Although it’s taken its time, summer seems to have finally arrived here in the UK! If you’re planning on embarking on some summer piano projects or are looking forward to some quality practice time, we’ve compiled some ideas to inspire you and resources to help you along the way. Otherwise, if you’re not going to have a piano at hand, we’ve also included some reading suggestions for the beach or wherever you might be!
Add to your repertoire
It’s always exciting learning new pieces and if you’re looking to build solid foundations from the outset, why not try our free email course on starting a new piece (click here to sign-up) or click here for some suggestions on choosing new pieces. As a further idea to broaden your repertoire, why not try a few pieces that are earlier than your current level as quick studies?
If you’re looking for some repertoire inspiration, our Pieces to Play series provides showcases of popular pieces and hidden gems with video previews, performances and marked scores for many of them. You can also visit our repertoire library for resources to help you learn over 250 works. These include videos focussing on specific aspects of a piece through to detailed video walk-throughs of complete works and annotated study editions.
Summer Specials!
We’re also celebrating the arrival of summer with specials on a selection of our digital resources. Click here to sign-up to our mailing list to avoid missing out!
Hone your technique
Although it’s a means to an end, a refined technique is important for being able to realise our artistic aspirations at the piano. If you’re a beginner or are returning to the piano, then you might want to have a look at Penelope Roskell’s Foundations in Piano Technique. This online course shows how to establish a sound technique from the earliest stages and can also serve as an excellent refresher!
If you feel like aspects of your technique are holding you back or you want to achieve greater freedom in your playing, then you may find the recordings form Graham Fitch’s technique workshop series invaluable! This set of online workshops shows various ways to improve your technique, from an overview of the fundamentals through to incorporating forearm rotation, mastering scales & arpeggios, using studies effectively and inventing exercises from your own pieces.
The Online Academy’s technique library also contains a vast array of technique resources, from advice on using studies and exercises to improve specific areas through to general tips for playing that feels and sounds good!
Brush up on your theory knowledge
Understanding music theory gives us a wonderful insight into how music works and can also enable you to learn repertoire faster, interpret it more authentically and explore new worlds of improvisation and composition. We’ve recently published and presented several courses and online workshops to help you build your knowledge of music theory. Click here to find out more!
Develop your general musical skills
With the emphasis so often being on developing technical skills and learning new repertoire, many pianists neglect the development of general musical skills. Why not use the summer break as an opportunity to train your ear or improve your sight-reading? Or how about giving improvisation a try with David Hall’s guide for classical pianists or Lucinda Mackworth-Young’s video series, Anyone Can Improvise?
Catch-up on workshops & reading
We will be taking a break from our online events programme over the summer and resuming in September (be sure to sign-up to our mailing list to be notified of upcoming events!). In the meantime, if you haven’t yet watched the recordings for workshops that you signed-up for, head over to the events tab in your library to view them. You can also purchase access to recordings and resources for any workshop that you missed from our store or find links to watch the recordings of our monthly practice clinics here.
For some piano-themed holiday reading, how about reading Penelope Roskell’s highly acclaimed book, The Complete Pianist (available in eBook format with video links!) or Neil Rutman’s fascinating and inspiring Stories, Images and Magic from the Piano Literature?