The metronome and I had a rough relationship while I was growing up. As a free spirited child, I despised having to use the machine; the relentless clicking of the machine was enough to drive me crazy. However, my teacher insisted on it. Almost every piece we worked on had a tempo marking. When I …
Much of what piano parents and students focus on at home, is the physical practicing of the piano. There is no doubt that exercising and reviewing finger movements is beneficial to improving at creating music. However, something that is often put on the back burner, is listening to recordings and other music. What Kind of …
One of the first questions that parents ask me is how important it is to have a piano at home for piano lessons. The second question is usually is to inquire whether an electronic keyboard instrument is adequate. Of course, I understand that a piano appear to have a hefty investment. What if the child …
Transcribing Bass Lines Now that I’ve completed my listening of popular tunes in C major, I am transcribing bass lines of my favourite tunes. Learning Outcomes Parse together the harmonic progression of the tunes Reflect on how the rhythm of the bass line affects the mood and direction Reflect on the usage of chords outside …
Transcribing Bass Lines ( Popular Music ) Part 1 Read More »
In the last two piano sessions, I simply worked on Mozart piano sonata as a whole. In fact, there were lots of things to work on! I particularly wanted to work on the evenness of eighth notes in the left hand, adding dimension to the trills before the cadences of sections and capture that Mozart …
