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BY JULIE KNERR, NCTM

When I began teaching pianoafter graduating from college, Iwas ill-equipped, having takenone pedagogy class and pos-sessing almost no teaching

experience. However, I did have a love for chil-dren, good teaching instincts and a knack forsequencing concepts, which allowed me to besomewhat successful with my students. But Iwondered if I was teaching my students cor-rectly, specifically in the area of technicaldevelopment.

Therefore, when the time came to choosemy dissertation topic for my Ph.D. at theUniversity of Oklahoma, I chose to take acloser look at the topic of technique in ele-mentary-level piano students. In 2006 I com-pleted this qualitative research study1 inwhich I interviewed and observed severalteachers well known for their pre-college

teaching in order to learn how they taughttechnique. After my dissertation was com-pleted, I continued observing and interview-ing more teachers to collect additional datafor a future book on the topic of teachingtechnique to elementary level students.

The following Research Teachers wereincluded in my research study:Marvin Blickenstaff, Collegetown,

Pennsylvania Mary Craig Powell, Columbus, Ohio Carolyn Shaak, Denver, Colorado Nancy Breth, Arlington, Virginia Nina Polonsky, Columbus, Ohio Olga Radosavljevich, Cleveland, Ohio Ella Karasik, Cleveland, Ohio Thu Carey, Houston, Texas John Weems, Houston, Texas Suzanne Guy, Norfolk, Virginia

Foundational Concepts

Of Technique ForBeginning Piano

Students

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These research teachers rep-resent different schools ofthought regarding technicaldevelopment and piano teach-ing. For example, Mary CraigPowell uses the Suzukimethod, while Carolyn Shaakincorporates the ideas of Orffand Montessori. Nina Polonskyrepresents the Russian school,while Thu Carey and JohnWeems use concepts from theDorothy Taubman approach. Iwelcomed this variety of teach-ing philosophies in myresearch because I wanted tostudy a range of ideas andteaching styles.

After interviews and observa-tions with the research teachers,all of whom have varying ideasabout relating to students, usean assortment of method booksand materials and have dis-parate teaching personalities, Istarted to see trends related tothe teaching of technique thattranscended the variations inthe research teachers styles,methods and philosophies. Inthis article I will describe thesetrends as they relate to teachingtechnique to beginning stu-dents. Because these conceptsare common to all the researchteachers, they can form thefoundation for a philosophy ofteaching technique that canapply to any teacher and stu-dent.

Part I discusses the techni-cal concepts common to theresearch teachers. Part IIdescribes a practical way forany teacher to implementthese concepts to beginningpiano students.

Part I. TechnicalConceptsPosture

Proper posture at the pianois imperative for injury-free,

comfortable piano playing.According to the researchteachers, aspects of good pos-ture include: Height of the Bench: The

bench should be at a heightthat the forearms, when inplaying position, are level orslightly higher than the key-board. Carpet squares arepreferable to cushions toboost a students sittingposition because they form afirm base of balance.

Distance from theKeyboard: The approachdescribed by Faber andFaber2 of putting the armsstraight so that the fiststouch the fallboard is thebest way to check for dis-tance from the keyboard(Photo A).

The student should sit tallon the sitting bones with thehead straight and on top ofthe spine. For more detail inthe body structure of thespine in relation to the headand other skeletal detailsimportant to piano playing,see What Every Pianist Needsto Know about the Body, byMark, Gary and Miles.3

Sitting tall requires that thefeet be firmly on the floor. Thebody should be balanced overthe feet, with a secondarybalance over the sittingbones. Dangling feet puts allthe balance on the sittingbones, which makes playing

the piano more difficult.Students should use a foot-stool or pedal extender toprovide a firm base of sup-port for the feet until they aretall enough to reach the floor.

Piano Hand ShapeSeveral of the research teach-

ers objected to the term handposition, because they believedthis term denotes a stiff, sethand rather than a hand thatis flexible to accommodate thegesture of a particular passage.Although it is true thatadvanced pianists use differenthand shapes to play varyingpassages, all the researchteachers stressed that it isimperative for beginning stu-dents to form a correct pianohand shape in the first monthsof piano playing. Letting a stu-dent play with a poor handshape in the early years leadsto many technical and musicalproblems in later years. Theresearch teachers stressed thefollowing components of a goodpiano hand shape. The bridge of the hand

should be up (Photo B), notcollapsed (Photo C). Photo A

Photo B

Photo C

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The thumb plays on the cor-ner tip (Photo D), not flat onits side (Photo E) and is gen-tly curved inward (Photo F),not outward (Photo G).

Fingers should be gentlycurved (Photo H) (Photo I). Itis easier to move the fingerswhen they are gently curved,rather than when they are

straight or over curled (PhotoJ). Teachers should bewareof using pictures in methodbooks, which often featurepictures of a hand shapethat is too curved.

The nail joint of each fingershould be strong (Photo K)rather than collapsed (PhotoL), because collapsing nailjoints do not allow the stu-dent to kinesthetically per-ceive and control the key.The research teachers agreedthat collapsing nail joints isa common problem thatneeds to be addressed

through persistence andpatience. Curving the fingersmore is not the solution tothis problem (Photo M). Thisputs the bones of the fingersin a position where they can-not collapse, but at theexpense of mobility, sincefingers that are very curvedcannot move quickly

Photo D

Photo E

Photo H

Photo F

Photo G

Photo I

Photo J

Photo K

Photo L

Photo M

Video 1

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(Video 1). Instead of curvingthe fingers more, studentsshould learn the feeling ofstrong finger nail joints by: Pressing on the teachersjoints, and then having theteacher press on the stu-dents joints (Photo N).

Playing repeated rhythm pat-terns such as with each fin-ger on a table or on thepiano, and (Video 2).

Making finger circlesbetween the thumb and eachfinger (Photo O) (Photo P)(Photo Q) (Photo R).

AlignmentThe arm should stay aligned

behind the finger playing sothe hand is not injured throughulnar deviation (Photo S) ortwisting in the wrists.

Extreme ranges of motion inthe wrist, whether up (PhotoT), down (Photo U) or laterally,should be avoided, as this cancause injury.

In the case of harmonicintervals or chords, properalignment of the arm dependson two criteria. First, the armshould align with the hand inthe most comfortable andstraight position between theextremes of the notes withinthe interval or chord, like this(Photo V), not like this (PhotoW), where the extreme fingersare lined up on the keys. Thearm and hand are not aligned,causing ulnar deviation andputting stress on the wrist.

Photo N

Video 2

Photo O

Photo P

Photo Q

Photo R

Photo S

Photo T

Photo U

Photo V

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Second, the position of thearm depends on the register ofthe keys in relation to thebody. For example, if the righthand is playing a chord closeto middle C (Photo X), thealignment will be differentfrom the same chord played inthe high register of the piano

(Photo Y) in relation to how thearm is angled to the body.

When playing an accompani-ment pattern such as Albertibass, the student should playthe pattern as a blocked chordfirst to find the proper align-ment and angle between thebody, arm and hand (Video 3).

Often, the correct alignmentmeans that the thumb is clos-er to the edge of the white keywhile the 5th finger is furtherin towards the fallboard (PhotoZ). This prevents the handfrom being ulnar deviated(Photo AA). However, depend-ing on the register of the pas-

sage, the opposite might betrue, such as this interval atthe highest register of thepiano (Photo BB). The key is toplan the most comfortablealignment before playing apassage, taking into considera-tion the position of the bodyand arm in relation to the reg-ister of the chord and the

shape of the chord in terms ofblack and white keys.

Powell provided a powerfulillustration of exactly wherethe student should play on thelength of the key by placingpieces of removable tape onthe correct places on each key.In this way, the student couldvisually see the shape of a pat-tern and begin to think aboutnot just which key to play, butwhere on the key to play(Video 4). Carey, Weems, Guy

and Breth all coached theirstudents regularly throughoutthe lessons about where toplay on the key in order tostay aligned.Keeping a Small Hand

Nearly all the researchteachers believed that unnec-essarily stretching the handsof children was dangerous.Legato was often sacrificed toprevent stretching of the hand.Instead of reaching for noteswith the fingers in a leaping

Photo W

Photo X

Photo Y

Video 3

Photo Z

Photo AA

Photo BB

Video 4

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passage, the arm should movethe hand to a new note. In theevent that a stretch isunavoidable, the hand shouldreturn to a small and relaxedposition as soon as possibleafter the stretch. Weems notedthat when rotation is used, aleap can sound legato even ifthe keys are not being physi-cally connected (Video 5).

Relaxed Non-Playing FingersIn key depression, the arm

aligns behind the playing fin-ger to support it in key depres-sion (Video 6). The finger

balances the weight of the armon the bottom of the key. Thenon-playing fingers should berelaxed (Photo CC), whichmeans that the fingers are notnecessarily on the keys, butthat they are more straightthan curled. Curled fingers arenot relaxed fingers (Photo DD).If fingers are curled or stickingup, the teacher should stopthe student often and touch

the fingers to help them relax.This will gradually help thestudent learn the difference insensation between relaxed andtense non-playing fingers.

A relaxed thumb is especiallyimportant. Carrying tension inthe thumb makes the wholehand tense, because it isimpossible to have a tensethumb while the other fingersstay relaxed. Stopping the stu-dent periodically to check thenon-playing thumb by jigglingthe thumb up from under-neath is an effective way tohelp the student form anawareness of the feeling of arelaxed thumb (Video 7).

Up and Over the KeysIf the hand is playing with a

tall bridge, on the corner of thethumb, with strong fingernailjoints, the hand is put in aposition of approaching thekeys from above. Students whohave collapsed bridges, fingersor flat thumbs tend toapproach the keys from below,making it difficult to transferthe support of the arm to theplaying finger (Video 8). Weems

also noted that when a fingerplays with the support of thearm, there is a slight movingforward from the elbow. If astudent tends to play with col-lapsed bridges or knuckles, theteacher may think the mainproblem is in the hand andstrive to fix the hand shape.However, the problem may real-ly lie further back, in the fore-arm. Having the student playwith a slight forward motionfrom the elbow on each notecan help to rectify the handposition problems (Video 9).

Video 5

Video 6

Photo CC

Photo DD

Video 8

Video 7 Video 9

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This translates to thinking ofplaying up and over the keysrather than from underneath.Articulation

The research teachers hadmixed opinions regardingwhether legato or non-legatoshould be the first articulationthat students learn. Most of theresearch teachers stated thatnon-legato should come first.The few who believed legatoshould be taught first said thatif a student could not success-fully play legato at first, thestudent was allowed to playnon-legato for a short time togain more control before legatowas attempted. This meansthat non-legato is the easierarticulation to begin with.

Most method books do notspecify how the beginningpieces are to be played,whether students should usefingers or arm as the primaryplaying unit, or whether thearticulation should be non-legato or legato. After inter-viewing and observing theresearch teachers, I have cometo the conclusion that untilstudents have control over thebasic movement of the fore-arm, have formed a properhand shape and have gainedsome basic finger dexterity, allbeginning pieces in methodbooks should be played non-legato with a forearm stroke(Video 10). Later, students can

begin to play legato with aforearm stroke on each note(Video 11), followed by the

more subtle finger work, whichcombines one arm gesture fora phrase of several notes(Video 12).

Forearm First, FingersSecond

There are two main reasonschildren should play the pianousing the large motions oftheir forearms as the primaryplaying apparatus to supportthe fingers, which are the sec-ondary playing apparatus.First, children have more con-trol over their large musclesthan their small muscles.Therefore, they have more con-trol and freedom at the key-board when they use theirarms to help their fingers play,rather than just focusing onplaying the right keys with theright fingers, without helpfrom the arm.

Second, childrens fingersare small and weak, and thekeys of the modern pianorequire more weight than thekeyboard instruments a fewcenturies ago. The arm work-ing in conjunction with the fin-gers provides the weightnecessary for children to pro-duce a healthy tone at thepiano and to play the pianowithout injury.

In my experience judgingfestivals, I see many youngstudents using their fingersalone with no awareness of therole of the arm (Video 13).

I believe this is because mostmethod books used by stu-dents and teachers emphasizefinger numbers from thebeginning and do not provideany instruction about whichpart of the body should beused to play those specific fin-ger numbers. This leads thestudent and teacher to assumethat as long as the correct fin-gers are used, the piece isbeing played properly.

In general, when using thearm as the primary playing unitwhile the fingers take the role ofvery active, but secondary play-ing units, the arm should staybehind the finger that is playingto support that finger in pro-ducing the tone. This coordina-tion of the arm and fingersresults in the following:Video 10

Video 11

Video 12

Video 13

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The arm adjusts for each fin-ger, creating what might becalled a choreography ofgestures. The arm moves inforward, backward, lateral,circular or rotating shapeswith the hand and fingersdepending on the shape ofthe passage (Video 14).

This choreography results ina synthesis of rhythm andgesture, furthering the musi-cal expression of the phrase.This choreography has been

codified by the Taubmanapproach through a set ofrules denoting when thepianist should play further intoward the fallboard, outtoward the edge of the keys, atvarious angles to the key, withsingle and double rotationsand so on. Two of the researchteachers, Carey and Weems,have had great success teach-ing their students these rules.

Through following the gener-al guidelines in Part I of thisarticle, all teachers can incor-porate the foundational princi-ples that result in achoreography of gestures with-in their own teaching style,whether the teacher prefersstated rules for movement,such as those used by Weems,Powell and Carey; or whetherthe teachers style favors amore conversational approachto teaching movement, such as

that used by Shaak, Guy andBreth. Either way is effective.An individuals teaching stylemay be drawn to one methodrather than another.Summary

From the very beginning ofstudy, teachers should work toensure the student is in con-trol of the following aspects ofpiano technique: Proper posture A relaxed but controlled

piano hand shape Approaching the keys from

above Keeping the arm behind the

finger that is playing Alignment between the arm

and hand and finger A small and relaxed hand

that avoids stretching Relaxed non-playing fingers Playing beginning pieces with

a forearm stroke and a non-legato articulation, followedby legato articulation whenthe student has basic controlof the playing apparatusThese aspects will result in a

choreography of gestures thatproduce relaxed, coordinatedand musical playing.

Part II. PracticalApplicationPiano Safari TechniqueExercises

After observing and inter-viewing the research teachers,I decided that for my ownteaching, designing a series oftechnical exercises would helpme organize my teaching oftechnical concepts importantto beginning pianists. The fol-lowing exercises help studentsdevelop the choreographic ges-tures necessary to successfullyplay the repertoire in the firsttwo years of study and aredesigned to be introduced in

the first semester of pianostudy. They are based onobservations of the researchteachers and formulatedaround the technical conceptsfound in Part I of this article.

The exercises are calledPiano Safari Technique exercis-es because they are based onan animal theme that appealsto young students and becausemy colleague Katie Fisher and Iare writing a piano methodcalled Piano Safari, whichincorporates these exercises(pianosafari.com).

It should be noted that play-ing these exercises is notenough to develop a good tech-nique. The exercises must beplayed correctly, with attentionto concepts such as handshape, alignment and relaxednon-playing fingers that werediscussed in Part I. Theteacher should first study andplay the exercises to under-stand the goals and gestures ofeach exercise in order to teachit correctly to the student. Formost students, these exerciseswill take several weeks to mas-ter. Teachers must persistentlywork with students until theycan play the exercises confi-dently and comfortably. Instantresults are rare.

The exercises are cumulativeand are taught by rote.Notation is provided for teacherand parent reference. Havingthe corresponding stuffed ani-mal watch and encouragethe student can provide extrafun and motivation. Once theseexercises are learned, the ges-tures they teach can be appliedto repertoire pieces the studentis studying. In fact, I havefound the students often findthe gestures in pieces fasterthan I do!

Video 14

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Exercise 1.Grizzly Bear(based on exer-cises byPolonsky andPowell)

Goals: armweight, relaxedhand andthumb, wristflexibility, graceful arching movement betweenoctaves

I begin teaching the grizzly bear by having agroup of students stand with their arms bytheir sides. I talk about how my sleepingstuffed bear is floppy and heavy, just like theirarms should be. I jiggle their arms as they restat their side to check for relaxation.

When we play the grizzly bear, I hold thestudents arm and hand for the first few weeksto allow the student to understand the feelingof the exercise (Video 15). Gradually, the stu-dent learns to use his own arm weight to drop

into the keywithout myhelp. I play anaccompani-ment of lowchords to makethe exercisesound morelike a grizzlybear (Video16).

Exercise 2.Zechariah Zebra(Blickenstaff,Powell, Shaak) Goals: fast andfree movement ofthe forearm, firmnail joints

I was surprisedwhen three of thefirst researchteachers I observed all had their students prac-tice this exercise in the beginning weeks ofstudy. I asked Powell why this twinkle varia-tion from the Suzuki4 violin method had beentransferred to the piano, and she gave threereasons:1. Students play fast from the beginning, so as

not to develop a fear of playing fast. Also, forchildren, fast is fun!

2. Repeating a note with the same finger helpsstrengthen the finger nail joints.

3. If a student can play this exercise fast, itshows that the arm is loose, since it is diffi-cult to play this exercise at a fast tempowhen the arm is too tense.

Powell calls this exercise Mississippi hopfrog. When I observed Marvin Blickenstaff, heused the same exercise, calling it Ebeneezersneezer. Carolyn Shaak also used it, calling itColoradomountain.After threeteachers in myresearch usedthis exercise, Idecided it mustbe useful forstudents, andZechariahzebra wasadded to thePiano SafariTechniqueexercises.Helping thestudent play byholding thehand and fin-ger will helpthe student bemore success-

Video 15

Video 16

Video 17

Video 18

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ful at first (Video 17). Students can then playthe exercise themselves (Video 18).

Exercise 3. PersianCat (Nearly all researchteachers use this tech-nique in pieces) Goals:free and rhythmic fore-arm movement, movingaround the keyboard,wrist flexibility

Persian cat has two phases. 1. Students practice Persian cat non-legato

with a forearm movement on each note anda non-legatoarticulation(the notesare separatebut not asshort asstaccato)(Video 19).

2. Once stu-dents havecontrol ofPersian catnon-legato, they learn Persian cat legato,where a forearm movement on each note iscombined with fingers that connect the notesto form lega-to (Video20). Thebeginningpieces areplayed withPersian cattechnique,non-legatofirst andthen legato,for the firstseveral years of study while gradually alsoincorporating flying squirrel, Exercise 5.

Exercise 4. Kangaroo (Shaak)

Goals: fast and freeforearm movement,firm nail joints, accura-cy and confidence

Kangaroo is a reit-eration of the tech-nique used inZechariah zebra, butis more advanced thanZechariah zebrabecausethere is nopausebetween fin-ger changes(Video 21).

Exercise 5. FlyingSquirrel Goals: down upwrist motion and flexibility,legato three-note slurs,graceful arching movementbetween octaves, one armmovement per phrase

After students masterPersian cat non-legatoand Persiancat legato,they startincorporatinggroups of notesinto one armgesture. This isa moreadvanced formof legato (Video22).

Video 19

Video 21

Video 22

Video 20

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Exercise 6. ElephantMoonwalk

Goals: Developmentof the outer fingers ofthe hand in a properposition, arm weight,wrist flexibility, align-ment

Elephant moonwalk is an extension of griz-zly bear and requires control of the outsides ofthe hand and more control regarding whichnotes areplayed. Itshould beplayed slowly,simulating anelephant thatfalls with athud onto themoon and thengently floats upin weightless-ness (Video 23).

Exercise 7. MonkeySwinging (Blickenstaff,Shaak, Weems, Carey)

Goals: rotation, lega-to, alignment

This is a beginningrotation exercise.Alignment is veryimportant. The thumbshould be on the endof the white key whilethe 5th finger is further in to prevent ulnardeviation. Also, it is imperative that the non-playing fingers are relaxed and that the studentthinks of thethumb asbeing oneunit whilethe otherfour fingersare a unitwith andsupport the5th finger(Video 24).The following

video is anexample ofworking with astudent tomake themonkey exer-cise better.These exerciseswill not be per-fect immediate-ly, but must beworked on for perfection. (Video 25).

Exercise 8.Lazy TurtleGoals: inter-vals, armweight, align-ment

This is anextension ofgrizzly bearand elephantmoonwalkthat focuses onthe control ofintervals (Video26).

Application to MusicI have found that children readily apply the

gestures taught in the Piano Safari Techniqueexercises to their repertoire pieces. Because theexercises have become cemented in a studentsmuscle memory, when I say, Use more GrizzlyBear right here, about a specific place in a

Video 23

Video 24

Video 25

Video 26

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piece, the student automatically releases morearm weight and drops into a key with a fullersound. Or I can say, Where is the Monkeyspot? and the student finds the places to userotation. Of course, I also use the standardterms, such as rotation, arm weight, down upand so forth with the student. However, stu-dents seem to retain the motions betterthrough the use of an animal theme andstuffed animals.

Below are four examples of how the PianoSafari Technique exercises can be incorporatedinto standard literature. Levels refer to the lev-eling system of Jane Magrath.5

Example 1. Duet by Khler.6 Level 1.

Students firstpractice thispiece withPersian catlegato tech-nique (Video27). Then theyplay it withflying squirreltechniquebased on theslur marks (m.1, 2, 4) (Video28). There arealso kangaroorhythms in m.3.

In the PianoSafari system,technique iscombined withrhythmicimpulse

through tapping the Zechariah zebra ,kanga-roo and Persian cat rhythmic pat-

terns on a table and playing them on the piano,as shown in the video under the section, PianoHand Shape. Students then recognize these pat-terns in pieces, which reinforces the relation-ship between the technical gesture and therhythmic pattern.

Example 2. Melody, Op. 39, No. 2, byKabalevsky.7 Level 1.

The right hand uses monkey technique, arotating motion where the arm stays behind thefinger playing. The left hand uses lazy turtletechnique combined with flying squirrel tech-nique, wherearm weightsinks into thefirst harmon-ic intervalfollowed byan up motionon the sec-ond harmon-ic interval(Video 29).

Example 3. Folk Dance, from First Term atthe Piano, No. 5, by Bartok.8 Level 2.

This piece can be practiced slowly withPersian catlegato tech-nique fordeep toneand loose-ness in thearms. Thenthe phrasesare groupedusing flyingsquirreltechnique(Video 30). This piece also contains Zechariahzebra (m. 1) and kangaroo rhythms (m. 2).

Video 27

Video 28

Video 29

Video 30

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Example 4. Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2, byBurgmller.9 Level 3

The right hand uses monkey technique(rotation) while left hand uses flying squirreltechnique (down up) (Video 31). Using these dif-ferent gesturesbetween handsis complicatedat first, but pro-vides greaterrhythmic energyand relaxedfreedom ofmovement whenmastered.Children whoanalyze for ges-tures from the beginning of study do not findcomplicated coordinations difficult by the timethey reach this level.

ConclusionInterviewing and observing the research

teachers provided me with a completely newperspective regarding the teaching of techniqueto beginning students. I was impressed withthe great importance the research teachersplaced on the beginning stages of study, exhib-ited by their professional and exactingapproach to their students learning from thevery first lesson, regardless of the childs per-ceived talent. I was happy to discover that thechildren I observed were not prodigies. Theywere just very well trained students who had

parents dedicated to their musical educationand teachers who cared greatly about everyaspect of their piano education.

Technique was stressed in each studiobecause technique is the foundation to allfuture piano playing. I hope that this glimpseinto my research will provide information thatwill be as helpful for other piano teachers as ithas been for me in my own teaching of tech-nique.

NOTES1. Julie Knerr, Formation of Piano

Technique In Elementary Level Piano Students:An Exploration of Teaching Elementary LevelTechnical Concepts According to Authors andTeachers from 1925 to the Present, (Ph.D.diss., University of Oklahoma, 2006).

2. Randall Faber and Nancy Faber, PianoAdventures, Lesson Book, Primer Level (FortLauderdale, FL: FJH, 1995), 3.

3. Thomas Mark, Roberta Gary and ThomMiles, What Every Pianist Needs to Know Aboutthe Body (Chicago: GIA Publications, 2003).

4. Sinichi Suzuki, Suzuki Violin School, V. 1(Secaucus, NJ: Summy-Birchard, 1975)

5. Jane Magrath, The Pianists Guide toStandard Teaching and Performance Literature(Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Company,1995).

6. Keith Snell, ed., Piano Repertoire,Romantic/Twentieth Century, Preparatory (SanDiego, CA: Kjos Music Publishing, 1997), 7.

7. Snell, 15.8. Ibid., 15.9. Keith Snell, ed., Piano Repertoire,

Romantic/Twentieth Century, Level 3 (SanDiego, CA: Kjos Music Publishing, 1997), 9.

Video 31

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BibliographyFaber, Randall, and Nancy Faber. Piano

Adventures, Lesson Book, Primer Level. Fort Lauderdale, FL: FJH, 1995.

Knerr, Julie. Formation of Piano Technique InElementary Level Piano Students: An Exploration of Teaching Elementary LevelTechnical Concepts According to Authors andTeachers from 1925 to the Present. Ph.D.diss., University of Oklahoma, 2006.

Magrath, Jane. The Pianists Guide to StandardTeaching and Performance Literature. VanNuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Company, 1995.

Mark, Thomas, Roberta Gary, and Thom Miles.What Every Pianist Needs to Know About theBody. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2003.

Snell, Keith, ed. Piano Repertoire,Romantic/Twentieth Century, Preparatory. San Diego, CA: Kjos Music Publishing, 1997.

Snell, Keith, ed. Piano Repertoire,Romantic/Twentieth Century, Level 3. SanDiego, CA: Kjos Music Publishing, 1997.

Suzuki, Sinichi. Suzuki Violin School, V. 1.Secaucus, NJ: Summy-Birchard, 1975.

Julie Knerr, NCTM, is on the adjunct piano faculty at theWanda L. Bass School of Music www.okcu.edu/Music atOklahoma City University www.okcu.edu, where she teachesgroup piano and is an accompanist. She also maintains a pri-vate studio in Norman, Oklahoma. Until recently, Knerr wasassistant professor of piano and pedagogy at University ofMissouri, where and children's piano lessons; directed thegroup piano program; and created and directed the PianoSafari program for children. She holds a Ph.D. degree in musiceducation with an emphasis in piano pedagogy from theUniversity of Oklahoma, where her dissertation on elementary-level piano techniquewas nominated for the Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award in 2006. Additional degreesinclude M.M. degrees in piano performance and piano pedagogy from the Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where Knerr studied both piano and harpsichord,and a B.M. degree in piano performance from the University of Puget Sound.