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If your practice sounds good, it’s not practice, it’s just playing!

by Tim Topham

Last night at my student’s mid-year recital I reminded all my students and their parents that practice, if effective and done properly, should not sound “nice” all that often. Why? One simple reason. For students to push themselves to learn harder pieces and conquer new technical difficulties, their practice will necessarily sound pretty bad more ... If your practice sounds good, it’s not practice, it’s just playing!

06/24/2011 Read more

Do you make these mistakes in your piano practice?

by Tim Topham

Practising music is something we need to learn how to do and until we do, we will probably make some mistakes. This article highlights some of the most common errors made in music practice and tells you how to amend them. The result will be that you can begin to progress on your instrument with ... Do you make these mistakes in your piano practice?

06/22/2011 Read more

Here, Have a Chainsaw! Metronome Practice | Piano Pedagogy Page

by Tim Topham

All about metronome practice with students… Great article. It occurs to me that I’m occasionally guilty of telling students they need to use a metronome without having taught them how to use one.  It’s the musical equivalent of handing someone a chainsaw and expecting them to cut down a tree. Pretend for a moment that you’ve ... Here, Have a Chainsaw! Metronome Practice | Piano Pedagogy Page

06/21/2011 Read more

Chord playing for beginners

by Tim Topham

I normally introduce chord playing for beginners in root position within the first two lessons for a new beginner. Why? Simply because playing triads with the RH and octaves or single bass notes in the LH is instantly fun and sounds really musical. It’s also great practice for learning about harmony and common chord progressions. I ... Chord playing for beginners

06/13/2011 Read more

“Google Earth” Practice

by Tim Topham

I’ve recently begun using the analogy of Google Earth when helping my students plan their practice. For those of you who haven’t used Google Earth before, it’s a free satellite imaging program that allows a user to zoom in on any area of the Earth, starting with a view of the Earth as if you were in ... “Google Earth” Practice

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Teaching Boys Piano – Repertoire Ideas

by Tim Topham

Most of my career has focussed on all-boys education. I believe there are many merits to single-sex schooling, especially when it comes to the arts. However, this is not a post about co-ed versus single sex schooling, rather it’s about repertoire that I have found resonates really well when teaching boys. In my experience, boys ... Teaching Boys Piano – Repertoire Ideas

06/07/2011 Read more
 

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Teaching piano with rhythms

by Tim Topham

Practising in rhythms is, without a doubt, my No 1 practice tip for students! Why? One simple reason: it reduces the amount of time that they need to spend practising repetitive sequences such as scales and scale passages, arpeggios, broken chords and any kind of fast quaver or semiquaver movement. Students will be able to ... Teaching piano with rhythms

06/04/2011 Read more

Piano Practice Challenges

by Tim Topham

Here are a few ideas I use with my students for how to practice effectively. I constantly have to remind them that just repeating sections over and over is about the least effective way of learning new material. The main goal of these techniques is to avoid the often pointless “start at the beginning and ... Piano Practice Challenges

05/26/2011 Read more

Deliberate Practice

by Tim Topham

My summer holiday reading this year centered on a book called Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin (highly recommended). The really positive revelation in this book is that the ‘most talented’ people in the world in any pursuit only get there by masses of hard work and ... Deliberate Practice

05/24/2011 Read more

Teaching piano practice: Just 0.3% of a student’s week? You’re kidding right?!

by Tim Topham

How to teach piano practice Have you ever calculated just how little time you get to spend with your students out of their total working week? It’s a fascinating and insightful exercise and its result should dictate much of what we do with students during lessons. Last year, I read a fantastic book called “The Practice Revolution” ... Teaching piano practice: Just 0.3% of a student’s week? You’re kidding right?!

05/16/2011 Read more