Abstract:

The article aims to reveal the peculiarities of teaching and learning piano skills by prospective music teachers in China and Lithuania. While analysing the acquired skills of teaching and learning the piano and their importance, the present research also discusses and compares relevant and problem aspects of learning to play the piano in Lithuania and Chinese universities. Two groups of students, who chose studies at Lithuanian Vytautas Magnus University (47 prospective music teachers) and China’s Shandong University, Northwest University of Nationalities (48 prospective music teachers), participated in the research. The data were collected by using a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. A quantitative study using the comparative method allowed assessing the importance of functional skills of Lithuanian and Chinese students in learning to play the piano and to determine, which skills were acquired as the most important by students while playing the piano. In the opinion of prospective music teachers in China and Lithuania, the keyboard theory is the most important functional piano skill. Chords and chord progressions and harmonisation of melodies were identified as functional skills of high level at university by Chinese future music teachers, whereas future music teachers studying in Lithuania indicated the skills of chords and chord progressions together with keyboard theory to be skills of high level at university. The data of the qualitative research revealed that according to the respondents, the development of piano teaching and learning skills in the process of education mainly depends on the positive interaction between the teacher and the student, proper and appropriate application of teaching/learning methods as well as professional competency of the teacher. In general, this research not only contributes to understanding of what skills of learning to play the piano should be acquired by prospective music teachers who study in universities of different countries, but also to development of efficient strategies of collaboration and learning.

Keywords:

Music education, prospective music teachers, functional piano skills.