Encouragement to Play the Piano

The Good News About the Fact That Everyone Has a Weakness

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I’ve been teaching many years and one of the many things I have noticed over the years is that everyone has a weakness. What I mean by this is that everyone will have some aspect that they really have to work on, while other areas they will master quickly. I don’t mind admitting that my … Read more

Pursuing Playing the Piano Perfectly is Perhaps Piffle!

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I get it, I went a little overboard with the alliteration in the title and while the title of this blog sounds something quite frivolous, the actual topic is not frivolous at all, in fact I think it’s quite a serious topic to explore. Aiming for perfection in playing the piano is somewhat futile. Sure, … Read more

Why Learning to Play the Piano is a Lot Like Getting Fit

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I know that this seems rather strange, but for quite a while now I have thought that there is a number of similarities between learning to play the piano. Both learning to play the piano and getting fit are goals that people can set without knowing what the process is going to be or how … Read more

I Enjoy Listening to Popular Music, So Why Don’t I Like Playing it?

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In an earlier blog I revealed that while I do enjoy listening to modern popular music, I don’t play it unless there is a purpose with my music teaching. I get it, this seems somewhat odd. I do have my reasons apart from genuinely enjoying playing classical music more than I have ever enjoyed playing … Read more

What Adult Students Frequently Do But Kids Don’t

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Over the many years that I have taught the piano, I have seen many times the differences between adults piano students and kids who learn the piano. A big difference is the tone of the piano lesson. When I am teaching kids, it is very much I am running the lesson. I determine what needs … Read more

Learning a New Piece of Music is Really a Numbers Game

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Learning a new piece of music is really a numbers game sounds quite weird, but I think it can be a good way to approach learning a new piece of music. So often, particularly with a piece of music that is of a slightly higher skill level, we can become overwhelmed or doubt our ability … Read more

Jazz versus Modern versus Classical Piano – Which is the Best to Learn

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So which one is better to learn?  Is it jazz? Is it modern? Or is it classical? Well the simple answer is – it depends. I know its not much of an answer yet, but it really depends on which one you like the best. For me, it is classical piano, simply because it is … Read more