Happy Holidays!
This is my final post for 2017, and I hope I am just in time to wish you all very happy holidays, whether you celebrate Christmas or if you are…
Learning from Listening
I am delighted to publish this guest post by Frances Wilson, aka The Cross-Eyed Pianist, entitled Learning from Listening. Over to you, Fran... *** *** *** There are many benefits in…
To stop, or not?
We all know that in performance we're not able to stop, not for anything. How many times in our practice do we stop because we don't like something, or we…
New Finchcocks Piano Courses!
I am delighted to announce a brand new venture - a series of weekend piano courses from Finchcocks. What I like about this series is there is something for everyone.…
Pedalling Problems and Possibilities
I often find I have quibbles with pedal markings printed in the score. Chief among them is that these markings do not - nor can they ever expect to -…
Intermediate Scales Manual Now on the Online Academy!
I have some good news for those of you practising your scales! I have just published the first part of my new scale manual aimed at intermediate players on the…
Hold Me, I’m a Fermata!
Following on from last week's post on rests, I'm going to move on to the fermata - or the pause. We find this marked on rests as well as on…
Pause for Thought
Have you ever stressed about what to do during a long rest that appears in a piece you are playing? In my experience of listening to pianists, rests often get…
New Piano Holiday in France
I am delighted to announce a brand new piano holiday this July in the beautiful surroundings of Saint Laurent, France. It will be tutored by myself, and hosted by Geoff…
Mind the Gap! (Part 2)
Following on from last week's post on slurs and short phrases in the Baroque and Classical periods, I thought I would look at some other examples from Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin…