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Wow! (or how to get good at piano)
A few weeks ago, two different piano parents asked me if I noticed anything different about their child at the most recent lesson. My response was, “Yes! Wow! What happened?!” The parents’ answer was, “I helped my child get to the piano every day this week.” Success in piano is very much dependent on three…
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This One Sits Just Right
You know the story of Goldilocks – Papa Bear’s chair was too big, Mama Bear’s chair was too big, but Baby Bear’s was just right. I have several young students who are still pint-sized. But the scale of a piano fits a full-sized adult. And how we sit at the piano greatly affects our sound…
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Shopping Around
I have a confession. I have seven “pianos” – two upright acoustic pianos, one grand piano, and four digital keyboards and/or synthesizers. I recommend all my students have an acoustic piano for lessons. Having a good quality instrument to practice on at home is an important part of success. Why? Because there is nothing like an acoustic…
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The 30-Piece Challenge
This past season was phase two of developing reading skills in my students. We know that students who read well will be lifelong musicians. And one factor of being able to read music well is accumulating a large number of hours reading something new. But, when we get busy preparing for performances and exams, we…
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20/20 Sight Reading
Sight reading is reading an unknown score while performing the music. The skills for sight reading are different than the ones that we use for performing music that we have spent time practising. For amateur musicians sight-reading is the most significant step towards musical independence. They can keep learning and enjoying music-making even after they…
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Ever hear of a one-armed piano player?
In every piano season, I receive at least one phone call from a parent telling me that one of my students has broken their arm. (Last season three students were wearing casts at various times!) Naturally, everyone is wondering what to do about piano. I can reassure everyone that the student should continue to attend…
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RCM Releases New Piano Syllabus
The Royal Conservatory of Music has released a new piano syllabus and edition of their Celebration Series books. My students and I have been previewing the new material all week as we look ahead to next season. There are exciting changes coming. The Repertoire contains more compositions by modern composers. An excellent selection of pieces…
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Is that how it goes?
My students just performed at a students-only performance class, and are now preparing for our upcoming recital. At recent lessons we have been discussing practice and memorization strategies. I keep threatening to make a video for my students of me practising. And I suspect that we are taxing the ears and patience of our fans…
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Oh, that sounds impressive
This year’s teaching theme is technical development. A significant portion of a pianist’s practice time is spent working on scales, triads, chords, and arpeggios so that we have that facility at our fingertips [pun intended!] when we encounter those elements in our repertoire. At our recent group class, my piano students and I were discussing technique.…
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Donating My Body to Science
The University of Ottawa Piano Pedagogy Lab is as busy as ever researching and challenging pedagogical theory and practice. I recently participated as a test subject in a study researching the effects of Feldenkrais sessions on piano playing. Many musicians believe that disciplines such as yoga, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, and Feldenkrais Method are beneficial to us.…
