About Dr. Kathleen Riley
Dr. Kathleen Riley
Kathleen Riley's work opens the door to a significant area of pedagogy at the interface between the scientific study of learning and musical pedagogy. She has incorporated biofeedback (auditory, video recording, movement analysis, and recording of muscle tension) in enhancing the transfer of learning necessary to achieve high-level performance mastery. Dr. Riley has worked with pianists, guitarists, violinists and other instrumental musicians as well as non-musicians in retraining proper muscle use and fine motor control following injury.
An internationally known clinician, Dr. Riley presents workshops and lectures on technique and alignment and injury prevention and retraining. Her work has been featured in articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Riley teaches piano and conducts research in music pedagogy and injury retraining at New York University. She is a research consultant for Yamaha Corporation of America and Clinical Director of ProformaVision™, a division of PBI MyoVision™.
Endorsements
Kathleen Riley's work introduces a revolutionary pedagogical and technological tool that enables students and their teachers to finally see what is taking place physiologically as they play. Her research and input into the development of this software is a tremendous benefit to pianists everywhere. Physical tension is a huge obstacle to a student achieving their best. With this constant stream of feedback as they play, they are able to make changes in their physical approach to the instrument to achieve greater efficiency and effortlessness in their playing. This allows them to focus on the musicality they wish to communicate and less on the mechanics required to play. The work that Dr. Riley continues to pursue is a positive addition to the body of piano, piano pedagogy and injury-preventative literature. She is a tremendous asset to the profession and has contributed significantly to the musical community.Gail Berenson, President, MTNA
In the jungle of various piano pedagogy approaches I have come across, Kathleen Riley is a bright light of clarity. Not only have I finally found a colleague who similarly realizes that absolute importance of the arch structure of the hand, its integrity and functionality, but with her work using electronic sensors she has refined and extended my own work to a new level of exactitude and empowerment. Working with Kathleen has allowed me to do what I do not just better but MUCH better, showing how the state of the hand reflects back through the entire body, and how the state of the body can have a deep positive influence on the effectiveness of the hand on the keyboard, bringing the naturally rich tone of our instrument into its full glory and deeply enriching the musical expression thereby made available.Alan Fraser, author, The Craft of Piano Playing
Publications
- Riley, K. (Fall Winter 2006).
- New Views of Piano Playing through Motion Analysis and MIDI Technology, Journal of Technology in Music Learning.
- Riley, K. (2006).
- "Piano Perceptions: Training Through Performance Video Analysis," lecture demonstration for Music Teachers' National Association in Austin, Texas.
- Riley, K., & Coons, E. E. (Spring Summer 2005).
- Improving pianists' rhythmic performance in score reading through imitation and feedback. Journal of Technology in Music Learning.
- Riley, K. (June 2005).
- Understanding piano playing through MIDI: Students' perspectives on performance analysis and learning. American Music Teacher. download article »
- Riley, K., Coons, E. E., & Marcarian, D. (June 2005).
- The use of multimodal feedback in retraining of complex technical skill of piano performance. Medical Problems of Performing Artists. download article »
