PIANO & MUSIC EDUCATION
Devoted to all aspects of music education, this page features music festivals, events, and venues, as well as piano master classes, exam preparation, and competitions.
The Kodály Method
In the last blog post I examined the importance and value of the Suzuki Method. Today I’m continuing my exploration of various music educational systems by highlighting the Kodály Method. Unlike the Suzuki, this Method focuses on studying singing, pitch, and musical notation rather than learning an instrument, however, these elements are crucial to musical…
The Suzuki Method
The Japanese violinist and educator, Shin’ichi Suzuki devised his increasingly popular method in the 1940s. It was his belief that most children develop intellectually at tremendous speed between the ages of 2-5 therefore he recommended starting lessons before the age of five. Children start by watching others before they begin playing themselves which accustoms them…
Maria Ines Aguirre and the Steinway Piano
A trip to Steinway Hall, situated on Marylebone Street in London, is always a pleasurable experience. If you haven’t visited then I urge you to go and enjoy the vast array of pianos on display at the magnificent showrooms. One particular instrument has routinely caught my eye over the past few weeks. It’s this unusual…
Can music slow down the aging process?
An interesting new study has revealed that music can help slow down the aging process. Researchers in the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University in the US, measured the automatic brain responses of younger and older musicians and non-musicians to speech sounds. They discovered that older musicians had a distinct neural timing advantage and concluded…
Preparing for your piano exam
Being well-prepared for a music exam is crucial. By ‘preparing’, I’m not referring to the amount of practice required to pass exams. A considerable amount of practice is needed to achieve satisfactory marks. But once you have prepared thoroughly, the real ‘practice’ begins, that is, performance practice. It is too easy to go to your…
Aural Tests
It’s easy to go along to your instrumental lesson every week and focus on your pieces, scales and arpeggios, and sight reading, completely forgetting about the aural tests. This is an oversight because aural ability should ideally be developed over time. It takes practise to learn how to listen to ear tests and to respond…
Do music examiners account for nerves?
Most feel anxiety before an exam. It really doesn’t matter what type of test is being taken, it’s just the fear of being scrutinized. Some students deal with nerves better than others and the most effective way to cope is to be very well prepared. I’ve already written about performance anxiety several times on my…
Stage Fright: 5 tips
Nerves can a big issue for many musicians. It really doesn’t matter whether pianists, or any instrumentalists for that matter, are students or professionals. Sometimes professionals can become more nervous because so much depends on the quality of their performances. Here are a few helpful tips: 1. Before feeling comfortable in front of an audience,…
Music Festival Adjudicator
Music festivals hold an important place in our musical heritage. I consider them to be of paramount importance for all those wanting to develop performing skills or attain more performance practice. I’ve already blogged about music festivals and you can read my post here: Music Festivals – A Platform for your Child. A music festival adjudicator’s job…
RIP RMS Titanic
As a classical pianist who gave recitals on cruise ships for many years, I couldn’t pass the anniversary of RMS Titanic’s sinking without any comment. The great ship sank beneath the icy waves of the North Atlantic Sea on April 15th 2012. I, like many others, have crossed that area of the Atlantic numerous times…
Stage Deportment: 5 tips
I have been attending several amateur music festivals lately giving me the perfect opportunity to observe the musical skills of young people, and some older ones, too. Most competitors are understandably nervous when faced with the prospect of an audience for the first time and it is especially daunting for small children. It’s interesting to…
Performance Anxiety: 5 top tips
Several readers wrote last week asking for advice on how to combat performance nerves and anxiety. They were disturbed and upset by the fact that they could practice a piece for months thinking they had perfected it, they then would perform the work and ‘go to pieces’. Performing is a huge topic and one that…