Piano teachers tend to sit in a room all day. As one student leaves another appears and this repetitive cycle can go on for hour after hour. Some are happy with this status quo, whilst others admit to feeling isolated and ‘lonely’ during the working week – or the weekend, as many teachers work all…
Tag: EPTA
The Thumb
I’ve published articles in Piano Professional, which is the magazine published by EPTA UK (European Piano Teachers Association), for the past 8 years. My latest, which was published in Issue 54, focuses on the thumb. I hope you find it of interest. Thumbs. We know they form an important part of our hand, but how…
The Bridge Position
Today’s post features my latest technique article for Piano Professional (published by EPTA or the European Piano Teachers Association). If you aren’t aware of this organisation, may I suggest visiting their website for more details. This article highlights the Bridge Position, which is generally considered an important assumed hand position for pianists. I hope it’s…
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…
Painless Piano Playing Part 1
Today’s post was originally printed in the recent edition of Piano Professional, a magazine for piano teachers published by EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association). It focuses on an aspect of playing which I feel is extremely important: flexibility. This article concentrates on simple exercises which students find helpful as they start their practice sessions. Playing…
Approaches to Staccato Playing
I’m a regular contributor to Piano Professional, the British European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA) magazine; I really enjoy writing for this publication, which focuses on providing piano teachers with helpful information. The following article was written for Issue 43 (published earlier this year), and examines various approaches to staccato. I hope it’s of interest. When…
Weekend Competition! Safari by June Armstrong
My competition this weekend features a new collection of beginner to pre-grade one piano pieces written by composer June Armstrong. Safari consists of 23 elementary pieces and follows the course of a day in Africa, starting with African Dawn and ending with Night Sky with Stars. You can meet all the animals along the way…
The Art of Polyphony: 12 Top Tips
Today’s post features an article I wrote for Piano Professional Magazine, an EPTA or the European Piano Teachers Association publication. It was published in June this year, and focuses on a few practice suggestions for counterpoint (or polyphony). There are so many different ways to work at this demanding style, and my thoughts are based…
9 Top Tips for Practising Octaves
Octaves, or playing an interval of eight notes, can be a splendid and comfortable technical tool. However, for many they cause grief and even worse, pain. I wrote the following article for the EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association) magazine, Piano Professional and I hope it may be helpful. There’s a downloadable PDF at the end…
Weekend Competition: Piano by Ear
Piano by Ear is written by Lucinda Mackworth-Young, and published by Faber Music. It’s released for sale TODAY! So one lucky competition winner will have a hot-off-the-press copy. Lucinda has written a very detailed and practical book designed to help pianists of all ages and all standards, although probably for those of Grade 3/4 or early Intermediate…
Melanie Spanswick 