Write it Out!
I first published this post way back in June, 2013, and it has been buried in the archives ever since. I decided to update it and republish after the subject…
The Floating Fermata
I first published The Floating Fermata in 2015, and was surprised by how much positive feedback I had on it. I decided to republish it now, with a few small…
The Myth of Perfection
Debunking the myth of perfection in piano performance and suggestions for achieving healthy perfectionism when practising a performance.
Watch What You Say!
Over the years in my teaching, I have noticed the tendency for some students to need to preface their playing with an often lengthy verbal introduction – a description of…
Efficient Practising for Busy People
This is the follow-up to last week's post, in which I outlined the first few stages for cleaning up a piece beset by errors, stumbles, approximations and other anomalies that…
Top Ten Tips to Maximise Your Practice
At the start of the New Year, everyone is making resolutions. I have noticed that these usually have to do with self discipline - not eating or drinking so much…
The Weakest Link
In the run-up to Christmas, I am reminded of the low-tech decorations we used to make at school back in the day - paper chains. We would lick the gummed…
Practising Chopin’s “Ocean” Etude
In last week's post on ties and repeated notes, I referred to Chopin's Ocean Etude (more properly known as op. 25 no. 12). A reader contacted me asking if I…
Some Thoughts on Mental Tension
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…
A Short Essay on the Life of a Pianist
After a recent post, I received a request in the form of a comment from a reader, suggesting I might expand on my last paragraph. The last paragraph was as…