I couldn’t let this weekend pass without a nod to the new age dawning upon us here in the UK. The Coronation of King Charles III will no doubt be a traditional and lavish affair, and whether you are a fan of the royal family or not, the sheer scale of this historical event is…
Tag: Piano Students
Teaching Observations: A Mindful Approach
The third post in my new series, Teaching Observations, focuses on a perennial issue; ensuring students can find the necessary focus, discipline, and concentration required for real progress. Over the past few years, I have taught pupils who were most able and could find their way around the keyboard with relative ease. Notes were generally…
The 4th Montecatini International Piano Competition
Over the past few years, I have been fortunate to be a jury member at several international piano competitions. Most of these have been online, which, thanks to the pandemic, has started a new ‘trend’. There are clearly some disadvantages to hearing young pianists perform in this situation regarding sound and instrument quality, but, generally,…
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…
Middle Eastern Odyssey
I’ve wanted to work in the Middle East for a while and have been busy hatching a suitable plan to present my books and workshops to teachers and students. Most countries in this part of the world are not known for their love of Western music education and it’s this relative indifference that caught my…
The Thinking Pianist: David Jones
My guest post today has been written by David Jones who is Head of Keyboard Studies at Cheltenham Ladies’ College. Earlier this year, David inaugurated a new piano course held at Cheltenham Ladies College; The Thinking Pianist. After an extremely successful pilot course in July 2021, The Thinking Pianist, will now offer a more expansive…
2021 Online Global Piano Summit II
The 2021 Online Global Piano Summit was inaugurated last year and is returning by popular demand. The founding members, American concert pianist and Professor of Piano at Peabody Institute Dr. Steven Spooner and Chinese concert pianist Dr. Mei Li, are also co-founders of the International Institute for Piano Artistry, which hosts events such as the…
Pianist Magazine’s New Online Piano Courses
Renowned teacher and writer Graham Fitch and I will be hosting new online courses for Pianist Magazine. This will be the first time the magazine has ventured into piano lessons, and the new courses and workshops will hopefully encourage regular readers to engage with Pianist’s teachers and writers. Graham’s course, which is intended for those…
Weekend Competition: the winners
Many thanks to all those who took part in this weekend’s competition. I really enjoyed reading your lovely comments. The prize was a copy of the new Faber Music Easy Piano Anthology for two lucky readers. Those winners are: LYNNE CONWAY and TAMARA BARSCHAK CONGRATULATIONS! Please send your name and address via the contact page…
The Faber Music Easy Piano Anthology: Weekend Competition
It’s time for a Summer weekend competition, and today’s chosen publication is the new Faber Music Easy Piano Anthology. Over the years, I’ve covered many of Faber’s new piano publications, and this one, in my opinion, will be particularly useful for teachers and their elementary students, due to the fact that most of the chosen…
Melanie Spanswick 