Most Popular Posts of 2015
Today is the last day of 2015, and I want to wish all my readers a very happy and peaceful New Year. I thought I would sign off the year with…
Scared Stiff
In piano playing, there is something comforting about hard facts - given that so much of what we do is subjective and not always so easy to pin down. Players in…
Masterclass with Gyorgy Sebok
One of my treasured musical memories is a week of masterclasses by Gyorgy Sebok I attended in Germany one summer during the early 90's. The comments he made were directly relevant not only…
Accountability in Practice
When we learn a new piece, the process of practising is a journey that takes us from Point A (where we may not know the piece at all) to Point Z…
Flexibility in Interpretation
There is no one “correct” way to play a piece – the same piece played by different pianists will vary in tempo, timing, pedalling, phrasing etc.
Freshen it Up
Ideas for freshening up an interpretation of a piece by playing in different styles.
How to Begin a New Piece: Part 6
Here is the final part of this series on beginning a new piece. Like last week's offering, it's mostly going to be a list of resources from this blog and…
How to Begin a New Piece: Part 5
When I started writing this blog I wanted a term for the sort of nitty gritty, nuts and bolts general work we do in practice. I came up with The Three S's,…
How to Begin a New Piece: Part 4
Last week's guest post by Julie Garnham raised some interesting discussion in Facebook piano pedagogy groups (click here to read). I feel the idea of beginning a new piece away…
How to Begin a New Piece: Guest Post
It is a great privilege to be one of the principal tutors on The Piano Teachers' Course UK. One of our recent graduates, Julie Garnham, handed in an excellent essay…