The first in an occasional series of articles on basic music theory. A scale is a sequence of notes, either ascending (going up) or descending (going down). The most common scale of all is C major, which is made up from white notes only. Most students would agree that the C Major scale is the… Continue reading Theory Masterclass Part 1 – Major Scales
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'
‘Perpetuum Mobile’ – Penguin Café Orchestra
Several of my students have been learning and enjoying this well-known piece by the Penguin Café Orchestra, and so I thought it might be helpful to have some background about the band and the music. The Penguin Café Orchestra (PCO) was a collective of musicians, founded by Simon Jeffes in the 1970s. It is hard… Continue reading ‘Perpetuum Mobile’ – Penguin Café Orchestra
How many hours a day should you practice?
2 hours? 4 hours? 8 hours? 12 hours? How much is enough? Is there such a thing as practicing too much? Is there an optimal number of hours that one should practice? Here's an excellent article from The Bulletproof Musician blog, which dispels some myths about practising and offers practical guidance on 'deliberate' practice. Read… Continue reading How many hours a day should you practice?
‘Curved Lines’ – phrases and how to shape music
Phrases are like musical ‘sentences’, and, a phrase in music expresses a complete idea. In classical music, phrases are symmetrical in length, but in modern music a phrase can be any length. Phrasing helps to shape the music, and to give it life, form and 'punctuation'. Phrasing relates to the way in which individual notes… Continue reading ‘Curved Lines’ – phrases and how to shape music
Music exams can be limitations instead of goals
As the Simon Bolivar Orchestra and Gustavo Dudamel arrive in the UK at the start of the Cultural Oympiad, Canadian blogger and music writer John Terauds ponders the usefulness of graded music exams and how to keep the spark of passion to learn music alive. More here Music exams can be limitations instead of goals.… Continue reading Music exams can be limitations instead of goals
Contemporary piano music
To follow up my recent post on Modern Music, here's a great article by fellow blogger and pianist ClassicalMel on contemporary classical composers and their music: Contemporary piano music?
A History of Classical Music – Part 5: Modern
'Modern' classical music is a broad term, referring to music composed from around the turn of the twentieth-century to present-day (music composed now is usually called 'contemporary'). Like modern art, modern music is all about breaking the rules. At the turn of the twentieth-century, music was generally 'romantic' in style, but composers such as Gustav… Continue reading A History of Classical Music – Part 5: Modern
Soft dough, warm oil – and no bones
At my recent piano lesson, I worked on Rachmaninov's Etude-Tableaux Opus 33 No. 2 in C. In order to practice the tricky arpeggiated left-hand accompaniment, which includes many awkward extensions of more than an octave, my teacher asked me to imagine that my arms had no bones in them, no fulcrum at the elbow, and… Continue reading Soft dough, warm oil – and no bones
Guest post: Playfulness in piano playing
by Penelope Roskell, pianist and Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance If we reflect on the language that we use in our teaching, we will probably notice that many of the words we use imply a rather serious, one might even say tedious view of life: practise… Continue reading Guest post: Playfulness in piano playing
Take a bow: how to behave at a concert
With my students' concert less than two weeks away now, here are some tips on 'concert etiquette' to help make the experience as enjoyable as possible, for performers and audience. It's important to behave in the right way when you are taking part in a concert. How you walk on stage ('body language') and how… Continue reading Take a bow: how to behave at a concert
A Piano Teacher Writes... 