My guest writer today is pianist, composer, and teacher Tamara Barschak. Tamara trained as a classical pianist for many years under Fred Lewin and then under Roger Green of Trinity College of Music. She branched out into Jazz, funk, and blues and went to live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she studied Brazilian musical…
Tag: Trinity College London Exams
Teaching Through Composition: Thinking in phrases at Initial level – Jeni Warder
Teacher, writer and composer Jeni Warder has penned my latest guest article. Jeni, who owns and runs the Keys Piano School in Bolton, UK, is writing a regular column on this blog. Here, she is focusing on teaching composition to young students. You can read Jeni’s previous posts here and here. Recently I was given…
10 Tips for Piano Exam Success
I’m excited to have been invited to be an Honorary Master Teacher at the Tom Lee Academy in Hong Kong, and I’m looking forward to visiting the academy every year to work specifically with piano teachers. My first blog post for the Tom Lee website focuses on piano exams. This perennially popular subject is suitably…
Intervals – training or teaching? George Bevan
In my second guest post of this new series, George Bevan, an organist, choirmaster and Director of Music at Monkton Combe School, writes about his experiences whilst teaching intervals, and offers some suggestions for effectively tutoring this important skill. I hope this may be useful for all who teach instrumental music exams. It is not…
Selecting & Practising Piano Exam Repertoire: Trinity College London Grade 5
Continuing with my series surveying piano exam repertoire, today’s post examines Trinity College London Grade 5. List A offers a diverse and well-chosen collection of pieces. It includes composers such as Richard Jones, Anton Diabelli, Moritz Vogel, and Dmitri Kabalevsky. Each candidate must prepare three exercises. These are played alongside scales and arpeggios. These exercises…
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…