The Pathways Series – Page 6

What Can You Play?

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

One of the major stumbling blocks for players is that we too often feel that we are struggling, making little progress, and perhaps just haven’t got what it takes to become a “good player” (however we define what that is).

To enjoy playing an instrument, we need to move beyond this negative self-talk. And I suggest that one of the most easy and powerful ways we can achieve this is to adjust the balance between working and playing during our personal piano time.

Which brings us to the question,

“What can you play?”

Piano Lessons: Dealing with Anxiety

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

I am sure that most piano teachers will be alert to the fact that some pupils coming to lessons are anxious. This post will look at some reasons for that, and offer some suggestions that might help normalise lessons.

The article is written for any player who has ever said. and any teacher who has ever heard the words:

“It was perfect when I practised it at home this morning…”

Clearly, in order for student and teacher to make the most of any piano lesson we all want to move beyond this point!

Take a Bow! How, When and Why…

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

As the pianist releases the final notes of the piece, the audience bursts into enthusiastic applause. The player stands and takes a bow. It’s a code of conduct that we tend to take for granted, but one that should be taught and practised as part of performance preparation.

I try to cultivate a friendly, non-competitive, informal atmosphere at my student concerts, but it’s still important to teach new performers the importance of more formal “stagecraft”, etiquette, and the essential place of taking a bow to receive and acknowledge audience applause. I often give students a mock performance experience in their lesson, including teaching them how to bow.

Here is a quick summary that supports that practice.

Playing French Baroque Music

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

At a recent piano recital, I started with the very beautiful Chaconne in F major by the early French Baroque composer Louis Couperin (1626-61), uncle of the better known François Couperin “Le Grand” (1668-1731).

For most who were in the audience, it will have been their first encounter with the music of Louis Couperin, and even those with an interest in the early French Baroque will perhaps never have heard this music performed on a modern piano before.

Dating from the seventeenth century, this music was originally written for the harpsichord (or clavecin as the French knew it) and while later Baroque music such as the keyboard works of J.S.Bach and Domenico Scarlatti have found their way into the piano repertoire, the music of earlier composers is rarely heard outside of specialist “Early Music” circles.

The Pianist’s Lineage

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

Until quite recently it never occurred to me to consider who my teacher’s teacher’s teacher’s teacher was. But then I realised (somewhat inadvertently while looking into the history of piano teaching) that my teacher’s teacher’s teacher’s teacher was none other than Franz Liszt, perhaps the greatest and most influential pianist of all time.

At which point I decided it was time to give the matter more serious thought…

Now let’s get this bit over with quickly, because (as we shall see) I’m really not about to claim my “lineage” endows me with any special status or ability. But here it is:

My final teacher at college (in the 1980s), Joseph Weingarten (1911-1996)
In his own student years in Budapest, Joseph had studied with the great pianist and composer Ernő Dohnányi (1877-1960) and with the composer Zoltán Kodály.
Dohnányi had been a student of István Thomán (1862-1940) and Eugen d’Albert (1864-1932), both students of Franz Liszt (1811-1886).
Liszt, incidentally, was a student of Carl Czerny (1791-1857), who in turn was a student of Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827).
Would it be rude to mention that Beethoven, in turn, had lessons with Haydn and Mozart?

THUD! There’s the sound of some pretty heavy name-dropping! And if you are interested in tracing your own legacy, this information on Wikipedia is a helpful resource.

Playing the Piano “For Fun”?

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

I recently asked the members of an online piano teaching forum the following question:

“I want to learn to play piano for fun…”
What do you think when pupils/parents say this to you?

Perhaps it’s no surprise that answers ranged from “Get a trampoline!” at one end of the spectrum, to “Great, that’s the best reason!” at the other. And the constructive debate which followed certainly proved illuminating.

With this in mind, I would like to share a few of my own views and hope this will encourage further thought and ongoing discussion.

Let’s talk about our practice expectations

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

Lack of practice is an issue that most piano players grapple with at some point – and it is something that teachers don’t always handle graciously and with understanding…

The Art of Piano Pedagogy

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

The great Russian pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus (who taught such legendary classical pianists as Radu Lupu, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels) wrote:

“I consider that one of the main tasks of a teacher is to ensure as quickly and as thoroughly as possible that he is no longer necessary to the pupil; to eliminate himself, to leave the stage in time, in other words to inculcate in the pupil that independent thinking, that method of work, that knowledge of self and ability to reach his goal which we term ‘maturity’, the threshold beyond which begins mastery.”

Heinrich Neuhaus
The Art of Piano Playing, (trans. K.A. Leibovitch, London 1973)