See some of our fantastic beginners, in their end of year concert, July 2024! https://youtu.be/XIK1-lrtyIw

Here’s how I use a Pop-It fidget toy for a quickfire review of piano pentascales.   If you’re not sure what a pentascale is, then read on for a quick explanation below the video.  If you’re not sure what a Pop-it is then speak to an 8 year old! When my pupils are learning how to […]

Here’s how I use visuals to help with learning octave scale fingerings. The piano scales of C, G, D, A and E major, all use a 123-1234 fingering pattern. It’s not such a tricky pattern once you have memorised and in your ‘muscle memory’  ….but it’s much easier to actively memorise anything when we use […]

Unharnessing the possibilities of technology has been an exciting journey, full of discoveries.  But when our world revolves around the click of a mouse, sometimes it’s a nice change for your piano teacher to crack open a pot of playdoh to teach technique, just like in the good old real-life days of.  Do you remember […]

Beginner pianists can sometimes find it tricky to correlate that one step to the right on the keyboard = moving up to the next line or space on the stave…. it’s a fairly abstract concept.  Here’s a stave with light horizontal lines spaced the same distance as a standard key width (22mm).  It can help […]

On March 31st it’s Haydn’s birthday. Here are some ways you can learn about this important composer: Watch this quick video for kids all about Haydn:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bQNFZZWVc4 Now try a quick quiz: Find your Haydn vocab in this wordsearch:http://www.wordsearchfun.com/51636_Franz_Joseph_Haydn_wordsearch.html One of his most famous pieces is the Surprise Symphony! Find out about it here: Why is it […]

Here’s a nice tactile way to remind your child or pupil to practice those tricky spots! I’ll often get my pupils to play a tricky spot 3 or 5 times.  Use these practice beads to help them keep track!  They simply slide one bead from the top end to the bottom end (or vice versa) […]

Having a great sense of pulse is a crucial part of being a musician.  We do lots of activities in our lessons to build a strong internal sense of pulse.  Tempo is the speed of the pulse. In terms of tempo, this is what I expect from all my pupils, right from beginners: to be […]

This year Valentines Day falls on a Friday (and the last day of half term at local schools)- so all my pupils get to have fun with Valentines-themed activities!  I’m really excited to see their reactions and hope they have a special time this week 🙂 The home studio is bedecked in pink and loveliness […]

Here in Manchester, Chinese New Year is a big celebration, with a big, colourful Dragon Parade through town and lots of noise!  Perfect for inspiring a splash of colour and imagination into our piano lessons during the misty, grey month of January.  So here are some ways we explored Chinese sounds in our piano lessons […]