This article investigates a piano-playing subject called keyboard harmony. The subject was initially developed in the 1980s to give (K-12) schoolteachers the skills needed for accompanying singing in classrooms. Since keyboard harmony today has an official status in all Finnish music schools, both piano and general music teachers ought to know and make use of the method in their work. In this study, teacher education candidates (N = 35) were given the task of playing two pieces of music with melody and chords from a songbook. The performances were recorded and evaluated. Students were tested also with Karmas auditory structuring and WAIS Digit-Symbol Coding tests. Additionally, all players wrote a short description of the strategies they used. Deriving from theory and based on the results, two main approaches to piano playing are defined: analytical and intuitive playing. The results indicate that one-sided emphasis on notation may hinder creative and more nuanced ways to play the piano.