This study investigates how higher vocational piano teachers’ professional competence, as perceived by students, influences students’ learning motivation and course satisfaction in the context of Chinese higher vocational colleges. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and contemporary frameworks of teacher professional competence, teacher competence was conceptualized as a three-dimensional construct comprising professional ability, professional knowledge, and professional sentiment. Students’ learning motivation and course satisfaction were treated as key proximal outcomes of piano learning.

A cross-sectional survey was administered to 306 piano-major students from higher vocational colleges in Nanning, Guangxi, China. A structured questionnaire measured students’ perceptions of teachers’ professional ability, professional knowledge, professional sentiment, as well as students’ own learning motivation and satisfaction with piano courses. Descriptive statistics, reliability and validity analyses, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used for data analysis. All five dimensions showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.854–0.922; overall α = 0.935), while a Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin value of 0.929 and a significant Bartlett’s test supported construct validity. No significant differences were found across gender or grade.

The SEM results indicated that perceived professional ability, professional knowledge, and professional sentiment all significantly and positively predicted learning motivation, whereas only professional ability and professional knowledge significantly predicted course satisfaction; the direct path from professional sentiment to satisfaction was positive but non-significant. The structural model demonstrated good fit (χ²/df = 1.232, RMSEA = 0.028, CFI = 0.968).