All Categories - OnlinePianoTeacher

Online Teaching Tips

10/16/2020

To help with teaching piano or keyboard online I strongly advise you to agree on bar numbers for pieces, if the book does not already have them included. Otherwise, how do you communicate with the pupil about what you'd like them to try? For example "thanks for playing that - how about playing for me again from the loudest bit to the softest bit?" It's so much easier to talk about bar numbers. I'd also rather not teach/comment on a piece for which the pupil had a version/edition that I don't personally have.

Piano Tuition apps

12/29/2017

You will be bombarded with adverts on youtube etc claiming that their app will make you a great pianist in a matter of weeks. Do you honestly think that that is possible? They may help, but when all is said and done, their is no alternative to practice. You cannot download into your brain (Matrix style) the abilities to play with the skill of a grade 2 student and not put in the practice required. These guys who make these ridiculous claims should be sued! ABRSM have produced some great apps, but they NEVER claim that they bypass the need for practice.

The solitary nature of piano

2/6/2016

If a child is playing on their own on an x-box, they can sit there for hours ON THEIR OWN playing quite voluntarily. How does this not transfer to piano practice? Even when I try to provide music that THEY want to try - they still struggle to sit there for more than 20 minutes at a time.....

Fingering in a Piece

7/2/2015

It is so important to consider fingering in passage runs: especially Bach. Otherwise each time that different fingering is used, there is a degree of partly undoing what has been previously achieved. I regularly HEAR this problem with pupil playing of pieces and scales.

Skype Theory Teaching

6/9/2015

If teaching theory by Skype & you need to mark work done, ask pupil/ parent to scan (or photograph it) then email it to you.

First skype pupil exam success!!

4/6/2015

My nephew, just turned 14, has just passed his grade 2 ABRSM piano practical achieving 142/150. I am stunned but delighted. He sat it in Stirling, Scotland.

Scales

2/19/2015

Scales are good, up to a point - but the 5th finger gets left out. Fingers 1,2, and 3 get a lot to do with standard fingering. So I encourage pupils to do a simple finger exercise with only fingers 3,4 an 5. For example (left hand) cde def efg fga gab abc etc ONLY using fingers 3,4 and 5.

Aural training by Skype

2/9/2015

Giving aural training over skype is possibly the hardest part of online music tuition. Certainly with regards to preparation for the ABRSM aural exams. Sound quality has a massive part in this.

Audio Or Visual Quality?

1/9/2015

Which is more important? the sound a pupil makes or the visual clarity? Clearly the sound quality but a good webcam enables me to spot bad fingering & bad posture which can affect the sound.

Friday Nights

9/23/2014

Generally speaking Friday nights are about the worst for skype teaching; the connection is awful... or is it just me?