Playing the Piano for Pleasure

What Are Good Reasons for Learning to Play the Piano in Retirement

by

There are a number of perfectly valid reasons why someone would take up learning (or re-learning) to play the piano in retirement. The most obvious and I reckon the best reason is because they want to. Playing the piano can give so much joy to the one who plays, not just because of the music … Read more

So When is the Right Time to Quit?

by

This might seem like a strange article to have for a blog, where the aim is to encourage and give information to retirees who want to play the piano in their retirement, but I think it can be quite useful to discuss. There is actually two types of quitting I want to discuss. The first … Read more

Practicing is not Playing and Playing is not Practicing

by

So how can practicing the piano not be playing the piano and vice versa? The really simple answer is that both fulfil a completely different function. Playing a piece of music really happens once you have learned how to play the particular piece of music. You play a piece of music when you know it … Read more

Is Learning to Improvise and Essential Skill?

by

Is learning to improvise an essential skill for all piano players? Well it really all depends on who you ask. If you ask a classical piano player, they will tell you that it is not necessary at all, simply because classical musicians don’t improvise. The closest thing to improvising that classical musicians do is when … Read more

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