Today’s post features jazz pianist James Booker. This article has been written by British jazz pianist, composer and educator Tim Richards, who currently teaches jazz and blues piano privately and at Morley College in London. He is the author of several acclaimed Schott publications including ‘Improvising Blues Piano’ and ‘Exploring Jazz Piano’. ‘Beginning Jazz Piano’…
Tag: Schott Music
TIPA Live Show
Last week I wrote about the Tokyo International Piano Association (you can read this blog post, here), and this week I would like to continue with a little information about the new TIPA Live Show which will be taking place each month, hosted by TIPA’s artistic director, Aisa Ijiri. Japanese pianist Aisa will interview a…
Chakra Suite for Clarinet & Piano
Those of us who teach have been generally been fortunate during the pandemic, what with online platforms such as Skype and Zoom offering the opportunity to continue with our work. I’ve been able to sustain my teaching, but all my workshop tours were, of course, cancelled or postponed. Whilst initially disappointed, I was able to…
Simply Driven: 5 Virtuoso Pieces
Simply Driven, published by Schott Music in their renowned Edition Schott Series, is a collection of five original pieces. These works are intended for advanced to virtuoso level pianists and each piece proffers a completely different character, whilst still reflecting minimalist influences. Composed over a period of a year, four of the five pieces were…
Indonesian Charm
Over the past nine days I have been touring in the Far East. It’s always a pleasure to work with students and teachers in different parts of the world, and fascinating to note the various similarities in teaching styles, despite the cultural differences. I began my trip in Indonesia, a country I visited briefly last…
A String of Pearls
It’s always a happy experience when one’s work is published, irrespective of the publication or publisher. But this new volume (pictured above) is a really exciting one for me. In 2017, pianists and teachers Alla Levit and Antonina Lax invited me to write a piano duet for one of their forthcoming UK tours. Alla, who…
Touring in Singapore and Malaysia
If you’ve been following my social media sites, you’ll know I’ve been working in Singapore and Johor Bahru (in Malaysia) over the past week. I aim to organise several overseas book tours per year as I love to travel, and I also enjoy meeting teachers and students from different parts of the world. I’m extremely…
Play it again: PIANO Book 3
Play it again: PIANO is a four-book piano course intended for adult and teenage pianists who have played the piano before and are ‘returning’ to enjoy this pursuit. Book 3 follows directly on from Book 2 of my series. As a recap, Play it again: PIANO Book 1 and 2 were both published in 2017, and…
Play it again: PIANO workshop at the Frankfurt Music Fair
I’m really looking forward to giving a presentation and workshop at this year’s Frankfurt Music Fair or Musikmesse which takes place from April 2nd – 5th. My workshop will be held on Thursday April 4th at 2.00pm. This presentation focuses on Play it again: PIANO Book 1, 2 and 3. Book 3 will be officially…
Five New Year Tips to Seriously Improve Your Piano Playing in 2019
Happy New Year! It’s January 1st 2019 and I hope you have all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s Eve. At the start of any new year, we make resolutions, create new goals, or perhaps re-evaluate or reflect on existing goals. It’s the perfect time to revisit our hobbies, or investigate new ones. Many…
Basic Tips for Healthy Piano Playing
Earlier this month I presented a workshop for piano teachers at Millers Music in Cambridge. This activity will become increasingly important during 2019. Schott and I have organised several workshops across the country. I’m really looking forward to meeting and working with teachers and students. The following article was published on Millers Music shop website…
No Words Necessary: 12 Piano Pieces
No Words Necessary marks my debut as a Schott Music composer and it consists of a selection of twelve piano pieces for intermediate level, or for students of approximately Grades 3 – 7 standard of the ABRSM, Trinity College London, or London College of Music exams. I wrote the pieces earlier this year during my…