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The article focuses on the importance of piano proficiency for successful music educators. It is very important for music educators to have functional piano skills. Piano proficiency is a necessary survival tool for music teachers regardless of their primary instrument or vocal specialty. If a teacher, can play the piano with confidence, the teacher will be able to accomplish many benefits. Many school administrators and music supervisors, when choosing among qualified finalists for a teaching position, hire candidates who demonstrate piano proficiency in addition to excellence in their area of expertise.

Proposes ways to improve piano study for music education majors. Inclusion of keyboard assignments in all levels of theory class; Raising of piano proficiency standards; Asking of students to add piano accompaniments to the melodies played by instrumental music education majors; Encouragement of music majors who are not piano majors to use their keyboard skills in choral literature classes.

The article presents suggestions for conducting piano classes which including teaching from the book "Adult All-In-One Course," providing Casio Privia keyboard to each and every student, and playing for others in the classroom.

The article discusses piano teaching methods, with particular focus given to the advantages of familiarizing students with black keys early in their education including improving hand strength and improvisation skills. Comments on the topic from piano and music education professor Mary Lynne Bennett are also provided.

The article presents discussion on teaching keyboard hand position, offering comments by the middle school applied piano teacher M. Scott Backus. Introductory remarks are offered noting the diversity of views among teachers regarding the ideal hand position for pianists. Backus describes his ideal hand posture and offers advice for correcting divergent problems from poor hand position postures.

The article offers suggestions by pianist and composer Herb Rothgarber on using both the hands skillfully while playing piano. Rothgarber considers the degree of independence in using hands to be based on each child's level and ability. He suggests that students begin with some off-instrument activities, such as awareness games and movement games involving the arms and hands, individually and in combination. He advises students to have the hands play together followed by contrary motion.

The article profiles Robert L. Pace, music educator who developed the methods of instruction of piano teaching. According to the author, for almost 40 years, Pace is an educational director of the International Piano Teaching Foundation. Furthermore, he has been a teacher of music at the Juilliard School and Teacher's College at Columbia University in New York City. The author adds that Pace is recognized for his piano-class teaching books, and was named to the Music Educators Hall of Fame.

The article presents an overview of the musical journey of Eunice Boardman. While attending school in Cordova, Illinois, which she calls "a tiny little town," Eunice Boardman took private piano lessons and had some musical training with a "roaming music teacher." As she grew to love music and the idea of sharing her love of music with students, that career choice took her from teaching elementary and secondary choral music in the Clinton and Grinnell, Iowa, public schools to teaching college level music education. She also wrote and co-wrote several books that continue to guide music education teachers across the country. INSET: Eunice Boardman's Hall of Fame Biography.

Focuses on the improvement of mathematics skills among school children who have piano lessons according to the study findings led by Gordon Shaw of the University of California-Irvine. Relevance of the mental development theory to the findings.

Informs that the Kettle Moraine School District in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, has mandated piano lessons for kindergarten through sixth-grade students beginning in 1998. Success of initial conducted during the 1996-97 school year; Piano lessons as part of regular classroom music instruction.