More On Octave Displacements
Annoyingly, last week's post on eliminating tension (which was to be the first of two or three on the subject) has itself been eliminated. It disappeared into the ether when…
Tools for Memorisation
Here is the second part of my article MIND OVER MEMORY, published last year in Pianist Magazine. Remember, everyone who has ever played the piano in public has had that horrible…
The Analytic Memory
I have had several requests for an article on memorisation. Since I already wrote one last year for Pianist Magazine, entitled Mind Over Memory, I thought I would include it…
Cavaliers and Roundheads: Developing Performance Skills
Last night I watched a fascinating documentary on the BBC about how English history was forever changed by the civil war. The characteristics of the two opposing forces (the puritanical,…
A Short Essay on the Life of a Pianist
After a recent post, I received a request in the form of a comment from a reader, suggesting I might expand on my last paragraph. The last paragraph was as…
Top Ten Tips to Maximise your Practising
I have had a lot of requests for this article, which first appeared in Pianist Magazine last year. Here it is! With the Olympics very much in the news at…
Practising on Tour
I have been away for the past three weeks on a concert and teaching tour of Singapore and Australia, the focus of my work there was three performances of Bach's…
Five-a-Side Team Events: Some Thoughts on Chord Playing
In my youth I was fortunate enough to have some lessons with Philip Fowke, the first one was on Rachmaninov's rather overplayed Prelude in C sharp minor. I recall the…
A Prima Vista: Some Thoughts on Sight Reading
Sight reading is included in every graded examination. Few seem to excel at it, and many actively dread it. Even the best players are likely to drop marks in this…