How to Practise Music: The Handbook

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I am thrilled to announce my first publication with Hal Leonard, described by the publishers as:

“The essential, pocket-sized companion for every musician. Accessible and authoritative, How to Practise Music is an ideal guide for anyone learning to play music. Suitable for instrumentalists and vocalists of any genre, this comprehensive handbook will give you a better idea of how to practise music, good reasons for doing so, and the confidence to succeed. “

The book is now available in both UK and US versions (Practice/Practise!):


The book is also available digitally for Amazon Kindle and Apple Books.

The book is also now available from the RNIB Bookstore, which aims to open up the world of reading to those with a print disability, including dyslexia, partial sight, and blindness. Titles are made available via the RNIB Bookshare website in a range of accessible formats that can be read electronically or adapted to suit the personal needs of readers.

In this post I will give you an exclusive first look…

Continue reading How to Practise Music: The Handbook

Piano Teaching: An Isolated Existence?

Supporting Teachers • Promoting Learning
Written by ANDREW EALES


It’s become something of a cliché to say that the life of a piano teacher is a terribly isolated one, implying we have little or no meaningful contact with colleagues, operating entirely off our own steam, without support.

In this article I am going to consider from a personal perspective why I don’t personally feel isolated as a piano teacher, and offer some useful tips for those who do, along with practical suggestions for networking and accessing support from colleagues.

Continue reading Piano Teaching: An Isolated Existence?

Your Story: Neil Nguyen

Readers share with us their own piano journey.
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I’m a piano tutor, living in an overcrowded city with over 8 million people: Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, a developing country in Southeast Asia.

Piano learning is a kind of luxury thing in Vietnam. You will discover why as you read my story …

Continue reading Your Story: Neil Nguyen

Your Story: Yukie Smith

Readers share with us their own piano journey.
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Yukie Smith is from Yokohama, Japan. She now lives in the UK, where she performs, accompanies and teaches piano using her own multi-sensory learning technique.

She’s the author of a piano duet arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (abridged version); and a full version of a violin & piano arrangement of Piazzolla’s Le Grand Tango.

Here’s her story …

Continue reading Your Story: Yukie Smith

Your Story: Garreth Brooke

photo copyright Lana Yanovska, used with permission.

Readers share with us their own piano journey.
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Garreth was born in Hereford, UK, moved to Wales as a child, before going on to study music at the University of Oxford. He now teaches piano to a full studio of international students in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and releases original music for solo piano on 1631 Recordings using the pen-name Garreth Broke. His writing about suicide prevention has been published on Huffington Post UK.

Here’s his story …

Continue reading Your Story: Garreth Brooke

Your Story: David Greenslade

Readers share with us their own piano journey.
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David Greenslade is a piano teacher, church musician, adjudicator and conservatory examiner in Southern Ontario Canada.

Here’s his story …

Continue reading Your Story: David Greenslade

Your Story: Swan Kiezebrink

Readers share with us their own piano journey.
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Swan Kiezebrink is a Suzuki and traditional piano, voice and theory teacher in BC, Canada. Here she shares her piano story …

Continue reading Your Story: Swan Kiezebrink

Your Story: Paula Dreyer

Readers share with us their own piano journey.
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Paula is a piano teacher, performer and accompanist in San Francisco, California. She is the composer of “Little Gems for Piano: Rote Pieces that Motivate and Captivate.”

Here is her story…

Continue reading Your Story: Paula Dreyer

Your Story: Sue Greenham

Readers share with us their own piano journey.
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Sue Greenham is a piano teacher from Maidstone in Kent, UK. She introduces herself:

“At the moment, I’ve teaching around 75 students each week. Most come to my home in Maidstone and have either 30 minutes or an hour. But I also do peri work in two secondary schools and the students there have 20 minute lessons, which isn’t very long, but they’re coming out of lessons so that’s the way it has to be.”

Here is Sue’s Story…

Continue reading Your Story: Sue Greenham