Piano Pedagogy Bibliography: Reference Works

DICTIONARIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, AND OTHER REFERENCE WORKS

Belt, Phillip. The Piano. The New Grove Series. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998. Covers the development of the piano, pianists and piano playing, and piano music. Includes a glossary of terms and index of piano makers. A thorough one-volume exploration of all aspects of the piano.

Dubal, David. The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings, 3rd ed.Pompton Plains, NJ: Amadeus Press, 2005.
Half of this book is an encyclopedia of famous pianists, with at least a short paragraph of biographical information for each. The other half lists piano literature, with important recordings for major works. An up-to-date and helpful resource.

Fine, Larry. The Piano Book: Buying & Owning a New or Used Piano, 4th ed. Jamaica Plain, MA: Brookside Press, 2001.
The most practical book about buying and owning a piano. Detailed reviews of piano brands, including information on their manufacture. Extensive tips on buying a piano. Instructions on how to care for your piano.
----------. 2008-2009 Annual Supplement to The Piano Book. Jamaica Plain, MA: Brookside Press, 2008. Price guide for buying a new or used piano. Indispensable for anyone – teacher or student – anticipating the purchase of an expensive instrument.

Hinson, Maurice. The Piano Teacher's Sourcebook, 2nd ed. Melville, NY: Belwin Mills, 1980.
---------------------. The Pianist's Reference Guide: A Bibliographical Survey. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1987.
--------------------. The Pianist's Bookshelf. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998.
All three of these books are bibliographies of books, videos, and dissertations relating to pianism. While their titles are different, they contain similar material, and are arranged both by author/composer and by topic, such as accompanying, biography, repertoire lists, and ornamentation. Annotations are given for most entries. Especially helpful are the included dissertations, which explore topics relevant to piano pedagogy.

Hinson, Maurice. The Pianist's Dictionary. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004. This dictionary focuses on terms, compositions, and composers specific to pianists and their repertoire. Some sample entries: "Études Symphonique," "Banowetz, Joseph," and "main droit." While this should not be the only musical dictionary a piano teacher owns, it could be very useful as the first step to further research on various aspects of pianism.

Lindfors, Eula Ashworth, ed. Guild Musicianship. Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1999. Supplies everything a student needs for all levels of the technical and musicianship examinations for the National Guild of Piano Teachers student auditions. If a teacher joins the Guild, he or she will receive a manual listing the requirements as part of the membership package. This book simply provides musical notation for the requirements, making it a handy reference for teachers and a substitute for traditional scale books for students.

Lloyd-Watts, Valery, and Carole L. Bigler. Ornamentation: A Question and Answer Manual. Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing Co, Inc., 1995.
This 64-page book concisely and effectively outlines the important ornaments in both the Baroque and Classical periods, a brief history of their development, and strategies for practicing them. Indispensable for teachers and a useful resource for older elementary students.

Osborne, Charles, editor. The Dictionary of Composers. New York: Taplinger Publishing Co., 1981.
This dictionary has very readable biographies of important composers as well as interesting photographs or paintings of these musicians that may not be found in more densely-packed biographical dictionaries. A useful reference for teachers and students.

Palmer, Willard A., Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco. The First Book of Scales,Chords, Arpeggios, & Cadences. Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1994.
Scales in parallel and contrary motion and cadences and arpeggios in inversions plus versions of the chromatic scale. Only harmonic minor scales are given.
---------------- The Basic Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, & Cadences. Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1994.
More complete than The First Book, adding scales in (single) thirds and tenths, dominant seventh arpeggios, and all three forms of minor scales.
---------------- The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, & Cadences. Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1994.
Includes all the above plus the theory behind scale construction as well as various practice methods.

Palmieri, Robert, ed. The Piano: An Encyclopedia, 2nd ed. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2003. While the cost of this one-volume work prices it out of the range of most piano teachers, it is a useful resource for academic and public libraries. Surveys the development, makers, structure, and overall history of the piano. Composers whose music had an influence on the development of the instrument are included, but famous pianists are not.

Randel, Don Michael, ed. The Harvard Dictionary of Music, 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press,
2003.
A well-regarded affordable music dictionary that can form the basis for a piano teacher's reference library. No biographical entries are included.

Schonberg, Harold C. The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present. Rev. ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.
An excellent, readable history of famous pianists, within their historical context. Useful for reference but enjoyable for reading straight through as well.

Wolcott, Michiko Ishiyama. Piano, the Instrument: An Annotated Bibliography. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2001.
Offers over 800 entries about the piano, including books, articles, pamphlets, and catalogs published before the year 2000. Topics cover history, builders, construction and design, and maintenance and repair. Very useful subject, title, and author indexes with cross references.