GUEST SERIES
This page features several series written by a variety of guest writers on selected piano-related topics, including a piano technique series, performance practice and preparation related articles about Debussy and Beethoven, as well as compositional and practice ideas for specific repertoire.
A Journey Through Debussy’s Preludes 2: Julian Jacobson
Today’s post is the second in a series written by concert pianist and piano professor Julian Jacobson, who is ‘journeying’ through Debussy’s two books of Preludes in preparation for his concert on Thursday June 6th 2024 at 7.30 pm, at the 1901 Arts Club in London (pictured in the featured image at the top of…
A Journey Through Debussy’s Preludes: Julian Jacobson
I enjoy hosting articles written by friends and colleagues on this blog. Pianist and piano professor Julian Jacobson is no stranger to my website, and you can read the very popular 2022 series he wrote documenting his Beethoven sonata marathon, here. Today’s new series pays homage to Debussy; Julian will be performing the French composer’s…
Butterflies: Rami Bar-Niv
Pianist, teacher, and composer Rami Bar-Niv continues his journey into piano technique and today’s post is the fifth in the series for this blog. Many thanks to those of you who’ve written to tell us how much you have been enjoying these articles. The fifth pillar of my five main piano-playing-technique pillars is the butterfly…
Grabbing: Rami Bar-Niv
The first guest post of the year has been written by pianist, teacher, and composer Rami Bar-Niv. This is the fourth article in his piano technique series for this blog. Here, Rami highlights the importance of the ‘grabbing’ movement as part of developing a secure piano technique. The fourth pillar of my five main piano-playing-technique pillars…
Chord Playing and Improvising 6: Christopher Norton
Today’s post continues renowned composer Christopher Norton’s series here on my blog. Christopher suggests helpful practice tips and advice for one of his pieces, which can be downloaded for free; ‘In The Spirit’ comes from the highly successful series, Connections For Piano. Connections for Piano has been very popular since its launch in 2007. It…
The Beauty of the Rotation Technique: Rami Bar-Niv
Pianist, teacher, and composer Rami Bar-Niv returns this week to continue his excellent, and very popular, series here on my blog. Rami’s articles are focusing various aspects of piano technique and today’s surveys the rotation technique. A rotational movement is the movement we do when we turn a doorknob or a key in a door….
The Magic of Wrist Circles: Rami Bar-Niv
Today’s post is the second in a series of articles focusing on piano technique written by guest writer Rami Bar-Niv. Rami is an Israeli pianist, teacher, writer, and composer based in the US. Here, he discusses the importance of wrist circles. Wrist Circles is one of the important piano-playing techniques. It enhances legato, phrasing (also…
The Music of the Wrists: Rami Bar-Niv
Today’s post has been written by guest writer Rami Bar-Niv. Rami is an israeli pianist, composer, author, and instructor of master classes, who is based in the USA. In this article, he discusses that vital topic for all pianists: wrist movement. Rudolf Serkin complained once: “how come, before I play the opening chord of Beethoven’s…
Chord Playing and Improvising 5: Christopher Norton
Christopher Norton’s Connections for Piano has been very popular since its launch in 2007. It forms a major part of the new Royal Conservatory syllabus in Canada, as well as being a feature of many other syllabuses, festival programmes and competitions around the world. Here’s a recent quote from a teacher: Connections: this series is…
Using Stylistic Influence in Piano Composition: Jeni Warder
This weekend’s guest writer is teacher and composer Jeni Warder who owns the Keys Piano School in Greater Manchester, UK. Jeni is writing a series of articles for this blog focusing on how to develop a student’s composition skills at various levels. Today, she tackles Grade 2. As a teacher at Keys Piano School in…
Chord Playing and Improvising 4: Christopher Norton
This is the fourth article in renowned composer Christopher Norton’s series for my blog. In this post, he offers tips and suggestions for practising chords and improvisation, and the article includes a free download of ‘Positively Swinging’, a piece which hails from the fourth volume of Chris’ ever-popular piano series, Connections. Connections for Piano has…
Teaching Through Composition – First steps in Harmony at Grade One Level: Jeni Warder
I’m delighted to welcome back Jeni Warder, who is the founder and director of Keys Piano School in Bolton near Manchester. Jeni is a passionate piano and composition teacher and in this post she explores teaching Grade 1 composition; there is also a downloadble free resource at the bottom of the post so that you…