In addition to coaching the film's six "competitors" in piano technique, Jean Evensen Shaw stayed on throughout the production, providing technical advice. Actress Lee Remick recalled that Shaw's help was "invaluable. Remick explained: "She kept us from making awful mistakes for which a real musician would have hooted us off the screen". One such scene was a verbal sparring match between Lee Remick and Amy Irving over Richard Dreyfuss' intrusion in their well-ordered lives. Both women are sipping wine and as the argument escalates, Remick puts her goblet down on the sounding board of a grand piano and rises to confront her student."No, no." Shaw cried out as if in personal pain: "I don't care how excited you are. You must never put food or drink near such a beautiful instrument. You could damage it forever". The scene was re-staged.
In preparation for their roles playing pianists in this film, according to the film's production notes, actress Amy Irving and actor Richard Dreyfuss trained in piano playing for around four months. The 23rd January 1981 edition of show-business trade paper 'The Hollywood Reporter' stated that the piano playing training period with music consultant Jean Evensen Shaw prior to principal photography ran for about almost three months.
Star Richard Dreyfuss, had never played a note of music on the piano. For two months, Dreyfuss studied with piano teacher Jean Evensen Shaw, practicing an average of four hours a day. Producer William Sackheim said: "He can now play quite well, though not brilliantly enough . . . of course . . . to perform his own concert".
One of the contestants in the film was a real classical pianist: Adam Stern, who portrayed the virtually silent Mark Landau. He is now a full-time symphony conductor living and working in Seattle.
With the screenplay completed, Joel Oliansky's concern for authenticity segued into his role as director. Rather than resort to the time-honored Hollywood trick of placing the camera behind the keyboard so that the actor's hands are obscured, with someone else's fingers intercut into the scene, Oliansky engaged concert pianist Jean Evensen Shaw to coach the cast in such skills as fingering, pedaling, posture, and arm-and-wrist coordination.