The Applied Music Teacher’s Transition into the Teaching Role:
Challenges, Solutions, Reflections, and
Suggestions for the Future
Melissa Slawsky, Ph.D. Candidate
Center for Music Education Research
University of South Florida
mmaccarelli@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
Much has been written on the challenges pre-service music teachers face when completing traditional
teacher training programs. However, little has been investigated as to the challenges applied music
teachers face when transitioning from student to teacher in the private and higher education settings.
While many music educators learn how to teach through teacher-training programs, the standard mode of
transmission in which applied music teachers learn to teach is through proficiency of the instrument under
the guidance of a master teacher. This tacit development of pedagogical knowledge occurs through the
master-apprentice model of pedagogy. This presentation reports applied music teachers’ (N= 12)
reflections on the challenges faced and strategies/resources found when transitioning into the teaching
role as well as the educational experiences and professional development opportunities that contributed to
their pedagogical knowledge. Implications for future coursework, texts and the future of applied music
instruction are drawn from research findings. Although phases 1, 2, & 3 of this large-scale study are
focused solely on the piano teacher, phase 4 will be expanded to instrumentalists and vocalists under the
umbrella ‘private lesson pedagogy.’
Purpose:
The purposes of this study were (a) to explore how piano teachers learn how to teach from and
independent of piano pedagogy coursework, overcome challenges, and continue to add to their pedagogy
knowledge, and (b) to explore topics that would be most useful in a piano pedagogy course or program.
(An empirical approach to curriculum design)
Research Questions (Phases 1, 2, & 3):
1. How do piano teachers make the transition from student to teacher?
a. What challenges do they face when making the transition?
b. What solutions and/or resources do they find to overcome these challenges?
c. What learning experiences, formal and informal, helped prepare them for overcoming
challenges and transitioning into the teaching role?
2. What current challenges do piano teachers face?
a. What solutions and/or resources do they find to overcome these challenges?
3. What do piano teachers suggest as to the future of piano pedagogy and the piano curriculum, in
general?
Methods:
Who- Piano teachers of varying ages, educational levels, and years of teaching experience.
What- Semi-structured interview guide consisting of 22 questions
Where- Pilot interviews were conducted over the telephone (dissertation interviews were completed in
person) and later transcribed
Why- To determine piano teacher challenges encountered and solutions found when transitioning from
student to teacher.
How- Interviews conducted over the phone, later transcribed, and piano teachers received a
transcript that they could modify and edit as they saw fit. Interviews were coded using content
analysis, in which some codes were developed inductively and others deductively.
Results presented in 3 phases:
Student 
Transition 
Teacher
Applied lessons
Emulate + ______________
(In developing teaching style)
Challenges
Solutions & Resources
Current challenges
Pedagogical coursework
Circumstances that led to
teaching
Solutions & Resources
Reflections & Suggestions for the
future
Student:
 Applied lessons Pedagogical Coursework
 Circumstances that led to teaching
Transition:
a. Development of teaching style:
 Piano teachers emulated their former teachers
 This varied from ‘very much so,’ to taking the positive aspects and leaving the negative
aspects, to developing their teaching style in opposition to their former teachers.
Other elements in developing teaching style included:
 Conducting (score study)
 Violin (tone production, phrasing, and breathing)
 Ensemble playing (polyphonic music)
 Singing (phrasing)
 Practical skills (accompanying, playing for church services, improvisation, playing lead
sheets)
 Eclectic mix of psychological and learning theories, personality theory, etc…
b. Challenges faced when beginning to teach:
 Curriculum- Choosing methods, technique, theory books, and literature
 Lack of guidance or support
 Dealing with student discipline or behavioral problems
 Enforcing studio policies
 Acquiring new students
 Not knowing what to do…
c. Solutions and Resources in overcoming beginning challenges:
 Gained more experience (trial and error)
 Reading (composer treatises, pedagogical texts, books on performance practice, etc…)
 Discussed issues with friends, colleagues, and experienced teachers
 Developed professionalism through joining professional music organizations and going to
college
 Improved communication skills

Gained additional skills for recruiting students
Teacher:
a. Current Challenges:
 Sustaining motivation and competing with other activities
 Students and parents not valuing the piano as a serious endeavor
 Helping students develop an individual performing style
 Transitioning students from method books to intermediate repertoire
 Time management (cramming everything into a 30 minute lesson)
 Teaching new populations of students (pre-school, special needs, adult hobbyists)
 The current economy
b. Solutions & Resources in overcoming current challenges:
 Discussing issues with friends, colleagues, and professional teachers
 New forms of advertising (the internet, social networking, signage, etc..)
 Online music resources (for finding music, and drilling music theory, etc…)
 Fake books and other resources for harmonization and improvisation
 Taking an eclectic approach to tailoring the curriculum to the needs of each student
c. Reflections & Suggestions for the future:
Helpful Aspects of Piano Pedagogy coursework
 Writing a philosophy of piano teaching
 Surveying method books
 Developing a studio policy
 Observations of experienced teachers (that teach beginning, intermediate, and advanced
students of all ages)
 A forum to discuss experiences with peers and experienced teachers
 Developing lists of literature and curricula for the individual and group settings
 Setting up a studio (logistics, insurance, taxation)
Piano teachers felt ill-equipped to teach:
 Intermediate to advanced level students
(most piano teachers commented that they felt the courses were focused on teaching the
traditional-aged beginning student)
 Special populations of students (pre-school/pre-reading, special needs, adults)
(there is a complete body of literature on the teaching for the adult student known as andragogy)
 The business aspects of a studio (filing taxes as an independent contractor, insurance, keeping
records, etc…)
 Non-notation based teaching methods (improvisation, playing by ear, harmonization, reading
lead sheets)
Ineffective aspects of pedagogy coursework:
 Inauthentic teaching experiences
Desired pedagogy topics:
 Hands-on teaching experiences (not just talking about it…)
 Filing taxes
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Record-keeping (software, etc…)
Advertising and marketing
Improvisation and playing by ear
Child development, child behavior
Psychology and learning theories
How to approach different types of learners (including students w/ disabilities)
Techniques for new populations of students (pre-school, special needs, adults)
Observations of professional teachers
Different approaches to technique
Reflections on time spent on college:
 Some piano teachers felt there was a vast difference between the time spent in college and time
spent teaching
 Those who had a smoother transition into the teaching role taught throughout their time in higher
education and did not rely solely on the curriculum to prepare them for teaching.
Suggestions for the future of piano pedagogy:
 Piano pedagogy should be required of all performance majors
(good performers do not necessarily guarantee good teachers, pedagogy knowledge and teaching
experience contributed to performing experience, pedagogy should be included at the undergraduate
level as well)
 Piano lessons should allow students to make independent decisions such as: choosing repertoire
and harmonizing familiar tunes
 Piano teachers should also learn business skills (accounting, tax preparation, as well as advertising
and marketing)
 Students should also learn how to improvise
 Technology should also be incorporated into the curriculum
Suggestions for the piano curriculum Teaching and performing placed at equal importance
 More time spent on teaching and running the business, less time on preparing for recitals
 Even good performers need business skills
Future ResearchThis project is being expanded into my doctoral dissertation which will involve:
a. Semi-structured interviews (N= 12)
b. a large-scale survey to provide descriptive data (generalizability)
*Facebook users may recognize a pay-per-click advertisement appearing on any profile pages where
an interest in the piano is indicated (through groups, work places, and ‘liked’ pages).
Long-term research plan:
a. The study will be repeated using various instrumentalists and vocalists (interviews and surveys).
Results will be utilized to develop curricula and materials under the umbrella-term ‘private lesson
pedagogy.’
Comments, Questions, or Concerns:
Please contact Melissa Slawsky at mmaccarelli@hotmail.com.