Analyzing Piano Teaching/Learning for Young Children: An Investigation of Beginner’s Piano Method Books for Children

Abstract

Within this paper the author discusses the main tenets that exist within piano teaching/learning activities. Three beginner piano method books for children were selected as sources of data to be analyzed. The study’s goal is to find the qualities that the author(s) of the method books aim to present with regards to piano teaching. They are then analyzed from various viewpoints, such as how aligned they are with children’s learning, developmental, and early childhood music education theories, and how flexible they are to facilitate different teaching and learning contexts. The pedagogical paradigms that the books’ authors have are also investigated in depth and analyzed against the conceptual frameworks.

The findings discuss the principles extra- and intra-musically. Extra-musical aspects are the paradigms that generally surround music teaching/learning activities, but they do not have to specifically be exclusive to music, whereas the intra-musical aspects specifically relate to music and piano playing. The extra-musical elements include the social, creative/playful, and cultural aspects of music teaching/learning activities. Intra-musically, the teaching approaches that were laid on the books are discussed. They emphasize approaches that are multi-faceted, comprehensively incorporating various aspects of music while at the same time aiming to present the materials to be simple and easy to grasp for children.