My guest writer today is pianist, composer, author, adjudicator, and music examiner, Mark Tanner. Mark has penned many piano and music-related publications. This includes The Mindful Pianist, published by Faber Music in 2016. He has also written numerous educational compositions. Many of these have been featured on various exam syllabuses. Today, he provides an insight…
Tag: Piano Teacher
Selecting & Practising Piano Exam Repertoire: Trinity College London Grade 4
Surveying the syllabus for Trinity College London Grade 4 (2015 – 2017), I’m happy to find a more eclectic mix of repertoire than that of the lower grades. From Haydn and McMillan to Gounod and Köhler, there’s definitely something for everyone in this collection. The pieces are also segregated into groups: ‘A’ and ‘B’. This…
Selecting & Practising Piano Exam Repertoire: ABRSM Grade 4
Today I am continuing my series on selected exam repertoire. I’ve chosen three complimentary pieces from the ABRSM Grade 4 list. They are taken from the main syllabus, as opposed to the alternative syllabus. I have offered five practice tips for each one. I have also selected a recording from the many on YouTube. Minuet…
9 Tips for Success in Your Piano Exam
Selecting and Practising Piano Exam Repertoire is a new series on my blog, which will begin in earnest next week. Today’s post is in preparation, offering a few practice ideas to make piano exam study a more fruitful and rewarding affair. Some of you have written requesting information about piano exam programmes and how best…
5 Top Tips to Aid Memorisation
Pianist Magazine produces a newsletter which wings its way into a reader’s e mail box every other month. It’s brimming with piano news and information, as well as a few articles. I write a regular ‘Piano Tips’ feature, and today’s post presents the most recent, which focuses on memorisation. Memorisation is a hotly debated topic…
Around the Globe Piano Music Festival 2016
Colet House is located on the perpetually busy Talgarth road to the west of London, where it’s the home of the Study Society. Behind a perfunctory, inconspicuous door, lies a rather grand entrance hall which deftly transports visitors to a bygone era. I love places like this: the mystery behind the facade, the labyrinth of…
5 Top Tips To Improve Your Listening Skills
My most recent Pianist Magazine newsletter article contains 5 tips designed to cultivate and improve our listening skills, and I thought it may be of interest to readers. We might think we hear what we play, but often our attention is focused elsewhere; finding notes, reading the score, pedalling – the list is endless. But…
The Mindful Pianist: Mark Tanner
The Mindful Pianist is a book written by British pianist, author, teacher, composer, researcher, examiner and adjudicator, Mark Tanner. This volume forms part of EPTA’s, or European Piano Teachers Association, Piano Professional Series, and is published by Faber Music. I invited Mark to answer twelve questions about his life and diverse career as a musician. You’ve…
10 Top Tips To Pass Your Piano Exam
As the new term gets underway, many will be preparing for music exams at the end of the year. The aim of this post is to provide a few extra pointers and ideas for last-minute preparations Once the pieces have been learned, scales, arpeggios and technical work is all in place, how can students feel…
The Power of Repetition
Finding the appropriate practice tool for a specific issue can be a matter of trial and error. When all the usual methods have been exhausted or perhaps overused, it’s time to try new ideas and find a fresh approach to nail that awkward passage. Recently, I’ve been working with a couple of students who are…