Piano and keyboard, tuition and performance
Piano and keyboard, tuition and performance
Throughout your musical journey, I aim for a balance between enjoyment and progress. Tailoring the choice of pieces, studies and scales to what each pupil wants and will practice.
I listen to each parent/pupil to establish their objectives so that we can choose books containing tunes and tasks that are suited to their age and abilities. Alternatively, you may have a book or piece of music which you would like to accomplish. The good news is that there is now a wide range of easy-to-play versions of popular tunes which you should be able to play in a matter of months.
The Italian pianist Vanessa Benelli Mosell (b 1988) sums up my thoughts here: “Technique is just a way to achieve expression, and sometimes a difficult passage can be solved by thinking about what you are trying to express; they are one thing together”.
Sometimes I hear younger musicians dismiss any interest in developing a pianistic technique with a comment like “just express your heart”. This sounds lovely but I’ve yet to hear that comment from a pianist who has reached grade 8 or above. My most advanced pupils are also very likely to need no prompting to ask questions regarding how to master difficulties in pieces. For example, RSI (repetitive strain injury) is caused by bad practice technique and (if unchecked) can ruin your ability to play due to the pain in the arms/back etc.
If your technique is ‘bad”, you: (1) may develop RSI; (2) take longer to master a passage/piece than necessary; and (3) find some chords/runs/riffs/whole pieces impossible to play.
Scales are relatively easy to memorise and therefore you can concentrate on using them for warming up and developing dexterity and technique.. For example: try C major scale hands together with LH staccato and RH legato. This will help develop independence of the hands. A solid skill in playing the major and minor scales in all the keys is very useful for improvising and playing by ear (not just for jazz- we can improvise in a classical manner), as well as simply getting started with a new piece in an unfamiliar key.
I use an extensive repertoire for piano and keyboard tuition, and am always introducing new material.
I will advise which are the best music books to buy. You can either purchase these yourself or I can get them for you at cost price. Generally speaking, classical sheet music tends to be cheaper than pop and rock because of the longevity of the composers.
Older students might be keen to choose the music themselves, which can be best as this will encourage practicing. The exception is music for exams, where we will have to work with a syllabus set by the exam board.
Perhaps you are composing your own music? The piano remains an excellent resource for trying out your own compositions. I am very happy to work with your own material, although to achieve full development of your technique (including independence of left and right hands) you will need to learn music by other composers as well.
Amazon and Musicroom.com are reliable online suppliers.
Please acquire all your music legally and think carefully before downloading certain free alternatives: illegal copies are killing high street music shops and are increasing the cost of all sheet music.
There are so many books and resources available for piano and keyboard that it is relatively easy for a keyboard teacher to take the lead from the pupil when considering what is actually studied: classical, pop, rock, jazz, easy listening and so on. Sometimes a pupil will suggest an artist or song and that will take us into an area I’ve not specifically touched on before.
The Complete Keyboard Player is a fantastic resource which runs to four levels as well as offering optional books of various styles and songs, for example, film music.
For younger children the Progressive Electronic Keyboard Method for Young Beginnners, which runs to 3 books with two supplementary volumes, is an excellent starting point.
Also useful is Kids Keyboard Course (books 1 and 2) (although the artwork is not nearly as attractive) and the LCM Electronic keyboard Handbook.
I offer adults every encouragement to take up piano or keyboard, regardless of age.
Adults approach learning piano with a great appreciation of music and an acceptance that practice is essential to progress. The average adult has much more appreciation of music than children. However, the older an adult is, the muscles and brain might not acquire new concepts and skills as quickly as in their younger years. The good news is that in the first 6 months it is common for adults to progress much quicker than children as they are more committed. However, continuous progress for adults is usually slightly slower, please do not be discouraged as you will see improvement through practice.
So – my word of caution: not every adult realises just how patient they have to be before they can tackle their favourite piece: it is often gallons of patience practice that is required. Whether it is Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata, a Chopin waltz or Elton John’s Candle in the Wind, none of these four pieces can be tackled (apart from greatly simplified editions) by someone immediately.
Classically trained pianists have normally developed a very healthy respect for the written symbols on the page. If Beethoven wrote an F# for 2 beats then that is what we should play. In the classical sphere, there has always been great emphasis on learning to read music symbols (the black dots etc). Classical piano music also (on the whole) requires a disciplined approach. For example, not only must two clefs be learned to read classical piano music, but there has to be a certain studiousness. Read any edition of the “Pianist” magazine and you will regularly see how articles on various aspects require you to work hard and to approach matters with the discipline and patience of a top sports star.
Pop music works in a different way as it does not require as much of an academic approach to written music. Often, for example, pop musicians will work with their own compositions as opposed to the vast majority of amateur classical pianists, who rarely compose their own material. Although there is a market for ‘cover’ bands who specialise in reproducing exactly what Coldplay, Abba, The Beatles (or whoever) did with a song, pop musicians usually strive to reproduce their own new songs, style, sound and (of course) image. When they are honest, they admit that they have influences. Very rarely are we able to find music books which reproduce exactly [in treble/bass clef or even guitar TAB] what The Beatles, Genesis, ELO, Take That etc actually sang and played.
So, it’s not that one is better or worse than the other: it is simply a different way of playing and enjoying music.
Jazz is not simply playing by ear. And playing by ear is not necessarily jazz. True jazz is essentially improvisation in styles largely derived from the African-American communities in the USA and was in full blossom by the 1920s. Its essence can be ragtime, New Orleans, swing, big band and the more art-form-like be-bop to name just a few incarnations. Also, improvising is not necessarily playing jazz: classical musicians have improvised for centuries. Regarding Jazz: I love the work of Brubeck, Shearing, Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum and others; they are amazing and have enriched music wonderfully; but teaching improvisation is not yet a strong point of mine, so please be aware of that if improvisation is what you are after. Having said that, if you are happy to work on jazzy/pop pieces that are fully written out on treble and bass, that’s fine. Examples of such books are found in the “Making the Grade” series, books by John Kember, Cornick, Norton, to name a few.
Christian praise and worship music is a repertoire I am delighted to help with as I am Church Organist. Usually those who are interested in Christian music already attend a church and appreciate that this aspect of their lessons is not helped by a good repertoire of relevant graded resources: often the solo piano arrangements of praise and worship are not very pianistic at all; but it can be an opportunity to develop “playing by ear”. Composers include Kendrick, Townend, Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, as well as traditional hymns.
I am very happy to teach pupils who have no intention of sitting exams. Exams are a good way to assess progress with an external body, such as ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music), LCM (London College of Music), Trinity (formerly Trinity/Guildhall) or VCM (Victoria College). The grade exams of the relatively new “Rock School” are also receiving very good reviews.
Piano grade exams can be a bit nerve-racking. However, the examiners of today are trained in trying to put pupils at ease. Please please keep in mind that piano grades are not to be considered if the pupil is not ready for them. The approach that pupils will only practice if they know that they will be sitting an exam in 6 weeks time is generally far from ideal. An alternative is entering for festivals, or LCM “Leisure Play” assessments. Leisure Play has no scale/sight reading or aural requirements, but the (four) pieces are marked to the same standard as grade exams.
Exams can be a stimulus to very healthy practice and I admit that I (as the teacher) gain a tremendous sense of achievement every time they pass. Pupils usually surge ahead in the development of technique when they prepare for exams. To pass an exam, you really need to have something of the ‘performer’ spirit in you. It seems obvious, but many people seem to miss this fact: you are performing to an examiner.
No, you don’t have to do all the exams in sequence. Most of the exam boards have 9 levels of exam going from Initial/Preparatory and then through Grades 1 to 8. You’re usually ready for the Initial/Preparatory level after between one and two years of learning the basics. You can dip in and out of the levels depending purely on your own preferences
First of all, you do not have to sit any of the graded exams as part of the Scottish school exams for music and neither do you get any exemption from the school exams for having passed any of the graded exams. However, the requirements of the school music exams are specifically cross-referenced to the music exam board grades and, therefore, once you’ve learned pieces at the appropriate level you can use them for both sets of exams. The requirements for the practical element of each of the main school music exams are stated as being equivalent to the graded exams as follows:
The best way to answer that question is to watch an exam! Fortunately, the Trinity exam board has provided a video of an exam. Although it’s of someone sitting a cello exam, the format is the same for piano exams (and is broadly the same for the other exam boards, such as ABRSM):
The Falkirk area does not have an exam centre. The nearest centres for the main examining bodies are Dunfermline, Edinburgh and Glasgow. (Until recently there was also an ABRSM centre in Stirling, but that option is in doubt for the future.) Each centre has its unique pros and cons: some people prefer a centre with a practice piano. Others prefer the nearest to their home/school.
Exam boards (not teachers) set fees for each exam. Basically the more advanced the grade, the longer the pupil will be in the exam room (around 10 minutes for practical Grade 1). Therefore, the higher the grade (pieces are longer and more scales to be heard etc) , more of the examiner’s time is required: they are experts who deserve considerably more than the minimum wage. Exam boards are not charities. It is not my policy to charge extra myself for exam preparation: I make NO extra money out of helping pupils through exams, unless the pupil/parent requests extra lessons.