thoughts on piano teaching and beyond
Guest post by Stephen Marquiss “We’ll see you on TV one day”, they said. By the time I reached my 29th birthday, I had been on TV once – but does a school promotional appearance really count? I could’ve made it twice, for the semi-final of BBC Young Musicians. But I withdrew through injury. I’m… Continue reading The Mammoth in the Practice Room: 7 reasons why musicians fall short of their potential
"The most dangerous thing is 'finger memory'; if you really know a piece harmonically, it doesn't matter what finger you use, but if finger memory fails you, it falls apart utterly." the late Peter Feuchtwanger, quoted in The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thad Carhart. From our earliest time at the piano, we… Continue reading Fingering schemes: help or hindrance?
The Complete Pianist by Penelope Roskell, renowned pedagogue and concert pianist, is an inspiring distillation of her experience and a comprehensive manual for pianists and teachers, packed with invaluable accumulated wisdom and excellent supporting materials
It’s important to try to encourage adult learners to start benefitting from the technology that’s available. Youngsters will just do it anyway and will get tremendous advantages from it. Why should mature learners miss out?
The expression “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach” does a great disservice to teachers everywhere. In the sphere of music, teaching is often regarded as a “second best” option for those who have trained as performers, yet for anyone who has encountered a great music teacher, it is evident that this is a… Continue reading Those who can, teach
Guest post by Rhiana Henderson There are many courses, workshops, conferences and other events available of varying lengths and on a whole range of different topics for piano teachers. Afterwards though, how are we able to demonstrate to potential students and employers that we have invested valuable time and money into our own continuing professional… Continue reading Making the Most of Your Continuing Professional Development
Guest post by Eleonor Bindman Sight reading is a very important skill which is often neglected during piano lessons and while practicing because of time constraints. It’s way at the bottom of our list of priorities and the fact that it seems challenging and not “fun” doesn’t help matters. In my early years of teaching… Continue reading How to Approach Sight Reading for Yourself or With Your Students
If we are serious about our music, our progress with our repertoire and our technical and artistic development, we need to establish good and regular practising habits, as regular as cleaning one’s teeth. No one, not even professional musicians at the top of their game, is born with an innate talent which negates the need… Continue reading Feeding the practise habit
As teachers, we deal in the business of shaping human beings, which we can all agree is a continual process of growth and learning; our students grow, and we do also.
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
