Pianodao

In Praise of Cream Paper

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

Among the positive differences this website has sought to encourage, the growing adoption of cream paper by music publishers is to be celebrated.

Regular readers are sure to have noticed that I typically include information about paper quality and colour when reviewing music books; some will be glad for this tidbit of information, while others may wonder why it matters, or if indeed it matters at all.

Is the use of cream paper simply an odd, even slightly elitist, anachronism? Actually, no. So let’s consider the noteworthy advantages of using cream paper for music printing and publications…

Piano Grades Are Go! 4 & 5

Pianodao Music Library

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

Of the piano education composers who have arrived on the scene in recent years, Victoria Proudler has made a very particular and special impact, and whether talking to colleagues locally, online, or at conferences, her books are frequently mentioned as must-have collections.

The Piano Grades Are Go! series already includes collections for Initial to Grade One (reviewed here) and for Grades 2-3 (reviewed here). And I think the reason that they have made such an impression is fairly easy to explain.

While more advanced players might invest in a single-composer collection to develop their repertoire (both for performance and leisure), learners at earlier levels tend to be focused on developing their skills and understanding. They value material that is musically broad, with a clear grade/level, explicit educational structure, and helpful pedagogic content.

Unlike some composer collections, the Piano Grades Are Go! series very clearly ticks these boxes, and Proudler’s music is engaging, memorable, and stylistically on point.

Now available, Piano Grade are Go! Grades 4-5 is the third and final book in this popular series, taking the series to upper intermediate level, and inevitably expectations are sky high. So is this collection another winner? Let’s find out…

Willis Music Company at 125

Pianodao Music Library

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

It is easy for musicians and teachers to overlook the immense importance of the publishers who supply us with a fresh and continuing flow of excellent sheet music, from improved editions of established favourites to new performance works and educational resources.

The 125th anniversary of the founding of Willis Music Company, one of the world’s great educational music publishers, offers an opportunity to reflect on the incredible contribution to the world of piano education that their groundbreaking publications have made for more than a century, and their continuing impact on the content of our daily teaching, learning, and playing.

Around the world, and continuing every day, literally millions of learners have sat at the piano with a Willis Music score on the music desk in front of them.

We owe the Willis Music Company a huge debt of gratitude, so let me first say Thank You and Congratulations to everyone at the company.

And now let’s consider the inspiring story of this great business (which I have adapted and shortened from the company’s website here) and celebrate the far-reaching impact their publications have made to generations of players…

Making Every Lesson Special

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

When I started teaching back in the 1990s, the best known teacher in my neighbourhood was a venerable older gentleman who tuned pianos in the mornings, then gave lessons once the schools turned out in the afternoons. Sidney was a much loved, highly successful, and clearly very able teacher.

I was a tuning client of Sidney’s, and hearing that I was entering the fray as a teacher, he couldn’t have been more encouraging, referring pupils he was unable to fit into his busy schedule, and generously sharing advice from a lifetime’s professional experience.

This included his thorough list of rules for student conduct, outlining his expectations of practice, attitude in lessons, and even specifying a required dress code. And in this regard, Sidney’s demands were crystal clear: boys had to make sure their shirts were be tucked in properly, while dresses or skirts were compulsory for girls.

Sidney explained that piano lessons must be regarded as a special occasion, and that students benefitted from making an effort to dress up accordingly.

Discovering Heller’s Studies

Pianodao Music Library

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

For many years, Burgmüller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Studies Op.100 have been a mainstay of my teaching, embraced by students as enjoyable piano pieces, while being immensely useful for addressing so many of the technical challenges of the Classical and Romantic piano literature. I consider this collection as near-essential as anything else found in the pedagogy repertoire.

And to support my students and others, I have recorded Burgmüller’s Op.100, compared various editions, and considered his more advanced Op.105 and Op.109 studies here: Discovering Burgmüller.

But where to for similar material for the player who wants more, either as a supplement or follow-on? I have at times used attractive études by Bertini (reviewed here) and Czerny, but recently my colleague and friend Lisa Burns suggested I take a deep dive into the studies of Stephen Heller (1813-1888).

I have of course encountered many of Heller’s études over the years, thanks to their inclusion in various anthologies and syllabus publications, but I had not previously considered them as a body of work in more depth. Doing so has proven to be genuinely rewarding, offering perhaps the perfect answer to the question above…

The Wisdom of Trust

Fermata • Pause and Reflect

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales

As I return to the Fermata Series after a summer break, some readers will be aware that in the last month I received eye surgery.

The removal of a cataract (even a large, dense one) is usually regarded as a relatively straightforward procedure, and this latest operation was certainly less traumatic than my previous retinal surgeries, even though those added to the risk this time.

Two weeks of rest were recommended, but I opted for just one, only then wondering at the intensity of the ensuing headaches and fatigue. I eventually realised that capping my early return to work with a day trip to speak at a conference in Birmingham would be rather foolish, a point that had already been repeatedly stressed by my ever-patient wife Louise and others.

A sensible colleague reassuringly and rather conclusively suggested,

“Given the surgeon’s advice, it seems wise to consider whether attending the event is the best decision for you right now.”

Jennifer Bowman • Jazz Nocturnes

Pianodao Music Library

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

Jennifer Bowman will be known to some readers as the composer of one of the many highlight pieces in the 22 Nocturnes for Chopin collection reviewed here last year.

Those who appreciated her piece in that collection will be delighted to learn that she has composed another eight nocturnes, suitable for early advanced players at around UK Grade 8 level, and all imbued with tinges of jazz.

The aptly named Jazz Nocturnes for piano collection is published by 80 Days Publishing, and is the subject of this mini review…

The Piano Duet Anthology

Pianodao Music Library

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

There can be no doubting Faber Music’s commitment to their rapidly expanding series of keenly-priced but tastefully presented bumper Piano Anthologies, the latest of which focuses on intermediate piano duet repertoire with a contemporary and appealing twist.

This is the tenth anthology in the series, and having reviewed them all here, regular readers probably now know the drill. I like these books, they are gorgeously presented and deliver an engaging and distinctive range of music. I have also seen that they have proved popular with my adult students and in our piano club.

So let’s check out the latest addition…