (41%), played by ear (32%) and
arranged pieces (47%). There were several piano skills that the majority of
participants (50%) never used: improvising accompaniments, transposing melodies
to concert pitch, practicing piano solos, playing memorised solos, devising
modulations, composing new pieces and accompanying groups.
 Music Education Research 65

Table 4. Frequency with which faculty, performers and teachers used functional piano skills.

Regularly Occasionally Never

F P T F P T F P T
Skills (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Harmonise melodies with 28 32 18 42 27 36 30 41 46

symbols
Harmonise melodies without 26 22 14 44 32 29 30 46 57
symbols
Improvise accompaniments 21 24 21 36 30 29 43 46 50
Transpose melodies 37 31 32 47 31 29 16 37 39
Transpose accompaniments 24 34 31 50 14 44 26 51 25
Transpose instruments 19 14 15 42 28 19 40 58 67
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Sight-read open score 26 22 32 51 42 14 23 36 54

Sight-read accompaniments 57 43 32 14 29 39 29 29 29
Read alto Clef 16 17 18 40 46 36 44 37 46
Play by ear 47 17 21 21 46 32 33 37 46
Play piano solos 21 11 21 33 34 18 47 54 61
Memorise piano solos 19 9 14 26 20 29 56 71 57
Play chord progressions 37 14 14 33 29 18 30 57 68
Devise modulations 16 14 7 37 34 18 47 51 75
Play scales 40 31 36 35 37 32 26 31 32
Arrange pieces 12 32 11 57 35 46 31 32 43
Compose 9 11 7 35 43 25 56 46 68
Accompany soloists 37 31 25 26 29 43 37 40 32
Accompany groups 16 17 18 30 23 14 53 60 68
N108, F (n 43), P (n 38) and T (n 28).

Most faculty members sight-read accompaniments (57%), played scales and

arpeggios (40%), and played familiar songs by ear regularly (47%), whereas
performers sight-read accompaniments (43%), transposed accompaniments (34%)
and harmonised melodies with symbols (32%) regularly. On the other hand, the
majority of teachers reported playing scales (36%), reading open scores (32%) and
transposing simple melodies (32%) regularly.
Most participants (61%), regardless of their career, reported that they would have
used the piano more frequently if they were more proficient. Additionally, piano
skills were important or of the utmost importance to a majority of participants’
careers (55%). More faculty members (35%) reported piano skills as being of the
utmost importance to their jobs than did performers (22%) or private teachers (21%).
In fact, a smaller proportion of faculty members (7%) reported that piano skills were
unimportant to their jobs than did the other professions (15%).

Proposed undergraduate music major piano preparation

Participants reported whether undergraduate music students in their field should
receive substantial, moderate, little or no piano training on 13 piano skills. There
were very few piano skills that participants thought should receive little or no
attention in college piano classes (e.g. memorising piano solos, playing piano solos,
 66 M.M. Young

Table 5. Faculty members’, performers’, and teachers’ proposed piano skill training for
undergraduates.

Substantial Moderate Little None

F P T F P T F P T F P T
Skills (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Harmonise melodies 36 31 22 40 46 48 17 20 26 7 3 4
with I, IV, V7
Harmonise melodies 36 36 33 40 36 41 19 22 22 5 6 4
with Amin, C7
Harmonise melodies 40 22 27 31 39 42 26 33 27 2 6 4
w/o symbols
Improvise 37 25 22 26 39 37 35 31 26 2 6 15
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accompaniments
Improvise melodies 31 20 15 24 40 44 40 37 33 5 3 7
Transpose melodies 45 28 27 40 44 46 12 25 19 2 3 8
Transpose 36 26 15 36 31 41 24 37 33 5 6 11
accompaniments
Transpose 32 22 19 44 33 38 22 39 31 2 6 12
harmonisations
Sight-read open scores 45 26 19 40 51 48 14 20 22 0 3 11
Sight-read 55 47 44 33 31 37 10 19 15 2 3 4
accompaniments
Play piano solos 29 17 28 29 36 16 36 33 36 7 14 20
Memorise piano solos 20 8 11 15 22 26 44 47 37 22 22 26
Play chord progressions 40 47 38 48 42 35 12 8 27 0 3 0
Play scales 40 46 30 31 34 48 21 20 19 7 0 4
Accompany soloists 40 33 44 31 39 30 21 17 19 7 11 7
Accompany groups 33 27 30 31 32 33 31 32 30 5 8 7
N 108, F (n43), P (n38) and T (n28).

improvising melodies and transposing accompaniments). Accompanying soloists,

playing chord progressions, sight-reading, and playing scales were piano skills that
participants thought should receive substantial attention in group piano courses,
whereas accompanying groups, harmonising melodies with and without symbols,
and transposing were skills that should receive a moderate amount of attention
(Table 5).
More than a third of faculty members thought undergraduates should receive
substantial training on accompanying soloists, improvising accompaniments,
harmonising melodies without symbols, sight-reading open scores, sight-reading,
playing scales, transposing melodies and transposing accompaniments, but little or
no instruction on playing (43%) and memorising piano solos (66%).
Performers (35%) thought undergraduates in their field should receive
substantial training on playing chord progressions, harmonising melodies with letter
symbols, sight-reading and playing scales. More than 35% of performers indicated
that undergraduates in their field should receive a moderate amount of training
on accompanying soloists, improvising melodies, improvising accompaniments,
sight-reading open scores, transposing melodies, playing solos and harmonising
melodies with and without symbols.
 Music Education Research 67

Table 6. Participants’ frequency of use and proposed undergraduate training on selected

functional piano skills.

Piano skill Frequency More training (%) Less training (%)

Harmonise melodies with symbols R (n 29) 93 7

N (n 40) 53 47
Harmonise melodies without symbols R (n 23) 91 9
N (n 43) 47 53
Improvise accompaniments R (n 23) 96 4
N (n 47) 38 62
Transpose melodies R (n 35) 89 11
N (n 27) 52 48
Transpose accompaniments R (n 25) 84 16
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N (n 39) 44 56
Sight-read open scores R (n 28) 75 25
N (n 35) 66 34
Sight-read accompaniments R (n 47) 94 6
N (n 29) 76 24
Play piano solos R (n 17) 94 6
N (n 53) 38 62
Memorise piano solos R (n 14) 93 7
N (n 62) 18 82
Play chord progressions R (n 25) 92 8
N (n 49) 78 22
Play scales R (n 36) 92 8
N (n 28) 57 43
Accompany soloists R (n 33) 94 6
N (n 38) 42 58
Accompany groups R (n 18) 94 6
N (n 61) 47 53
R, Regularly, N, Never.

Many teachers (44%) thought that undergraduates in their field should receive
substantial training on sight-reading and accompanying soloists and more than 40%
of teachers thought undergraduate students should receive a moderate amount of
training on improvising melodies, harmonising melodies with and without symbols,
sight-reading open scores, playing scales, transposing melodies and transposing
accompaniments. Like performers and faculty members, most teachers thought that
undergraduates should have little or no training on playing (56%) and memorising
piano solos (63%).
When asked when piano study should take place, faculty members (78%),
performers (92%) and teachers (65%) thought that it should take place during the
first two years of study. Additionally, performers (68%) and teachers (63%) thought
piano training should last for between one and three years, whereas faculty members
(50%) thought undergraduates should study the piano for four years.

Comments
Forty per cent of respondents provided comments to the survey. Of the comments
provided, 38% focused on changes to current group piano classes, 27% identified
 68 M.M. Young

important piano skills, 22% referred to participants’ piano training and 13% were
centred around other topics, such as questions about the survey.

Cross-tabulations
I conducted a series of cross-tabulations between the frequency with which parti-
cipants used piano skills and their proposed piano training for undergraduates in
their field (Table 6). Participants’ responses to the undergraduate training question
were collapsed from four choices (substantial, moderate, little or none) to two
categories (substantial/moderate or little/none).
As one might expect, the majority of participants who reported using piano skills
thought undergraduates in their field should receive training on that skill. This was
true for all 13 skills (75%). Although many participants reported never using some
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skills, they thought undergraduates should receive training on those piano skills. For
example, more than half of the participants who reported never harmonising
melodies with letter symbols thought undergraduates should receive training on that
skill. The same was true for playing chord progressions, reading open scores, sight-
reading accompaniments, playing scales and transposing melodies; regardless of the
frequency with which participants used those skills, they thought that under-
graduates should receive training on them (52%).

Discussion
The results of this study showed that faculty members, performers and private music
teachers generally performed similar musical activities, had comparable piano
training, used similar piano skills and agreed with each other about their suggestions
for undergraduate piano training. There were, however, subtle differences among the
three groups in the frequency with which they used functional piano skills.
For much of the analyses, participants were classified based on their indicated
career (faculty members, professional performers and private music teachers). Of
particular interest was how different professional musicians used piano skills in their
job, as that would provide group piano teachers with information about the piano
skills to be emphasised in their curricula. Generally, more faculty members regularly
used functional piano skills than did either performers or teachers. One possible
reason for faculty members’ more regular piano use could be they had more piano
training than did other professional musicians. Faculty members took nearly twice as
many years of piano lessons and group piano classes during college than did other
participants.
There were three piano skills that all professional musicians used frequently
(sight-reading accompaniments, playing scales and transposing melodies). Of those
three skills only two of them have been cited as important and useful to music
educators: sight-reading accompaniments and playing scales (Christensen 2000;
McWhirter 2006). In addition to playing scales, transposing melodies and sight-
reading accompaniments, faculty members also played by ear, played chord
progressions and accompanied soloists regularly. Performers regularly harmonised
melodies with symbols, transposed accompaniments, and accompanied soloists and
teachers read open scores and transposed accompaniments frequently. Music
educators also reported frequently accompanying soloists and reading open scores
 Music Education Research 69

(Christensen 2000), which demonstrates that there are some skills commonly used by
all professional musicians.
Although participants were not asked to expound on how and when they used
functional piano skills, sight-reading accompaniments, playing scales, harmonising
melodies with symbols and transposing melodies could easily be used by a variety of
musicians in different capacities. For example, private music instructors may play a
scale to warm-up their students, transpose a melody to concert pitch, harmonise a
melody to modify a difficult accompaniment, or sight-read an accompaniment to
give their students an opportunity to hear what the piece will sound like. Performers
may harmonise melodies or practice the accompaniment to a piece they are working
on to create an aural model. Public school music teachers use harmonisation skills to
introduce a new concept, play accompaniments to their students’ pieces, and read
open scores to aid in their own score study (Christensen 2000; McWhirter 2006).
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Regardless of their career, most participants in this study reported never

practicing and memorising piano solos, composing, devising modulations, improvis-
ing accompaniments, accompanying groups and transposing melodies to concert
pitch. School music educators also reported rarely composing music or playing
memorised piano solos (Christensen 2000; Graff 1985; McWhirter 2006). A higher
proportion of participants in this study reported never using piano skills than did
school music educators surveyed in previous studies (Christensen 2000; March 1988;
McWhirter 2006). In fact, more than 50% of participants in this study reported never
practicing or memorising solos, devising modulations, composing and accompanying
groups. Although most participants reported never composing or improvising
accompaniments, creativity is a concept often stressed in music education pro-
grammes (Elliott 1995). While most musicians are not required to compose music as
part of their professional responsibilities, the composition assignments in group
piano classes are often used to strengthen the understanding of a particular concept.
The same is true for improvising accompaniments. The primary purpose of
improvising accompaniments in group piano courses is to provide training on chord
progressions, not to accompany other musicians.
School music educators use a wider variety of piano skills in their teaching than
other professional musicians, so group piano teachers may consider shaping the
group piano curriculum to reflect the differences among the various music
professions. Tailoring group piano classes for each degree was first proposed in
the 1960s, but this practice has not yet been implemented throughout the country
(Rast 1964; Skroch 1991; Spicer 1992). Some universities have begun providing
specialised training for music educators; however, few of these differentiated group
piano programmes exist (Spicer 1992). Tailoring group piano instruction to meet the
needs of different degree programmes has several advantages. First, it would provide
university music students with an opportunity to focus on the piano skills that they
will need in the future. Teachers could also provide their students with multiple
opportunities to demonstrate the development of their piano skills in more realistic
situations. For example, group piano teachers could assign music education students
to lead a folk song in class, rehearse a choral piece from the piano or accompany a
classmate while future private teachers read open scores and transpose accompaniments
and future faculty members play familiar tunes by ear, play chord progressions and
accompany soloists. These assignments might provide students with information
about how these skills could be used and valued in their future careers.
 70 M.M. Young

The primary disadvantage to specialised group piano instruction is that

university music students may not know exactly how their career will develop at
the start of their musical studies. They could major in performance during their
undergraduate studies, but earn a doctorate in music theory and ultimately teach
music theory at a university. If the piano courses they take during their under-
graduate piano programme were designed for performers, then they may not have
developed the piano skills they will need in their ultimate career. There are a few
skills, however, that were common among the different professions, such as sight-
reading accompaniments, playing scales and transposing melodies.

Recommendations for higher education

University music programmes should adopt a music major group piano curriculum
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that lasts two years. The first three semesters would provide instruction to all music
majors on the primary piano skills used by all professional musicians, namely: sight-
reading, playing scales, harmonising and transposing melodies. The last semester
would consist of tailored instruction designed to prepare students in each degree
programme for the piano skills they will ultimately need in their careers. For example,
future faculty members would study playing by ear, playing chord progressions and
accompanying soloists while future private music teachers would practice reading open
scores and transposing accompaniments. During the first three semesters, students
would be asked to demonstrate their piano skills in situations facing professional
musicians: warming up students (individually or in a group) and accompanying
students, reading open scores to lead rehearsals, and harmonising melodies with and
without symbols. Requiring students to practice using the piano skills in ways similar
to professional musicians during group piano courses could provide them with a more
realistic picture of what their future careers will entail. Additionally, by tailoring
instruction to meet the needs of each degree programme, students would be able to
focus on the skills they will need in the future, and perhaps leave their undergraduate
studies more confident in their ability to use the piano effectively.
In addition to the changes proposed to the group piano curriculum, other
music courses, such as music theory or music education methods, could consider
including piano assignments. Including small piano assignments throughout the
undergraduate degree programme in all music courses might ensure that university
music students maintain their playing abilities throughout their collegiate career
and help aid in the skill retention problem currently facing group piano
programmes (Mauricio 2009). For example, choral music education methods
courses could require that students warm-up the class using the piano or music
performance majors could accompany one of their peers in a performance class for
their applied lesson instructor. In fact, students prefer their content to be
integrated across disciplines and teachers have found it to be a worthwhile
experience as well (Ballantyne 2006; Thornton, Murphy, and Hamilton 2004).
These simple assignments might be sufficient to maintain the level of proficiency
acquired in group piano courses and may make the development of these skills
more meaningful to students.
Professional musicians in this study learned the majority of functional piano skills
on their own or in other music classes such as music theory or music education
methods courses. That no functional piano skills were clearly identified by the majority
 Music Education Research 71

of participants as being developed in group piano classes is of great concern for group
piano teachers. If professional musicians develop piano skills outside of group piano
classes, then one must wonder how effective group classes are in training professional
musicians to use the piano. Group piano curricula should address those skills that
professional musicians use in their careers and group piano teachers may consider
omitting assignments of doubtful relevance to non-piano majors that are often
included in group piano curricula such as memorising piano literature, composing new
pieces or devising modulations. They could focus, instead, on sight-reading,
transposing melodies, playing scales, harmonising melodies with letter symbols and
reading open scores because these are the skills that professional musicians use most
often. University music students may also benefit from having more than two
semesters of piano class. This would allow teachers additional time to focus on those
piano skills used by professional musicians, and provide students with more time to
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develop their piano skills to the level of proficiency needed for their intended career.
Future researchers should explore the effect of changes made to the current
group piano curriculum, specifically how selected changes to the curriculum affect
undergraduate music majors’ attitudes and preparation to use the piano skills
identified as important by professional musicians. A study that compares the
preparation of students whose piano assignments occur only in group piano classes
to the preparation of students who are required to demonstrate piano skills in other
music courses might provide evidence supporting the integration of piano assign-
ments throughout the undergraduate music major programme. This study could lead
to music majors who are better prepared and, in turn, professional musicians who are
effectively trained to use the piano in their careers.

Conclusions
Creating a group piano curriculum that effectively develops functional piano skills
should be a priority for group piano teachers and researchers working on the
preparation of professional musicians. Group piano teachers’ attention should
continue to be concentrated on developing functional piano skills, such as sight-
reading, playing chord progressions, playing scales, reading open scores, transposing
melodies and harmonising melodies, as these are the piano skills that professional
musicians use most. Current group piano practices do not provide adequate training
on the functional piano skills that are needed for many professional musicians. Tsai
said, ‘A diligent instructor is someone who is tireless in adjusting the curriculum’
(Tsai 2007, 44). Group piano curricula should continue to be adapted so that the
needs of all music majors and future musicians are effectively met.

Notes on contributor
Margaret Young completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at
Austin in Music and Human Learning with an emphasis in piano pedagogy. Her research at
Texas focused on curricular development for group piano classes, predictors of sight-reading
success, and teaching students with disabilities. This research led to a publication in Clavier
Companion, and presentations at National music teacher events. She earned a Masters in
Music from Bowling Green State University in both piano performance and collaborative
piano. At Luther College, she received her Bachelors of Art in Music Performance specializing
in music management.
 72 M.M. Young

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