Group piano in the 21st century: The beginning class at the college level

Abstract

This project focuses on the structure of a contemporary first-year college-level group-piano course. The study begins by reviewing the purpose and significance of the group-piano setting, and introduces new changes affecting such setting in the past decades. These changes are identified from the perspectives of student body and technology. In addition, this study examines the wide array of textbooks for group-piano use, ranging from all-inclusive texts to proficiency-oriented texts, and from standard older-beginner methods to less conventional methods. The study concludes with an observation of exemplary teaching and details the necessary qualities needed in instructors for effectiveness in the classroom.