The piano duet: ten exciting pedagogical benefits.

The piano duet often is a student's first chamber music experience and can be an invaluable enhancement of the solo piano repertoire. I have stacks of wonderful duets on my piano and usually reserve the last 10-15 minutes of the lesson for sight reading through them with the student. What a pleasure to watch students become motivated and inspired as they play the piano with a partner. Here are my top 10 suggestions for utilizing the piano duet in every lesson:

Duets teach students to think and listen, in a different way. The musicianship required to negotiate ensemble playing necessitates a different discipline than solo piano. Not only is the student responsible for executing the phrasing, articulation, balance, dynamics and tempo changes of his own playing, he must do so while listening to another pianist.

Duets are an excellent sight-reading tool. My students' sight-reading ability grows immensely with the use of piano duets at every lesson. Sight reading helps a student quickly recognize patterns, chords and other essential elements. This can help shorten the learning and memorization of new repertoire.

Duets teach students how to practice with a partner. Who turns the page? Who pedals? Who has the melody? How do you play when the whole keyboard space is not your own? How do you get out of each other's way when necessary? The two partners must work out any passages that are awkward because of physical proximity, uncomfortable hand and body positions or arm crossings. A student must know what her partner is doing and compromise accordingly.

Duets teach students how to lead. Giving a clear preparatory beat and cueing a partner is an important skill for ensemble pianists. For example, how do we start together? The best way is to cue with a physical gesture.

Duets teach students rhythmic control. With the presence of a partner, the student is more likely to maintain a steady pulse and keep going. Over time, students gain better rhythmic constancy and learn to adapt to any tempo set by a partner.

Duets make students more aware of pedaling. A student is never more aware of pedaling than when he must pedal for someone else or must give control of the pedal over to a partner. Pedaling must be negotiated and practiced.

Duets expose students to a variety of repertoire. Duets with patriotic, holiday or sacred music themes can add variety to any recital program. Many kinds of duets exist, ranging from pieces that stay within the five-finger pattern to advanced literature. Numerous duets are composed with the primo and secondo at the same difficulty level, but many are available with an easier student part and a more advanced part for the teacher, parent or sibling.

Duets allow students to perform with the music. Performing duets in recital can lessen the anxiety and pressure of performing solo repertoire. Consider adding a duet to your student's solo program. With the worry of memory slips eliminated, performing becomes more enjoyable and freer for some.

Duets encourage more focused concentration. Through peer motivation, the competitive element can promote a positive musical outcome. Often, a student will put forth more effort and concentration than when practicing alone. This can better prepare the student to perform in chamber music situations involving more people and further enhance concentration in solo piano pieces.

Duets are FUN! The piano duet provides a fun social activity, giving students a different perspective and, perhaps, a renewed enjoyment of music.

The piano duet is a marvelous tool for broadening a student's overall musical education. With all the online resources now available, consider expanding your library to include more duets. The joy of playing piano duets can instill a lifelong love of music in our students.

Collaborative Opportunities

MTNA will offer several collaborative opportunities at the 2006 National Conference. Two concerts will showcase the Texas MTA Student Affiliate Ensembles on Sunday afternoon. In addition, "Just Duet," a series of four duet reading sessions, will be offered on Monday and Tuesday. These sessions will allow attendees to read music of various levels specifically written for one-piano/four hands.

Amy Foster is a D.M.A candidate in piano accompanying and chamber music at the Eastman School of Music, with a minor in piano pedagogy. A student of Jean Barr, she expects to graduate in May 2006.