Today’s guest post has been written by Israeli pianist, teacher and writer Rami Bar-Niv, who is no stranger to my blog. Rami has recently published a new book, ‘Piano Playing Wisdom’, and in this post, he writes about the inspiration behind it. Piano-Playing Wisdom After the success of my book ‘The Art of Piano Fingering:…
Tag: Practising the Piano
Classic Piano Repertoire: Intermediate level
This article is the second part of a three-post series delving into suitable repertoire intended to develop piano playing at whatever your current level: it was published earlier in the week on Pianist Magazine’s website. Whether your practice is structured so that you are able to tackle the following repertoire altogether, or you decide to…
Classic Piano Repertoire: Elementary Level
I usually focus on practice tips for my bi-monthly Pianist Magazine column (this article was published on Pianist’s website last month) but what we play is just as important as how we practice it. As a teacher, I’ve found that the ‘progression’ of piano music for a student is vital. I teach many younger students…
Singing Ourselves in Time
The following article was first published on Pianist Magazine’s website a few months ago as part of my ongoing ‘5 top tips’ series. Singing. It can be a useful tool for pianists, or any instrumentalist, to help shape phrases, particularly when practising slower cantabile-style nocturnes, where it can encourage us to pay closer attention to…
Going backwards to move forwards
My article for last month’s Pianist Magazine explores this important practice idea. As a general rule, I’m a fan of piano exams or any type of ‘test’ which encourages a student’s progress. Most teachers are delighted when their student gets to grips with a piece or an aspect of their piano playing enabling them to…
Recordings as a useful practice tool: 5 Tips
This article was recently published on Pianist Magazine’s website. Many believe that we shouldn’t listen to recordings of our pieces before we learn to play them mainly because we run the risk of ‘copying’ the artists we are hearing. However, recordings can be of real value during the learning process. Here’s how you can use…
Top Piano Practice Tips: An Interview
UK-based Marcel Zidani is a concert pianist, teacher, and composer. He runs a large Facebook group called Adult Piano Beginners (click here to join) which currently hosts over 44,000 members, and it was this group that proved the original inspiration for my own Facebook group, Adult Piano Returners (click here to join). Marcel is also…
Recording your piano playing – 5 Tips
This month’s Pianist Magazine newsletter article focuses on recording your piano playing. What with most examination boards now offering a video ‘recorded’ option or a digital exam, usually known as a ‘Performance’ exam, it seems that this way of presenting piano playing is becoming increasingly popular. When preparing to record any programme, knowing how to…
5 Tips To Help Finger Placement
This article was first published on Pianist Magazine’s website. An aspect of piano playing oft-forgotten by students is the importance of ‘placing’ the finger effectively on the key. This might sound unimportant, strange, or just plain daft! After all, we can all ‘play’ a note or depress a key with our fingers therefore it isn’t…
Performing for Fun: 5 Tips
This article was published last month on Pianist Magazine’s website. Why should we perform? Many of us merely want to play the piano in private just for fun and most crucially, to ourselves. So when someone suggests a possible performance, whether in a formal or informal setting, we can feel terrified. What if we make…
A New Practice Plan for the New Year
Happy New Year! I wish you a wonderful 2025 full of happiness, peace, success, and, of course, good health. The new year is upon us once again. One of the most popular topics in my Facebook piano group, Adult Piano Returners (find out more about this group, here), often centres around finding a workable…
5 Top Tips for Developing Legato Octaves
My newsletter article for Pianist Magazine this month focuses on playing octaves smoothly. It follows on from the last article, which offered a few exercises to loosen the hand so that octaves feel comfortable to play. You can read the previous article here. My last ‘5 Tips’ article focused on keeping the hand relaxed as…