Getting the most from this great hobby!
“What you need to know, have and do to start piano right” is a book by Jenny Leigh Hodgins. The book is exactly what it says on the cover and gives great insights for those considering taking up the piano. Jenny kindly consented to doing an interview for Tommy’s Piano Corner which I’m delighted to...
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Are you looking for that perfect Christmas gift for the pianist in your life (or perhaps just a festive treat for yourself)? If space and budget don’t stretch to a Steinway Model D or a nice Fazioli, I’ve got some good ideas of Christmas gifts for pianists below. These should suit all budgets and prove...
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Sight reading and memorising are two absolutely enormous topics for us pianists. Whilst there is definitely no silver bullet, recognising chords and recurring patterns can be a useful addition to our toolkit to help us sight read, learn and memorise music. Classical pianists are not always taught to approach a score in these terms, but...
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We’re all familiar with the expression ‘muscle memory’ – yet what exactly is muscle memory? We pianists so often rely on this phenomenon that we should probably understand properly what it is don’t you think? The expression muscle memory is generally used in the context of piano playing when it seems that our fingers seem able...
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I’m sure that like me, many classically trained pianists also really enjoy other kinds of music. However, we don’t often really learn to play this type of music as we’re very busy keeping up with our classical pieces. However, there are ways of approaching popular music for the classically trained pianist that can make it...
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What do I mean by supplement slow piano practice? One thing I have discovered since coming back to piano is that there are literally hundreds of different ways to practice effectively. Unfortunately, all too often the only advice that gets shared on many social media sites is ‘slow it right down’. I don’t think anybody...
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To Hanon, or not to Hanon – that is the question! Do Hanon exercises provide the biggest bang for your buck? The traditional approach Some insist that Technical Exercises like Hanon are vital whereas others even go as far as to say they are most likely dangerous. To make things worse, proponents of both sides...
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I participate in a few online groups that bring amateur pianists together on places such as Facebook and Reddit. One question that is constantly raised is around whether or not it’s necessary to memorise your piano pieces. I quite often read the debates with a little smile on my face. You’ll see every opinion from...
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Can you teach yourself piano? Lots of people for a variety of reasons try it. However, is this even possible? Horowitz famously said that the piano is the easiest instrument to play in the beginning and the hardest to master in the end. Equally famously, Richter was self-taught until his twenties – and even afterwards his...
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How things have changed … Since those many years ago when I first played Piano, we have seen massive changes in technology which now make things either much easier than they were before or, for the first time, actually make them possible. If you’re not really a fan of technology, please, just bear with me...
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