The study is devoted to the problem of activating the cognitive activity of students of performing arts at an art university. The subject of the study is the modern Problem-Based Learning pedagogical technology, which is actively used in many areas of vocational education. This work examines the possibilities of using PBL in the practice of studying the Piano discipline. According to the authors, adapting PBL ideas to musical performance practice at the stage of university education significantly increases the level of development of professional competencies. Moving away from the traditional teaching format, where all musical-performing problems are solved by the method of demonstration and reproduction, to the use of Problem-Based Learning educational technology can become a powerful dynamic factor in overcoming the inertia of creative processes and, thereby, forming a stable motivation in the student to achieve success in instrumental performance. Moreover, the PBL strategy, which directs the mental activity of students to an independent search for ways of professional improvement, lays a solid foundation of competence in the chosen profession and beyond the walls of the classroom. The effectiveness of PBL implementation was tested using a training experiment, during which a three-level system of methodological approaches was developed. Particular focus is made on describing examples of the practical application of PBL methods, in the context of various stages of mastering the musical instrument. An analysis of the results of teachers’ work using elements of problem-based learning was performed, and the effectiveness of its use in piano pedagogy was substantiated.