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Adult piano students: 3 great online resources

by Tim Topham

Adult Piano Students’ Resources Just a short post today to share with you some links that your adult piano students might find useful. I suggest these more for adults than younger students as I’ve found that committed adult students tend to have more time and interest in doing extra background research into their study than, say, teenagers. The Raven’s ... Adult piano students: 3 great online resources

08/07/2013 Read more

10 of the Best Piano Pieces for Boys by… Geri Rea

by Tim Topham

This is the first in a new series of articles I’ll be writing featuring my favourite piano pieces for boys by a variety of Australian and International composers. I had the fortune to meet Geri Rea at a piano teachers’ PD day at the Convention Centre in Melbourne 2010. Geri is a talented teacher and ... 10 of the Best Piano Pieces for Boys by… Geri Rea

07/28/2013 Read more

Top 3 best note-learning apps for piano students

by Tim Topham

When students begin studying the piano, one of the things they need to learn quickly is what each note looks like and where it is placed in relation to the black keys. This stops them having to always count up from C. There are many ways of remembering the note locations and I use different ... Top 3 best note-learning apps for piano students

06/28/2013 Read more

Chopin Scherzo 3 in C# minor Op 39: 20 practice tips for 2nd theme

by Tim Topham

Chopin Scherzo 3 Tutorial I recently uploaded a YouTube giving 20 practice tips for the tricky rapid descending broken chord patterns in the second theme of Chopin’s 3rd Scherzo (about bar 155). Feel free to share with any students who might be interested!

06/20/2013 Read more

What’s rotation in piano technique?

by Tim Topham

I recently came across a useful video describing arm rotation in piano technique. For those of you who may be unsure what this term means, it’s the movement your arm makes when you turn your hand from palm down to palm up in front of your body. We’re actually quite lucky that our forearms contain ... What’s rotation in piano technique?

06/10/2013 Read more

Can Tetris help your sight-reading?

by Tim Topham

We all know that the more that students sight-read, the better they will be able to read music. However, with so many sight-reading books on the market, it’s hard to know which is the best for your studio. I’ve recently decided that for a sight-reading book to be useful, it must be: Designed to practice ... Can Tetris help your sight-reading?

05/30/2013 Read more
 

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Tim Topham Improvising

by Tim Topham

Given my posts about teaching improvising, a number of people have asked to see me in action! At my last recital, I opened the second half with a short 3-minute (non-jazz) improvisation. I had not planned any aspect of this prior to stepping on stage. It was completely off-the-cuff, but based on my understanding of ... Tim Topham Improvising

05/16/2013 Read more

The Dynamic Studio – brilliant new book from Philip Johnston

by Tim Topham

“Given the extraordinary changes music teaching finds itself surrounded by, if you had the opportunity to hit “reset” on how your studio currently operates and build it again from scratch, what might your new job look like?” So asks Australian author and music teacher Philip Johnston in his new book “The Dynamic Studio“. Let’s face it, ... The Dynamic Studio – brilliant new book from Philip Johnston

02/28/2013 Read more

First experience: ANZCA Modern Piano v. AMEB Piano for Leisure

by Tim Topham

Many of you will have read last month’s post about my experience using Trinity College Exams; now I thought it appropriate to let you know about my first experience preparing students for the ANZCA Modern Piano syllabus. This year for the first time, I chose two students who I felt suited an ANZCA exam : ... First experience: ANZCA Modern Piano v. AMEB Piano for Leisure

12/24/2012 Read more

Trinity College Exams – First Impressions

by Tim Topham

In September last year, I wrote a blog post titled Australian piano exams compared: which syllabus is the best? and made a commitment to my readers that I would trial a couple of the alternate (i.e. non-AMEB) examination boards in the coming year and report back regarding my experience. The original post has remained in my ... Trinity College Exams – First Impressions

11/19/2012 Read more

Why Working To Exams Is Anti-Piano

by Tim Topham

OK, so this might be a bit controversial but hear me out. I was reading a fabulous article by Kathryn Page in a recent Pianist Magazine (No 67), entitled “Developing and maintaining repertoire”. The article was about how important it is for pianists and students to play lots of music at one level and style ... Why Working To Exams Is Anti-Piano

11/17/2012 Read more

Voyeuristic Practice?! How watching other performers can make you a better player.

by Tim Topham

I was watching a TV program last week called “Test your brain“, a series developed by National Geographic Channel which explores how the mind works. The first episode was all about memory (interesting enough for musicians), but the second episode entitled, “You won’t believe your eyes”, really got me thinking about the effect of visual ... Voyeuristic Practice?! How watching other performers can make you a better player.

09/19/2012 Read more