Should We Care About the Sheet Music We Play From?
In the days of yore (well, let's say 20 years ago), when I wanted a piece of sheet music, I really had two options: either I went to a music…
DipLCM in Piano Performance: My Experiences
I almost subtitled this post: ‘Anyone can do a diploma if I can, three days after coming out of hospital, and minus my gallbladder’… As I think everyone knows by…
Managing the Cost of Music Tuition: Practical Advice
Some of you may have seen this BBC news article/report this morning. To my mind, the article completely fails to offer any practical advice about budgeting towards music tuition at…
Teaching Diplomas: How Long Does It Take to Prepare?
One of the questions I’m asked probably more than any other is how long it will take to prepare for your teaching diploma. As you might expect, the honest answer…
“Where Am I Going?”: Motivation and Learning
This is a slightly adapted version of an article which appeared in my end-of-term newsletter. One of the questions learners frequently ponder is ‘Where am I going?’ Everyone wants their…
What Is Practice?
I asked for suggestions for possible subjects to be covered by future blog posts, and the thing which came up over and over again was practice! Here is the first…
DipABRSM: Where to start with the Written Submission
Anyone considering taking the DipABRSM in Teaching will nearly always, after reading the syllabus, begin by preparing the written submission. As the submission has to be sent with the entry…
Sight-Reading Doesn’t Have to Be Stressful
Mention 'sight-reading', and many musicians can already be seen running for the nearest exit. Over the years, two distinct sorts of sight-reading appear to have emerged: firstly, there's sight-reading (i.e.…
How to Choose a Music Teacher
One of the questions which comes up so often, not just amongst parents but amongst adult pupils too, is how do you go about finding a teacher? Surprisingly, even as…
Help! I’ve Got an Audition
I quite often get enquiries from people who need help preparing for an audition; indeed, several of my own singing pupils have needed help along the way too. For some…
Getting the Most Out of Exams
At some time or another, most of the pupils I teach (including adults) want to get an independent assessment of their progress – an exam. With another session of exams…
Difficulty Level
As you can imagine, it's very difficult to assign a level of difficulty to individual works. Every piece presents its own particular challenges and each individual will approach these in…