Playing the Piano for Pleasure

Pursuing Playing the Piano Perfectly is Perhaps Piffle!

by

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

How to Instantly Make Your Playing Sound Better

by

I was watching a You Tube video the other day and it featured this woman starting to play the beginning of Beethoven’s Fur Elise, which you might not be familiar with the name, but you would have definitely heard it before. I could tell that this woman had only been playing the piano for a … Read more

Can Poor Technique Cause Paralysis and Pain?

by

Years ago I heard a story of a professional violinist that developed RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) where the pain and strain got so bad that the muscles in her arms and shoulders locked up and that some everyday tasks became impossible. For a whole year she couldn’t play at all. For several years she had … Read more

Do You Really Need to Follow the Fingering on Piano Music?

by

It really doesn’t matter which style of music you like to play or how easy or complicated it is, there is bound to be some sort of fingering added to the music. Sometimes there is a little and sometimes there is a lot. Let me be clear: The fingering that you see on the page … Read more

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

by

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?

by

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

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

by

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