Newsflash! Tension and pain is not just ‘part of the deal’ when playing the piano. So why do so many students suffer from this problem? There many reasons for this, too many for this post. However, the best place to start for any student, young
I’m just going to come right out and say it. I love scales! Scales give us the key to unlocking the mysteries of music (pun intended). They are the backbone to creativity, they help us aurally decode the tonalities in the music we’re learning, and
If your students struggle with sight reading they could be looking at too much of the detail and not enough of the bigger picture. Maybe they've so far learnt to read, like I did, memorising mnemonics like Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit or FACE. perhaps
I have to admit, I didn’t come across the term “creative” piano teaching until about 3 years ago. I hadn’t considered if I was a creative piano teacher or a traditional one. It had never crossed my mind. But everywhere I look now, the term
Have you ever wondered how film composers write their scores? Where do they start? How do they develop their ideas? How does the music pair so perfectly with what you are seeing on screen? Well, the answer in one word is
Have you or your students ever started composing music with no ideas and no strategy? Much like writer's block, a similar kind of paralysis can happen with composers when faced with a blank page and no plan. As a result, fears and doubts rise up
I’m sure many of you are amazing sight-readers, but if you're like me, to say you’ve struggled with it, is an understatement. Maybe sight reading has always come naturally to you but you see your students struggle and don't know how to steer them on
Do you ever feel like sometimes you’re teaching on autopilot? You want to be a teach piano better but you show up with no plan except to continue where you left off last week, moving onto the next page in the method book, or going
Learning how to figure out your piano teaching niche is one of the best things you can do for both your business and your self-confidence as a teacher. If you’re just getting started with teaching maybe you haven't even considered this question. But even if