At what age did you start learning the piano? MY STORY My lessons began aged 8 when one of the teachers at my school remarked to my parents that: ‘Sally sings loudly in assembly – maybe she should learn an instrument?’ Once lessons began I made quite swift progress through the grades arriving at […]
Have you ever been curious about how other piano teachers go about teaching repertoire? During my early days as a teacher I struggled to teach repertoire in colourful and creative ways. Finding ways to present pieces to students in musically meaningful ways didn’t always come easily. Ultimately, it was my observation of other teachers’ ideas […]
Are you a teacher who is ready to move on? ‘”Anyone can teach the piano in the UK.” When I tell people this they are amazed: “What? Anyone?” Then I have to go through the explanation that piano teaching is unregulated, teachers don’t need to have any qualifications and people are often asked to teach […]
Have you noticed that everything at The Curious Piano Teachers has been very quiet over the last few weeks? HAVING A BREATHER To be honest both Sharon and I were in need of a complete break from what is often the non-stop, hurly-burly world of The Curious Piano Teachers. So this summer we have taken […]
So what exactly does 6 months in the life of The Curious Piano Teachers look like? Here’s a snapshot of some of the things that Sally and Sharon have been working on over the past 6 months, from January – June 2018. And – just in case you’re wondering from the photo above – it […]
‘Why do you play the piano’? I asked this question last week when I gave a talk at Miller’s Music in Cambridge (UK) to a group of piano teachers. Overwhelmingly the answer was: “because of a love of music and the piano”. I went on and asked the same question about our pupils and came […]
I love getting away from the computer! There’s nothing to beat getting out into the ‘real’ world and spending quality time with like-minded people. Sharon and I have done just that this week as we have been to a conference. It was held at the University of York and the theme – Connections and Communication […]
Imagine the following scenario: Teacher to pupil: ‘Play middle C’. Pupil responds carefully and plays middle C. Teacher: ‘How did you know that was middle C?’. Pupil: ‘Because it’s by the keyhole’. METACOGNITION Maybe you’ve had a similar scenario with a pupil in the past – I know I certainly have. You believe that the […]
What kind of questions do you mostly ask in your piano lessons? Did you know that not all questions are equal and some types have more learning power than others? I played a game with some of my pupils this week where they had to spot every time I asked a question. It was great […]
How many questions have you asked in the last hour? In the last day? In the last week? This month in The Community (The Curious Piano Teachers online membership site) we are looking at all things to do with giving feedback in piano lessons. One of the key elements of effective feedback is the art […]