Today’s article featured in Pianist Magazine’s most recent newsletter. It focuses on basic practice suggestions and ideas for when learning a new piece. This article is part 2 of the process and you can read the Part 1, here. In my last article, Preparing A New Piece – 5 Tips Part 1, I offered several…
Tag: Piano Lessons
The Lightbulb Moment: Why Piano Lessons Could be the Perfect Gift for Adults – Jeni Warder
As we approach that time of year where gifts and ‘present lists’ for our nearest and dearest come into sharp focus, piano teacher and founder of Keys Piano School Jeni Warder offers some excellent reasons why the gift of music is the ultimate choice. In my house, December traditions don’t include hot chocolate and movie…
5 tips on preparing a new piano piece: Part 1
In the latest Pianist Magazine Newsletter, I focus on preparing a new piano piece. This is a three-part series. Part 1 looks at the periphery and early stages of preparing your piece. When learning a new piece, there are so many considerations. How will you start? Do you like to listen to several performances? Or…
Chord Playing and Improvising 3: Christopher Norton
Today I welcome back world-renowned composer Christopher Norton to my blog. Chris is contributing a series of guest articles, each one offering a free download of one of his piano pieces, as well as plenty of practice tips, suggestions and advice. A Gentle Touch, an early intermediate level piece, is number three in the series…
5 Tips For Breath Control
My latest article for Pianist Magazine’s newsletter and online content, focuses on breath control. I hope you find it of interest. Breath control. It might be a topic more closely associated with singing than piano playing, but developing secure breath control can by a most helpful asset, especially for those who regularly perform. Once this…
The Craft of Piano Tuning: Eric Tan
Today’s guest post has been written by piano tuner Eric Tan. Eric is based in Los Angeles, USA, where he runs his own tuning studio. In this post, he offers a detailed account of how to tune your own instrument, which, as he explains, can be a most useful tool for pianists. The Benefits of…
Women Composers – A Graded Anthology: Pianist Magazine Competition & Schott Interview
Pianist Magazine is currently running a competition featuring Books 1, 2 and 3 of my new series. The competition can be found on Pianist’s website and the closing date is May 10th. You can enter to win a copy of Book 1 here, Book 2, here, and Book 3, here. Just click on the links…
First Repertoire For Little Pianists
I first started teaching the piano at the age of fifteen – far too young, many would say, and they’d be right! But, encouraged by my teacher, who ran a piano school, I often taught the school’s younger students, and I was always interested to discover various beginners’ methods. My first teacher used her own…
Attuning Our Listening Skills
My most recent post for Pianist Magazine’s newsletter focuses on our ability to ‘hear’ what we are playing. I hope you find it of interest. One of the most important piano playing skills that we need to assimilate is the ability to listen. I spent my college years struggling with aural tests, especially the atonal…
Snapchats Duets & Trios: New recordings by Christopher Norton
Snapchats was originally a collection of short piano duets which was published a few years ago. The volume was republished and updated in 2019, with the inclusion of extra duets and piano trios. This new version has proved popular with both children and adult students, and I always enjoy using them in my own sight-reading…
Melanie Spanswick 