Look Out Pokemon - Here Comes Piano Pedagogy

I have been playing the piano for over 40 years now and I recently came across the term, pedagogy. Watching my kids collect Pokemon cards when they were little, I immediately assumed this must be one of Pikachu's arch enemies. I could imagine Piano Pedagogy as a Fire Pokemon battling to the death with Pikachu. As if they actually battled to the death.

Anyway, thought I would share some information on the subject. Hope you enjoy and are inspired to continue your musical journey.

What Is Piano Pedagogy?

Piano pedagogy is the study of the teaching of playing piano. The focus of piano pedagogy is more geared towards instruction as it relates to individual students as opposed to music education in general which focuses more on a group or educational environment. In other words, piano lessons, which usually involve a one on one coaching or semi-private instruction. Therefore, the nice lady that I used to call my piano teacher, would correctly be referred to as a 'piano pedagogue'.

The range of disparity between available teachers associated with piano is extremely large. Unfortunately, competent education is not always guaranteed simply by the amount of years a person has undertaken lessons. It takes more than tenure.

The factors which affect the ability of any piano educator consist of one's education and learning level, understanding of musical performance, knowledge of musical genres, history, and piano repertoire, and most importantly, the ability to customize one's teaching method to sync with different personalities as well as learning styles.

Learning how to play a piano includes the teaching of artistic, problem-solving, motor and intellectual skills. There are several areas of study involved including ear training, rhythm, notation, technique, improvisation, sight reading, and memorization.

Education

Piano pedagogy may be studied through academic programs which often culminate to the achievement of a bachelors, master, or even doctoral degree at music universities or conservatories. The undergraduate degree may call for several years of previous piano studies and prior instructing knowledge as prerequisites for application. At the graduate level, numerous universities require applicants to have some training experience and a minimum of a bachelor of music or comparable experience in piano performance and pedagogy.

Even though most piano pedagogy programs include a wide range of past performance experience, the curriculum for the pedagogy degree varies from school to school. And although most do not, students associated with the latter group have the choice to be able to get training exclusively within the 'teaching of piano' category itself.

Check out our featured online courses or make use of the major search engines to find the piano pedagogy courses that may be of interest to you today by visiting PlayPianoDude.com where you will find this and much more, including how to play a piano with 12 fingers!

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Electric Guitar History, Where The Electric Guitar Comes From And Other Interesting Facts

Electric guitar history shows that in the early 1920s the big bands of the time were getting bigger and the sound of the acoustic guitar was being overwhelmed by the sound of all the other instruments. The acoustic guitar needed to be amplified and this was when people started fitting crude microphones to the acoustic guitar. Using an amplifier, the acoustic guitar volume increased substantially.

Here are some interesting facts on electric guitar history:
1920s- Lester Polfus or "Les Paul" starts experimenting with amplified guitars. Blues and Jazz start becoming popular on the radio and acoustic guitars start going on sale to the public. Recorded music becomes a reality.
1930s- Various electric guitars are now being mass-produced. Gibson is the first manufacturer to sell an electric guitar with a built-in pick-up. The electric guitar moves from being an accompanying instrument to a lead instrument.
1940s- The first vinyl record to sell more than 100 000 copies is recorded and the famous "The Log" solid body guitar is built by Les Paul. Jimi Hendrix is born and the whammy bar is invented.
1950s: Electric guitar history shows us that Leo Fenders' mass production of the twin pick-up "Fender Telecaster" and "Precision" electric bass guitar would prove to be a massive success, a few years later the "Fender Stratocaster" is introduced. The first "Rock 'n Roll" record is recorded by Jackie Brenston and Elvis makes his first recording. The humbucker pick-up is invented by Gibson and the Vox amplifier is born.
1960s: The Gibson Les Paul changes names to Gibson SG after Les Paul parts ways with Gibson. The Ernie Ball "Slinky" guitar string is invented, this is a light gauge string for guitarists that "bend" the strings often. The first Marshall amplifier is introduced and the Maestro FZ-1 "Fuzz Tone" becomes the first commercial stomp box. Vox introduces the "Wah-Wah" pedal and various other sound effects modifiers are invented. 500 000 people attend Woodstock.
1970s and 1980s: Heavy Metal hits the scene as a result of heavy experimenting with guitar electronics, ( I`m sure experimenting with drugs was also a contributing factor!)

There is not much electric guitar history available after the 1980s, but today the rise of professional female lead electric guitarists like Bonnie Raitt, have earned an equal standing in what was traditionally a male-dominated scene. The electric guitar has become a natural member of most genres of music, even classical music.

About The Author

Jorge de Andrade is an author and his knowledge of the guitar is exemplary. His articles are a reliable source of information.
For more information on guitar history: electric guitar history or to do the FREE mini-course where you will get FREE guitar lessons and 8 FREE guitar tools go to http://www.funacousticguitarandelectricguitarlessons.com/.

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