Marguerite Miller's contributions to piano pedagogy.

Abstract

This study documents the contributions of Marguerite Miller (b. 1920) to the field of piano pedagogy. For thirty-eight years Miller taught at Wichita State University (WSU), influencing hundreds of students as a teacher of piano, group piano, and piano pedagogy. She directed the first master's degree in Piano Performance with an emphasis in Piano Pedagogy in Kansas.

This study contains eight chapters and several appendices. Chapter one serves as an introduction and includes a review of related literature and a description of the procedures and sources used. Chapter two contains a biographical sketch of Miller. Chapter three discusses Miller's contributions to WSU and chapter four examines her teaching from information gathered from her students and colleagues. Chapter five discusses her contributions beyond Wichita State University at the national, state, and local level. Chapter six examines her publications and editing. Chapter seven summarizes Miller's leadership style and contributions as assessed by her colleagues outside of WSU. Chapter eight summarizes and draws conclusions regarding Miller's contributions, and makes recommendations for further research. The appendices provide lists of Miller's workshops, presentations at national conventions, publications, questions posed in Keyboard Companion, photographs, and the letters, interview guides, and questionnaires mailed to Miller's colleagues and students.

To compile a profile of Miller's teaching philosophy and contributions, the author interviewed Miller, nine faculty colleagues at Wichita State University and fifteen professional colleagues outside of WSU. Information was gathered from her piano pedagogy students through mailed questionnaires. All available writings and publications by Miller were also examined.

Miller's contributions beyond WSU were characterized by her vision for recognizing developing trends in the field of piano pedagogy. Applying the principles of Comprehensive Musicianship to piano teaching, promoting professionalism and group teaching with electronic piano laboratories, and advocating the integration of technology into teaching were causes she championed. Workshops, publications, and editing supported these "felt needs, " as Miller termed it, and led to a multiplicity of involvements and contributions. The World of Piano tours (1978-1983), D. H. Baldwin Fellowship, first Keyboard Teachers Video Conferences (KTV I-III), and the "Technology Department" in Keyboard Companion journal (1990-1996) were among the projects to which Miller contributed.