This blog post was recently published in a Pianist Magazine newsletter. It 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…
Category: Melanie Spanswick
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. The course was full with ten students. It was one of the most enjoyable courses I have run at this renowned education establishment. We were able to utilise the smart new concert venue which opened earlier this year. This venue…
Avoiding Apocalypse At All Costs: 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…
A New You: The Art of Manifesting for 2020
Happy New Year 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 of reach. And, try as you might, they haven’t happened to you….
Happy Holidays 2019
WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A VERY HAPPY, PEACEFUL AND FESTIVE HOLIDAY SEASON Another Christmas is nearly upon us and, as the year draws to a close, my hope is that you are able to reflect on a happy and successful 2019. I also hope you’ve enjoyed reading my articles as well as those of…
Master Classes with Nelita True
In many respects a master class is a public lesson, the audience eavesdropping on proceedings. Attending public classes can be surprisingly beneficial both for students and teachers. We can all learn from observing the lessons of others. This is especially true when learning from esteemed pianists and teachers. I stumbled across this interesting filmed lesson,…
The ‘Chromasoul’ Steinway Piano
Earlier this year, I was invited to the launch of a new Steinway piano. Not entirely a new instrument, but more a new ‘design’; the Chromasoul Steinway. This Chromasoul piano is a Steinway Model D instrument that has been fastidiously painted by renowned Argentinian artist María Inés Aguirre. I wrote about Mia and the concept…
Indonesian Charm
Over the past nine days I have been touring in the Far East. It’s always a pleasure to work with students and teachers in different parts of the world, and fascinating to note the various similarities in teaching styles, despite the cultural differences. I began my trip in Indonesia, a country I visited briefly last…
Painless Piano Playing Part 2
This blog post has been recently published in EPTA’s Piano Professional. EPTA is the European Piano Teachers Association. I currently write a feature technique article for this flagship UK publication. It’s the second article focusing on developing a pain free, relaxed piano technique. You can read Painless Piano Playing Part 1, here. In my previous…
A String of Pearls
It’s always a happy experience when one’s work is published, irrespective of the publication or publisher. But this new volume (pictured above) is a really exciting one for me. In 2017, pianists and teachers Alla Levit and Antonina Lax invited me to write a piano duet for one of their forthcoming UK tours. Alla, who…
Federico Colli and Fazioli at Eton College
One of the joys of living in Windsor (in the UK) is the proximity to many excellent artistic events. There are concerts virtually every week at various churches in the town centre. Performances take place at the Windsor Theatre. You can also enjoy recitals at Eton College. The Windsor Festival runs during September every year…
5 Tips for Secure Coordination and Quick Movement
This month’s 5 tips for Pianist magazine’s newsletter focuses on the issue of moving quickly around the instrument. I hope it’s usefui. Moving quickly and accurately can be tricky. Especially if fast passage work is involved. There are many ways to alleviate this conundrum, but one which can be really beneficial is octave displacement. Yes,…