The Pathways Series – Page 5

Singing in Aural Tests: the Bottom Line

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

The topic of singing in aural tests has long been a contentious one. Not only have growing numbers of teachers noted how unpopular the singing tests are, but in recent years, studies have cast significant doubt on the previously assumed validity of such tests.

In this article I will explore the requirements of the main boards, consider the links between singing and ‘audiation’, touch on relevant scientific research (with links for those wanting to read more), and suggest change.

As we consider these points, we must be careful not to conflate the importance of promoting singing in music education with an insistence on assessing a pianist’s singing in a piano exam. These are two quite different issues.

Piano lessons should certainly not be limited to only include exam syllabus requirements. Nor should singing be marginalised to aural test preparation. We should of course include singing in lessons whenever appropriate for the learner’s creative and musical development.

But is singing appropriate within exam aural tests, and reliable as a means to assessing aural perception? Do singing tests offer an inclusive, level playing field for pianist assessment? And if not, what are the alternatives?

A Common Approach 2022

Pianodao Articles • Full Archive

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

Originally published in 2002, A Common Approach is perhaps the ultimate instrumental music teaching manual. It offers a complete curriculum, accompanied by extensive lesson activities for most instruments, with specific schemes of work for piano and electronic keyboard.

Now it has just been fully revamped and made available as an updated, free online resource to support instrumental teachers everywhere. Whether working privately or in a school, all piano and keyboard teachers would do well to have a look at this extensive and superb material.

According to its publishers Music Mark,

“A Common Approach is an online resource to support music educators in their teaching practice and help develop a holistic approach to music education. Relevant to all vocal and instrumental teaching, including individual, small-group, large-group and whole-class lessons, music educators at all stages of their career can use the support and shared learning found in A Common Approach.”

Music Mark Chief Executive Bridget Whyte tells us,

“Twenty years after the original version of A Common Approach was published, Music Mark has worked with a skilled team of music tutors from across the UK to update and enhance this valuable teaching tool. Containing both universal guidance and instrument-specific content, this online resource not only provides a great starting point for trainee and early-career tutors, but also gives those who are more experienced the opportunity to reflect on their practice.”

This has particular interest to me because back in 2002, I was a member of the national steering group who put together the original version of A Common Approach which provides the ongoing foundation of this update.

It’s therefore time both to take a short stroll down memory lane, and to consider how the updated version of this milestone resource can help piano teachers today…

Competition & Conflict

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Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

In an interview in International Piano, January 2014, the marvellous concert pianist Maria João Pires suggested:,

“To compete always damages your soul.
If you compete you are not a musician any more.
We old musicians should perhaps give the new generation alternatives. I think our mission is to transmit what has been transmitted to us. This competitive world, this marketing world, has destroyed a lot of that transmission.
Competitions are not the way, that’s for sure!”

We are frequently presented with the spectacle of competing pianists pitted against one another by an industry that would have us all believe that there is no other way to launch a career. But like Pires, I have long felt uneasy about this competitive spirit, and the toxicity that too often accompanies it. And like Pires, I believe there has to be a better way, for sure!

The climax of any competition is of course the victory of the winner. Everyone knows what the opposite of a winner is, and competitions usually produce lots of them, too. There are far too many bright, aspiring pianists for whom these events prove to be a truly crushing experience.

Mitigating this perhaps, multiple medals and accolades are sometimes awarded. But when players are divided up into good, better and best, they have still fundamentally been divided.

Ironically, professional success actually depends on forming creative partnerships with others. For classical music to have an assured future, it is therefore essential for us to work together and find more positive ways to support and promote players.

But if we determine to change performance culture for the better, we will need to start by rethinking the events we put on for children.

How to Practise Music

How to Practise Music is an affordable pocketbook packed with practical tips to empower your musical progress.
The book is my first publication with Hal Leonard, the world’s leading music publishing company.

How to Practise Music is described by the publishers in these words, and is available in both UK and US versions (Practice/Practise):

“The essential, pocket-sized companion for every musician. Accessible and authoritative, How to Practise Music is an ideal guide for anyone learning to play music. Suitable for instrumentalists and vocalists of any genre, this comprehensive handbook will give you a better idea of how to practise music, good reasons for doing so, and the confidence to succeed. “

Purchase Here • UK Edition

Purchase US English Edition here

There are digital versions for Amazon Kindle and Apple Books. The book is also available from the RNIB Bookstore, which aims to open up the world of reading to those with a print disability, including dyslexia, partial sight, and blindness.

Teaching Adults to Play the Piano

Pianodao Articles • Full Archive

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

There has been an interesting and persistent debate in recent months about whether adult students can effectively teach themselves to play the piano (tapping into the growing plethora or apps, books, etc), or whether there is an essential ongoing need for a teacher’s involvement. I have addressed this in my recent article Who Needs Piano Lessons Anyway?

But while there’s no shortage of arguments for learning with a “good teacher”, many seem to struggle finding one who is sympathetic to their goals and in tune with the needs of adult learners.

In this post I will therefore share some of the strategies which have worked for me over the last three decades of teaching these enthusiastic learners.