Welcome to the first guest post of the year! I’m delighted to welcome back Jeni Warder, who is the founder and director of Keys Piano School in Bolton near Manchester. Jeni is a passionate piano and composition teacher and in this post she explores teaching Grade 1 composition; there is also a downloadble free resource…
Tag: Piano Teachers
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…
Preparing a new piano piece – Part 2
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…
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…
Music Teacher Associations & Webinar Events
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…
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…
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…
Melanie Spanswick 