I believe that our personal musical tastes should not influence the way we teach, and that we should not impose our preferences or prejudices on our students. Our role as teachers should be encourage students to explore as wide a range of music as possible - whether it is purely 'classical' music (actually a very… Continue reading The impartial teacher
Author: The Cross-Eyed Pianist
Frances Wilson is a pianist, writer, music and arts reviewer, music PR, and blogger on classical music and pianism under the pen name 'The Cross-Eyed Pianist'
Wolfie makes piano practise made fun
The 'Wolfie' piano app (named after who else but Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) offers students and teachers an interactive and supportive learning tool using up-to-the-minute score-reading software plus a whole host of other features. Developed by music tech company Tonara, who first launched an interactive score-reading app back in 2011, the team behind Wolfie appreciate that… Continue reading Wolfie makes piano practise made fun
Learning Curve
Two of my students, siblings as it happens, are working on pieces which include a continuously moving left hand, scored in triplets. One is a Rondo by Diabelli, the other a Sonatina by Clementi. I am also working on a movement of a Schubert sonata which includes the same figure. The other day, during a… Continue reading Learning Curve
From Start-up to Steinway
More than a quarter of a century ago a family of piano enthusiasts in Swansea had a simple dream – to establish a local specialist business for pianists looking for something truly special. It all started in an unassuming 250 year old coach house with fantastic local historical charm with room for just 23 pianos.… Continue reading From Start-up to Steinway
You don’t have to be perfect to be amazing
The desire for perfection surrounds us in our modern society. "Getting it right" and "being perfect" are inculcated in children from the moment they enter the formal school system, where they are continually assessed and tested, where correct answers are rewarded with stickers and other symbols of approval and mistakes are regarded are "wrong". Many… Continue reading You don’t have to be perfect to be amazing
Celebrate every pass, merit and distinction
Now is the season of piano teachers up and down the country expectantly waiting for the sound of exam results dropping through the letterbox or into their email inbox. The summer season for graded music exams is the busiest and results are coming in thick and fast. It is cheering to see from colleagues' posts… Continue reading Celebrate every pass, merit and distinction
What is Grade 1?
A helping hand
We know that practising hands separately in the earliest stages of learning a piece is very important - and goes on being important even when the music is well known. It is often worth returning to separate hands practise to make sure certain sections are secure or to highlight particular aspects of a section, such… Continue reading A helping hand
The curse of the pushy parent
Guest post by A Piano Teacher Anyone who teaches will know the type - and those of us who teach privately will know the type very well. The pushy parent - sometimes also known as the Tiger Parent - whose demands seem to take up far more time than anyone else's, whose child/children require special… Continue reading The curse of the pushy parent
Changing the Vocabulary
The way we interact with our students, and the language we use with which to communicate with them, can have a profound effect on how our students react to our teaching and their own attitude to music making. Young people in particular can be highly sensitive to the kind of words teachers use, and as… Continue reading Changing the Vocabulary
A Piano Teacher Writes... 