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Child Playing the Piano

Piano Teaching
Discover a world of great music

Piano Teaching
Explore a world of great music

With so many piano composers and styles to choose from, students are encouraged to explore the repertoire widely but always to select music that interests them. This approach not only helps sustain the student's musical interest but inspires the development of new skills and techniques along the way leading to greater musical accomplishment.

Working with such a wide range of students at different ages and levels is both rewarding and invaluable: to appreciate how students learn and develop across a much wider plane and the challenges faced at advanced levels provides perspective and understanding, help shape the learning programmes of those just starting out.

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Establishing the basics

Taking your first steps as a beginner may sound daunting but with a carefully selected programme of attractive and enticing pieces, along with supportive exercises to develop your technique, you will soon a musical foundation on which to build your skills.

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At your first lesson we will look at how you should sit at the piano, and how to adopt the correct posture for the wrists, hands and fingers. After a little warm-up to get your fingers used to the keyboard we will learn our first piece together: a simple but enjoyable jazzy tune that we'll try without the music at first. This is a great way to foster your musical ear from the outset, freeing you from the challenges of reading music straightaway. 

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Naturally, you will by taught how to read musical notation so you can learn new music between lessons. Along the way, you can look forward to some fun duets, which will develop your sense of rhythm and how to play alongside another musician. Duet playing is particularly rewarding for the beginner transforming even a simple piano piece containing just a few notes into something much more impressive to the ears. 

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Developing your tone

Once the basics are in-place, it is inevitable that you will want to expand not only your technique but your piano sound as well. To play convincingly with musical feeling involves much more than merely following instructions: it's about listening to your playing and developing a critical ear every time you play.

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​The skills we will learn here include tone development and the balancing of hands so the melody sings clearly above the accompaniment. We will learn how to shape a phrase musically and the importance of finding space between phrases to allow the music to breathe. Being able to play with different articulations contributes greatly to the character of the music and it is essential that such skills are developed. 

But one of the most important techniques every pianist has to master is the art of effective and expressive pedalling. To sustain many notes simultaneously truly transforms the piano lending it considerable power and depth along with a host of expressive nuances.

Advancing your technique

When your skills reach a level of proficiency and maturity that you begin to look at the more advanced piano pieces of the repertoire with optimism, choosing the right teacher who has the professional expertise to take your playing to the next level is crucial. 

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Having worked with advanced players for some twenty-five years, you can be confident that we can formulate an effective programme of study that inspires you to improve. We will start by assessing where your strengths lay and the kind of repertoire you enjoy playing. Alongside this you will be encouraged to explore pieces outside of your comfort zone and to develop critical listening of your own playing and that of others.

 

Performing with a precise articulation, particularly at speed, poses a common challenge at this level, alongside developing endurance and concentration. Through focused technical studies, diverse repertoire, and performance opportunities, we will tackle these challenges head-on, equipping you with the skills and confidence necessary at diploma level. 

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