Today’s guest writer is pianist, teacher and composer Alison Mathews. Over the past year, Alison has compiled and edited a very special publication called ‘Seeds of Hope’: a collection of elementary level piano pieces featuring Middle Eastern themes with a focus on nature, growth and hope. Each work in this volume has been written by…
Category: Melanie Spanswick
Classic Piano Repertoire: Advanced Level
My latest ‘Tips’ article for Pianist magazine’s website was published just a couple of weeks ago and focuses on repertoire for advanced level players. You can read the first two posts in this series by clicking on the button links below: This is the third and final part in a series delving into suitable repertoire…
‘Author Focus’ at Presto Music
I’m pleased to be the featured author and composer this year at Presto Music. For this series, entitled ‘Author Focus’, Presto Music will publish a new video every month over the next twelve months featuring my work, books and music. In each video, I discuss various aspects of my career, including teaching beginners, talented young…
Student influences: Salvador Dalí and his extraordinary Museum
I recently held a piano performance class for some of my students. We do this several times a year if possible, because it serves as useful practice and preparation for their piano exams and festival performances. At this class, which consisted of just a few students, we discussed our ‘influences’: what, if any, had my…
A Master Class with Cyprien Katsaris
I came across this interesting master class given recently by French-Cypriot pianist Cyprien Katsaris held in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong City Hall on October 1st, 2025, for the Chopin Society of Hong Kong. Edmond Cheng is the piano student in this class and he plays Frédéric Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61….
Piano-Playing Wisdom: Rami Bar-Niv
Today’s guest post has been written by Israeli pianist, teacher and writer Rami Bar-Niv, who is no stranger to my blog. Rami has recently published a new book, ‘Piano Playing Wisdom’, and in this post, he writes about the inspiration behind it. Piano-Playing Wisdom After the success of my book ‘The Art of Piano Fingering:…
Remain Composed Podcast
Happy World Piano Day! Today is World Piano Day, which is now an annual worldwide event. It takes place on the 88th day of the year because of the number of keys on the instrument being celebrated. Established in 2015, by composer Nils Frahm, it is now well known across the globe, and it forms…
Composing Educational Piano Music
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of judging the Pianist magazine Composing Competition. I’ve done this really fun ‘job’ for the past five years alongside my superb colleagues and fellow judges, owner of The Piano Shop Kent, Nigel Scaife, Presto Music’s Product Manager, Matthew Ash, and, of course, Pianist magazine editor, Erica Worth….
Classic Piano Repertoire: Intermediate level
This article is the second part of a three-post series delving into suitable repertoire intended to develop piano playing at whatever your current level: it was published earlier in the week on Pianist Magazine’s website. Whether your practice is structured so that you are able to tackle the following repertoire altogether, or you decide to…
Guildhall Young Artists Residency Dubai 2026
An aspect of teaching that I particularly enjoy is the chance to meet and work with new students and this type of coaching is instantly possible on music courses. Here, one has the chance to work with a variety of students in a much shorter time frame than would be feasible with regular one-to-one coaching….
New Publication: Chakra Suite for Clarinet and Piano
The Chakra System The origins of the seven chakras are deeply rooted in Eastern spiritual traditions. The Chakras are considered the basis of human existence and the human chakra system is commonly accepted as seven energy ‘centres’ stretching physically from the spine to the crown of the head. This system is also representative of disparate…
Hope Is The Thing at Trinity College Chapel
Over the weekend I was fortunate to visit Cambridge University for a performance of a short choral piece that I wrote for choir a few years ago. This performance was held at Trinity College Chapel and conducted by the senior organ scholar, Augustine Cox. It formed part of a concert celebrating music by British and…