Pedagogical Analysis and Exploration of the Piano Based on Three Pieces from Guia Prático Para Piano by Heitor VillaLobos

Abstract

This article presents a pedagogical proposal for piano training based on Guia Prático Para Piano by Heitor Villa-Lobos, grounded in the constructivist approach to education and, more specifically, in the principles of meaningful learning. From a critical and contextualised perspective, this study problematises the centrality of the Eurocentric canon in piano teaching and foregrounds the Latin American repertoire as a core axis of training. The study adopts a mixed methodological approach of a projective nature, integrating score analysis, the administration of surveys to piano teachers and students, and the conduct of semi-structured interviews with piano instructors. The analysis focuses on three pieces from Guia Prático Para Piano—"Pobre Cega”, “A pombinha voou”, and “Senhora Dona Viúva”—from which interpretative inferences are drawn and a classification by levels of difficulty within the intermediate level is proposed. The results demonstrate a positive assessment of Latin American piano repertoire and of Villa-Lobos’s work, as well as the need for systematised pedagogical guidelines for its study and implementation. It is concluded that Guia Prático Para Piano offers a pedagogically structured repertoire that fosters interpretive development from a culturally situated perspective on piano teaching.