Interviews with Burg's relatives and archival materials provided biographical data. Information regarding Burg's piano teaching philosophy and approaches was gathered from questionnaires returned by sixty-seven of his former piano and piano pedagogy students. Based on the data, the overwhelming majority of Burg's students were positively influenced by him in their playing and teaching, as well as in their lives beyond their lessons or classes. It is clear that the School of Music at OCU and music education, particularly in piano, across the entire state of Oklahoma today have been shaped by Clarence Burg's influence.

This study contains six chapters and several appendices. Chapter 1 provides background on the subject and a survey of related studies. Chapter 2 is a biographical sketch of Burg. In chapters 3 and 4, Burg's techniques and methods of teaching piano performance and piano pedagogy, respectively, are discussed. In both chapters, the impact of his teaching is noted, based on questionnaire responses of former students. Burg's leadership role in music educators' professional organizations is explored in chapter 5. Chapter 6 contains a summary, conclusions, and recommendations for further study.

This study documents the contributions of Clarence A. Burg (1893-1986) to the field of piano pedagogy by investigating his varied activities as a musician, teacher, professional leader in music, and music administrator. Burg's career as Dean and Professor of Piano in the School of Music at Oklahoma City University (OCU) from 1928 through 1982 was marked by tremendous growth in the School, largely through Burg's efforts. He influenced many generations of piano students by his own teaching and his piano teachers' workshops in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and elsewhere. His influence extended farther because of his leadership in numerous professional organizations. Chief among these are the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association, of which he was a founder and the first president, and the National Guild of Piano Teachers, for whose annual auditions he served as an adjudicator for many years.