Tag: Piano Teacher

How to Practise Music: The Handbook

THE PIANODAO BOOKSHELF
Books For Musicians, Educators & Enthusiasts

All products featured on Pianodao are independently selected by Andrew Eales.
However, when you buy something through the site’s retail links, Pianodao may earn a small commission, without affecting the price you pay.

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!):

U.K. EDITION • PURCHASE
U.S. EDITION • PURCHASE

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

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

Continue reading How to Practise Music: The Handbook

Piano Teaching: An Isolated Existence?

PATHWAYS FOR TEACHING • by ANDREW EALES
Lessons & Advice • BOOK A CONSULTATION

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

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

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

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

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.

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

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

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

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

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

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

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

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: Sarah Buckley

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

I’m Sarah Buckley. I’m from Toronto, Canada. I teach piano and I mentor musician entrepreneurs in personal and professional development. Here’s my story…

Continue reading Your Story: Sarah Buckley

Your Story: Sue Greenham

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

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

Your Story: Cori Belle

YOUR STORIES • Readers tell us about their own piano journey
READ MORE STORIES • SHARE YOUR STORY

I am a pianist in the Seattle area who enjoys performing solo and collaborating with other musicians.

My parents never let me quit taking piano lessons. That, really, is the crux of my story. I did not grow up under a Tiger Mom, but from the very beginning, I grew up being surrounded by classical music…

Continue reading Your Story: Cori Belle

The Piano Teacher’s Survival Guide

THE PIANODAO BOOKSHELF
Books For Musicians, Educators & Enthusiasts

All products featured on Pianodao are independently selected by Andrew Eales.
However, when you buy something through the site’s retail links, Pianodao may earn a small commission, without affecting the price you pay.

A brilliant new publication from Faber Music, The Piano Teacher’s Survival Guide instantly establishes itself as one of the best practical manuals available for today’s piano teachers…

Continue reading The Piano Teacher’s Survival Guide

The Piano Teacher’s Posture

PATHWAYS FOR TEACHING • by ANDREW EALES
Lessons & Advice • BOOK A CONSULTATION

All good piano teachers are concerned to teach and monitor good posture to their students, and as players we are hopefully equally aware of our own posture at the piano.

But how about our posture when we are teaching? This, in my experience, can too easily be overlooked as a less important concern.

I am trying to address my own posture while teaching, so write this article to share my experiences and findings, while also suggesting a few easy tricks that other piano teachers can incorporate into their thinking and practice where helpful.

In this article I will hope to touch upon:

  • Should we sit less, and if so how?
  • What about good posture?
  • What other factors have an impact on our working environment?
Continue reading The Piano Teacher’s Posture

Andrew Eales: an interview

This interview of Andrew by Frances Wilson originally appeared on her site The Cross-Eyed Pianist, and is reproduced here with her kind permission.

Continue reading Andrew Eales: an interview