One of my arguments against using a piano in Music Theory class is that I have yet to hear tell of a Theory instructor who encouraged students to take into account the disposition of black and white keys in a given harmony. It makes the difference between a harmony in the abstract and an actual acoustically vivid event.
D major on the piano is not at all the equivalent of E-flat major.
I suspect that the theory establishment has been thoroughly immunized against the effect of this critical observation. Please correct me if you know of individuals for whom this is not the case.
