Top Ten Practice Tips.

The end of the Spring term and advance notification of the Summer concert.

Cathedral School: this term I was asked to teach 9 lessons, which I have already done. Next week I will be in school and will teach week 1 of the Summer term; this will give us the ability to cope with sports days, trips out, visits to new schools and the joy of SATS.

MHS: there are 2 more Tuesdays of lessons.

Private Teaching: there are 2 more weeks before the Easter holidays.

Exam pupils: we continue our exam countdown with a pre- exam plonk through at my house this Saturday starting at 3pm. Be prepared to play 2 pieces and a selection of your scales, arpeggios and broken chords etc.

Summer concert: I have booked The Salvation Army Hall for Friday 24th June. Points Mean Prizes trophies will also be presented then so keep practising!

After half term Points Mean Prizes.

Half term is over and it's time to get into a regular practice routine again. Also more points are on offer, this time for completing Listening Sheets. These will be given out in lessons this week, feel free to photocopy them as many times as you like. Listen to a piece of music ( from YouTube, Spotify, CD etc) and then complete the Listening Sheet fully with your child. Bring it to the next piano lesson and points will be awarded if it's filled in fully.

Good pieces to listen to are:

Any movement from Holst's Planets' Suite.

A movement from Vivaldi's Seasons.

Ballet music by Tchaikovsky.

Piano pieces such as The Entertainer, Moonlight Sonata, or Debussy's Arabesques.

Pictures at an Exhibition.

1812 Overture.

Keep it short and enjoy listening and discussing the music with your child. 

Charlie, pictured here with his certificate and prize, really enjoyed completing Listening Sheets last year. I look forward to hearing about what you have listened to.

Today's Points Mean Prizes winners.

These are today's Points Mean Prizes winners from The Cathedral School and my private teaching.

The points mean prizes prize basket.

The prize basket has many prizes in it and as prizes are won other prizes are added. Right now prizes include: joke books, bubble wands, lip gloss, jewellery, toppling dominoes, minion stickers, nail varnish, stationery and more. Keep practising because 25 = a prize!

The first Points Mean Prizes have been awarded!

Four boys from The Cathedral School have won the first set of prizes. Well done George, Max, Oliver and Ethan!

Many certificates have also been awarded and lots of pupils are well on the way to receiving more certificates and prizes. 

Remember: 20 points =a certificate, 25= a prize and 50 points = a trophy, so keep playing.

"Snow on the way next week for Essex".

Just as we were all starting to think of Spring, this headline pops up via the Essex Chronicle!

So if it snows: do try to come to piano lessons, I get out my best hot chocolate for those who make it.

If you really can't come, make sure that you have downloaded Skype, Google Chat or have FaceTime, we can then do an online lesson.

If this isn't possible, video your child/ you, playing your scales, exercises, pieces, and either send it to me or upload to YouTube. I will then email you feedback and ways forward for each piece. Modern technology means that we don't miss out on lessons or lose the flow of practising.☃⛄️❄️❄️