News - Page 2 of 3 - Didsbury Piano

Valentine’s Day 2020 activities

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...

Chinese New Year activities

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...

Our first Christmas mini-concerts

Well our first Christmas mini-concert was a great success! What a fab way to round off the year. The first mini-concert took place at my home on Sunday afternoon. There is just something really...

Easy bass part for Cauliflowers Fluffy

In the UK, Cauliflowers Fluffy is a really popular primary school song for harvest time. It brings back a lot of memories for me! Children love being able to play the songs they sing at...

Shape phrases with playdough

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...

Strengthen finger joints with this crocodile game

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...

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...

Beat lollipops

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...

Monstrous Fun with Rhythm

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,...

A practice game to make repetition fun

Here’s how I use a fun game with a beginner teaching piece that really reaps its rewards through repetition. The piece: Zebra on a Playground This is a beginner improv/technique piece...