Piano Pedagogy in the 21 st Century: Navigating Tradition and Innovation

This session will explore effective teaching practices aimed to resonate with today's diverse student population. Topics to be covered include current trends in piano pedagogy research, empathetic teaching practices, characteristics of Generations Z and Alpha students, and the integration of technology in the piano studio.

Biography
Dr. John Patrick Murphy serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Piano Area Chair at the University of Oklahoma where he teaches applied piano, graduate piano pedagogy, and coordinates the secondary piano studies program. An active clinician and adjudicator, he frequently presents workshops and guest lectures at the state and national levels. His research on keyboard skills, inclusive teaching practices, effective classroom communication, and early-advanced teaching literature has been featured at numerous organizations, including the MTNA National Conference, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), the National
Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum (GP3), and the MTNA Collegiate Piano Pedagogy Symposium. With the Frances Clark Center, he has appeared in the From the Artist Bench lecture-performance series, as a contributing instructor in the Intermediate Teacher Education virtual course, and as a panelist at the 2022 DEI Summit. His work has been published in Piano Magazine and the MTNA e-Journal.
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Murphy received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma as a Graduate College Fellow and was awarded the Provost’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching for outstanding instruction. He earned a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano at the Manhattan School of Music and completed dual majors in Piano Performance and Pedagogy and Music Education while earning his Bachelor of Music from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Murphy completed additional training at Orford Music Academy and the Classical Music Festival. His primary piano and piano pedagogy mentors include Jane Magrath, Barbara Fast, Kenneth Merrill, and Phyllis East. He is currently President-Elect of the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association, a member of the Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy National Conference steering committee, and a member of the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy - Teacher Education in Higher Education committee.