Learn why starting with B major and D flat major scales simplifies piano learning. Chopin’s approach makes scales more comfortable for beginners. Discover practical exercises like the Circle of Fifths and improve your piano teaching techniques!
I have written extensively about the subject of slow practice on this blog and elsewhere. Since slow practice is such a cornerstone of our practice routine I don't apologise for making a…
When we think of tension in piano playing, we correctly label this as negative - it is a thing that hampers us and our objective should be to locate its…
One of the saddest things about our exam culture is spending the best part of a year on three pieces and a bunch of scales, polishing every little detail until…
How often we piano teachers hear this comment! "Sorry, I haven't done as much practice as I would like this week." It has to rank with the exclamation "But I…
I had an email from a reader asking how he could learn to play by ear, so here are some random thoughts on the subject. When we play by ear…
When I was on the selection committee for the 11th Unisa International Piano Competition, we listened to two solid days of audio recordings, one after the other. Our selection of…
The brain is made up of two hemispheres, right and left. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, and vice versa. There is a bridge between the…
Last week, I discussed how we might encourage our younger students to use the practice tools by incorporating elements of practice into the lesson, so that each week we devote…
Following the launch of my ebook series last week, I had an email from a reader who tells me she is enjoying reading about the practice tools. She is excited…
