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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the preparation of Teaching Assistants (TAs) for university class piano for nonmusic majors. Questionnaires were sent to 58 universities, and 36 TAs responded.
Results indicate that: (1) 54% of TAs held a Master of Music degree and 50% are currently working on a Doctor of Musical Arts degree; (2) the majority of TAs majored in piano performance in their bachelor's (78%) and master's (83%) degrees; (3) 83% of TAs had experience with private lessons and 14% had no previous teaching experience; (4) 61% of TAs considered it more difficult to teach group piano than private piano; and (5) 58% of TAs felt they were given little or no guidance from faculty members.
Narrative responses to questions regarding particular challenges of teaching group piano are included.
