Three years ago, the Online Academy was officially launched with the intention of creating the ultimate online resource for playing and teaching the piano. Our mission was to curate and aggregate some of the best information on the subject of piano playing and make it available to as wide an audience as possible in an inspiring, informative and non-dogmatic manner.
From humble beginnings with a few articles and videos, the Online Academy has grown to feature over three hundred articles and five hundred videos on the subject of piano playing. Initially an extension of Graham’s popular blog on practising and eBook series, the Online Academy now includes extensive content from a number of leading experts on topics such as improvisation, sight reading, learning pieces, healthy piano playing and teaching.
In reflecting on the last three years, we’ve compiled the following video which tells a bit more about Graham’s background as a pianist and teacher, the story behind the Online Academy and how it has evolved.
Where to from here?
We have a number of exciting developments in store which will be building on the foundations we’ve developed so far:
- New content and resources – Extensions to existing resources e.g. Burgmuller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes and Quarantine Spots, a comprehensive library on piano technique, numerous additions to our collection of walk-throughs on works within the repertoire and more resources on teaching in partnership with the Piano Teachers’ Course UK.
- Features and enhancements – New features for personalising content, a question and answer function and further improvements to tools for finding and navigating content.
- Additional contributors – We are delighted to be welcoming a number of new contributors to the Online Academy over the coming months!
Please click here to find out more about what’s coming or click here for more information on content currently available on the Online Academy.
Lastly, we’d like to close by saying a special word of thanks to all our customers and subscribers who have contributed to the launch and subsequent development of the Online Academy. The continued development and growth of the Online Academy would not be possible without your support and we’re very much looking forward to sharing our future developments with you!
Celebrate with us!
In celebration of the Online Academy’s third birthday, we’ll be making a selection of popular articles and videos available for free for a limited time, starting with the following:
- How and When to Use Slow Practice – Slow practice is a cornerstone of our work from the beginner stages right through to the advanced level. This video shows how to approach slow practice and to enjoy it fully!
- Quarantining – A video lecture showing how to use this practice tool to practise more effectively and to overcome challenging spots within pieces (this video also serves as an introduction to our Q-Spots series which demonstrates the concept in the context of selected works of varying levels).
- The Basics of Playing Arpeggios – An overview of the basics of playing arpeggios which aims to make them practising them effective, interesting and fun
- Mozart Fantasy in D Minor – This video provides a section by section walk through of Mozart’s Fantasy in D Minor K397 (sometimes referred to as Fantasia)
- Beethoven Sonatina in G (2nd mvt) – A step-by-step approach to learning this piece from our From the Ground Up series which uses outlines and reduced scores that help you to learn pieces more effectively
- Telemann Rigaudon – Video showing how to use simple five-finger patterns to develop the skills involved in playing the piece set in Grade 2 from the Trinity College London syllabus
- The Feedback Loop – A video lecture on one of the most important tools in Graham Fitch’s Practice Tools lecture series.
- Ballade – A walk through of the 15th work in Burgmüller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Études, Op. 100
- Jail-breaking Hanon – A twist on how to use two of Hanon’s ubiquitous exercises to develop flexibility and forearm rotation
- Sight-reading
- Day 3 – Additional sample sight reading pieces from ReadAhead levels 1 (click here), 2 (click here) and 3 (click here)
- Day 4 – Additional sample sight reading pieces from ReadAhead levels 1 (click here), 2 (click here) and 3 (click here)
- Twelve-bar Blues – Practical demonstration and ideas on how to improvise using twelve bar blues from Lucinda Mackworth-Young’s Anyone Can Improvise!
- Elementary Patterns – How to use elementary patterns to make progress with beginners
- Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu – This video from our walkthroughs on Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu shows how to approach one of the work’s biggest challenges, the 4:3 polyrhythm
- Ergonomic Fingerings for Scales and Arpeggios – How to choose ergonomic fingerings at the earliest opportunity to increase confidence and save hours of practising
- Create First! – Learn the materials of music (scales, intervals, and chords) in creative and musical ways with a sample solo (click here) and duet (click here)
- Good Pianistic Posture – This video by Ilga Pitkevica shows how to achieve a good pianistic posture and do a posture “self check-out”.
- The Basics of Playing Scales – An overview of the basics of playing scales which aims to make them practising them effective, interesting and fun
Click here for more free content and resources or click here to find out more about the Online Academy. You can also get updates on new content from our mailing list, YouTube channel and Facebook page.