Andrew Eales

Music Teaching for Special Educational Needs

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Faber Music continue to produce outstanding books to support instrumental teachers, the latest of which is Music Teaching for Special Educational Needs: a guide for instrumental teachers, written by David Baker. According to the publishers,

”This comprehensive guide provides a solid foundation for teachers wanting to understand and support music students with additional needs. It covers dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder and visual, auditory and physical disabilities, and is packed with up-to-date information, helpful pedagogical starting points, case studies, practical advice, ideas for reflective practice and further reading.”

This is undoubtedly a timely book, and one which promises to usefully fill a significant gap in the market for an accessible introduction to these topics, so let’s take a closer look from a piano teaching perspective…

Summer Repertoire Project

Active Repertoire Project

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

Summer is here, and as John Kirkwood puts it in his book The Way of the Five Seasons (2016):

“Following the rapid upward growth of spring, it is as if nature is now reaching outwards to fill as much space as it can.
Like a ball tossed in the air which reaches its apogee before descending, summer is the highest peak of growth when things can grow no further, and seem to hang in mid-air for a time, celebrating the fullness of expansion.”

As nature “reaches outwards to fill as much space as it can”, we too step into a larger vista, embracing the season with outdoor events, barbecues, social gatherings with family and friends, summer courses, camps and festivals.

Why not share student images and videos?

Pianodao Articles • Full Archive

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

Scroll through your social media feeds, and if you’ve ever taken an interest in piano education it’s likely you will come across videos of children receiving tuition, students performing in events, and celebratory photos of them with certificates or trophies. The desire to share such media online is understandable from a number of angles.

Firstly, and most obviously, it seems entirely appropriate for parents to celebrate their children’s musical achievements on their private page in this way, and potentially for teachers and schools to do the same.

As the NSPCC put it,

“It’s important that children and young people feel happy about their achievements and have images of their special moments for themselves and their families to look back on. This might include photos and videos taken by teachers during school performances and special events, or by staff and volunteers delivering events and activities outside of school.”

Secondly, there are good reasons for teachers to share videos on forums when seeking advice from colleagues: what better way to explain a technical challenge or developmental issue when seeking an expert second opinion?

Thirdly, some teachers use pupil videos to promote their teaching. I am less comfortable with this, concerned it could skew our attitude towards learners who don’t enjoy performing, and lead to prescriptive teaching in which we might tend towards cloning our interpretation of music rather than nurturing our pupils’ own response. Nevertheless, as a colleague explained to me recently, she sees videos of pupils as her “professional portfolio”.

We should note that there’s a big difference between

public publishing: for example, on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or a teacher’s public website, and
private sharing: such as in a secure, password-protected web space, or a private WhatsApp group.

This article pertains particularly to publishing on public platforms. Why are many professionals opposed to the practice of sharing images and videos of piano students publicly online?

And what are the legal, ethical, and professional concerns that teachers and parents should understand and consider carefully before we post or share media online?

These are questions that I have had to grapple with over recent years, and look into from a number of angles: as a teacher, business and website owner, and online forum moderator. In this article I will outline what I’ve found…

LCME Piano Syllabus 2026

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

In the rapidly changing landscape of graded piano exams, the regular appearance of new syllabus and varied repertoire publications has remained a positive constant, so when LCME’s 2021-24 piano specifications expired, it was a surprise that they were extended pending a replacement.

This appears to be because the board has undergone considerable change during and since the pandemic. With new leadership and systems now in place, LCME are firmly back, and have this week published the long awaited new piano syllabus, wisely billed as being “valid for examinations from 2026 until further notice”.

Although the new syllabus is immediately valid from 1st September 2026, the previous 2021 syllabus will also remain valid until 31st July 2027 (but mixing the two is not allowed).

In this extended review, I will consider the new repertoire selections and ‘Piano Handbook’ publications, offer insight into other significant syllabus changes and options, and reflect on LCME’s continuing place within the piano exam market.

So to answer the big question many will have, has the wait for the new LCME piano syllabus been worth it? Let’s find out…

Phillip Keveren • Jazz Preludes

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

The Phillip Keveren Series remains one of Hal Leonard’s notably popular successes, bursting at the seams with his collections of jazz and popular piano arrangements as well as original and fresh educational music.

The latest addition to the series is Jazz Preludes for Piano, which offers:

“15 concise preludes designed to introduce a traditional pianist to the spices that season the language of jazz.”

The book is suitable for late intermediate players, around UK Grades 5-6, and delivers an enjoyable introduction to playing in a variety of jazz styles, all cunningly embedded in attractive new pieces that leave the player wanting more!

So if you (or a student you teach) have an interest in developing a more instinctive grasp of jazz grooves and repertoire, this publication is very much aimed in your direction. Let’s find out more about it…

Who really needs mnemonics?

Pianodao Articles • Full Archive

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

Long established as a memory tool for note reading, well-worn mnemonics such as All Cows Eat Grass and Every Good Boy Deserves Football seem to have fallen out of favour in piano teaching circles these days.

Some suggest mnemonics should be avoided altogether, claiming that they are detrimental because:

they add an extra step for the learner decoding notation
they mitigate against the development of intervallic reading, harmonic understanding, and pattern recognition
they don’t scale for reading ledger lines, different clefs, etc
they can create a level of dependency that makes the transition to fluent reading harder

These are certainly important points to consider.

But when we explore the research into the use of mnemonics, a very different picture emerges. And teachers may notice that they are often recommended for learners who are dyslexic or with neurodiversity such as ADHD.

So what is the truth of the matter: are mnemonics useful, and if so for whom? Perhaps a balanced reassessment of the topic, grounded in academic and scientific research, is overdue. So let’s begin with the science bit…

Piano Tales for Winnie-the-Pooh

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

With the popularity of her OUP collections, and her many contributions to the ABRSM piano and jazz syllabus, Nikki Iles has become a near ubiquitous voice in contemporary music education, her distinctive writing a permeating presence in piano publications.

Fans of her music (of whom I am certainly one) will give a warm welcome to the truly delightful pieces in her latest collection from EVC Music, Piano Tales for Winnie-the-Pooh. The book follows in the footsteps of her previous Piano Tales for Alice (UK Grades 1-3, reviewed here), and Piano Tales for Peter Pan (Grades 3-5, reviewed here).

Rather than rounding off her trilogy with an advanced collection as might have been predicted, Piano Tales for Winnie-the-Pooh delivers a selection of new compositions suitable for elementary to intermediate pianists. Let’s find out more…

Piano Player • Anime

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Faber Music’s Piano Player series has been a welcome success of recent years, each handsome collection in the growing set showcasing the distinctive artwork of Edward Bawden (1903-1989) while offering an appealing variety of music within.

For information about previous titles, read my reviews here.

The cycle appeared to run its course with the release of all titles originally announced, but now enters a new era with two new collections. These no longer sport Bawden’s artwork, but otherwise retain the series aesthetic.

Likely to be particularly popular, Piano Player: Anime curates nineteen themes from Japanese anime soundtracks, arranged for solo piano…