Piano technique can be problematic for many students. Questions surrounding this aspect of piano playing are more frequent than any other in my experience, and this is certainly true in my Adult Piano Returner Facebook group: if you have a Facebook account but have yet to discover this group which now has 31,000 members, click…
Tag: Piano Technique
Butterflies: Rami Bar-Niv
Pianist, teacher, and composer Rami Bar-Niv continues his journey into piano technique and today’s post is the fifth in the series for this blog. Many thanks to those of you who’ve written to tell us how much you have been enjoying these articles. The fifth pillar of my five main piano-playing-technique pillars is the butterfly…
Three-Part Webinar for Pianist Magazine
I’ve been contributing articles to Pianist Magazine for over 10 years. During that time I’ve written an elementary ‘How-To-Play’ column—over 60 in total—for each issue and have composed an elementary piano piece—just over 15 so far—as part of the piano score section. I’ve also contributed regularly to Pianist’s blog, writing a series of ‘5-tips’ style posts. It’s been…
Grabbing: Rami Bar-Niv
The first guest post of the year has been written by pianist, teacher, and composer Rami Bar-Niv. This is the fourth article in his piano technique series for this blog. Here, Rami highlights the importance of the ‘grabbing’ movement as part of developing a secure piano technique. The fourth pillar of my five main piano-playing-technique pillars…
The Beauty of the Rotation Technique: Rami Bar-Niv
Pianist, teacher, and composer Rami Bar-Niv returns this week to continue his excellent, and very popular, series here on my blog. Rami’s articles are focusing various aspects of piano technique and today’s surveys the rotation technique. A rotational movement is the movement we do when we turn a doorknob or a key in a door….
The Magic of Wrist Circles: Rami Bar-Niv
Today’s post is the second in a series of articles focusing on piano technique written by guest writer Rami Bar-Niv. Rami is an Israeli pianist, teacher, writer, and composer based in the US. Here, he discusses the importance of wrist circles. Wrist Circles is one of the important piano-playing techniques. It enhances legato, phrasing (also…
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. Others admit to feeling isolated and ‘lonely’ during the working week. Many teachers work all day on a Saturday, too, leading…
Developing the Fourth and Fifth Finger
My most recent piano technique feature article for Piano Professional, which is the European Piano Teachers Association’s primary UK publication, focuses on a host of different ways to help students become aware, and start using (albeit carefully), their fourth and fifth fingers. I hope it’s of interest. In my last article, I discussed the importance…
No Pain, No Gain?
How many times have you heard this phrase? A fair few, I would imagine. It may be true for some activities. These might be the ones where grit and determination are necessary to achieve a desired outcome. But this phrase certainly does not apply to the activity of playing the piano. Yet, increasingly, pianists suffer…
Painless Piano Playing Part 1
This post was initially printed in Issue 50 of Piano Professional. This magazine is for piano teachers and is published by EPTA (or the European Piano Teachers Association). My article focuses on an aspect of playing which I feel is extremely important: flexibility. In it, I concentrate on simple exercises which students find helpful as…
Piano teaching in Asia 2018
I have just returned from another enjoyable and successful book tour. This tour was the busiest yet with visits to four countries and multiple cities; Singapore, Malaysia (Melaka and Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia (Jakarta and Surabaya), and Hong Kong. On this trip I was fortunate to have company: I gave teaching workshops alongside colleagues Samantha Ward,…
Jackdaws Piano Course 2019
The Jackdaws Music Educational Trust instrumental and vocal courses are open for booking today. The 2018/19 programme offers more variety than ever, so there is sure to be something for everyone. The course venue, an attractive house in Somerset, near Frome, contains excellent facilities, including a Steinway Model B piano, and several practice rooms. If you…