October is a special month for us as it’s the Online Academy’s birthday! This year, the Online Academy will be turning seven. From humble beginnings as a collection of articles and videos on practising, it has since grown to boast over 1,000 resources on a broad range of topics such as improvisation, sight reading, learning pieces, technique, healthy piano playing and teaching.
An extensive, expanding library
We’ve been consistently creating and adding new content to the Online Academy’s library throughout its existence. In addition to our collection of resources on practising and learning pieces, our library now contains resources for almost 300 works from the repertoire (click here for an listing by composer, level and grade).
A well-developed technique is essential for realising our musical intentions at the piano. The technique section of our library contains modules on everything from the fundamentals through to specific aspects of technique. Click here for a full listing of resources on topics such as pedalling, healthy playing and much more!
In addition to building in-depth collections of materials on practising, repertoire and technique, we’ve also simultaneously broadened our library to cover topics such as preparing for examinations, sight-reading, improvisation and music theory. There is also a section dedicated to teaching which has been developed in partnership with The Piano Teachers’ Course.
Insights from distinguished pedagogues
The Online Academy’s content was initially based on Graham Fitch’s popular Practising the Piano blog. We’ve since been delighted to form a panel of contributors who have been selected for their pedagogical expertise. Luminaries include best selling author, pianist and teacher William Westney; winner of the Frances Clarke keyboard pedagogy award, Fred Karpoff; Peabody professor and author Ken Johansen; healthy playing expert and author of The Complete Pianist, Penelope Roskell and many more!
Live events & workshops
In 2020 we launched a live events programme as a complement to our content library. Events include a regular practice clinic and many online events delivered via Zoom. We’ve been delighted to meet pianists from all over the globe during these events…
After starting with only online events, we now also run hybrid events in our new state-of-the-art London studio. The studio enables us to create high-quality recordings and offer the opportunity to participate both in-person and online (information on upcoming and past events is available here).
What’s coming?
As always, we have many projects in the pipeline which we are looking forward to sharing with you. Our library will continue to grow in breadth and depth as we have already filmed a substantial volume of content in our studios which is currently in the editing process. We’re also working on several enhancements to the site which will make it easier to navigate and will continue to programme a variety of live events and workshops.
We’d like to conclude by saying a big thank to all our customers and subscribers. Your support over the years is very much appreciated and has been indispensable in enabling us to make our offering what it is today. In turn we look forward to continuing to create materials to help you get the most out of your piano playing!
All the very best,
The Practising the Piano Team
P.S. If you haven’t already, please be sure to sign-up to our mailing list to be notified of new projects and upcoming events!
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