Fairshares

I'm really pleased to be able to offer piano lessons through my local Fairshares group in Stonehouse and Stroud. So far I have one student but am hoping that more will take up the opportunity to learn piano for free (other than getting music!) It's a great way for everyone, whatever their age, background, or financial position, to learn a new, such rewarding skill.

first concert!

My beginners class at school is preparing for its first concert! The children are very excited about it and had fun last week thinking about the pieces they'd like to play (including some they had composed themselves.) Parents and students who are starting in the new beginners class in January 2011 are also going to attend so they can find out how much they can learn in such a short time. I'll let you know how it goes!

Music helps with brain development!

Author Philip Sheppard has written about the power of music in a child’s development. He is Professor of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music, London as well as a senior lecturer in Principles of Education.

Below is an extract from his book, ‘Music Makes your Child Smarter’…

Active participation in music assists all forms of personal growth, both mental and physical. It builds many skills essential for everyday life and can aid mental development and learning processes. In fact, it appears that music can encourage the brain physically to alter its very structure as it grows. Involvement in music helps all ages define their own identities, and music can create associations between groups and helps to forge links between people. In other words, music helps children to build essential social skills. Music can create great feelings of self-worth - being creative in an artistic discipline can have a profound effect on the way children perceive themselves, and can even benefit health.

Music can change the shape of your brain

Regular participation in musical activities stimulates the development of the brain and improves mental functions. The very plasticity of the brain, the way it shapes itself, can be positively affected by repeated musical activities. The conduit of information between the two brain hemispheres, the corpus callosum, grows larger as a result of being musically stimulated, and the pathways of communication between areas of the brain are more comprehensively connected together.

Musical activity aids the creation of new synaptic pathways, enabling multi-tasking and general creative thought, and it promotes cognitive development and helps abstract thought processes.

© 2005 Artemis Editions. Reproduced by permission.



This came from the Hofnote.com website which you can use to help improve your aural skills.

ABRSM conference

I attended this conference in Birmingham on 11 September. The sessions on the new piano syllabus were fascinating and gave us all a chance to listen to and learn more about the pieces set for the various grades. It was great to find out about the alternative pieces set as so often you don't get round to finding out, and yet some of the very best pieces for 2011-2013 can be found here. I shall definitely be teaching some of them! I also attended sessions on teaching sight-reading and aural and was delighted to discover that my ideas and techniques are exactly what the examiners at ABRSM recommend- using the music itself as a learning tool and not just attaching onto the end of lessons a quick bit of aural etc. I had a chance to rummage through some of the ABRSM music and purchased the new aural books that look much more exciting and interesting than some of the older ones. Plus I purchased some music set for some of the grade exams so that I'll have "alternative options" music to hand to play to students when we're deciding which pieces to learn. I'll definitely want to attend again.

children composing music

Through group lessons as well as one to one, creativity and musicality can be encouraged and developed. Here is an example of children composing music for weather, by the writer of one of the methods I use (Piano Safari). I'm sure you'll see how imaginative the composition is and how the children are learning the variety of sounds, sonorities and techniques there are to playing the piano. Plus, of course, they're having a lot of fun and not realising how much they're learning!="">

announcing group private lessons for children

If you have a group of up to 4 people who are all beginners at the piano, there is a new way to learn! You can have a group piano lesson once a week, where you'll learn to read music, play games, learn to sight-read, improvise, learn performance pieces and learn to play in front of others. Your self esteem will rise, you'll learn a new skill and all this in a sociable atmosphere. Learning to play the piano can feel a bit lonely, unlike wind, recorder, guitar and violin lessons at school which are often group lessons.

Using some techniques which are becoming more well known in the USA but are rarely used at the moment in the UK, you will have fun, gain a skill, develop your creativity and musicality. Of course it all works out a bit cheaper as the lesson fees are divided between up to 4 of you!

At present it will be necessary for you to find a small group to learn in, and it is better if you are all about the same age- eg 7-8 years old, 9-10 etc as you will get on better socially and your developmental stage in terms of physical and intellectual development will make it easier for you to learn together.

For more information contact Catherine on 07868 028246.

Group Piano Teaching Ideas

New teaching method!

I've been discussing with Julie Knerr, a co-author of a new teaching method for children, about piano pedagogy. She is in the USA and has, with her co-author come up with an exciting and challenging method to engage children which I'll be using, with suitable children in the UK.

I'm also looking at the Faber series "Piano Adventures" and some other methods for adult learners including "Pianoworks" by Joan Bullard.

It's wonderful having the opportunity to discuss teaching methods, sharing ideas etc through the power of the internet.

What do you think about sharing pedagogy?

ABRSM conference

I am very much looking forward to attending this prestigious conference in Birmingham, in September. Seminars that I'm going to attend include those on the new piano syllabus for 2011 and 2012. The presenters will discuss teaching methods and piano techniques, examination preparation and ways of dealing with performance nerves. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with my students in due course!

I am also going to attend seminars in teaching sight-reading and theory- both essential tools for a budding musician!

teaching course

Last week I attended a fantastic very inspirational one day course at the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music about teaching and learning. It was great to share ideas with other teachers and those planning on becoming teachers. It also helped remind us about the little things that make such a difference- for instance when you're learning a piece you can't necessarily be expected to get everything right- maybe this week we'll work on rhythm and another week on dynamics. This is especially important for those of you beginning to learn an instrument.

I'm hoping to do lots more courses with ABRSM over the next few years.