Creating Even Passagework

The following article was recently published in Pianist magazine’s newsletter (you can subscribe, here), and I hope it might be a useful practice tool for all those who are planning a weekend of piano practice! Creating even passages, devoid of lumps, bumps, and rhythmic jerkiness, can be a demanding challenge. How can we practice fruitfully,…

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Painless Piano Playing Part 3

Today’s article is the third, and final, in a series written for Piano Professional Magazine, the UK publication of EPTA (or the European Piano Teachers Assocation). This technique article was featured in their recent winter edition. It focuses on painless piano playing, a subject about which I am passionate! I hope you find it of…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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