PIANO PLAYING TEACHING AIDS FOR THE BEGINNERS: ANALYSIS AND PROSPECTS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION

The past 100 years in Latvia have been witnesses of many powers with various traditions and languages. Musical life during this period has been also multinational and rich. Teachers working in both East European and West European schools brought to Latvia their teaching methods and aids, a lot of new and varied teaching aids were created. What is the current situation like? Many teachers who are teaching now have been taught by teachers from the "first" period of independent Latvia and those who themselves have received education outside Latvia. Moreover, teaching aids available now come from the republics of the former USSR, are developed in Latvia or may also be the latest aids used in other countries of the world. Would all the needs of the Latvian beginners in piano playing be satisfied, if these teaching aids are used? The aim of the paper is to clarify what teaching aids are used by teachers, what their pluses and minuses are, and also, what in teachers' opinion the teaching aid should be like in order to promote the piano playing acquisition by the beginners in Latvia. Teachers also had their vision about what the "ideal" teaching aid for the beginners should be like. During the research an opinion poll was carried out. Teachers of piano playing who work with the beginners at Latvia's music schools, at schools which offer an in-depth music studies and at private lessons (either singly or in groups) participated in this survey. The material obtained in the research allows us to analyze the teaching aids used currently by teachers of piano playing in their work with pupils at schools of Latvia.