‘My little finger just won’t work on its own’; how often have I heard this phrase from disgruntled piano students? Too often is the answer. Pupils invariably spend so much time focusing on and looking at the music on the desk, that they forget all about posture and technique. One of the major technical obstacles…
Tag: tuition
More Memorising tips
I had some interesting responses to the post I wrote a few days ago dealing with memorisation (which you can read here). It was suggested that I should also focus on what happens when memory fails, that is, a memory slip! Therefore, here are my thoughts on this incredibly stressful event in any pianist’s life….
Memorising your piano pieces
‘Who developed the concept of playing from memory?’ This question is pursued on the lips of many piano pupils, conservatoire students, and professionals. Memorising a work, or playing without the score, certainly puts an extra strain on an artist. Every note must be meticulously rehearsed and learned to the point of distraction, or, might I…
The Joys of the Parent Pupil.
The new term brings fresh challenges and new pupils for many music teachers. One interesting group of prospective students is the ‘parent’ pupil. A parent will occasionally announce that they wish to start playing the piano alongside their child. There are many reasons for this; it may be that they want to keep an eye…
The Kodály Method: a useful way to study music?
In the last blog post I examined the importance and value of the Suzuki Method. Today I am continuing my exploration of various music educational systems by highlighting the Kodály Method. Unlike the Suzuki, this Method focuses on studying singing, pitch and musical notation rather than learning an instrument, however, these elements are crucial to…
Help I can’t sing! – Aural Tests
As the music exam period is almost upon us, I thought I’d focus on one of the most neglected areas of any piano exam; Aural Tests. It’s easy to go along to your lesson every week and focus on your pieces, scales and sight reading, and completely forget about aural tests. This is an oversight…
Melanie Spanswick 