Understanding, not repeating -What I should point out here is that, in my experience as a teacher, both children and adults are very good at mimicking or imitating what others have done from listening to recordings. However this does not mean that you understand the mechanics going on behind it. This was an acute issue with my playing growing up, I couldn't apply the knowledge elsewhere
Read MoreI still remember my first piano lesson, although only vaguely. I was just five or six when my two older sisters were being sent to piano lessons, so I was sent along. A few days before my first lesson, my father came home with a Casio electronic piano that he had purchased for us all to practice on. The excitement when he arrived in the house with this thing was palpable.
Read MoreIt’s important to remember, that when you first begin piano lessons, you are doing something that you've never done before. So in order to learn, and remember, you have to lay down new neural pathways in your brain. This is what gives the drained, tired feeling after practice, as your brain has worked hard incorporating all this new information.
Read MoreFirstly, one of the most important things you can do to ensure your students benefit most from any piano lessons, is to ask them to immediately work through the lesson. That is, in the hours immediately after a lesson, encourage the student to run through what was done with the teacher, while fresh in their minds.
Read MoreA small amount of mindful, attentive, and creative piano practice is far more effective than many hours of repetitive, mindless drills. They are uncreative to play and simply reinforce bad habits and mistakes Practise should be creative and fun!
Read MoreIn this, the second instalment of my two-part blog post about the perils (and joys) of purchasing a piano, I deal exclusively with the difference between various pianos sound-wise and some options for purchasing a quality piano that suits your needs and wallet.
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