A huge thank you!

A huge thank you to everyone who performed last night on piano, harp, cornet, flute, clarinet, violin or voice. You all did very well and I enjoyed hearing you play. Thank you as well to parents, grandparents, siblings and friends who accompanied, encouraged practice and delivered everyone to lessons and rehearsals.
Our hosts, The Salvation Army, were very impressed and asked if they could invite the older members of their congregation next time, so let me know what you think about that. More people to applaud sounds good to me but have a think and tell me your thoughts.
Once again thank you for a lovely summer's evening of music.

Summer Piano and Instrumental Concert

Concert Details:

On: Friday 21st June
At: The Salvation Army Hall, Baddow Road, Chelmsford (parking available nearby in The Meadows car park)
Time: 7.30-9pm
Admission: £1 per non-playing adult, 50p per non-playing child

All welcome, including performers families, and past and present pupils.

If you haven't yet confirmed that you are playing, please ring or email me asap so that I can finalise the programme.
On the day: remember your music, wear what feels reasonably smart and comfortable and enjoy playing the lovely Kawai grand piano and the great acoustic. I look forward to hearing you play!

Grade Exam Preparation

Grade exams occur every term and while they aren't the be all and end all of playing the piano, they are a good way to measure progress, to explore new repertoire and to perform.

These guidelines are for parents and pupils:

1. Practise every day: I suggest a minimum of 30 mins for grades 1-3, 45 mins for grades for 4 and 5 and 60 mins for grade 6 +. Parents will need to remind and supervise. What to practise will be in the piano diary.
2. Don't forget your scales and arpeggios etc: Use the scales in a jar method, a tick box chart or the scales tricks list.
3. Make sight-reading a part of your daily practice: play from your official books, play from your earlier tutor books and play duets, songs, hymns, anything and everything!
4. Practise aural tests via either ABRSM's Aural App, e-musicmaestro's aural training or Hofnote.com.
5. Listen to your pieces, read ABRSM's exam tips and look at sample exams on their YouTube channel http://gb.abrsm.org/en/exam-support/audio-and-video-resources/
6. Practise performing: play to your friends and family, record yourself, come and play at my concerts and get togethers, volunteer to play in assembly and in church.
7. Plan the day of your exam; how you will get there, what to wear (including the right shoes for pedals) and what you will eat when etc.

We will work out a countdown and have a mock-test so that you are as well prepared as possible. Higher grade exam pupils may also have the opportunity for a short practice session on the exam piano.
Results usually come within 2 weeks and then you can celebrate!

At the piano with Fiona Lau

I am delighted to appear on Fran Wilson's fascinating blog, The Cross-Eyed Pianist. Fran blogs about all things piano and interviewed me to find out what makes me tick:

http://crosseyedpianist.com/

It was very interesting for me to think about and answer Fran's questions and it made me wonder how my pupils and their parents got into music and how they would answer some of the questions. Feel free to share your thoughts with me.

Summer Not Just a Piano Concert!

I have booked The Salvation Army Hall Baddow Road Chelmsford on Friday 21st June at 7.30pm for our Summer Concert with a difference.

I am aware that several of my pupils play other instruments as well as the piano and so, on this occasion, I would like to invite them to play a piece on their other instrument. I will give priority to pupils playing other instruments or to those who have exams coming up. As usual there is no pressure to perform and you can just come and listen if you want. The evening gives those who want to perform a chance to share their pieces and enjoy playing in a relaxed supportive atmosphere.

Please have a think and get back to me about what you/your child would like to play. I am happy to accompany anyone who needs it. I will be chatting about it in lessons as well. Parents, family and friends are invited to be part of the audience.

I am really looking forward to hearing you all play and a lovely Summer evening's music!

Adult Piano Group- our meal out is booked for Fri 10th June, 8pm at Cafe Rouge and you can also perform at the above concert or save yourselves for our more intimate exclusive performance session at my house sometime in July!

Exam successes!

Well done to my pupils who took their ABRSM grade exams this term. The results came through today!

Very well done to Zoe and Daniel who took their Prep Test and had such a positive experience and received lovely reports and excellent comments from the examiner.

Imogen, Sophia and Jennifer took their grade 1, 4 and 6 exams respectively. It was Sophia's first music exam ever, Imogen was taking her grade 1 and Jennifer is still only 12 so for all three to achieve very good merits made me particularly happy. I was delighted to see that all pupils received high marks for their pieces and great comments about imaginative and musical playing- that's what it's all about. Many thanks for the support from their parents- it is vital and a key factor in pupils' enjoyment and achievement. Congratulations to all 5 of them!

Care of your piano

Care of your piano

A piano is a lovely instrument to own and may have cost you a significant amount of money. Here are some guidelines on how to look after it so that it gives you pleasure for many years.

1.     Placing your piano.

Try to keep your piano out of direct sunlight as it can damage the finish of your piano. Also keep it away from radiators and hot air ducts as this will dry out the air, affect the tuning of the piano and may crack the soundboard. Aim for a low even temperature.

2.     Cleaning your piano.

Most modern acoustic pianos have a high-gloss synthetic finish and so do not need polishing with furniture polish. I clean mine with a slightly damp cloth (a micro-fibre one works best). I do the same with the keys and then dry them off thoroughly- no water should drip down the sides. In fact keep all water (glasses, vases etc) well away from your piano.

3.     Tuning your piano.

Piano strings go out of tune and so your piano will need regular tuning by a qualified and experienced tuner. A good piano tuner will also be able to do any running repairs and so help to maintain its value. How often you get it tuned will depend on the age of the piano and how much it is played, your tuner will be able to advise you. A tuning will probably cost in the region of £50. My piano tuner is the excellent Daffyd James, contact on 02084698191. Daffyd always finds a time that is convenient for me, advises me on what needs doing to my piano, kept my old piano playable even when it was fairly dilapidated and does a superb job. I cannot recommend him highly enough.