We’re now just over half way through 2018 and as always, it’s been a very eventful year for both the Practising the Piano blog and Online Academy. With the summer holidays soon upon us, we will be winding down briefly before resuming an extensive schedule packed with publishing of new resources and updates for the remainder of the year. Therefore, we’d like to take this opportunity to review some of the highlights from the year so far and to share some insights as to what’s in store.

Online Academy Highlights

It’s been almost two years since the launch of the Online Academy in September 2016 and the site has grown to over 300 articles, 1000 music excerpts, 200 videos and 100 downloads (more information on featured content and resources is available here). Some of the highlights of the year so far include:

  • A new series of resources focussing on technique kicked-off with a comprehensive guide to playing double notes at the advanced level. This guide is comprised of several chapters featuring over 100 musical excerpts, 40 video demonstrations and downloadable worksheets. Click here to view the introduction and index.
  • Launch of an extensive new collection of walkthroughs called From the Ground Up devoted to learning individual pieces using outlines and reduced scores that help you to practise more effectively, memorize more consciously, and interpret music more creatively. Each From the Ground Up edition starts with a reduced score or foundation to which detail is then added in layers with successive scores. Click here to find out more about this series or here to view a listing of available works.
  • Two new Annotated Study Editions and online walkthroughs featuring Debussy’s Girl with the Flaxen Hair and Brahms’s Intermezzo in A Minor (Op. 76 No. 7)
  • Resources from Charlotte Thomlinson’s Beyond Stage Fright, including her introductory course Managing Performance Nerves and two modules from her comprehensive Inspired Performance
  • Additions to various series, including Anyone Can Improvise!, the Read Ahead sight reading curriculum and the Art of Piano Fingering.

What’s in store?

The following are a selection of the new resources and content updates currently under development:

  • Existing resources – Additions and extensions to existing resources, including a number of new editions for the highly acclaimed From the Ground Up series.
  • Video walkthroughs – Various walkthroughs of popular repertoire are currently being developed, including long awaited additions to our series on Burgmüller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, op. 100.
  • Create First! – A collection of original pieces by Forrest Kinney which provide a natural and enjoyable way to learn to improvise at the piano. Each piece will be provided in both duet and solo versions and will include video demonstrations showing exactly how to play them.
  • Technique – Our comprehensive new series on technique will continue to cover various aspects of techniques and an extensive guide to technical exercises and studies, including original commissions.
  • Guide to the Trinity Syllabus – A collection of articles and numerous video walkthroughs for pieces featured in the Trinity College London examination syllabus (as a complement to our existing resources for the ABRSM syllabus).

In addition to the resources and content described above, we’ll also be giving the Online Academy a face-lift which will make it easier to navigate, find and access its continually growing library of content. Furthermore, we will be offering new purchase and licensing options for teachers, schools and other institutions.

We’re looking forward to sharing these various updates and more with you over the coming months. In the meantime, please click here  if you’d like to find out more about the Online Academy or see further details below regarding our summer eBook specials if you’re looking for some holiday reading!