piano improvisation Archives

by Tim Topham

When I published the No Book Beginners framework I hoped it would give teachers the confidence to teach more creatively, and that’s exactly what it’s done for Georgina Jordan. Georgina is a piano teacher in the UK who had a very traditional music education and was struggling to add creativity into her lessons. She joined ... CPTP147: How Teaching Beginners with No Books has Revolutionised Georgina’s Studio

by Tim Topham

Teach lead sheets and your students will be more likely to be lifelong pianists. In fact, Susan Deas surveyed teachers and found that 90% thought teaching lead sheets was useful skill. Cultivating a love of music and keeping students playing was also rated as a primary focus, and most teachers thought lead sheets would help with this. ... CPTP077: How to Teach Lead Sheets and Chord Charts with Susan Deas

by Tim Topham

This is the first in a multi-part series taking a look at the main exam boards around the world. Piano exams play a big role in piano teaching in many countries. Even if you’re in country where exams are less popular, there’s a lot to be learned by looking at the different exam boards and ... TTTV016: ANZCA Piano Exams with Tony Betros

by Rebecca Langley

I’m really happy to have Rebecca Langley write for the blog this week. Rebecca’s article about making connections in music goes right to the core of what effective piano pedagogy is all about and the timing couldn’t be better: my podcast with Paul Harris (Mr. Making Connections in Music Himself!) goes live this Sunday and picks-up exactly the ... Teaching Classical Piano by Teaching Pop Piano