Richard Chronister was one of the pedagogy greats of his time. During the last forty years of the 20th century, he was a driving force for better piano teaching and better training of piano teachers. His influence reached from large universities to small independent studios, and his name was linked with both the most basic principles and the most recent research. His accomplishments were legendary. He started the first university degree program in piano pedagogy, served on six different faculties, and developed a new piano method. He was co-founder of the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy and the founder and editor of Keyboard Companion magazine. All his professional life he asked searching questions, such as: How can I build on children's innate love of music? How can I teach so that my students keep learning, practicing and making music? How can I teach my students to become independent learners? What can I apply to my teaching from discoveries of the past and of my own time? How can I become an acute observer of what my students are doing? And of what teachers whom I observe are doing? And of what I am doing as a teacher? This compendium contains Chronister's best answers to these questions and many more. They come from his articles, addresses and lectures. Whether speaking or writing, his style is always lucid, informal and engaging. He never pretends to have the final answer, and invited his audience to consider his advice and reach their own conclusions. This book deserves a place in the library of every serious piano teacher!

Thinking as You Play focuses on how to teach, not what to teach. Sylvia Coats gives piano teachers tools to help students develop creativity and critical thinking, and guidelines for organizing the music taught into a comprehensive curriculum. She suggests effective strategies for questioning and listening to students to help them think independently and improve their practice and performance. She also discusses practical means to develop an awareness of learning modalities and personality types. A unique top-down approach assists with presentations of musical concepts and principles, rather than a bottom-up approach of identifying facts before the reasons are known. Thinking as You Play is one of the few available resources for the teacher of group piano lessons. Ranging from children's small groups to larger university piano classes, Coats discusses auditioning and grouping students, strategies for maximizing student productivity, and suggestions for involving each student in the learning process.

The strict traditions of piano teaching have remained entrenched for generations. The dominant influence of Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), the first composer-pedagogue of the instrument, brought about an explosion of autocratic instruction and bizarre teaching systems, exemplified in the mind-numbing drills of Hanon's "The Virtuoso Pianist." These practices--considered absurd or abusive by many--persist today at all levels of piano education. This book critically examines two centuries of teaching methods and encourages instructors to do away with traditions that disconnect mental and creative skills.

Transformational Piano Teaching: Mentoring Students from All Walks of Life examines the concept of the piano teacher as someone who is more than just a teacher of a musical skill, but also someone who wields tremendous influence on the development of a young person's artistic and empathic potential, as well as their lifelong personal motivational framework. The specific attributes of today's students are explored, including family and peer influences from interpersonal relationships to social media. Additionally, students from specific circumstances are discussed, including those with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, and Depression. Finally, motivation of a teacher's students is related to a teacher's own motivation in their work, as a cycle of positivity and achievement will be recommended as a way to keep an instructor's work fresh and exciting.

Using factors extrapolated from historical and social science literatures to frame the observations of twenty current U.S. piano teachers, A Portrait of Contemporary U.S. Teachers of Piano: A Musical Journey explores the contemporary U.S. piano teacher through a social science lens. Drawing on many interviewees' experiences with teaching piano, Barbara Stolz argues that each teacher is an artist and a pedagogue, teaching approaches are eclectic and pragmatic, and knowing each student is paramount.