Play is not a break from learning. It is endless, delightful, deep, engaging, practical learning. It’s the doorway into the child’s heart! Vince Gowmon Imagine there are two music rooms! In the first one Mrs Andante is teaching little Sophie the piano. They have just played some scales, with the teacher testing each one in…
A common question from parents is ‘how long should my child practice for?’. This is an interesting topic and one that can spark much debate between teachers, parents and students. Personally, I have never been a fan of clock watching while practising. The student can feel obligated to sit at the piano (or whatever instrument…
If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone. Great things don’t come from comfort zones Roy Bennett Some time ago I went rock climbing for the first time. I’m not great with heights so it was quite a big deal for me….
Teach the student first, the music second and the piano third Frances Clark At first glance you might look at this quote and think, ‘hang on, my job is to teach the piano, so why is it not top of the list?!’. But actually it highlights the importance of thinking about the individual when teaching….
“A student is almost always feeling motivated to practice, if he leaves his lesson feeling capable” Frances Clark Have you ever noticed a connection between how much practice a student does at home and how well their previous lesson went? One of my least favourite subjects at school was maths. I definitely leaned towards the…
The goal of practicing is to achieve a freedom of the mind that enables one to physically do whatever they want to do. Careful practicing eventually allows one the freedom to be spontaneous, to react onstage to the moment. Yo-Yo Ma Some practice inspiration for you today. This quote by cellist Yo-Yo Ma came up…
