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 […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
A quick technique activity to develop phrase shaping. Musicians often talk about ‘shaping the phrases’. OK, there are countless ways to shape a phrase, but your classic phrase shape is the arch-shaped phrase. Here the first note is lighter, then the tone deepens as we reach the middle of the phrase, then ends more softly. […]
Here is a fun tool I made that strengthens all the fingers to help stop collapsing knuckles. It’s easy to make your own. Collapsing knuckle joints like the one pictured above are a common sight when people start to learn the piano, because they haven’t yet built up the strength in their finger joints. […]
The summer holidays are nearly here! For pupils that have piano lessons in school, that can mean a very long time before they have their next piano lesson in September. Here is a practice challenge I made for my beginners that reviews their learning in a fun and creative way. It reminds them of some […]
Here is a bright and simple way I help beginner musicians embed pulse and beat in their first year of learning. My piano pupils do lots of aural activities during lessons. They learn through a ‘sound before symbol’ approach. One way my pupils internalise beat and pulse is with a quick challenge where we swap […]
This is a hugely versatile game that children especially love in piano lessons, but I use it with students of all ages! 10 of my beginners at Didsbury Piano have started learning crotchet, quaver, minim and semibreve rhythms and I like to give them plenty of reinforcement in a fresh and fun way. Today we […]