The difficulties of teachers in the teaching of articulation techniques on piano and the ways to cope with them: The sample of fine arts high schools

In this study, it is aimed to investigate the difficulties faced by the piano teachers of Fine Arts High Schools in teaching of basic articulation techniques and their ways of coping with these problems. In this context; the research includes the investigation of the difficulties faced by the piano teachers about 'legato', 'staccato' and the use of these two techniques together and the ways to cope with these difficulties. Research has completed with 40 piano teachers who selected from Fine Arts High Schools of seven geographic regions of Turkey. In order to collect data in the research, questionnaire which is included 'Personal Information' and 'Teaching of Articulation Techniques' sections were applied to the teachers. At the end of the data collection, the data obtained from open-ended questions were subjected to content analysis and quantified. Finally, the data obtained from open-ended and closed-ended questions were processed in SPSS 21.0 package program, and descriptive statistics were made. As a result of the research; it was found that teachers had the most difficulty in teaching 'basic articulation techniques' among the subject areas in the piano curriculum, that articulation techniques should be taught in order of 'legato-staccato-non legato-portato' and that teachers had the most difficulty in teaching of the portato technique and the least one in teaching of the legato technique. While teaching of the legato technique, the teachers faced mostly the problem of 'keeping fingers pressed' and they often use presentation-performance and explanation methods to cope with the difficulties. While teaching of the staccato technique, the teachers faced mostly the problem of 'can't play the staccato short/cut as needed' and frequently used the methods of explanation, sampling and presentation-performance as a way of coping with the difficulties. It was found that teachers had the most difficulty in teaching the use of legato-staccato combination in the context of the use of two different techniques together. In the using of legato and staccato techniques together, the teachers had mostly the problem of 'put out of legato action in one hand while playing the other hand staccato technique'. The teachers handle the difficulties they experienced through the ways of playing two hands separate, playing in a slow tempo and explanation in form of induction. It was concluded that the teachers were able to overcome the difficulties they experienced with the methods they applied while teaching legato, staccato and legato-staccato combination, and their approaches differed according to the student.