Keys and Cords: A Comparison of Piano and Vocal Teaching Strategies

Renske Luijten

The profession of a music teacher has developed over the past years in a way where teachers are required to be more versitale and not focussed on one specific element. A lot of collegues of mine, including myself, work at a music school where they teach children not only their main instrument, but also a secondary instrument, in my case piano. This brings up interesting challanges as a lot of teaching strategies overlap, but there might also be approaches that differ between various instruments. In this research, we explore how private vocal lessons compare to private piano lessons and what the specific teaching strategies are of these instruments. Following up on this, we analyze how these finding inspire my own teaching practice and how one instrument might benefit from the teaching strategies of the other instrument. This research includes a dive into already existing literature, interviews with Conservatory teachers who specify in vocal and piano pedagogy and interviews with private school teachers. Additionally, observations were made of multiple vocal and piano lessons given by myself as well as the other teachers mentioned above.