Guest Post by Joanna García
Joanna originally shared these thoughts on her Facebook studio page. I am delighted that she has allowed me to reproduce them here for the encouragement of Pianodao readers…
Tag: Piano Practice
Thoughts on the Art of Practice
Guest Post written by Philip Fowke
I am delighted to include this incredibly helpful post from the internationally acclaimed concert pianist, recording artist and teacher Philip Fowke.
I had the pleasure of working alongside Philip on the faculty of the Thinking Pianist course, where he shared this very wise advice, and am delighted that he has agreed to make it public via the Pianodao website. There is so much here to take in, and of such lasting value.
Before Philip’s article, let’s remind ourselves of his stunning musicianship, recorded here at the BBC Proms performing that beloved masterpiece, Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell:
Continue reading Thoughts on the Art of Practice
Your Story: Amy Boyes
Readers share with us their own piano journey.
Read More Stories • Share Your Story
“Everything We Play” is a personal essay written from the perspective of an exhausted mother and music teacher. Wishing for some uninterrupted practice time to play something emotionally satisfying, the author is reminded by her young daughter that all music-making is beautiful…
Continue reading Your Story: Amy Boyes
Practice in Perspective
Supporting Your Piano Playing Journey
Written by ANDREW EALES
“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful.
And then it’s amazing again.
And in between the amazing and the awful,
it’s ordinary and mundane and routine.
Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful,
and relax and exhale during the ordinary.
That’s just living: heartbreaking, soul-healing,
amazing, awful, ordinary life.”
L.R. Knost
Hands up if your first thought, reading this quote, is that Knost’s observations about life equally apply to piano practice? That was certainly my first thought when, having posted this quote three years ago on social media it reappeared as a “memory” this week.
And one of my friends similarly wasted no time before commenting, “this is an excellent description of my average practise session”.
So let’s revisit the quote, substituting practice for life:
Continue reading Practice in Perspective“Practice is amazing. And then it’s awful.
And then it’s amazing again.
And in between the amazing and the awful,
it’s ordinary and mundane and routine.
Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful,
and relax and exhale during the ordinary.
That’s just practising: heartbreaking, soul-healing,
amazing, awful, ordinary practice.”
Lang Lang’s Daily Technical Exercises
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Lang Lang’s Daily Technical Exercises is a new addition to the Lang Lang Piano Academy series published in the UK by Faber Music.
Subtitled, “Warm-ups, work-outs and scale routines to develop technique”, the book is introduced by its global superstar author with this encouragement:
Continue reading Lang Lang’s Daily Technical Exercises“Everything you play should be performed with love and musicality, so all of these exercises are designed to be satisfying exercise patterns that lead you smoothly through all the key centres. Enjoy your scale practice, and your piano playing will take off!”
Musical Focus is Paramount
Supporting Your Piano Playing Journey
Written by ANDREW EALES
“Musical focus is paramount.
So many pupils are concerned with technical problems divorced from their musical raison d’être. Their focus is solely on the hurdle and its insurmountability.
But the problems virtually disappear and the road opens when they are seen within a musical context. Even the most difficult passages, given musical motivation become not only approachable but achievable.”
Norma Fisher: International Piano, Sept/Oct 2010
So often as a teacher I come across players who “learn the notes” first, only later considering the expressive intentions of the music they are studying.
“For next week, why not try to add the dynamics…”
It’s certainly an easy trap to fall into – reading the notation, working out finger patterns, discovering the music with a systematic, segregated scheme in mind, rather than trying to “run before you can walk”.
And yet I always recommend that players try to pay attention to the dynamics, articulation and other expressive details as early as possible in the learning process. Adding these as an after-thought has always seemed to me a slightly odd way to do things.
We benefit from seeing the “big picture” when starting any musical endeavour or project. Best, where possible, to first discover any piece of music sound before symbol. It is in the hearing of a piece that its message is most powerfully and memorably communicated, and unless we have some aural concept, it can prove difficulty to muster sufficient motivation to commit to learning, absorbing and mastering the detail. Learning thus becomes uninspiring.
Looking at the photo at the top of this post we so could easily, finding ourselves immersed in this scene, study the detail of the plant and insect life, without noticing the radiant, golden sun which illuminates it all with such brilliance.
In the same way, I believe that the expressive intention of a piece of music is the very thing which brings light to it, giving it meaning.
As Norma Fisher so eloquently puts it,
“…the problems virtually disappear and the road opens when they are seen within a musical context. Even the most difficult passages, given musical motivation become not only approachable but achievable.”
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Why Bother with Scales?
Supporting Your Piano Playing Journey
Written by ANDREW EALES
“For many, scales and arpeggios are an academic, dry and soulless part of learning the piano, and have to be practised because, like cod liver oil, they are ‘good for you’.”
Anthony Williams, The Piano Teacher’s Survival Guide (Faber Music, 2017)
Why bother with scales? (by which, for the purposes of this article, I also mean arpeggios and broken chords) …
In order to properly answer this question, this article will consider these related questions, of vital importance to students and teachers concerned to know about the purpose and value of teaching and learning scales:
- What are the benefits of learning scales?
- Is it important to use consistent fingering?
- Why is cumulative learning better than exam cramming?
- How can scales practice and creativity go hand-in-hand?
Let’s get started by considering the core benefits of learning scales…
Continue reading Why Bother with Scales?
Let’s talk about our practice expectations
Supporting Teachers • Promoting Learning
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…
Continue reading Let’s talk about our practice expectations
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