Examining the Impact of Individual and Group Piano Instruction on Students’ Learning: Teachers’ Perceptions

Group and individual piano instruction are the most common piano teaching approaches in Sri Lanka. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these techniques help to improve students’ learning skills. The study was based on qualitative data gathered through in-depth interviews from five (05) piano teachers. Teachers were selected using the purposive sampling technique. Thematic analysis method was used to analyse the interview data. The themes included are: (1) advantages and disadvantages of individual piano teaching; (2) benefits of group piano teaching; (3) challenges of group piano teaching; (4) teaching approaches and strategies used under each method and (5) student outcomes. The findings exposed that both the individual and group piano teaching is effective for students’ improvements. According to four teachers, piano teaching develops students’ teamwork abilities, their engagement and academic achievement than individual learning. The findings contribute to the field of music education by illuminating how teacher perceptions shape their instructional methods in both individual and group settings.