thoughts on piano teaching and beyond
This a question I believe we as teachers should all be asking our pupils. It came up in conversation between myself and my friend and teaching colleague Rebecca, and we agreed that in future all students should be asked to consider this question. Why? Because it is all too easy for teachers to become complacent… Continue reading Why do you want to take a piano exam?
Some of the world’s greatest pianists have small hands and stubby fingers. Instead of worrying about how your genetics have not provided you with your ideal fingers, start to work developing your technique and learn to accept your physical limitations.
What is your first memory of the piano? Hearing my Dad playing Bach chorales and chorales he used to compose. Who or what inspired you to start teaching? I always thought I'd teach and I'm not sure any one person inspired me to teach but rather my love of the piano that I wanted to… Continue reading At the Piano With……Jill Owen
"Practise makes perfect" - that oft-quoted phrase beloved of instrumental teachers the world over.... It's a neat little mantra, but one that can have serious and potentially long-lasting negative effects if taken too literally. Musicians have to practise. Repetitive, committed and quality practise trains the procedural memory (what musicians and sportspeople call "muscle memory") and… Continue reading The Perfectionism Trap
It’s a heartbreaking decision many pianists face at one time or another. You have to move to a smaller home – or maybe move overseas for a new job – and you just don’t have space to keep your piano with you. Or it’s simply not practical. At first sight, the choice seems to be… Continue reading Should you ever put your piano in storage?
During a conversation in a recent lesson with one of my students, she told me that her previous teacher would stop her every time she made a mistake and ask her to correct the error before continuing. She admitted to me that she found this habit irritating and I asked her what effect it might… Continue reading Stop-Start
"I find juggling four works at the same time so tricky. If I leave one aside for a while, even only a week, it seems to fall apart!"
Whenever we have a thought or physical sensation thousands of neurons are triggered and get together to form a neural network in the brain. “Experience-dependent neuroplasticity” is the scientific term for this activity of continual creation and grouping of neuron connections which take place as a result of our personal life experiences. With repetitive thinking,… Continue reading Rewiring turns “I can’t” into “I can”
There is absolutely no need to regret not having learned to play an instrument simply because it is truly never too late to do so. Sure, people like to tell themselves that they’re too old for learning something new, but that’s just not true because we never actually cease to learn new things. The only… Continue reading Let’s Play Piano! No excuses!
The wonderful range, originality and variety of pieces prove that contemporary classical music is not "plinky plonky", atonal, inaccessible or lacking in melody, and as such as Spectrum series is the best introduction I know to encourage young students in particular to explore contemporary music.
A Piano Teacher Writes... 