Marienne Uszler's contributions to piano pedagogy.

Abstract

Uszler's work as editor and author for national journals and magazines, including The Piano Quarterly, American Music Teacher, and Piano & Keyboard, is highlighted. Her journal articles are organized and studied by topic, and her main pedagogical ideas in her writings are surveyed. Interviews with contributing authors, editors, and publishers of these journals and magazines lend insight into her influence on the publications.

This study examines Uszler's life and work. Her childhood, education, and experiences that led to her accomplishments in the field of piano pedagogy are discussed. The path from her early dedication to the Catholic church to her appointment to the keyboard faculty at USC is traced. Uszler's influence on the development of the undergraduate and graduate pedagogy curriculum at USC is documented through her own recollections, interviews with her former colleagues, and questionnaire responses from her former pedagogy students. Her work in pedagogy with the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy and the Music Teachers National Association is also studied.

Uszler's involvement and eventual editorship of The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher, completed in 1991, served as the starting point for her book publications, including Sound Choices with Wilma Machover and a second edition of The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher . Her co-authored pedagogy handbooks served as a catalyst for change in piano pedagogy program and course content across the United States. The impact of each of these publications is examined in detail in this document.

Marienne Uszler is considered one of the prominent figures in the field of piano pedagogy during the late twentieth century and the early twenty-first century. Through her work as a professor at the University of Southern California, a leader in national organizations, and an editor and author for numerous pedagogical books, handbooks, journals, and magazines, she helped to shape the direction of the field since its early stages.

This study proves Uszler's substantial impact on the field of piano pedagogy. It concludes with calls for greater involvement by the younger generation of pedagogues and greater attention to other important figures in the development of piano pedagogy.