Paul Harris – Page 2

Paul Harris: A Piece A Week

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

Paul Harris’s series of A Piece a Week books have been appearing at regular intervals over the last few years. Faber Music have just released the Grade 6 book, so let’s consider the series as a whole…

I’ll start with a quick reminder that while the books appear in the best-selling Improve Your Sight Reading series, they are not sight reading practice books per se. Rather they aim to support the broader development of music literacy.

In this review I will first explain the concept behind A Piece a Week, give an overview of the actual material included in the books, and explain how they develop to offer superb material across the range of playing levels from UK Grade 1 to the new Grade 6 book.

Paul Harris: Cancer and Positivity

The Pianodao Bookshelf

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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One Saturday morning in March 2018, I learnt that my good friend the composer, author and educator Paul Harris had been rushed to our local hospital emergency department overnight.

Paul had for several months been battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a virulent cancer that had already seemed to take so much from him.

He was receiving excellent treatment at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford, but having taken a turn for the worse the previous night, Paul had been instructed to come straight to Milton Keynes, his nearest A&E.

Improve your sight-reading!

Educational Resources

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

“When pupils can sight-read, not only do they do well in exams but (rather more importantly) it allows them to learn pieces more quickly, which frees up much of our teaching time, allowing us to concentrate on developing the musician. Ultimately, it gives them independence: they are able to learn music on their own – the greatest gift we can give.”

So says best-selling author Paul Harris in the introduction to Improve your sight-reading: Teacher’s Book – latest addition to his ever growing Improve Your Sight-Reading series, just published by Faber Music.

Written to work alongside the well-known, long-published Improve your sight-reading ‘pupil’ books, the Teacher’s Book mirrors the introduction of keys and concepts in those, as well as offering useful tips for teachers.

Most important of all, the Teacher’s Book includes dozens of new progressive practice tests for each of Grades 1-5, which can be used in lessons to complement the use of the pupil books for home practice.

As such, the book offers the potential to elevate what was already a great resource into a more complete sight-reading system which bridges both lesson and home use.

Let’s find out how well it succeeds in this aim…

A Voyage of Discovery

Pianodao Articles • Key Topics

Guest Post by Paul Harris

In this important and persuasive article, esteemed educator and best-selling author Paul Harris explains how deep subject knowledge promotes spontaneity, and how a connected “simultaneous learning” approach can enhance teaching…

A lesson is a journey. But a rather special kind of journey: more a voyage of discovery. And we, as teachers, are both pilot and guide, working alongside our pupils, sometimes planning the route together, with the ultimate intention of teaching them to guide themselves.

And what makes each journey, each lesson, so exciting, is that we don’t necessarily know either the route or exactly where we are heading … until we get there! But, crucially, we need to ensure that the journey is both enjoyable and productive.

Improve your Music Theory!

Educational Resources

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

ABRSM’s former CEO Michael Elliott reportedly once said:

“Separating theory from practice can’t be a good thing.”

While this is a great soundbite for those promoting theory courses, the obvious irony here is that ABRSM have themselves, for generations, separated music theory from practice in their own examination syllabus and published materials.

Paul Harris’s new series Improve your Theory!, written for students preparing for ABRSM Theory Grades 1-5, aims to change this situation for the better. Introducing the series, publishers Faber Music explain that:

“Firmly rooted in Paul Harris’s Simultaneous Learning approach, it will transform how music theory is taught and learnt, improving every aspect of musicianship along the way. Never before has theory been so fun or seemed so natural!”

The books have already been awarded ‘Best Print Resource 2016’ at the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence, so let’s see if they live up to the hype…

Practice Starters – Pick a Card!

Educational Resources

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

Created by leading educator Paul Harris and brought to us by Faber Music, “Practice Starters” is an innovative pack of cards which aims to kick start and refresh your practice sessions. As we’ll see, it’s a great learning resource, and a lot of fun!..