FIG. 1: The Piano Education Page was created in 1995 by John M. Zeigler. It offers more than 1,000 pages of information.

Piano education and instruction has changed dramatically thanks to technology. The Internet provides many resources for students learning to play the piano; Web sites related to piano instruction may also help young students and even adults decide to begin piano lessons with a local instructor.

Piano education sites provide pedagogy Podcasts, video instruction, worksheets, quizzes, lessons, and information about how pianos are made. Here are a few of my favorites.

www.ptg.org
The Piano Technicians Guild certifies those who work on pianos as registered piano technicians. The site also has lots of information for teachers and pianists, such as tips on buying pianos and on their maintenance and care, detailed photos and text about the history of the piano, lesson plans, quizzes, worksheets, and activities. The Learning Center area includes “resources to help students and families discover the joy of playing the piano.” Also included are articles on the benefits of learning to play the piano, ways to find registered technicians and teachers, and links to organizations for piano teachers.

www.pianoeducation.org
The Piano Education Page (see Fig. 1) is a “one-stop resource for teachers, students, parents of students, and fans of the piano with over 1000 pages of family-friendly information, upgraded monthly.” Created in 1995 by John M. Zeigler, the site is one of the oldest devoted to piano education. There are many sections, including Premiering (new information), Learning, Just for Kids, interviews with pianists and teachers, Audition Room, Teaching Studio, Reviews, Links, and a message board.

FIG. 2: Piano World offers videos that reveal how pianos are made, as well as a host of other information.

The Learning section is particularly useful, with topics such as Why Lessons, Finding and Choosing a Teacher, Lesson Cost, Interview Checklist, Studio Etiquette and Expectations, Learning to Play on Your Own, Purchasing a Piano, Piano Methods, Resources for the Impaired, Music and the Home Computer, and Graphics. The Audition Room section includes an index of all the music and sound files on the site. Hundreds of MIDI files are posted for personal use to encourage students to listen to the music of various composers and learn to play the compositions. Biographies of each composer are also provided through links from the music files.

www.know-your-keyboard-piano.com
This site asks: “Are you looking around to buy your first piano … or a keyboard? Maybe you have not yet decided what to buy but you know you have to buy a keyboard instrument. Besides, you have no clue as to how much these instruments cost. At this moment there will be some confusion and a lot of unanswered queries spinning around in your head.” It then provides advice that will help you make an informed buying decision. The site is dedicated to helping students and parents choose the proper keyboard or acoustic piano by providing unbiased reviews and answers to questions about all types of keyboard instruments. The sections include information on acoustic and digital pianos, keyboards, synthesizers, music workstations, MIDI controllers, accessories, maintenance and repair, and music lessons, and a blog answers questions from visitors. A free newsletter is also available.

www.pianoworld.com
The Piano World site (see Fig. 2) contains nearly 1,000 pages of information about pianos, including facts, figures, forums, games, pictures, reviews, and reference material. There are also links to videos about the manufacturing process. The Fun and Interesting section includes links to printable word searches, quizzes, and an interactive Java piano. Also available is Piano Forums, an online community of piano lovers including piano industry professionals, concert and recording artists, technicians, dealers, manufacturers, and thousands of enthusiastic amateur pianists. In addition, the site provides many links to piano tuners, dealers, and teachers.

FIG. 3: Piano Tricks provides video lessons by Christopher Schlegel, who starts with the layout of the piano and proceeds from there to cover all the basics.

www.pianotricks.com
This site offers free video piano lessons with digital sheet music and MP3 example sound files so you can learn piano online. Piano teacher Christopher Schlegel has a very thorough and enthusiastic teaching style that clearly comes across in his online video lessons. Tutorials 1 through 15 include topics such as piano layout (see Fig. 3), major chords, the minor scale, and beginning jazz variations.

Piano education and instruction can be extended from the music classroom or studio to online activities, providing a wealth of interactive information to help guide students in their musical studies. You can find the links from this column and more at www.metmagazine.com and www.musictechteacher.com/websitings.htm.

Also, please contact me with your suggestions. If you know a great site for music education or have a suggestion for a topic for this column, write to me at kgarrett@musictechteacher.com.

Karen L. Garrett teaches music technology and band at Central Park Elementary School in Birmingham, Alabama. Her Web site (www.musictechteacher.com) offers music lessons, quizzes, worksheets, and tutorials for students and teachers. She was honored as TI:ME Teacher of the Year for 2006.