Journal of Piano Research

Journal of Piano Research

Volume 1 Issue 2

The surge effect in Sergei Prokofiev’s piano performances: An analysis of tempo manipulation in historical recordings

Published on

Journal of Piano Research
Volume 1, Issue 2. April 2026. Pages 152–168
© The Author(s) 2025
https://doi.org/10.70760/IZZD4225
journalofpianoresearch.org

Joshua McCusker
Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

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This research article investigates a distinctive tempo manipulation technique present in Sergei Prokofiev’s historical piano recordings, termed the surge effect. The principal research question asks whether Prokofiev employed tempo alterations that are not captured in the score and, if so, what characteristics define these alterations and how consistently they appear. The study aims to define and contextualize this performance practice, and to consider its implications for today’s performers, pedagogues, and scholars. It is hypothesized that Prokofiev frequently executed rapid, unnotated accelerandi through sixteenth-note (semiquaver) passages or other small-value note groupings, producing brief surges of kinetic intensity. Using tempo data extracted via Sonic Visualiser from twelve of Prokofiev’s gramophone recordings (1932–1935), the analysis combines quantitative beat-duration measurement with qualitative score-based interpretation. The findings confirm that the surge effect recurs across various works and expressive contexts, often independent of any notated cues. These tempo surges typically occur in gestural rather than melodic material and appear to serve rhetorical, structural, and expressive functions. The article concludes by considering points of departure for further research.

Keywords

historical recordings, piano interpretation, performance practice, Sergei Prokofiev, tempo analysis

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Adaptation processes in undergraduate group piano: A phenomenological study of music major adjustment

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Journal of Piano Research
Volume 1, Issue 2. April 2026. Pages 128–151
© The Author(s) 2025
https://doi.org/10.70760/LNUB4403
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Rachel D. Hahn
Immanuel Lutheran School, St. Charles, Missouri, USA

Abstract

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Collegiate music programs in the United States cater to diverse student populations and have widely varying processes through which students apply, audition, enroll, and engage in college study. However, many students may face challenges related to the college adaptation process. Initial adaptation may impact students’ academic achievement, development of music practice and performance skills, mental and physical health, and ability to attain the grades required for scholarships. Successful adaptation is characterized by the adoption of productive educational habits (Credé & Niehorster, 2012). Group piano offers a unique environment in which to study adaptation for music majors because it is a typical experience for first-year students and requires the development of both music knowledge and skills such as sight-reading, hand coordination, score-reading, and ensemble. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate how first-year music students adapt to group piano classes. The study was guided by the question: What meaning do six first-year music majors ascribe to their group piano experience, especially as this pertains to the adaptation process? Four key themes (Preparedness, Value, Priorities and Expectations, and Support Systems) emerged and offer connections to previous findings in other social sciences, as well as a complex framework of adaptation as a means for planning group piano curriculum. Results from this qualitative study are not generalizable to a broader population, but the findings discussed can be used to recommend future research that will help guide curricular decisions in group piano and other core music classes.

Keywords

college adaptation, group piano, music majors, phenomenological research

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Learning expert stagecraft: Tools for piano performance pedagogy

Published on

Journal of Piano Research
Volume 1, Issue 2. April 2026. Pages 115–127
© The Author(s) 2025
https://doi.org/10.70760/KUVP7398
journalofpianoresearch.org

Olivia Urbaniak
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Helen Mitchell
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

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How can we define stagecraft? Is showmanship innate or learned? Can students learn how to develop stage charisma? This paper investigates expert pianists’ views on stagecraft and how their insights can inform training tools to enhance piano pedagogy. In Part 1, we interviewed expert pianists to understand their lived experiences of the stage and to discover their approach to stagecraft. Expert performers were acutely aware of the audience’s gaze, considered their performances by sight and sound, and tailored concert preparation to optimize visual presentation. These experts utilized practice strategies such as visualization of the concert experience (backstage and onstage), choreographing stage entrance and stage manner, “The King” mindset, and performing in “mock concerts.” In Part 2, we developed five roleplaying strategies for early-career pianists, based on expert pianists’ practice strategies for the concert stage. In a series of workshops, pianists trialed backstage immersion, stage entrance styles, contrasting visualization prompts, creating “The King” mindset, and performing a mock concert. They reflected on their experiences in workshops, discussions groups, and interviews. Early-career performers valued roleplaying as an effective way to master experts’ strategies for developing stagecraft and optimized their stage skills for professional performance. They were able to access the audience’s gaze by roleplaying as performer and audience member, and understand the totality of performance by both sight and sound. These roleplaying training tools can enhance performance pedagogy and equip the next generation of performers for the professional concert stage.

Keywords

pedagogical performance preparation, piano performance, practice strategies, role playing, stagecraft

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Keys to the future: The quality and engagement of practice and future aspirations in Chinese undergraduate piano students

Published on

Journal of Piano Research
Volume 1, Issue 2. April 2026. Pages 94–114
© The Author(s) 2025
https://doi.org/10.70760/FPDP5952
journalofpianoresearch.org

Xi Chen
School of Education, Durham University, United Kingdom
School of Music and Dance, Shaoguan University, China

Abstract

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The quality and engagement in piano practice evolve throughout undergraduate study, and are key for the development of piano majors. Yet their impact on future career aspirations remains underexplored. This study investigates differences in quality and engagement of practice among undergraduate piano students at different stages of their studies, and examines how quality and engagement of practice correlates to their future aspirations. Data about quality and engagement in piano practice, and future aspirations were collected from 192 piano majors across 12 universities via an online survey, with 160 responses selected for quantitative analysis. A t-test revealed a significant difference in attitudes toward practice between students in years 1 and 2, and students in years 3 and 4. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to compare the mean differences in several aspects of practice between the two groups. Results indicated that year 1 and 2 students generally exhibited higher practice quality and engagement, and more positive attitudes, than those in year 3 and 4. Students in year 1 and 2 reported greater enjoyment in playing the piano, higher enthusiasm for lessons, and a stronger perception of the piano’s value. Regression analyses were then conducted to identify key predictors of students' future aspirations. These analyses revealed that practice strategies, self-belief, teacher and parental support, and performance enjoyment are key factors influencing students' enthusiasm for their future aspirations. These results highlight the importance of fostering a supportive learning environment to sustain student engagement and motivation throughout their academic journey.

Keywords

future career aspirations, piano practice engagement, practice quality, self-regulation of practice

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Letter from the editors

Published on

Journal of Piano Research
Volume 1, Issue 2. April 2026. Pages 92-93
© The Author(s) 2026
https://doi.org/10.70760/UXOT1822
journalofpianoresearch.org

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As an international journal dedicated to piano-specific research, we are pleased to receive and publish, after blind peer review, research originating from numerous countries. This issue, the second of volume 1 of the Journal of Piano Research, includes articles by authors from Australia, China, and the United States. Regardless of origin, we know that these topics and ideas will resonate with pianists throughout the world. Three of the articles included in this issue explore experiences of undergraduate or early-career pianists, while a fourth article discusses the discovery of a little-known performance practice exhibited by Prokofiev in his own recordings of his solo piano works.

Rachel Hahn explores how music majors adjust and adapt to the rigors of university-level training through research involving music majors in the group-piano classroom in “Adaptation processes in undergraduate group piano.” Hahn notes that students who adapt to university successfully, tend to have better academic, performance, and wellness outcomes than those who adopt maladaptive practices or who are unable to make positive adaptations early in their university careers. As an entree into exploring the topic of adaptation to music school, Hahn conducted a phenomenological study of students enrolled in group piano classes, a common first-year music experience in the United States. She reports that preparedness, value, priorities and expectations, and support systems were important themes amongst students who adapted well in her study. The ensuing discussion offers insights into how group piano study can become an important tool to help students develop transferable musical strategies and how the community of peers can provide social support, among other suggestions for researchers and educators.

Xi Chen, in “Keys to the future,” reports on how practice proficiencies and attitudes among piano majors may impact perceived career trajectories. Within the context of Chinese universities and conservatories, Chen identified various dimensions of practice quality and engagement and first explored whether those differed between first- and second-year students, and third- and fourth-year students. Dimensions of practice explored through a survey included aspects of practice strategy usage, self-regulation, self-efficacy, support from other pianists, teachers, and family, and attitudes about practicing the piano. In the article, Chen discusses how third- and fourth-year pianists were less enamored with practicing than peers in the first two years of tertiary piano study. Then, the author explores possible connections between the identified dimensions of practice and students’ expectations about their career goals beyond graduation. Chen highlights how self-reported responses about self-regulation, self-efficacy, perceived support, and enjoyment of performing may have influenced students’ career aspirations, such as pursuing additional advanced study, performing, school music teaching, and/or business careers in music.

Urbaniak and Mitchell’s article, “Learning expert stagecraft,” elucidates how two of their studies have prepared pianists for positive performance outcomes. In the first study, the authors reported that expert performers they interviewed visualized performances, choreographed entrances, developed appropriate body language, maintained what they dubbed “The King” mindset prior to and during performance, and prepared by running mock trials before performances. Using these five findings as “pedagogical tools” that undergirded a series of workshops, the second study explored how eight early career pianists practiced and improved upon performance or “stagecraft” skills. We suspect that the discussion and insights shared by Urbaniak and Mitchell will be of interest to undergraduate pianists and teachers who work with young performers. We can imagine, also, how results from these three articles might be tested by other researchers in different contexts and with larger numbers of participants to expand our understanding of the findings and possible implications for instructional practice.

In “The surge effect in Sergei Prokofiev’s piano performances,” Joshua McCusker analyzes how Prokofiev manipulated tempi of his piano works in historical recordings and explores the implications of such findings for contemporary pianists. In particular, McCusker focused on what he termed the “surge effect,” or the deliberate acceleration in passages with fast-moving passagework, not indicated on the score. Through a thorough analysis of twelve of Prokofiev’s solo recordings from 1932–1935, using a respected software program, the author provides specific examples of the surge effect and references beat-duration measurements (available in open datasets for further exploration and study). McCusker concludes that Prokoviev’s use of the surge effect was deliberate, he indicates the purpose of employing this musical effect, and he offers reasons that today’s performers may wish to consider it when interpreting Prokofiev’s piano solos.

While we knew that there was a need for a publication that featured high-quality research specifically on piano-related topics, we have been heartened by the number of articles that we continue to receive since the launch of the Journal of Piano Research. We thank our Editorial Board and expert peer reviewers, who have provided thoughtful and thorough commentary to the authors. We encourage you to visit our website regularly to stay abreast of newly published Online First articles and explore past issues of the Journal of Piano Research, online or in print. Our hope is that the research in this publication enhances your performance and teaching, in addition to providing fodder for your ongoing and upcoming piano-related research projects.

Alejandro Cremaschi & Pamela Pike

Co-editors in Chief

ORCID iDs

Alejandro Cremaschi  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6783-5390
Pamela Pike   https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4060-6301