Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
With the publication of their 2021-22 Piano Syllabus, ABRSM have given their scales requirements a significant overhaul, also publishing new scales books and resources.
In this review I will consider three main areas of this development:
Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
London College of Music’s suite of LCM Diplomas have just been revised for 2019, with certification beginning this Spring, and with a crossover during which candidates can continue to use the previous 2011 syllabus.
Alongside the Diploma syllabus revision, a new anthology of solo piano repertoire has been published, called In Concert 2. This book is the sequel to last year’s In Concert, which I enthusiastically reviewed here.
In this review I will look at the syllabus and then offer a more detailed review of In Concert 2, which may in any case have a wider appeal.
Continue reading LCM: In Concert 2Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
London College of Music Exams may be less well known to readers than the ABRSM and Trinity College London boards which I have written about previously, but that may be about to change
Certainly LCM offer a very wide range of different assessments for piano players. According to my colleague David Barton:
“I estimate that LCM offer nearly 20 different options for pianists at 15 different levels, right from the earliest stages of learning, through to the Fellowship of the London College of Music (FLCM). The range of options now available is fantastic; I feel enormously lucky to be teaching at a time when the needs of a diverse range of learners of all ages is finally being met by examination boards, led, in my view, by LCM. We live in exciting times, and it will be interesting to see what options continue to develop in the future.”
And it isn’t just in the area of examinations that LCM are looking to innovate and lead the way, but also in the area of publications…
When Publications Officer David Duncan told me that he hopes to significantly shake up their publications, I quietly thought to myself ”thank goodness”, as their previous efforts haven’t been particularly user friendly, well edited, or attractively presented.
That said, nothing prepared me for the extent and speed with which LCM Publications would reinvent itself: their new collection of selected works from their Piano Diploma syllabus has taken my breath away.
Put simply ’In Concert’ is an extraordinary achievement, and in a completely different league from LCM’s previous published efforts. And whether or not you are interested in LCM’s Diploma exam, this is a highly desirable new collection for players looking for interesting and diverse repertoire at this level.
Let’s take a closer look…
Continue reading LCM ‘In Concert’ anthology
