ArtePiano Masterclasses

My guest post today has been written by South African pianist Niel du Preez (pictured below), the artistic director of a new piano course, ArtePiano Masterclasses, which will be held in splendid Sankt Goar, Germany. Here, Niel descibes how and why he established this exciting new venture. Sankt Goar A couple of years ago I…

Read More

Real Ear Training: A guest post by Roland Perrin

My guest writer today is Roland Perrin. Roland has written a book entitled Real Ear Training, published by Faber, and in this post, he describes the inspiration behind the book and how students will benefit from using it. My name is Roland Perrin. I am a jazz/world music/classical composer, pianist and educator, and you can…

Read More

Master classes with Olga Kern

In today’s post I’m continuing my quest to highlight master classes (or public lessons). YouTube is a wonderful resource for teachers and students; we can enjoy and learn from a variety of filmed videos online, all at our fingertips. Russian pianist Olga Kern was born in Moscow and studied at the renowned Central Music School…

Read More

10 Motivational Practice Tips

Last year I travelled to several different parts of the world giving workshops and classes. I invariably asked the owner of the studio (or shop), where my presentations took place, if there was a particular topic that teachers would like to discuss; ‘how to keep students motivated’ was the almost unanimous reply. It’s no mean…

Read More

Piano Workshops in Newcastle and York

One aspect of writing books that I particularly enjoy is the opportunity to meet teachers and students at workshops and book presentations. This year, I will be doing a fair few workshops all around the country, as well as some abroad. In February, I’m looking forward to visiting Newcastle and York for two Play it…

Read More

5 Vital Daily Practice Reminders

Today’s post was recently published in a Pianist Magazine newsletter, and will hopefully provide a few basic, but important, practice reminders. We all benefit from reminders. Those elements which tend to be forgotten as we sit at the instrument, keen to get on with our job of practising. But sometimes it’s a good idea to…

Read More

A Piano Course in Frome & Chamber Music in Tokyo

I’ve just returned from tutoring my yearly weekend piano course at Jackdaws Music Education Trust. It was a full course, with ten students, and it was one of the most enjoyable I have run at this renowned education establishment. We were able to utilise the smart new concert venue, which opened earlier this year, now…

Read More

Avoiding Apocalypse At All Costs – an interview with Lola Perrin

My first guest post this year features American composer and pianist Lola Perrin. Over the past few years, Lola, who is a popular composer and performer, has been engaged in the serious worldwide issue of climate change. More recently Lola has been incorporating climate change in her work and in her concerts, and in the…

Read More

A New Year and a New You. The Art of Manifesting for 2020

Happy New Year! And may all your dreams come true over the next 12 months. Welcome to a new decade! Have you made any new year’s resolutions? You may have set your intentions, but do you believe they can and will happen? Do certain goals or dreams which you hope to surmount sometimes feel out…

Read More