This week I learned that nearly 60 of my original piano compositions have been included in the Australian Guild of Music & Speech examination board’s new 2026 piano exam syllabus. For a composer, it’s always a delight to hear that one’s music has been included in any publication, but for it to be featured in…
Tag: Piano Exams
Schott Student Edition: Scènes enfantines Op. 92 by Mélanie Bonis
This week marks the publication of my second volume highlighting the music of French late-Romantic composer Mélanie Bonis, or Mel-Bonis as she was often known. Book 1 was published in March and focuses on elementary pieces for children from the popular collection Album pour les tout-petits Op. 103, and you can find out more about…
The ARSM Diploma from a Student’s Perspective: Becky Flisher
I recently published a post about my experience working with three students who were all preparing for their ARSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music or ABRSM) performance diploma exam. You can read it here. Today’s guest post has been written by one of those students: Becky Flisher. Becky is an adult piano…
Ghostly Piano Tales: New Music for the Elementary Pianist
The Occult I wrote Ghostly Piano Tales nearly two years ago after becoming increasingly fascinated by the stories behind ghostly legends. I’ve always been interested in the occult, having experienced the supernatural at work. Most memorable was a surprise ‘sighting’ during a rehearsal at a medieval church in London around 25 years ago. I’d gone…
Teaching Observations: Piano Exams For All?
Today’s post is about piano exams. I’ve written about this particular topic on numerous occasions, but, as ever, teaching the piano is a process, for the teacher as much as the student, and it’s a process where our thoughts are constantly changing and evolving. My views here are based purely on my own experience as…
Teaching Observations: Too Small?
This is the second article as part of my new series Teaching Observations. These posts are focused on my thoughts and observations as a piano teacher. Perhaps you are a teacher and will empathize with my views – or you might disagree with them entirely! Either way, I aim to vocalise topics that are sometimes skirted…
My Notebooks – A Personal Journey: Angeline Bell
Regular readers of this blog will know that I enjoy publishing guest posts. Today’s writer is composer and piano teacher Angeline Bell. Angeline has recently published two new volumes of piano music with Editions Musica Ferrum, and, in this article, she takes us on her journey as a composer. Scroll to the end of the…
Teaching Observations: Those Pesky Photocopies
Today’s post heralds the start of a new series on my blog: Teaching Observations. These posts will include random teaching related topics which might be of interest to other teachers, students, or piano lovers. I hear and work with a wide variety of piano students. They are both in the UK and abroad. Some are…
Women Composers – A Graded Anthology For Piano: An Interview
A few months ago, I gave an interview for pianist and writer Rhonda Rizzo. This post was published on her blog No Dead Guys. Rhonda writes and publishes a wide variety of articles relating to piano playing and she also features many guest posts. This written interview focused on my new anthology, Women Composers –…
Chord Playing and Improvising: Christopher Norton
This is the first of five articles written especially for this blog by renowned composer and educator Christopher Norton. These posts are intended to encourage classical players (and teachers) to explore jazz and pop styles. ‘Deep in Thought’ is the first piece and you can download it here for free. Chris also offers some practice…
Border Tune: Christopher Norton
My guest writer this week is composer Christopher Norton. In this post, he offers practice suggestions for his work ‘Border Tune’, which is the second piece from the volume Country Preludes Collection for piano. This piece is featured in List B of the Trinity College London Grade 7 piano exam 2021 – 2023 syllabus. Background…
London College of Music Pre-Grade 1 Piano Exam Syllabus
I’m delighted to have written, compiled and annotated the new London College of Music Exams Pre-Grade 1 2021 – 2025 syllabus. I also worked on the Grade 1 – 8 2021 – 2025 piano syllabus, too, selecting some of the repertoire as well as writing many of the performance notes, as I had done for…