People come to piano lessons to learn performance skills requisite to play in various situations. Some want to be able to play in recitals, while others are happy playing for themselves, their family and friends. Successful performance can be referred to as enactive attainment, or one's perception of competency derived from engaging in mastery experiences. Since enactive attainment is the most influential source of self-efficacy, the utmost care must be taken to ensure the student's attempts to perform are successful. Zinn Piano Program accounts for the perceived threat of the performance situation, how the children feel about what they play, cognitive development level, and a myriad of other individual factors for each and every student.

Performance accomplishments can be a major boost to self-efficacy. However, perceived failure either during or after performance can be a lingering source of self-doubt. The Zinn Piano Program takes steps to ensure students are not only ready in terms of their musical preparation, but also they feel they are ready. For instance, we do not let students to perform in recital situations without prior experiences of playing in other, low-threat performance situations. We also do not have students perform pieces that above their current skill level. Finally, we do not "force" students to perform to "teach them a lesson" (a tactic employed by numerous instructors in the music field). When children are forced to “go through with it,” particularly if the child is not ready, it "sets the stage" for negative performance outcome, acute feelings of anxiety about future performance, and at worst, a traumatic experience.

We have reserved a separate page for piano technique because of its tremendous implications for musicians of all ages. Roughly, technique is the physical movements associated with playing the instrument. More specifically, technique is about making specific movements within a piece of music, in response to the music itself. It is a hotly debated subject in performing arts, and a well-researched topic in performing arts medicine.

There are roughly two sets of literature about piano technique. First, and perhaps the oldest, is the anecdotal evidence from artists themselves. Everyone has a slightly different opinion primarily based on their own experience. When injured musicians started "coming out of the closet" in the early 1980's and talking openly about their injuries, chronic pain and other problems, there were two resounding "answers;" one from the performing arts community and the other from alternative medicine community. Unfortunately, alternative "therapies" abounded, "educational preventative techniques" grew and musicians flocked to them in large numbers. This phenomenon continues today with no one really knowing the nature of injury prevention. We are not going to elaborate on these ideas and therapies, except to warn the reader to beware--if a student or patient never learns how to maintain the educational goal or therapeutic gain by him or herself, the education or therapy may be creating nothing more than a placebo response (Roberts, Kewman, & Hovell, 1993; Voudouris, Peck & Coleman, 1985, 1989; Evans, 1974; Harrington, 1997 and Thompson, 1993).

The literature we adhere to is the placebo-controlled, peer-reviewed trials and other scientific studies carried out by numerous Performing Arts Medicine researchers and other scientists during the 1980's, 1990's and continuing now. Interestingly, this research quantifies the piano technique utilized by today's professional performers. We invite you to read our reference list or do your own search.